Natalie Jost

Brand new vintage shop (and fellow Shopifier), RED LINE VINTAGE...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:51:05 -0600

Brand new vintage shop (and fellow Shopifier), RED LINE VINTAGE is very well designed: great to look at and easy to use! And some great finds in the product line too. Grand Opening was yesterday, so you’re very near the first to know. ;)

No Shampoo

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:02:39 -0600

My baking soda + malt vinegar bottles

A couple of years ago I read Simple Mom talk about going without Shampoo in her book Organized Simplicity. It sounded so nice, but I was nervous to try it. Then a couple of months ago I picked up her ebook One Bite at a Time on my Kindle Fire. Again she mentioned the no shampoo thing. I decided I really really wanted to try it.

She mentioned in both books that your hair will be oily for a few weeks as it fights against the new regimen, so I was prepared to go a month or so with really yucky hair. It actually wasn’t SO bad, but here’s how it went.

Week One

At first I didn’t have a bottle to mix things in so I just shook some baking soda powder on my head in the shower and rubbed my head like I did with shampoo. Then, I had a squirt bottle I had used for water when ironing, so I added a little apple cider vinegar to water and sprayed it on the ends of my hair.

This worked great and I was super excited. I even told my friend on the way to bible study that I was doing the no-shampoo thing. They say telling others keeps you accountable to seeing things through and I needed some insurance to make sure I didn’t chicken out.

The baking soda was cleaning my hair and the vinegar sorted the tangles and made my hair silky. I washed twice in week one. Then came week two.

Week Two

After ordering some condiment bottles from Amazon, I now had the exact formula: CLEANSE
1tbsp baking soda, (approx. $0.02/mo)*
8oz water
RINSE
1tbsp apple cider vinegar (approx. $0.12/mo)
8oz water

By the third wash, my hair had become thicker than usual. I have long dark brown (almost black) hair and it’s very thick already, but this was insane. It was almost impossible to brush it, not due to tangles as much as the fact that the brush just couldn’t penetrate all of my hair in one pass. It was just too thick. I felt a little nervous, thinking I might have to report the results to my friend now that I had told her. Ugh.

So I used a blow dryer and brushed the hair down with heat. This tamed it so by the looks of things, it wasn’t bad. It felt awful, but it looked fine. I washed three times this week.

Week Three

Greasy as ever, I had to use the hair dryer immediately after washing, every time. If I didn’t, my hair was big and frizzy, and yet oily, so sticky. It was so bad that just running my fingers through my hair would make my hands sticky! I seriously had to wash my hands after touching my hair. Yuck. So glad at this point that I hadn’t blogged about this stupid idea.

By the end of week three, I was having serious doubts. But I was determined to see it through. I washed three times this week and told myself I’d give it another 2 weeks.

Week Four

My hair was still pretty heavy, but slightly more manageable this week. I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. I still blow dried and began using a curling iron, hoping a little style would distract people from the thick winter coat on my head. I washed three times this week and felt hopeful now, that it might get better.

Week Five

Suddenly, around the end of the first month, my hair got noticeably lighter (not in color, but in weight). Around this time I read another book called A Guide to Green Housekeeping in which the author suggested using malt vinegar on dark hair for extra shine.

Not only did this switch give me extra shine, it also did for my hair what conditioners in the past had done (or attempted to do and stopped short). It smoothed tangles, added shine, and made my hair feel instantly silky soft. And because I used it undiluted as the author suggested, it seemed to work much better than the apple cider vinegar.

I also applied it differently. With the apple cider vinegar I put just a small amount on the ends of my hair. With the malt vinegar I squirted it straight onto the top of my head while my head was under the water so that none would rest on my scalp but all of my hair would be touched by the vinegar. For my thick hair, this made the difference. For thinner hair or lighter hair, you might want to stick with the apple cider vinegar.

My final formula:
CLEANSE
1tbsp baking soda ($0.02/mo)
8oz water
RINSE
8oz malt vinegar ($0.85/mo)

So now, I can wear my hair naturally without heat drying or curling (though I still do once in awhile just because). And I now wash it just once a week, twice if I’ve had a busy week and it needs it. And now I’m blogging it because it all worked out. :)

If you wash without shampoo and conditioner, I’d love to know what works for you! I’m still just trying this out so I’m fascinated by all the ideas out there.

COST

So the comparison is a no-brainer for me. It cost an average of about $6-8/bottle for me to buy shampoo and conditioner and I used to use them in about two months, so about $6-8/mo combined cost. Now, I don’t imagine I’ll spend more than $1.00/month.

FOLLOW UP - check twitter where I’ll post my formula for homemade detergent, which costs me about 1/6th of what I used to pay for detergents.

*My prices are estimated based on what it cost me at the time I bought it at my local store and based on how much of it I personally use in a month. Your cost will vary.

