Market Week 12-6-11: Conference on Climate Change and the Monterey Bay Shoreline, and the Five “R”s

Posted on by
Reply

I have noted conferences happening near the Old Monterey Farmers Market, and for this week, there was a conference about a topic very important to me.  More on the conference below and in future posts…first here are the visitors to our booth this week, all wonderful  locals.

Sondra and Jessica are from Marina and Monterey, and talk about ‘local’….Jessica has been a resident in the area for 33 years!

Kay — who I first met at the Heritage Craft Fair at the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds stopped by, and camera shy, but here on the sidelines were her ever so cute, and perfectly groomed doggies.

This is Monterey writer / editor Ellen’s 2nd visit to our booth, this time purchasing our earth friendly abaca pouch gift packaging kits for the holidays.

Darcy from Carmel stopped by and picked up a new gift packaging kit we created for the holidays — a wine and olive oil bottle themed gift kit.  Our earth-friendly gift packaging kits were were well received, and we look forward to creating more for the next holiday season.

Margot, who teaches organic gardening at the Monterey Peninsula College stopped by for one of our abaca textile gift packaging kits.  We had a great conversation about topics near and dear to us…recycling and conservation efforts.

She shared her five “R”s and a philosophy really…Remember to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Re-evaluate.   TERRIFIC!

Ross, from Santa Cruz was here because of a conference on climate change held at the nearby Portola Plaza.  I learned about organizations most of us have not heard of….and that exist around efforts to address the impacts of climate change affecting the Monterey Bay shoreline (www.climatechangemontereybay.org).

We are fortunate to have dedicated people and organizations working together in these times, with the challenges of limited resources, and finding ways to address global warming.

Did you know…The City of Santa Cruz is one of the first cities to have an official Climate Action Plan (CAP)?  Visit their website http://www.cityofsantacruz.com for more information.  According to the website, the CAP outlines the actions the City will take over the next ten years to reduce greenhouse gasses by 30%.

By the way, this is our last week participating in the market for the year 2011 —- Happy New Year and hope to see you in 2012!

Local Artisan Holiday Bazaar and Wine Tasting at The Barnyard in Carmel

Posted on by
Reply

Visit Native Leaf and local artisans — farmers, artist and specialty food purveyors — at the Barnyard Shopping Center in Carmel next Thursday, December 15, 2011.

Thank you to Jamie Collins, Serendipity Organic Farms, and Karen Kleid, Out of the Fog, for putting together this 1st annual local holiday shopping event.

Details on the flyer below, or visit Serendipity Farm’s Facebook page.

Hope to see our Old Monterey Farmers Market friends at this event!

Market Week 11-15-11: Idaho, North Dakota, Locals and the AVNET Conference

Posted on by
Reply

And so I learned of another conference happening in Monterey this week…the AVNET Sales Conference (Avnet, Inc. is one of the world’s largest electronics distributors and serves more than 70 countries worldwide).  We also had our first visitors from Idaho and North Dakota.

Our first customer Teresa is from Boise, Idaho and here attending the AVNET conference.  The conference was held in Monterey last year too, so this is Teresa’s second trip to the Monterey Peninsula.  She is bringing back to Boise, our new 7-piece, earth friendly gift packaging kit as well as our olive oil bottle bags.

Linda recently moved here from Texas, when her partner accepted a job in Monterey.  And so far, Linda loves the area!  She bought one of our gift packaging kits (abaca pouch with 2 piece, romblon box).

Locals John and Ann-Marie moved here from New York and now live in the Carmel Highlands.  They bought one of our new earth-friendly gift packaging kits and will soon be taking a trip back to New York.

Each week, I meet more wonderful locals like Sandy, from Monterey, who works at the Presidio – home to the Defense Language Institute.

It gives me an opportunity to learn more about the area too (and this week, a bit about the history of the Presidio of Monterey, which has a connection to the Philippines, where Native Leaf products are made).

And here are Gina and Harold, who for the last 12 years, have been local residents for 5 to 7 months of the year.  They volunteer their time at Laguna Seca, and travel around the country the rest of the year.

