What is your favorite tattoo?
In celebration of National Tattoo Day, I wanted to share my own tattoo story and the stories of two local shop owner/makers. Tattoos are such a personal (and permanent) art form that I always find it interesting to learn about why someone decides to get one (or a few). Read on for the why behind some great tattoos.
Me, all soap geared up.
How many tattoos do you have?
Three total. One on my ankle, one on my abdomen and one on my forearm.If you have more than one, what is your favorite tattoo?
My favorite tattoo is the newest one on my forearm.
What is the story behind your favorite tattoo? Why did you decided to get it?
About two years ago, I purchased some amazing temporary tattoos from Tattly and one of them was “Makers Gonna Make” from the graphic designer Jude Landry. I was instantly in love. The use of traditional tattoo lettering combined with the phrase really struck me. It became my mantra, a reminder of my strength as an artist and maker (and lover of handmade things), that helped push me to keep growing and moving forward with Etta + Billie. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen me use it along with almost every photo of product being made or being wrapped. After wearing the temporary tattoo on multiple occasions, I finally decided to get the real thing.Any ideas for your next tattoo?
Yes, I’m toying with a few different ideas for images that honor my grandmothers and family.
Nic Wienstein of Homestead Apothecary
I had the very good fortune of connecting with modern community herbalist and advocate, Nic Weinstein, a few years ago when he opened the magical Homestead Apothecary in Oakland, California. His shop has an amazing collection of dried herbs, tinctures, healing objects, books and of course fabulous apothecary products. Nic is a wealth of knowledge about herbal healing and travels all over California giving workshops.
How many tattoos do you have?
I think I technically have 6. Half sleeves on both of my arms. One on each of my forearms plus one on the inside of my right forearm. My back and my chest.If you have more than one, what is your favorite tattoo?
I think my Never for Money Always for Love tattoos but its a tough call!What is the story behind your favorite tattoo? Why did you decided to get it?
Strangely enough my tattoo artist finished the lavender piece on my arm and she realized that it took her a lot less time than she anticipated so she asked if I wanted something else. I told her about the Talking Head lyrics that resonated so strongly with me and she loved it and it felt right so I went for it! So I got 3 tattoos in one sitting!Any ideas for your next tattoo?
Working on a cover up. What can I say? I started young!
Homestead Apothecary
486 49th Street
Oakland, CA 94609
Open: Monday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm + Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tammy Liu of Redemption
When Tammy reached out to me months ago about joining the stylishly curated makers in her Campbell, California based shop Redemption, I said “Hell Yes!”. Tammy and boyfriend, David, are extremely passionate about finding and sharing well crafted hand made goods with their community. I’m so honored to be a part of the their shop! Read on to find out more about Tammy’s collection of tattoos.
How many tattoos do you have?
7: 2 on back, both wrists, ribs, stomach and thigh.
Tattoo Close Up
If you have more than one, what is your favorite tattoo?
Thigh piece, as it represents my mother.What is the story behind your fav/only tattoo? Why did you decided to get it?
It incorporates a picture of my mother and a dream catcher that she passed down to me. I got it done just before traveling to Australia for a year as a way to keep her close to me throughout my journey. The tattoo depicts her as a warrior/survivor and commemorates her optimism and positivity in overcoming her strokes.
Any ideas for your next tattoo?
My boyfriend and I are thinking about getting our store logo done!
Redemption
241a E Campbell Ave
Campbell, CA 95008
408.628.4877
*all photographs were provided and posted with permission from the artists.
Happy Thanksgiving! Thankful.
I’m spending time with family today cooking a massive meal (we like our food in the Rivera household) but wanted to take a moment to say how incredibly thankful I am for the continued support of my customers.
Thank you for helping me make my dream come true!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Store Spotlight: Lilify
Hanni and Jesse are the team behind the well curated boutique Lilify, located in the beautiful California coastal town of Monterey. You’ll find hand crafted items, vintage and other one-of-a-kind treasures there. Plus, they are home to coffee roaster, Bright Coffee. Coffee + shopping = my idea of heaven. When not running the Lilify boutique, you can find Hanni creating incredible natural and sophisticated floral arrangements. Check out the amazing images on their site. Find out more about a few of Hanni’s favorite things below. 
- What is your favorite color? Black
- Favorite smell? Rosemary
- Go to cocktail or beverage? Rose
- What would you choose as your last meal? Salmon with asparagus (prepared any way) served with Rose
- Favorite thing to cook? Salmon with asparagus (prepared any way) served with Rose
- Favorite dessert? Rose
- Furthest place you’ve traveled? South Africa is probably the furthest geographically, but southern Guyana was the ruralist.