Free winter wallpaper (right click the link below and save) - to...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:15:06 -0600

Free winter wallpaper (right click the link below and save) - to dress up your desktop, phone or other device. Merry Christmas!

Full size

Getting in the Christmas spirit, AJ and I made this last night....

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:14:12 -0600

Getting in the Christmas spirit, AJ and I made this last night. I love that she is a late night impulse crafter too.

We made a cone out of brown shipping paper and stuffed it with crumpled paper, then added a base of cardboard just taped on. You could buy a fancy schmancy styrofoam cone—we were on impulse and the stores were closed. Then just some hot glue and candies, and some ribbon at the bottom.

Coming up, Olive Manna is doing a special “Tastemaker Tag...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:00:05 -0500

Coming up, Olive Manna is doing a special “Tastemaker Tag Sale” with One Kings Lane. Most of the items in this sale are totally unique products I haven’t listed in my shop previously. Mostly vintage finds, they are the cooler things I haven’t wanted to let go of. But when One Kings Lane approached me to do a sale, I figured it was a sign it was time to stop being so selfish and share them! I hope you love them as much as I have.

Tastemaker Tag Sale starts Thursday evening Nov. 3rd at 6:00pm PDT (west coast USA time) and will end 8:00am Monday Morning.

Olive Manna is having a sale with 100 Layer Cake this week until...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:40:00 -0500

Olive Manna is having a sale with 100 Layer Cake this week until Nov. 4th. In preparation for the sale, Jillian came up with a few really neat ideas using some of the samples I sent. I’m so tickled to show you these cute projects! Click on over to 100 Layer Cake for more details.

Photos by Scott Clark

Found this old photo on my iPhone. Taken using a macro lens from...

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:27:00 -0500

Found this old photo on my iPhone. Taken using a macro lens from photojojo here.

Remember these? They’re coming back soon! I’m...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:29:00 -0500

Remember these? They’re coming back soon!

I’m trying to get these listed as soon as possible. Every time I sit down to put them online, I get a wholesale order and another shop swipes another 30-70 sets out from under you. I’m going to go ahead and put the listing up soon and they’ll be ready to ship in a few days.

Olive Manna is in the November issue of Food Network Magazine!...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:18:29 -0500

Olive Manna is in the November issue of Food Network Magazine! Page 66 shows a “get the look” page with items similar to those found in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s kitchen. Thanks so much FNM for including this basket!

a customer shared some beautiful photos of a bon voyage party I...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:14:28 -0500

a customer shared some beautiful photos of a bon voyage party I thought would inspire you. She used my natural cotton twill tape to string the circle banner.

Dust Collecting

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:37:20 -0500

Sorting through some old papers over the weekend I found a scratchpad I had used in my web design days. I had been studying design of all types, from architecture to packaging design. One theme that kept popping up in my studies was “form vs. function”. There was always an argument for one or the other, but generally accepted was the idea that the best designs had a healthy dose of both.

In the middle of other scribblings, I had written, “FORM WITHOUT FUNCTION IS A DUST COLLECTOR” I wrote it on the chalkboard pictured above because it sums up so well my design philosophy. I imagine I must have been thinking of my days as a pre-teen, when dusting was my weekly chore. After years of dusting off my mom’s books, plants, and various trinkets, I can remember thinking repeatedly, “when I get my own house, I won’t own anything that needs dusting.”

Of course I can’t get away from basic stuff like furniture and a few picture frames (though I limit those too), and there is an argument for things which are sentimental or make you smile for a personal reason, but I’ve always made a conscious effort not to buy something if it doesn’t serve a real purpose in my life. If it’s just going to sit on a shelf, I don’t want it. But if I’ll use it—pick it up, touch it, hold it, put it back—then it will pick up less dust and make my inner teen happy at last.

This weekend I was out shopping antique stores with my niece and I found an old red flour sifter in near perfect condition. It’s exactly like the one I’ve been using for years but about 20-30 years older, and RED. It’s a nice shabby red too. I remember my niece commenting, “Nice, what will you do with it?”

To which I replied, “Sift flour!”

“Oh! You can actually USE it? Cool!”

Honestly, it’s sitting on a shelf in my kitchen at the moment, but that’s because I’m blogging, not baking. But as soon as a recipe calls for sifted flour, that beautiful vintage sifter will be used once more.

I just wanted to share this thought with you today to give you some insight into my world and how I choose products for Olive Manna as well. The things I make or buy have to be useful as well as good-looking (much like a husband)! ;)

There are lots of really pretty things out there, lots of trendy things I see that make me pause for a moment. I consider them briefly, but pass—not because I think they won’t sell (I’m sure they would)—but because for one reason or another, the item just isn’t practical. Cute, for sure, but likely to gather a lot of dust until one day you can’t remember why you bought the thing and you gift it away.

