This is going to be one of those news-y blog posts where I fill you in on where we’re going and who’s been saying really, really nice things about us.

Thank you thank you thank you!

LA Splash included our eco-chic handbags in their “Handbags Collection 2009 - Hot New Handbags for You to View” (scroll to the bottom of the page) and they also included my friend Sarah Shaw’s Handy Hold-All’s, which are fantastic handbag organizers. You need to scroll down a ways to find us, but given that the bags ahead of us have names like Badgley Mischka, Iman, Ariat and Guess, we’re just amazed we made the list.

Also, my friend Ana Caban featured one of Rebagz Small Cinchy Totes as a giveaway a week ago on her wonderful website La Buena Life. Yes, my bad for not alerting all of you - so sorry! However, check out her site because she does great giveaways every Thursday - they’re called “Tentacion Thursdays” - and it’s really, really easy to enter.

Over on Eco-Artware, long-time Rebagz customer Reena Kazmann gave my book “Altered Shoes: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Your Footwear Fabulous” a lovely review. Thanks, Reena! If you’re into art, craft and design, you may want to head over to my official Altered Shoes website to sign up for my monthly Eco-Art Ezine.

We’re on Our Way To NY!

The New York International Gift Fair starts August 15th, and we’ll be in the juried Handmade Division (booth #122, if you’d like to drop by for a visit). Our operations manager Rorey got the components of our booth all packed up and ready to ship out. She then walked into my office with a large role of palette wrap - the thick plastic sheeting used to hold all those enormous boxes together on the palette - and basically announced it was my turn. So…

Shipping out!(At least it's not a butt shot)

…around and around I went, while Rorey snapped photos, thank you very much. (Like the caption says, at least she didn’t shoot me from behind.) I actually hate the palette wrap because it’s a huge amount of plastic to use, but for now it’s a necessary evil if we want our booth to arrive in New York intact. Plus we do reuse it, since we have to stuff our Rebagz to make them look pleasingly plump for our buyers.

I’ll be sure to keep you apprised of all the comings and goings in New York. In the meantime, we’re grateful to Stu Stockelberg and the folks at Service By Air for taking such good care of our booth as it makes its way cross-country.

XOXO Marty