I had no idea how big Laguna Seca is, and that it is a lot more than home to events like the Sea Otter Classic and the Mazda Raceway.  It is a large recreation area run by the Monterey County Parks Department (including Toro Park, Royal Oaks Park, Jacks Peak, San Lorenzo Park, Lake San Antonio, Lake Nacimiento and Manzanita Park).  Visit their website at http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/parks/about.html to learn more.

David and KayLene are our first visitor from the state of North Dakota — and yes, according to David, it is snowing there now!   They are from Williston, a city with a booming economy driven by the oil industry, and the Bakken formation.

KayLene mentioned that her daughter loves natural products, and they are bringing back to North Dakota our romblon leaf two-bottle wine bag.

We moved to a different spot starting this week…just a few spaces from our previous space (but in the same general area).  Come by and see us again soon, especially for your earth-friendly, holiday gift packaging supplies.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Market Week 11-8-11: Mothers and Daughters and AFPPA Conference

Posted on by
2

At the market this week, we had visitors stopping by our booth who are in town attending the Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants – AFPPA‘s Fall Conference, hosted at the Portola Hotel and Spa.

Robyn, from Rochester, Minnesota is attending the AFPPA conference, and pictured here with her mother, Rosanna, from Red Wing, Minnesota.  The city of Red Wing was recently voted Best Historic Town in Minnesota, and yes indeed, home base of the famous Red Wing Shoe Company  (founded in 1905).

Robyn and Rosanna are taking back to Minnesota, our hand-woven abaca textile mini gift bags (more about these gift bags on the earlier post).

Another mother and daughter team visiting our booth and pictured here are Sarah from Michigan, and daughter Mary from Alaska.

Mary is in the Air Force and stationed in Alaska.  She went to the Defense Language Institute (DLI) Foreign Language Center about 9 years ago.  Mary loves the Monterey Peninsula and surprised her mother Sarah with a plane ticket and vacation back to Monterey!

Long time locals and Pacific Grove residents Lynda (originally from New Hampshire), and Genie each bought our new earth friendly, gift packaging kits.

Michele from Portland, Oregon (on our 10-25-11 post) stopped by and also bought our new gift packaging kit.  This is Michele’s last week working in Monterey.

We will get the new gift packaging kits posted on our website, www.NativeLeaf.info soon.  The natural gift packaging kits have been well received and terrific for containing holiday (and anytime) gifts.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Market Week 11-1-11: Military families and more locals!

Posted on by
1

This week, the overall theme was meeting military families and more of the Monterey Peninsula’s terrific local residents. Our first visitors were Ben and Holly, who are both in the military and just completed their studies at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) Foreign Language Center.

Back in they day (the makes me sound sooooo old), but anyway, back when both Jeff and I were in the Air Force and got married (1981), there were no guarantees that we would be stationed at the same base.

It turns out the military is much more accommodating with military families these days.  Ben is in the Army, and Holly is in the Air Force, and the personnel department of both branches manage to work it out so they are stationed at the same base.  As Ben said, it makes a difference with retention and re-enlistment rates!

They bought one of our two-bottle romblon leaf wine bags to take to their new post in Georgia.

Debra from Pacific Grove was so fun to talk to and positively radiant today — and rightly so, as it was her birthday!  Debra supported our little cottage industry project with her purchase of our romblon olive oil bags.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBRA!

Three generations pictured here, with a Grandmother visiting from South Carolina (whose son is in the Navy and attending the Naval Post Graduate School).  They bought a two- bottle wine bag — a gift to a cousin in Georgia (gosh, that is the second of our double bottle wine bags going to Georgia!)

Chris is originally from Los Angeles, and now lives in Monterey.  He is a graphic designer, illustrator and started an IT consulting business.  Check out their website, with his illustrations and their work projects at www.deepwaterdesigngroup.com.

He is holding one of our romblon leaf square gift tote and will fill the tote with goodies for his girlfriend (in Eggplant of course — his girlfriend’s favorite color).  Chris, let us know how she likes your gift (only if she did like it….just kidding, really though).