YUM! agreyeyedgirl: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:29:35 -0500

YUM!

agreyeyedgirl:

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Cute distraction… um… OK, I’m not allowed to...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:25:00 -0500

Cute distraction… um… OK, I’m not allowed to reblog this one. Click the links below to find the original. It’s kinda cute, but MIGHT not be worth the time looking for it past one link. :(

zooeydeschanel:

My sister Emily is in this!

hellogiggles:

Order, She Wrote: With Special Guest Emily Deschanel

Pen Pal Project still on...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:05:51 -0500

Just a quick note to let you know we’re still doing the pen pal project. I’ve been busy with the new shop, trying to get everything working smoothly. I’ve also been setting up a warehouse (storage unit) for inventory so I can finally clear out the basement studio and make room to do more creating and designing. I can’t count how many baskets I’ve tripped over this year! And, I’m working with a company in CA who’s doing a big sale with Olive Manna in early November so that’s eating up a ton of time. Plus, all three of my kids have birthdays in the same week next month and Grandma (my mom) is coming to visit, so it’s a really hectic Fall for me.

Oh yeah, pen pals… :) With everything going on, I hate to push this back because I know you’re all busy too and so excited some of you, to get your pen pal and get on with this writing stuff! I’m not holding them hostage, I promise. I’m looking at early next month (just a few weeks) to get this going. It won’t be too official, just a name swap, possibly a badge for your blog to show off that you’re participating, and a few other goodies. I’m going to put the sign up form up again here just to see if we can get a few more people to join.

Thank you for waiting so patiently! You can also link directly to the form if you’d like to share it with others: http://natalie.wufoo.com/forms/m7x0z3/

New Olive Manna Shop

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:34:00 -0500

The new shop is ready to switch! Please don’t worry about the move though, if I’m doing my job, you’ll hardly notice the difference (except in all the ways that make it better). The URL (web address) is the same: olivemanna.com or olivemannashop.com and an additional domain I picked up, shopolivemanna.com.

As of this post olivemannashop.com is still going to the old store, but the others are pointing correctly. It takes a day or two for changes to go through.

First, for the record, I’m not going to tell anyone to leave Big Cartel just because I am. That decision has been on my mind for a few months and it has been a difficult one. I still LOVE Big Cartel and recommend them to everyone starting an online shop. The service is fantastic and there’s no one else out there with as many features for the same price.

The reason I’m leaving is simply that there are a handful of features I’ve come to need desperately that Big Cartel hasn’t been able to keep up with. Essentially, the same way I outgrew Etsy last year, I’ve not outgrown Big Cartel. It’s no fault on their end, just the way things worked out.

So the new shop is run by Shopify. If you’re interested, go take a look, but be warned, I’m not recommending them for small businesses starting out. The fees will knock you down pretty quickly. They’re like Etsy in that regard (starting at 3%) but with a fairly high flat rate on top of it (rates start higher than Big Cartel). I recommend them only after you’ve reached a point in which your business is beginning to suffer WITHOUT the extras they provide. If you can do without, DO for as long as you can.

Go on over and use the code SHOPIFY for $5.00 off your order through this week (ending midnight CST saturday night).

THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES

Weight-based shipping

The biggest change is the shipping. I can’t tell you how many people have written to say things like, “does it really cost $__ to ship this”, or worse, “OMG, it can’t possibly cost that much!” It hurts because hard as I try to be fair, Big Cartel just can’t give you different shipping prices for different product options, no matter what their difference in weight.

So now every variation of every product in the shop is assigned a weight and the system send that information over to USPS/UPS/FedEx and the carrier sends back the price based on the total weight of your cart. Then you get to choose from a number of options for shipping either based on carrier, speed, or lowest price if you prefer (previously you were limited to Priority Mail, but now you can choose first class or parcel post).

Customer accounts

This is totally optional, but it IS an option now. You can sign up for an account and have the shop keep track of your order history as well as store addresses for future use. You can even have separate billing and shipping addresses, which has been an issue dealing with Paypal before. Sending a gift is now much simpler!

Better categorization

Shopify has what are called “smart collections” which automatically pull products into categories based on criteria I set on the back end. This means there are a lot more ways to separate products so you can find them more easily.

Scroll to the bottom of most every page and you’ll see two lists on the left of the footer with categories and subcategories. Then to break things down even more, there are tags which will let you view things like “spools” or even “kraft” to see all things kraft. Or, try a color, look for the word “white” and see everything that’s white.

And if you’re really lost, just type what you’re looking for in the search bar, or email me and I’ll help point you to it.

Mobile interface

There’s also a new mobile website so you can browse and shop right from your phone. It looks very cool on my iPhone and super easy to use, but I’d love your feedback if you use another device to shop.

