I am so glad we’re finally electing smart, compassionate people to public office!   I told you the other day why I think my local state Senator Carol Liu is so extraordinary, and I still can’t get over that I was the small business owner she honored in Sacramento on Tuesday as part of California’s official “Small Business Day.”  Now, I was by no means the only one.  There were about 80 of us from all of California’s different voting districts and we were all honored as the “Small Business of the Year.”

Given that I live in the 21st district along with about 850,000 other people, I definitely had what my friend Amy Rachlin calls “that needle-in-a-haystack feeling” - i.e. How the hell did I get so lucky?  Well, let me tell you how - she chose our company because we do business in an eco-, human- and women-friendly fashion, and those are things that are deeply important to the senator.  She could’ve honored someone who’d raised a lot of money for her campaign or a store or restaurant she frequents.  Instead, she wanted to recognize a business that’s part of what I call “the next evolution,” where we become more connected to the people who make what we have.

The wonderful Senator Carol Liu, me & a Small Cinchy Tote

She got my vote before, and of course she’ll have it again, and not because of the award.  It’s because of who she is.

For those of you who are curious, yes, the Governator was there.  And yes, he did allude to “Terminator: Salvation.”  (I liked “Star Trek” better.)

We have another terrific event coming up tonight in Hollywood at Cinespace.  Vanessa Diaz is debuting her new and incredibly cool eco-fashion line via a fashion show - and our Rebagz will be prominently featured!  (Thank you, Vanessa!)  Our ace videographer Cathleen Alexander will be there and so I’ll be posting footage as soon as we’ve got it.

And thanks so much to my friend and confidant Sarah Shaw of Simply Sarah Shaw fame for interviewing me for her new and amazing Momprenette site.  Scroll down a bit and you’ll see my answers to her questions, but also be sure to look around the whole site because there’s so much great information and advice there.  Also, check out all she’s offering on her Entreprenette site.  Sarah’s just incredible and I teased her once about her young twins by saying, “Sarah, you’re so efficient you had 2 kids at once!”

Quite a week - and all of us at the office already need another holiday. ;D  How ’bout you?

XOXO Marty

“Pure purse passion” - that’s BagBunch.com’s tag-line, and we loved it even before they gave us a spectacular shout-out over the weekend - take a look!  They mention that a lot of fashion designers are working with QVC - where we sold 700 Small Cinchy Totes in 7 minutes on Friday.  Really amazing!  The bags looked sooooo beautiful…and didn’t Janine Graff do a terrific job representing us on-air?  (If you missed Friday’s airing, you can still watch it here.)  And thanks very much to all of you who supported us - we truly appreciated it.

I have to make this a short posting because I’m in Sacramento to receive the California Small Business Award, courtesy of my local state Senator Carol Liu, who’s a really amazing woman.  She represents the 71st district and her priorities are fantastic:  education, women’s issues and “greening” California.   She also has a terrific team working with her:  Tahara Goraya, who’s her district director, and Lena Kennedy, the director of special projects.

The governor’s speaking in less than an hour, so I’ve got to put my lip gloss on, grab my own Small Cinchy Tote (I’ve got “Galaxy“) and head downstairs to listen!

XOXO Marty

Yes, America’s largest home shopping network has caught onto the eco-trend! And that’s a great indication that America’s shoppers are too.

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that our Rebagz Small Cinchy Totes will make their QVC debut this Friday, May 22nd at 5pm Eastern, 2pm Pacific time on the shopping channel’s “Greener Living” show.

Getting packed up & ready to go

While those of us who live in the main urban fashion centers like New York and Los Angeles (where my company’s based) have had easy access to eco-fashion for the last few years, the eco-pickings have been slim for shoppers in middle America. And in a lot of cases, when they think of eco-friendly fashion and accessories, they still conjure up images of the old beige-and-itchy kind.

There are so many vibrant and colorful things out there, begging for a second life, that there’s no excuse for eco-fashion not to be as stylish and vivid as it’s non-eco counterparts. And there’s been such a proliferation of companies making these sorts of things that - at last! - there’s no shortage. I know we should consider them all our competition, but my friend Amy Swift has a great saying: “It’s a big sky.” By that she means there’s room for lots of us, each with our own ideas and unique points of view. It’s an incredible time to be a designer and I’m so grateful to all of our customers - corporate and individual - who believe in what we do, and help us support the wonderful people who make our Rebagz…

All packed up (in eco-friendly boxes, of course) & on their way

…which are on their way to QVC. Tune in on Friday and support QVC’s “Greener Living” point of view!

XOXO Marty

Yes - really - finally - our revamped Rebagz website is up and running!  It’s oh-so-much-more-user-friendly.  It took a longer than expected; these things usually do.  There were some last-minute hitches with our old web host, which just didn’t…want…to…let…go.  (You may have seen my Twitter about that.  So annoying!)  But now we’re up and fully operational.  The great news is the fully recycled and revamped www.Rebagz.com is up and running in plenty of time for our big QVC launch next week.

You’ll also see a change in our e-newsletters.  They’ll be more of an ezine format because I want to provide you with more than just discounts and our latest press blurbs.  I’ll be including an eco-tip with each one and I’ll do my best to write up a short article too, just so you’re getting more information that’s fun - or at least useful.  I’d LOVE to make it more of a conversation, so if there’s something you’re curious about, please let me know!

All the very best to you - 

(Yes, that’s my very own sloppy signature.  Makes you feel better about yours, doesn’t it?)

What a week it’s been! We’ve finally launched our new “recycled” website – welcome – and that’s just the listed in a list of wonderful things that have happened over the last seven days.

Last Monday, my wonderful new friend Lisa Greenfield finagled a trip to the set of “Entourage” where I met their amazing wardrobe designer Amy Wescott. It was a very fun visit because their set’s very relaxed and easy-going which, if you know anything about Hollywood, is not the norm. Then again, they’re a hit series and it’s their sixth season, so I guess it’s no wonder they have a great time. I got to watch Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly shoot a scene – over and over and over again. I have to hand it them because the ad-libs Jeremy was coming up with were hysterical.

Then on Tuesday we got word about our QVC air date. Our Small Cinchy Totes will debut on QVC on Friday, May 22^nd at 5pm Eastern, 2pm Pacific on their “Green Living” show, which I’m told will be hosted by the imitable Carolyn Gracie. She’s fantastic! So we feel very fortunate to have her running the show, so to speak. And make sure you tune in because you’ll be getting a FANTASTIC deal on our Small Cinchies!

As if that weren’t enough, on Thursday my dear friend Eugenia Edwards let me know via Facebook that InStyle was doing “which eco-friendly tote would you wear?” poll. Needless to say, we got on it like a duck on a june bug and asked all our friends to vote for us. Last time I checked, we were ahead, and the results will be in July’s issue of InStyle magazine. What great exposure – if we win, that is. If you’d like to support us, head on over and vote for Rebagz!

And, last but not least, how do you like our new cyber-digs? Didn’t our website designer Bryce Papenbrook do a great job? My goal was to keep the look of our former website but emphasize our Rebagz brand (for lack of a better term – are we so over “branding” yet?). Also, you’ll find our online store sooooo much easier to navigate. Our last website host – I won’t mention names – was unreliable and very un-user-friendly. So I think you’ll enjoy this more. If you encounter any problems, which is not unusual when your firing up a new website, PLEASE contact me.

Have fun trolling our “recycled” pages! It’s been fun chatting with you.

All the very best to you –

XOXO Marty