Cool Melbourne

I had a magical night last night. Took my hubby out for a belated birthday celebration to see Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings play. She's a soul singer from the US and man, the show was awesome! I think it was the best concert I've ever been to!

And it was a balmy, summer night in Melbourne but I could have been anywhere in the world. We grabbed some Japanese food at the very cool Izakaya Den which is in a basement off Russell Street. It was packed full of Melbourne hipsters.

Then before the show, we managed a sneak peek from the roof top bar at Siglo before grabbing a coffee at The European downstairs. I love this city. And I did check out a lot of fashion on the street. We are still a very 'black' city. I have become accustomed to wearing colour, not only because of Green Eyed Monster, but because I find it more celebratory. And I'm definitely in the mood for celebrating now!

Geek chic

No. This is not a post about oversized spectacles a la Megan Washington. It's about coming to terms with the fact that Anne and I have had to become tech heads given we have an online business.

Having some Pantene issues getting our e-newsletter out but it will happen sometime soon. I've done some reading about female entrepreneurs and besides being risk-averse, apparently many women do not embrace technology which definitely does not help us sisters!

Anyway, the purpose of this post is simply to promote our special Christmas offer. Our first 20 customers to buy Green Eyed Monster online from today will receive a FREE Christmas card boxed set and gift tag pack from our friends at Earth Greetings. There. I've done it.

Living an eco-fashionable life

It's one thing to work in sustainable fashion, it's another thing to actually live it. I've long had a green sensibility and that's a values thing. Living it can actually be more tricky and I'm aware of the contradiction of working in an industry that can be seen as more about consumerism than anything else.

I don't buy a lot of clothes. Aside from Green Eyed Monster, I don't have the time, budget or desire to buy lots of new clothes. I have a wish list of things I'd like and wherever possible I stick to it. This tends to be high quality, classic, timeless pieces if I buy new but I also love buying pre-loved clothes at op shops, markets and on ebay. I also try to buy eco household and organic products wherever possible and when my budget (we are on a single income) permits.

Similarly, I've furnished my home with Art Deco items I've found at antiques centres and vintage shops. Perhaps I'm just lucky that my taste happens to be about 'sustainable' items but I also think it's a better way to live. I also think things were often better made in previous times and I love the idea of handing items down from one generation to the next. If you're wanting to live a greener life, there are lots of good books around. One is 'Greeniology' by Australian author Tanya Ha which is more about green households, and the other is 'The eco chick guide to life' by American author Starre Vartan which is more about eco fashion, beauty and style. See if you can get a copy from your local library or bookstore.

What's in a name?

A lot actually. Anne has never trademarked the name 'Green Eyed Monster'. There is actually a company with the same name in the UK (but with dashes between the words) who do organic kids clothes.

We'd discussed trademarking when I came on board. I think it's something you should get onto early if you can afford it. We've now spent the past two years being known in Australia as Green Eyed Monster with me doing a concerted PR effort these last 6 months...there's also the cost of having to change artwork, labels and tags to take into account if we change names.

I've just spent the past few days getting media releases out on our Spring Summer range and Anne's also sent our e-newsletter out to all our customers. I'll talk about traditional PR vs social media in my next instalment.

Tip of the Day: Protect your property! Trademark as soon as you can and make sure you can also get the website address (domain name) of your choice.