Jeny is a portrait artist — now semi-retired — from Oklahoma.  We have a brand new, 7-piece,eco-friendly, gift packaging “kit” that contains

  • a romblon gift tote
  • two-piece romblon box
  • 2 abaca pouches and
  • 2 abaca mini gift bags with bead flowers.

Thank you to Jeny, who bought our very first kit!

Alice (pictured at left) is from Belgium and visiting long-time friends and Salinas residents Sue and Bill.  Our hand-woven abaca gift bags, with wood and shell flower beads, are going home with Alice, which will be our 2nd product going all the way to Belgium!  See Belgian’s Veerle and Dirk  on our September 20, 2011 post.

Bill lived in Indonesia and understands Native Leaf’s goals through working with cottage industry group in a developing country like the Philippines.  THANK YOU Alice, Sue and Bill for your support!

Will is currently attending the Naval Postgraduate School, and pictured here with his family: wife Miyuki, son Sean, and daughter Aika.  Miyuki is holding our aromatic, Monterey County lavender in abaca pouch, to give to family members.

This is Jolisa from Oakdale, California in Stanislaus County.  Jolisa and her husband regularly visit the Monterey Peninsula, and come here twice a year.  Jolisa likes this area for its beauty….the ocean, the people, and the pet friendly atmosphere.

Jolisa was in the gift design business and likes the look and texture of our gift totes and natural table top products, i.e., romblon place mats and coconut twig table runners.  Thank you Jolisa!

Sally, a teacher from Pacific Grove, lived in southern Brazil — in Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Parana,  as a young exchange student.

We talked about the great momentum and changes in Brazil’s economy, and the post I put up on my blog at lolako.com on demographics,as well as the recent article from National Geographic’s Cynthia Gorney, on Brazil’s Girl Power– How a mix of female empowerment and steamy soap operas helped bring down Brazil’s fertility rate and stoke its vibrant economy.

There is nothing like travel to expand our understanding about the world and connections to one another.  Sally’s daughter also traveled to Nicaragua recently, which made a difference in her outlook and priorities in life.

It was getting darker, and I forgot to turn on my flash — and so I apologize for this dark photo Sally.  Please stop by again the next time you are at the market so I can take a better picture!

Local Monterey Bay realtor Mary Lew and her daughter Morgan (as well as their friend Thien) were our last customers for the evening, and bought our abaca mini bags with wood and shell flower beads.

I forgot to pack our lanterns to use this evening.  Somehow though, there was enough light to see our products even at 7:00 PM — the market closing time — between the holiday lights on the tree behind our market space, as well as the Alvarado Street lights.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Fuyu Persimmons

Posted on by
1

One of my favorite fruits, the non-astringent type of persimmon called Fuyu, are now showing up at the farmers market.  Rich in Vitamin A and beta carotene, Fuyus are delicious eaten while still firm.  Click on this link to the California Fuyu Growers Association for more information.

Enjoy them while they last!

Photo by Joe Ravi CC-BY-SA 3.0

Market Week 10-25-11: Locals Week and the International Film Festival

Posted on by
1

Last week, visitors to our booth were mostly local residents of Monterey County.

It is great to see familiar faces, and get to know more about locals like Steve and Brigit, pictured below.

Bridgit and her sister Esther — visiting from Park City, Utah — were on our October 4, 2011 post.  Bridgit and Steve often come to the market, while their son attends catechism classes.

Locals Rachel from Salinas and Lisa, from Prunedale, visited our booth, and Lisa bought one of our rustic coconut twig table runners.

In the Philippines, the coconut tree (Cocos Nucifera) is referred to as “The Tree of Life”.

Practically all parts of the coconut, from the trunk, the fruit, to the leaves and fronds are used locally or for a commercial purpose (so yes, even the flower spikelets — or twigs, are used for our runners, coasters and soap holders).

Ellen, a Monterey writer / editor, bought our hand-woven abaca textile mini gift bags (though she is holding one of our romblon olive oil bags in this photograph).

