The Best Beastly and Non-Beastly Gifts to Give This Holiday Season
We know you're seeing a lot of gift guides these days. Personally, I have read at least 15 this week in my quest to find a few items for my hard-to-shop-for 18-year-old college freshman son. If you are also looking for a present for a teenage boy, this guide will not be very helpful. BUT if you are looking for something to give to those special women in your life that is unique and meaningful, please read on. Happy gifting!
Introducing Our New Peace Silk Square Scarves — The Perfect Gift for Her
Our New Peace Silk Square Scarves are truly special.
Yes, they are beautiful but they are more than just a pretty piece of fabric. Much more.
Let's start at the beginning with how the raw silk is collected. With regular silk, the silkworm cocoon is boiled with the live worm inside. With the peace silk (also called Ahimsa Silk) that we use, the silkworm is allowed to naturally leave the cocoon as a moth and only then is the silk of the cocoon harvested. The fibres of the discarded cocoon are spun into thread and then woven into cloth.
Now THIS is slow fashion...
My excitement about the launch of our new peace silk square scarves is a bit overwhelming. The scarf is where Beastly began as it was the first product we produced and sold back in 2015. Since then, we have added many new pieces from skirts and dresses to aprons and weekender totes. To get back to scarves, such a timeless and essential accessory, feels appropriate and just right as we round 10 years in business.
This product might be new but the beautiful, slow creation process certainly is not...
The Beastly Top 20 True Crime Podcasts
What's a fun way to celebrate Halloween?? How about the best True Crime podcasts ever! Listening to these audio mysteries is my form of relaxation. Sure, crimes are committed but the bad guy almost always gets caught. Hope you enjoy!
Big, big, Beastly news! AND our Annual End-of-Summer / Labor Day / Back-to-School Sale!
Brace yourself. We have a LOT of news to share.
Where to start...
First, after 9 years of living abroad in amazing Chile and beautiful France, my family has moved to Michigan!
I know...it's a crazy time to move back to the US but we are nonetheless super excited to be closer to family, friends, and our son who is starting college next week in Wisconsin.
So if you are in the greater Detroit area and love eco-ethical textiles that support wildlife conservation, come say hi!
Read more...
Top 8 Things To Enjoy After Giving Up Instagram and Facebook
Two and half months ago, I quit Instagram and Facebook. This was a decision long coming after years of significant effort on my part with little to no impact on my company's reach/sales AND seriously questionable policies on the part of Meta.
Although not easy at first, this life change has been a huge win. I have reclaimed a lot of the time that I had sacrificed to my phone. I have freed up large portions of my day that can be spent doing pretty awesome things. Here are my favorites...
It all starts with a piece of wood...
Block-printing, the age-old printing technique we use to create Beastly textiles, is a beautiful, labor-intensive, multi-stage process. It is the ultimate example of slow fashion. What does block-printing look like? Let’s start with the hand-carved wooden blocks.
Read more...
9 Fabulous Gifts for Her
Six Gifts That Will Make Him Smile BIG!
The People Behind Beastly
Simply put, Beastly Threads exists thanks to the extraordinary talent and effort of many people, several of whom live in Jaipur, India. A few years ago, I started working with Sonia Jain who helps brands like Beastly get their products developed by the amazing artisans in India. Along with being a wonderful person, Sonia's help in coordinating the block-printing and sewing of the latest Beastly sarongs was invaluable. And wow are those sarongs beautiful! I recently asked Sonia to give us a better sense of the block-printing community in India. Enjoy!