Follow Lilify!
instagram: lilifydesigns
facebook: lilify
pinterest: lilify
blog: lilify.com
Lilify
281 Lighthouse Avenue
Monterey, California 93940
Open: Mon – Sat: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sun: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Retailer Interview: Egg & Dart
Painter Chris Wyllie and designer Kristen Coates collaborate to bring you Egg & Dart, an eclectic collection of art and home decor. Their flagship store is located at Bowen’s Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island or you can find them online at egganddart.bigcartel.com. Both shops are filled with a carefully curated selection of local art, handmade objects, fine linens, table decor, gifts, books, apothecary and seasonal greenery arrangements. What’s not to love about that? Read Kristen’s interview below!
1. What is your favorite color?
I got back and forth between favorite colors. Gold, grey, white, blue, white, grey, blue, gold. Lately I have been in a big black and white phase, but as I am putting the pieces together for our store, we are getting all sorts of sandy beachy palettes of gold, grey, white, blue with some hints of black.
2. Favorite smell?
My favorite smell is my dog. I have 9 month old Cavalier King Charles, Sofia Banana, that pretty much rules my life right now. Her fur smells of cinnamon and hints of almond and the beach. So treats and salt water basically. Traditionally I am drawn to espresso in the morning, tuberose and lilac throughout the day and then rose and patchouli in the evenings. I love when people can pick up on scents in my home and more often than not, when someone comes in my store they say “It smells delicious in here”.
3. Go to cocktail or beverage?
We keep a couple of bottles of cava on hand for impromptu cocktails along with bitters and some sugar. A bit of sugar in a glass, a dash or two of bitters and top with champagne. If there are roses in the garden I add a few petals for garnish or a slice of strawberry or even nasturtium just for the color. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, but when I do drink, I like it to be pretty. I think guests appreciate the special touches.
4. Favorite thing to cook?
I grew up as a vegetarian that did not like cooked vegetables. In the last year or two as I have transitioned out of living in NYC full time, I have taken to visiting farms near our home in Newport and going to the farmer’s markets as much as I can and have fallen in love with cooking vegetables and experimenting with different flavors. While in LA this winter, we were very much in love with Summerland.is – they deliver local famer’s market items to your door! I love a thick, baked cherry tomato sauce over polenta cakes, or soup with butternut squash, caramelized onions, an apple and a little white wine and grilled radicchio, I could eat it every day. I don’t know if it is tastes changing or actually paying attention to food and cooking that makes it all seem better now, maybe a combination.
5. Favorite book?
Daily Rituals is a series of short essays on how writers, artists, filmmakers, composers, poets, musicians, novelists and the like go through their day. The book details each person’s work ethic, alcohol consumption, eating habits and sleep (or lack there of) patterns. Maya Angelou works from a hotel before heading home to make dinner for her husband and makes sure she has time to unwind her brain before dinner is ready. I find this type of information to be fascinating and inspiring.
Follow the team behind Egg & Dart!
instagram: http://instagram.
blog:
my blogs vary in states of neglect…
Egg & Dart
57 America’s Cup Avenue at Bowen’s Wharf
Newport, Rhode Island
Open
Mon – Thu: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Retailer Spotlight: Greenhouse
Greenhouse is a shop located in Serenbe, Georgia that focuses on one-of-a-kind vintage pieces and lovely found objects. Owner, Kenya Brantley is an absolute sweet heart and has a seriously good eye for fabulous goods! If you are in the area, you must stop in and check it out (and post photos!). In the meantime, check out my mini interview with Kenya below and be sure to follow Greenhouse on social media.
instagram: greenhouseserenbe
facebook: GreenhouseSerenbe
pinterest: shopgreenhouse
twitter: ShopGreenhouse
website: greenhouseserenbe.com
- What is your favorite color? Grey
- Go to cocktail or beverage? Sex on the Beach. Don’t ask. 😉
- What would you choose as your last meal? Crab legs with lots of butter!!!
- Furthest place you’ve traveled? Fiji!!! It was amazing!!!
- Favorite book? The Bible. I need it to live by…
Greenhouse
9117 Selborne LaneChattahoochee, GA 30268
OPEN: Thu – Sun: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Retailer Interview – LEGION SF
Meet Sydney Pfaff owner and curator of the lovely LEGION boutique in San Francisco. Sydney has a fantastic eye for stylish simple beautiful clothing, jewelry, bath and body goodies and art. Read on to find out more about some of her favorite things.