Abaca is a giant herbaceous plant closely related to the banana.  Native to the Philippines, it is valued for its super strong and flexible fiber.   Its fiber is used for rope, cordage, twine, marine cable, pulp and specialty paper. The original “manila envelopes” were made from abaca pulp, and named after Manila — the capital of the Philippines.

It is also woven into textiles in backyard bamboo looms — a long process requiring much patience.

We turn these woven textiles into our mini gift bags and gift pouches.

Native Leaf's Abaca Textile Mini Gift Bags and Pouches

Michele, from Portland, Oregon, bought a set of our hand-woven romblon leaf place mats.  We had visitors from Portland, Oregon on our October 4, 2011 post too!

Michele is currently working in the area….and so overall, it was an evening with mostly locals visiting our little space at the Old Monterey Farmers Market.

Old Monterey Farmers Market October 25, 2011

Each week, there is a new banner strung over the streets around downtown Old Monterey.  This one is for the upcoming (12th Annual) International Film Festival, presented by the Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA).

They are presenting 15 documentary films at the historic and beautiful Golden State Theatre, on 417 Alvarado Street.  Admission is  $5 per session of films, with FREE admission for all students with ID.

While the topics are serious in nature — and perhaps some will be hard to watch— it is a super deal to see interesting and educational, documentary films from around the globe!

Note that on Saturday afternoon, the City of Monterey is offering FREE parking in the parking garage behind Wells Fargo Bank, at Franklin and Tyler. Enter the lot, take a ticket, and on your way out just say you have been at the International FIlm Festival.

Here is the schedule:

Thursday evening, November 3, 7:00 pm

Friday evening, November 4, 7:00 pm

Saturday afternoon, November 5, 1:00 pm

Saturday evening, November 5, 7:00 pm

To learn more about the Monterey Bay chapter of the United Nations Association, visit their website at www.unamontereybay.org.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Market Week 10-18-2011: Librarians in Monterey

Posted on by
1

The 15th annual Internet Librarian 2011 conference is in Monterey from October 17th to 19th.  With the Old Monterey Farmers Market so close to the Portola Hotel and Spa and the Monterey Marriott (the event venues), we had a number of librarians stopping by our booth this week.

According to the Information Today, Inc, website, this conference is “the only conference for information professionals who are using, developing, and embracing Internet, Intranet, and Web-based strategies in their roles as information architects and navigators, Webmasters and Web managers, content evaluators and developers, taxonomist, searchers, community builders, information providers, trainers, guides and more.”

Here is Laura, our first librarian visitor.  She is originally from Santa Barbara California, and now works in Philadelphia.   Laura loves her job — and misses living in California!  She is bringing back to Philadelphia, our Monterey country lavender in our hand-woven abaca textile pouches.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, rich in American history, and where the United States Declaration of Independence, was signed.

Martin and Sue are from Austin, Texas, and visiting Monterey on their way to attend a wedding in Santa Barbara.   I mentioned to Sue that just about every week– since we started participating in the market — we have visitors from Texas!

Austin, Texas is known for its music scene, especially for the longest running music television program Austin City Limits and the annual South by Southwest music festival.

It is great to see the city also has a Green Festival (this weekend), with the goal of preserving and protecting Austin’s environment.

Shirley and Jerry are visiting from the San Francisco Bay Area, to celebrate Shirley’s 60th birthday.  I asked how long they have been married, and Shirley turned to Jerry — who replied, 37 years (whew! correct answer Jerry… and maybe Shirley was just making sure Jerry knew the right answer).

They have 2 grand daughters, born just 3 weeks apart.

This week, I met two very nice sisters, Jane and Elizabeth, who are originally from Minnesota.

Having recently made their own port wine, they were interested in our romblon leaf bottle gift bags — perfect for small port wine bottles.  They stayed to look at more products (and was kind enough to listen to me talk about the Bioneers conference, among other topics, like recycling!).

