April Events – Greener Miami and more…

It’s always fun visiting this wonderful hotel & spa. You never know who you’ll meet. We went to a couple of Bingo nights when Jason Harler, their fun-loving GM would holler the numbers among other adhoc comments. Check out other cool events there, you can also see the beautiful Lido lounge where they hold these events.

I was unable to attend today but hope to in the future, sounds like another fun way to spend an evening and it’s FREE!

Yes, there are TWO Dragon Boat Festivals annually, one in October at Haulover Park and this one which used to be at Brickell but moved.

I went with 2 galpals, it was fun to see how innovative people got with “greening” their merchandize. We all bought something to support this event. I also brought 6 plastic water bottles to swap for a Clear2Go water bottle with a replaceable filter. It was good to see many had done the same, there was a HUGE see-through barrel so you could see all the bottles.

Oh, the reason why I am writing about this? I am an avid recycler, even down to rubber bands. I will blog about how I used to have a great compost system that worked so well, a cooking student’s daughter used my compost for a Science project and won!

Here’s a rundown of some of the “green” stuff that were unique and stood out for me.

Ekotik is a family owned business with designer mother, a daughter who studied fashion merchandizing and Peruvian dad, very handy. They have a retail store as well as online. They put on a fashion show which we unfotunately missed! My galpals both bought a piece from them. They had a wonderful range of organic clothing from adorable kid’s outfits to an incredible, convertible so you have 2 designs, silk, wrap around skirt/dress. I love things that are not only beautiful but functional and this skirt/dress fit the ticket. It’s very light and can be transformed into a multitude of different ways to wear it, perfect for traveling. My pal got this, and with her “model” figure, she looked stunning, well, she’d look goregous in a sack. Darn, forgot to bring camera to take pix!

My other pal got a cotton sleeveless with a lovely texture, great for “breathing” in the summer. Amazing thing was, the minute I saw this top, I recognized it as an outfit a model/actress friend wore to a Crawfish BBQ last weekend. I’ll mention in another post.

I bought a beautiful recycled “eco wallet” made with rolled newspaper that’s waterproof by Green Veranda. What I like about going to these events is you get to meet the owners/designers who came up with the idea. I love her tag line: Yesterday’s News Today’s Fashion. I would have loved the round handbag or the briefcase looking bag but was a bit more than I wanted to spend.

Ecoist, One-of-a-kind handbags made from recycled candy wrappers and other waste-bound materials. Handmade. Fair Trade.

Eclectica, salvaged furniture & accessories for the savvy decorator on a budget was a very interesting booth. Katrina had recycled old record sleeves into sketch books on a spiral, some with hilarious looking musicians, a throwback to as she says, “Mork and Mindy days.” Also had gift bows made out of cartoon newspaper. She also offers classes on home Eco-nomics in her south miami venue.

PIE studio, project import export, inc. was created by, Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta, a Miami based designer. His furniture is hand-crafted mostly from natural materials and designed to imitate nature. I sat in one of his liana chair, very comfortable. I love the names: wabi sabi, sushi daybed, yummy.

Green Planet Events, all with eco-friendly in mind, from organic and locally grown catered menu options to recycled fabric. They plan with sustainibility, style and within your budget, umm…they did have a beautiful table setting.

I loved these amazing waist belts for cyclers made out of inner tires but didn’t have that nasty smell to it and were quite light. Whoever designed them was very clever, I liked the simplicity and look of the designs. At the time, they didn’t have a company name but I’ve got their email and will track them down.

You cannot mention Green without mentioning Rebecca Carte
r, founder and editor of Greener Miami and co-founder of ecorazzi, “a celebrity blog that covers the latest in green gossip.” Somehow, I missed meeting her that day but hope she’ll come to a Wok Star class because my lightweight, cast iron wok is considered ‘green’.

Lastly, I want to add a new organization, ecochamber started by Tia Diaz-Balart (wife of US Representative, Mario Diaz-Balart). They are a Chamber of Commerce to help businesses “go green” as well as educating and supporting all “green” ideas. Think about joining this ecochamber and be a part of an organization that takes care of the world.

Join the Care2 forum on non-stick cookware, easy greening. I am amazed how many celebrity chefs use their non-stick pans on high heat! You’ll also read sad stories of owners with little birds that have died from toxic fumes released from these teflon pans, so beware.