OH! ONE LAST THING… because I’m also a web designer, I need to disclose that I did not design this one. It’s the first time in probably 6 years that I have used a template right out of the box, but that’s how awesome this Shopify template is. It just happened to be everything I was looking for in my store, so why build it myself?!?!

Sneak a peek at Olive Manna’s new storefront. Sadly, in...

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:11:14 -0500

Sneak a peek at Olive Manna’s new storefront. Sadly, in the next week or two, I’ll be leaving Big Cartel. I am genuinely sad about it too because I’ve really enjoyed BC, both on the admin side and on the front side of the shop. But a few changes lately and a few other changes yet to be made have just not been good for me business-wise.

I won’t go into any real detail yet, but the new system is quite robust without being complicated. It’s going to cost me an arm and leg because they take a % of sales, but it’s so worth it! And so far I’m really excited about the options, most notably with shipping. Your shipping charges will be 100% accurate because the system talks directly to three different carriers to get current rates, all available to YOU to choose. Plus more shipping addresses for sending gifts and what not, so lots of good things to come.

I’ll keep you posted!

Big Cartel revamps discounts (and just in the nick of time)

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:18:47 -0500

Big Cartel revamps discounts (and just in the nick of time):

No kidding, I was JUST LAST NIGHT looking at leaving Big Cartel because of several features I’ve come to need this year that they just haven’t caught up on. To be fair, I still am climbing a proverbial ladder up to better options, but this morning Big Cartel has snagged me back a rung in a good way.

They’ve just announced revamped discount codes and they’re AWESOME - not just dollar amounts as we all cried for, but time limits, free shipping options, limits to spending amounts and even limits to categories and specific products! VERY VERY cool.

Now, if they can get on the weight-based shipping I might just stay. But just now, that’s becoming a bigger hurdle to me than I ever thought it would now that I’m shipping bulkier things these days. I won’t say yet what my alternative is, but they have weight based shipping, PLUS integration with USPS, FedEx, and UPS that will prove invaluable to my customers.

I’m pulling back the veil a bit… a peek into my...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:39:00 -0500

I’m pulling back the veil a bit… a peek into my office, the “shop” that’s really just a room in the back of my basement. sshhh! :)

The Great Pen Pal Revival

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:24:00 -0500

UPDATE: I neglected to put a time-frame on this earlier. I think I’ll let signups go a couple of weeks to give you enough time to talk to your kids (grand-kids, nieces/nephews, etc). Plus, I’m hoping it will work out for my daughter’s classmates to get in too, but that means we need some boys to include them, so sign up your boys too!

So I’ll let you know by email in a few weeks who your pen pal is.

I also added a field to the form for comments so you can tell a little bit about your pen pal and I can better pair you up. I’ll try to pair based on distance and cultural differences first and then by interests.

Last week was the first full week of school for the kids and it’s great to be back to a routine. But at one point last week AJ mentioned the teacher saying something about not teaching cursive anymore. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but it got me thinking about the state of education today and how much focus is put on computers and technology. I watch my younger siblings in high school, heads buried in their phones when we come to visit, and I shudder to think my girls could end up living in front of a screen too. And what kind of example am I setting for them myself!

So I suggested we look into finding AJ a pen pal. When I explained a little about my experience with one at her age she was SO EXCITED! So I sat down Friday night and put out an email to my 850+ newsletter list calling for a few people to volunteer their daughter(s) to write to AJ. The response was incredible, so I thought it best to gather them all together and do something a bit more official.

The benefits of a pen pal relationship

I made a list of benefits for AJ, to see what she can get from this:

learn about a new state or country
learn about her own as she teaches a pen pal about it
a friend to reach out to when friends here are being particularly mean
discipline in keeping up a long distance relationship
learn a bit about letter writing and the postal system
collect stamps from abroad
develop an early appreciation for all things paper!
possibly learn a new language (with the help of a translating tool)
and improved handwriting and vocabulary

Calling all kids of writing age

If you have a child of writing age who would like to have a pen pal - and can commit to keeping up a relationship for at least a year or two, possibly for the rest of their life - I would love to set you up with someone. I received responses from different ages from 6 on up to 17, so any age is fine and I’ll try to pair you with someone a year or two apart. Boys are welcome too, but I’ll only pair girls with girls and boys with boys unless you say otherwise. I’m also going to open this up to AJ’s classmates so we should get a good turnout, especially with some of my overseas customers and friends!

So I’m calling it “The Great Pen Pal Revival” because it’s a goofy title, and also it’s time to revive the pen + paper relationship, especially for our kids. Please join me!

Unique use for Olive Manna’s wire caddy!

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:24:49 -0500

Unique use for Olive Manna’s wire caddy!