Jane lives in Arizona, and Elizabeth recently moved to Sunnyvale, and has plans to work in the gerontology field.

Here is Janet, a librarian, who works in Washington, D.C.

Realizing she did not have enough time to take the formal, organized Monterey area tours, Janet decided to hire a local as a tour guide.  So… at 6:15 this particular morning, Joe, a third generation local, and Monterey fisherman, arrived for their scheduled 3 hour tour.

Included in the tour was a drive to Big Sur, and seeing the Lone Cypress at the famed Pebble Beach 17 Mile Drive.  I asked Janet her favorite part of the tour, and she replied “Actually, it was Joe, and hearing his family history, and connection to the Monterey Bay.”.

With the beauty of the landscape here in the Monterey Peninsula, it is still about people, and connections we make, that makes our travels memorable and special.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Market week 10-4-11: Traveling Sons

Posted on by
Reply

This week, there was a connection and theme to the start and the close of our time at the market.

The son of our first visitors — a couple from Redding, Shasta County, California — worked as an LDS church missionary in the Philippines (where Native Leaf products are hand-crafted).

Our last visitors, a couple from near Berlin, Germany also has a son — currently an engineering student– who lived in the Philippines to study at General Santos, a city in the southern Philippines, on the island of Mindanao.

In between our “sons in the Philippines” visitors, is young Daniel, pictured above with his parents Dan and Angela.  Daniel is participating in a student exchange program and is traveling to Japan (to Monterey’s sister city, Nanao, Ishikawa).  They were at the market to find local Monterey products to present to Daniel’s host family.

Dan is in the military, and having just completed his studies, will soon be stationed in Garmisch, Germany.  Actually, going back to Germany as they were previously stationed there.  Lucky family!  I remember visiting this area while stationed in Germany.  Garmisch is a great base to visit Bavaria area attractions — Alps and skiing, beautiful lakes, Octoberfest and famous attractions like the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Pat and Dick are visiting from Portland, Oregon.  They are repeat visitors to the Monterey Peninsula area, and bought our romblon 3 bag gift pack.

Did you know…the weather in Portland is perfect for growing roses and the city is known as “The City of Roses”.  It is also one of the most environmentally friendly or “green” cities in the world, with excellent public transportation networks and land use planning.

And sisters visiting continues this week…here is Bridget, a local resident, and her sister Esther, who along with her husband, is visiting from Park City, Utah, a beautiful resort town and home to the 2002 Winter Olympics.  They bought our wine bags and sustainable gift packaging kit.  Esther makes rosaries and was glad to find some options for packaging her special creations — especially packaging handcrafted from the Philippines (their parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines).

I found out that the word rosary is from the Latin rosarium meaning “rose garden” or “garland of roses”.

And another sister visiting…Isabel is from San Diego and visiting her sister Rosario (one of her 3 sisters, and a Salinas resident).  Isabel bought one of our eggplant color romblon market totes, as well as our single bottle wine bag in terra cotta.  I was impressed that though Isabel is from out of the area, tucked in her arms — and Rosario’s — were reusable shopping bags, reducing the need for single use plastic bags while at the market. Yay Isabel and Rosario! 

Yolanda, along with her husband, is visiting the Monterey Peninsula from Simi Valley.  This is their first visit to the area, and they are celebrating their 30th anniversary!  They have 3 grandchildren (and 1 more on the way).  Simi Valley, in Southern California’s  Ventura Country, is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Jhennie and her husband, from Bethesda, Maryland, are in town after attending conferences in the San Francisco Bay Area.  They both have careers in the Information Technology field.  Jhennie’s family is from the Philippines and are in the pearl harvesting business.  Jheni also has an on-line pearl jewelry business, Jhennie’s Jewels.

Did you know….Bethesda is home to institutions such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Ellen, from the beachfront city of Manhattan Beach, California (Los Angeles County), is in town with her friends.  She meets regularly with friends and club members for group bike rides.  Earlier in the day, she completed a bike ride with her group, at the famed 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach (wow!).  And this, after expending much of her energy for her daughter’s wedding festivities over the weekend.