1. What is your favorite color? Sunshine yellow!
2. Favorite smell? Sandalwood.
3. Go to cocktail or beverage? Any kind of pilsner is a-ok with me.
4. What would you choose as your last meal? A chile relleno burrito.
5. Favorite thing to cook? Veggies with coconut curry.
6. Favorite dessert? Chips & salsa
7. Furthest place you’ve traveled? I don’t think it’s technically the furthest away, but the longest travel time was to Indonesia—also one of my favorite countries to visit. Japan is a close second and a much easier flight!
8. 3 Destinations/Experiences on your bucket list? Turkey, Morocco and Nashville.
9. Favorite memory with your grandmother/grandparents? I always loved hearing my grandpa’s stories about living in San Francisco as a kid. He grew up in the Outer Richmond and his father (my great-grandpa) was one of Muni’s first employees. He and his brother used to ride the trains for free all over the city. He always smiled so bright when he talked about it. I miss him very much.
10. Favorite book? I really like Dave Eggers. My favorite photo book is “California Trip” by Richard Blair and Kathleen Goodwin. I never get tired of looking at California’s incomparable beauty.
679 Clay Street, San Francisco
Where to follow Legion:
instagram: @legion_shop
facebook: https://www.
pinterest: http://www.
twitter: @legion_shop
Etta + Billie Retailer Interview – Andi Winterfield
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Good Things Green Things website with yours truly on the cover.
There is a new retailer in the Etta + Billie family! Meet Andi Winterfield of Good Things Green Things.
Good Things Green Things is an online shop specializing in natural skin care products that are made in the USA. Every product is hand picked by Andi & made with simple, nourishing ingredients. I’m am really excited to be a part of the fantastic collection of makers on the site. I asked Andi to answer a few of my favorite questions and she was kind enough to oblige. Read on for the answers and find out how to connect with Good Things Green Things through your social media platform of choice.
Happy Bathing!
Alana
1. What is your favorite color? Blue. All shades are great, but lately I’ve been loving ocean blue. This Minnesota winter has been way too long, with way too much snow!
2. Favorite smell? My overall favorite smell is the Minnesota north woods. The air is just so clean & fresh up there. My favorite food smell is BBQ.
3. Go to cocktail or beverage? I’m an iced coffee kind of gal. I also really like lemonade.
4. What would you choose as your last meal? That’s a tough one. I love food & have many favorites, but if I had to narrow it down I would either choose a plate of lobster meat drizzled with butter & salt or a traditional Thanksgiving feast with all the fixin’s. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, dinner roll & a salad.
5. Favorite thing to cook? I love to make chili & have great recipes for both red & white.
6. Favorite dessert? Cherry pie. It’s the best.
7. Furthest place you’ve traveled? California. I have family in Redwood City. It’s such a great area & if you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend stopping at Half Moon Bay. Besides home, it’s my favorite place on earth.
8. 3 Destinations/Experiences on your bucket list? I would love to go to Tahiti, Hawaii or France, but I’m not much for flying so I don’t think I’ll ever get to those places. My husband and I would love to take the kids to Alaska, the Black Hills and eventually Disneyworld.
9. Favorite memory with your grandmother/grandparents? We went to church with my grandparents every Sunday & then back to their house for roast or some other amazing meal my grandma would make. She always had 7 Up & wafer cookies for a treat. I always think of her now when I eat them. The pink ones are my favorite. We also spent a lot of time fishing at the cabin.
10. Favorite book? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I read a little bit every day & I start it over again as soon as I finish it. If I could live in a book, that one would be my home.
Follow Good Things Green Things!
instagram: instagram.com/
facebook: facebook.com/
pinterest: pinterest.com/gtgt
twitter: twitter.com/gtgt
2013 Year in Review and Mantras for 2014
If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, I’ve been a busy bee. The beginning of the year is always a good time to reflect, which I’ve been doing a lot of. I (like many people) have a tendency to focus on the things I didn’t accomplish rather than the things I did. So, I decided to share the things I’m really proud of from the last year and my mantras for the coming year. Now it’s your turn. What are your proud moments from 2013? What are you looking forward to in 2014?
2013:
- No more day job (um yeah, that happened. I’m please beyond measure but freaked out at the same time. It’s kind of awesome.)
- Launched my Etta + Billie website and partnered with over 15 new stores! I LOVE getting connected with other business owners and creating relationships.
- Better work/life balance which = an adventure with my husband (see some of the Italy photos here)
2014:
- Growth
- Appreciation
- Focus
Last week at Etta + Billie
I’m in a soap making frenzy these days as I prep for the holidays and prep for some new very exciting wholesale partners. Still had time to test out a new tattoo and work on some new scents.