Here at Tum Tum Tree Designs we have been gearing up for a weekend of epic proportions.  In fact, it really is going to be EP!C as in the Ethical Progressive Intelligent Consumer show.  The sustainable living show on a large scale, some of you might remember a post about last year’s event where designer Stacy Wolfenden was a panelist in a Sustainability 101 discussion.

This year the show promises to be a bigger better event and it coincides nicely with Earth Day next week.  If you are in Vancouver we would love to see you at our booth so drop by and say “HI!”  We will be in the Fashion High section.  There is also a fashion show being put on that one of the popular halter dresses will be appearing in too so don’t miss it!

Spring is finally here and she brings good tidings for Tum Tum Tree Designs; Small Magazine is now out and we made the cover spread!  We invite you to check out the newest edition of Small, the ever growing design mag that is all about independent designers who cater to the little people of the world.  Celebrating its first year in publication, the online only mag delivers up a scenic cornucopia of fresh goods and services for and all about kids.

Tum Tum Tree Designs is privileged to be a part of it all this issue, which certainly is true to its enchanting form.  Two colourways of the very popular halter dress are featured in the impeccably styled shoots within the virtual pages of Small.  We are in good company as there are interviews with Amy Karol of Angry Chicken and Stephanie Scarpulla of Bluebird  among other fab finds.

Special thanks go out to Olivia and Christine, the editors of Small Magazine as well as hats off to all of the wonderful contributors who help make the magic happen.  A job well done indeed.

Tum Tum Tree Designs is celebrating the brand New Year with a brand new SHOP!

Check out the goods first hand right here. Grand Opening Specials will be posted all month long in January!

It has been a very exciting ‘07 and 2008 promises to be even more sensational!

One of our new products is also making it’s debut in the shop this week; the fabulous stuffed veggies are here so get ‘em while they are fresh! Here’s a peak at them;

These are an online exclusive at this time. They are the ultimate in sustainable produce for kids of all ages to play with. Made from hemp blended fabric and stuffed with recycled PET fibre filling, this set is made by hand in a local studio in British Columbia. The set comes with a complimentary market bag ($20 value) and consists of one each of:

• Green cucumber
• Purple Eggplant
• Natural Parsnip
• Red Radish
• Natural Potato
• Red Tomato

These are on special for our New Year, New Shop “Grand Opening Special” and the set costs $50 (CDN funds, S+H extra) Order yours right here!

More specifically, Stacy Wolfenden has been busy doing some speaking events that have caught some media attention.

Firstly there was the Green Business Panel last week that was put on by the Connecting Environmental Professionals (CEP) group which was a great success.  The engagement was very engaging and inspiring for all parties involved.   It was well attended and  many  interesting points were raised.

Two of the attendees were Dave Michael Garg and Cynthia Wildman of BC Buzz, a recently launched online TV & magazine outlet focusing on the environment.  Cynthia emailed us today with the link to this fabulous review of the panel discussion.  (Check out the quotes!  Very inspiring!)

Incidentally, since Stacy had to fly in to Vancouver to be a panelist at the event, she made sure to make use of the services of one of her fellow panelists in Offsetters.ca and made her travel a climate friendly adventure.

In other news, today Stacy Wolfenden was also given some thirty seconds of fame on a local TV show that is airing on the 9th of December.  More news about that will be posted after the fact, so stay tuned right here!

Connecting Environmental Professionals (CEP) in Vancouver is hosting a Green Business Panel as their November speaker event and designer Stacy Wolfenden has been asked to be a guest panelist. It is happening on Wednesday November 28th at SFU Harbour Centre in downtown Vancouver.

In good company, she will share the floor with several other green entrepreneurs from the Vancouver area; Dr. James Tansey of Offsetters.ca, Marc Stoiber of Change Advertising Inc. and Gil Yaron of Frogfile.ca. More details about the event can be seen at the OneDay Vancouver events calendar site also.

November has arrived with a bang. Lots of things in the works here at Tum Tum Tree Designs, now located in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia. Fall is in full swing and the colours of nature are out in all their glory.

Check out the November issue of Shared Vision Magazine where the coffee cozy strikes again. Thanks to the great little write-up in the EnVision section titled “Take it or Sleeve it”,more of the coffee cozies will be flying off the shelves. Have we mentioned that these make great little gifts, especially with a coffee card to a certain someone’s favourite java venue?

You can find these babies at HT Naturals, the retail store at Clark and Venables in Vancouver as well as in a newer shop here in Kelowna called Shop the Valley.

Shop the Valley (the Shop) is the brainchild of Tommi Hanley of Shop the Valley Destination Management Company. The new retail store is located at the premises of another local wine & dine destination, Summerhill Pyramid Winery. While Shop the Valley, (the Shop) is run independently of Summerhill, they share some of the same core values. Namely, the ideal to support local sources and help keep the area economy thriving. All of the beautiful items at Shop the Valley are made by local artisans here in where else but, the Okanagan Valley.

Tum Tum Tree Designs has some of the first of the housewares line available at Shop the Valley. Some lovely hemp napkins as well as the coffee cozies can be found there as of today.

Tomorrow is the open-house and meet and greet event at Shop the Valley from 10 AM until 6 PM. If you are in the area, drop in and check it out. There will be sampling and special promotions going on all day as well as artist presentations. There are all kinds of artisans represented here; from painters, stained glass artists and quilters to name a few. Come by the Summerhill Winery and see what it’s all about at 4870 Chute Lake Road, Kelowna BC. See you there!

There is BIG NEWS here at Tum Tum Tree Designs.

Now firmly relocated in our new office in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia we are able to offer the Spring ‘08 collection to retailers for pre-order.

If you are a retailer looking to offer a quality line of children’s wear to your eco-conscious clientele, please contact us for the pre-book catalogue.

Also in development is a line of soft toys that is quite unique for children. More on this will be available in the coming week, so stay tuned!

The ever-popular coffee cozy is also available for anyone interested. It can be purchased direct from Tum Tum Tree Designs for the retail price of $7 each. (Canadian/US funds, shipping included for Canadian orders only.) Wholesale orders are welcome. These make a great gift for the Holiday Season for colleagues and clients alike (for the person that has everything and enjoys the occasional coffee on the go!)

Here at Tum Tum Tree Designs, we ave been very very busy.

We are relocating mid summer to Kelowna in the Interior of British Columbia. This is an exciting time as we look forward to getting a fresh perspective on things and having more time to enjoy the best things in life.

The process however is not without its challenges, as all big moves are.  We are also in the development stage for a line of home accessorries that is expected to launch this coming Fall so stay tuned!
The 30 Days of Sustainability program is running a contest that should have been posted earlier here but the busy factor has made that impossible until now. Check it out; you could win an Ipod Nano! Hurry as contest closes May 21st!!!

Did you know that the average carbon output for Canadians is 11.71 tonnes per year? See how your carbon footprint measures up with this handy online calculator.
An interesting tool brought to you by BP, the company who brings fuel to the masses. There is a section of the site devoted to identifying issues to combat climate change. They even “support precautionary action to limit greenhouse gas emissions even though aspects of the science are still the subject of expert debate”. Kudos to the corporation for the alternative energy solutions being invested in.

Lots of other interesting tidbits, like the “what you can do” page that has great tips on what can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is also a page featuring what others are doing and of course, don’t forget to check out what BP is doing about GHG emissions.

Disclaimer: Tum Tum Tree Designs does not receive any endorsements financial or otherwise from BP or any subsidiaries; we just think this is a nifty tool for those who want to know.