Ellen loved our highly fragrant lavender pouches, and bought one to help her relax— and hopefully get a restful night sleep!

Our last visitors were Katerine and Volker, from a town near Berlin in Germany.  There are written records of towns around present-day Berlin that date from the late 12th century.  Today, Berlin is known for its museums, architecture and historical buildings, and as the capital and the largest city in Germany.

Volker stopped by the booth, touched the placemats and said “I know these products from visiting the Philippines”.  It turns out he visited the Philippines while his son was going to school there.  Their son wanted to study in an English-speaking country outside the United Kingdom or the United States, and since English is one of the two official languages of the Philippines…off to the Philippines went his son.  (The other official language in the Philippines is Tagalog).

So yes…it is a small world, and again, it is clear that there is so much that connects us all.  I always appreciate these meetings, though brief, made through our little space at the Old Monterey Farmers Market.

We had a surprise rain storm today, but thankfully it stayed dry during the market.  It was a bit chilly, and overall, a nice, calm evening.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf

Winter hours at the market

Posted on by
Reply

It is getting darker, and starting this week, the Monterey farmers market will close one hour earlier with winter hours now from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

The Pinkberry store across from Native Leaf’s booth is now open, and already, lines were forming outside the door for their deliciously tart yogurt.  Photo below from last Tuesday’s farmers market.

 

Market Week 9-27-11: From Pismo Beach, CA to England

Posted on by
Reply

Our market day this week started with Pismo Beach residents, who visit the Monterey Farmers Market 3 to 4 times a year — and have done so for over 10 years!  Founded in 1891, Pismo Beach  is located in the neighboring county of San Luis Obispo.

They time their visits to the Monterey peninsula on a Tuesday (farmers market day), starting out with a hike in beautiful Point Lobos State Park, and ending their day at the farmers market.  This time, among other items, they are returning to Pismo Beach with 4 of Native Leaf’s romblon leaf place mats (in Indigo Blue and Orchid Pink).

Las Vegas residents Barbara and her husband (married for 38 years!)  are in the area to visit their daughter, who has singing engagements in the San Francisco Bay Area (www.HeatherLKlein.com).  They bought our lavender in abaca pouch, olive oil bag, romblon rectangle gift bag, and a square rust red bag to contain a handcrafted gift for their dinner hosts.

Local resident Marta, at the market with her family stopped by, and bought one of our rust red market totes.

Eva, a speech pathologist from Salinas, has not been to the market in while and glad to come on a gorgeous, sunny day.  She stopped at our market booth, where she found just the right colors of our hand-woven square placemats for her home color themes.  Notice how the mats also match the Pinkberry umbrellas across the street (placemat colors in lime, cacao brown and natura)l.

Marcy, from Blacksburg, Virginia is visiting friends who live locally.  She will return to Virginia with our Monterey county grown lavender in abaca pouch, as well a set of our olive oil gift bags.

Local resident Lisa, visited our booth with her sister, who is visiting from Argentina.  Lisa  bought one of our sustainable gift packaging kits a few weeks ago, and this time bought Native Leaf’s square placemats in Terra Cotta and Eucalyptus.

Our last visitors for the day were Katie and Ashley, visiting from England.  They were at the Monterey Bay Aquarium earlier in the day, and were so impressed.  “Brilliant!” was how they described the Aquarium, and commented that every time they thought they had seen everything, around the corner was another amazing exhibit.  They will next visit the Hearst Castle — part of the California State Park system — and the Paso Robles area.  Then they are off to Hollywood, and fly back to England from there (with Native Leaf’s two-bottle wine bag and a pack of hand-woven romblon gift bags in their luggage).

Also visiting today, and picture shy was Christy, a Tennis Instructor at Pasadera Country Club.  She bought Native Leaf’s rustic coconut twig table runner for her father (a great look for a Lake Tahoe home), and our two bottle wine bag and romblon square gift bag.

It was a wonderful warm day, with terrific people, at a great farmers market.

Until the next market,

Jane from Native Leaf