Pinterest: The Ultimate Eye Candy

The Urban Dictionary defines the phrase eye candy as something "pleasing to the senses. Can be a person, a film, a sunset, a flower, or anything else you can see." At Pinterest you'll find images of all of the above and so much more. So it really doesn't surprise me that more than 60% of pinners are female. Not only do we love beautiful things but more importantly we desire to collect, categorize and treasure them.  Just look at the number of aisles devoted to scrapbooking at your nearby craft store. Pinterest is very much like an online personal scrapbook. The best part is that you can leave it as a constant work in progress without the usual cleanup.

http://pinterest.com/zarozenia

     
Although Pinterest has been around for over a year it seems like it boomed overnight! Suddenly everyone tired of the constant chatter through Facebook and desired something more visually appealing and with less work surrounding an update. In fact, according to The Huffington Post, Pinterest users spend more time pinning then Facebook users spend browsing their status updates. I myself am quite guilty of this. How can I resist? The imagery alone keeps me captivated.  I find that I am so easily engaged by the wealth of new pins to sift through and add to my own personal boards that I'm barely able to keep track of the time. Before too long it is past midnight and I'm fighting myself to close the laptop and catch some beauty rest.  Simply put Pinterest is addicting.

As a Mother of 3 who loves all things beautiful, I am able to mix collections of recipes on one board with sought out treasures like fashions and accessories in another. Now that Spring is on the horizon I can even assign a board for such that houses not only the color schemes made famous by fashion week but also a wealth of gorgeously blooming florals and new ideas for home decor. There is simply no right or wrong way to set up boards that help showcase your own unique characteristics. I happen to think that this is what keeps most pinners enthralled day after day.  You are able to tell a story about yourself completely through pictures.  What is your style? Where would you like to travel? Who inspires you? What motivates you?  


One of the neatest things about Pinterest is that the platform seems perfect for online boutiques looking to sell their goods by way of enticing photos. Those who have taken the time to create boards surrounding their products and what inspired them are very appealing to me personally.  Some of my favorites would be the girls of Amy Kathryn, Lace Affair, ModCloth and of course Hovey Lee! They each do an amazing job of showcasing a bit of themselves throughout their pin selections. Thankfully more boutiques are finding Pinterest a wonderful (and easy) way to engage their customers and fans in just this manner. I definitely believe we are going to see more changes to how products are consumed by way of this newly added media giant . As a pinterest power user, so my husband calls me, I look forward to watching Pinterest make more boutique-like products relevant than ever before. After all these are my most favorite places to pin and shop! 

What are you pinning? Feel free to share your link!

Happily Contributed by,

Diana Porcano 

Tweet @sassydianamarie

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Let's Pin! 

Can Going Green Be Beautiful?

"Going green" can address so many areas of your life. From choosing the safest and eco-friendly food for you and your family to choosing the most non-toxic brand of eye-shadow being a conscientious green citizen can be overwhelming.

Over the last decade, I have logged countless hours reading the latest research, reading the most current magazines, even interviewing dozens of eco-entrepreneurs and product designers to glean their secrets to going green. Indeed, I could fill several books with the green tips, ideas and suggestions for sustainability that I have gathered over the years. Come to think of it, many books have been written on the "right" way to go green. And I probably have most of those books on my bookshelf!

As with any situation with too many options, it can be overwhelming and cause a sort of change-paralysis. When it comes to making green changes in your life you may feel, "there's just too much to do , so I just won't, can't or don't have time to do anything!" And truly, I can't blame anyone for feeling that way. I know I've felt this sentiment before.

The perspective that has helped me to make the shift and to take action actually came more from my yoga practice and the quest to find my authentic voice. It took my journey of looking around and inward to realize that everyone, every single person has an amazing unique way of looking at the world, and that hours spent trolling Facebook and Twitter weren't going to result in some magic mix of comments and quotes that finally inspired me to action.

What did inspire me to action was the realization that the way I choose to go green is beautiful. I did not have to be any "type" of activist or any specific "brand" of eco-leader. All I had to do was to go back to what I know about myself. To trust my the most inner-voice and to stop long enough to actually listen to my own intuition. We all have this voice inside of us.

I realized that it's important for me to choose to focus on what is most important to me and share that message by living it. Going green is not about suffering, denying yourself the things you love or going without. It's about reassessing what is most important to you. It can be about truly listening to your inner voice and going with what is right for you, whether it's trying to eat more vegan meals, or learning about how to avoid toxins in personal products. You become the change in your world and inspire others by living according to your own rules. Going green in your own authentic style truly is beautiful. A great example of this very attitude is Hovey Lee. She has not given up anything in style or beauty to create an eco-friendly line of amazing accessories. She is the new eco-preneur, combining beauty and a respect for Mother Earth. Love it!

Check out how I go green here at TheEcoDiva.com where I decided that choosing eco-friendly style does not mean giving up a sense of luxury. Ethical luxury is my motto for fashion and beauty, and this inner knowing of what I believe allows me to walk this earth lightly and in my own personal way. What's your green style?

Introducing guest blogger , Elena Lipson, aka Eco Diva

We're excited to introduce our second guest blogger here at Hovey Lee Eco Jewelry, Elena Lipson. She will be blogging for us right here this week.

Mother, Wife, Eco-Beauty Expert, Yogi, Raw/Gluten Free/Mostly Vegan Foodie, Holistic Health Consultant, Founder of TheEcoDiva.com: featuring organic beauty product reviews. All of these things describe Elena Lipson. These days, Elena spends her days researching holistic health and beauty and advising individuals and companies in learning about whole foods and following their intuition to create a thriving, juicy and beautiful life. Besides playing with her precocious kiddo and hubby, one of her favorite pastimes is creating recipes for smoothies and her favorite gluten-free vegan foods.

You can find Elena at

http://TheEcoDiva.com
https://www.facebook.com/theEcoDiva
https://twitter.com/theEcoDiva
http://pinterest.com/theecodiva/
And
theEcoDiva@gmail.com



We're in the process of lining up a roster of guest bloggers. If you'd like to guest blog for us, please drop me an email, info@hoveylee.com, introducing yourself and telling us what sort of things you'd like to blog about. We're hoping to feature subjects and voices that would enrich the blog, particularly in terms of eco living perspectives, so if you think you can cover an area where we're under-represented we'd be especially keen to hear from you.

Sea of Possibilities

I have always loved the sea. It is a place of joy and a source of inspiration for me. It offers extraordinary details when you're patient and curious to look and absorb its beauty. You can see the pieces we are working on are inspired by the amazing little creatures in the ocean, the seashells, starfish, octopus... Sadly many of these animals and their habitats are threatened from driftnets, long lining, over fishing, climate change, and pollution. With this small collection we want to raise the awareness of Heal the Bay, the local organization right in my neighborhood dedicated to improving the quality of the Santa Monica Bay and our beaches. Wherever you are I hope we would all learn to respect and preserve our nature, and support any charity that helps to sustain our oceans and eco system.

Fabrics & Materials & Products...Oh My!

It can be overwhelming these days to try and see through advertising fluff and really understand what it is you are consuming. Personally I have a hierarchy of fabrics and materials that fit into 3 very distinct categories...those I try to never purchase, those I sometimes purchase based on the way they are produced, and those I absolutely love. The first category mostly contains virgin artificial materials. The second category is home to natural materials, and artificial materials made from recycled goods. The third category is composed of organic, and repurposed, natural materials.

Let's cut through all the mumbo jumbo...here are my favorite fabrics/materials for the most essential parts of my closet.

When it comes to clothes I absolutely love organic cotton. It's soft, it's easy to find, and it's easy to care for. Wrinkled? Pull out a steamer. Dirty? Throw it in the laundry. Designers are creating everything from avant garde evening gowns to t-shirts to denim to blazers to winter coats in organic cotton.

Organic Cotton Laurel Military Jacket by Kelly B Couture (Photo Credit: Kelly B Couture)

For handbags my favorite material is repurposed leather. I know I'm not gaining any popularity with vegans, but to me repurposed leather is the perfect thing to sling over my shoulder. It's sturdy so the bag will last through the seasons. It doesn't require any sort of recycling process when being transformed from, say, a leather jacket to a fabulous handbag, which means less pollution. Plus, nothing looks classier than a beautiful leather handbag. I don't see repurposed leather as something that supports the leather industry. These beautiful pieces are being created from leather found in thrift stores and trash cans. If not reused, this leather would be heading straight for the landfill. Better on my arm than in a landfill!

Recycled Leather Oriole Clutch by Ashley Watson

Jewelry has to be vintage! If the whole piece isn't vintage it at least has to incorporate vintage stones, chains, or pendants. Aside from following my favorite green ritual of reuse, vintage jewelry has so much personality. The stories these pieces could tell!

Frankel by Hovey Lee featuring vintage crystals

 What are your favorite eco-chic materials and fabrics?

Introducing our Guest Blogger and Call for New Guests

We're proud to introduce our first guest blogger here at Hovey Lee Eco Jewelry, Megan Dougherty.

Megan Dougherty is the founder of Ecoutrement, a green haven for fashionistas looking to incorporate eco accessories into their wardrobe without giving up any glamour or class. You can shop great eco brands on the ecoutrement site, including a selection of Hovey Lee jewelry. In her own blog she writes about eco-fashion and eco-chic products that are truly lust-worthy and of high quality. Megan is also a LEED Green Associate and contributes articles to WorldofGood. Here, Megan will be blogging about eco-friendly fabrics/materials for clothes, jewelry, handbags and all things eco fabulous.



We're in the process of lining up a roster of guest bloggers. If you'd like to guest blog for us, please drop me an email, info@hoveylee.com, introducing yourself and telling us what sort of things you'd like to blog about. We're hoping to feature subjects and voices that would enrich the blog, particularly in terms of eco living perspectives, so if you think you can cover an area where we're under-represented we'd be especially keen to hear from you.

What Romancing the Stone Really Means

Our latest addition to our Gem Luxe line features fair trade gems. What is fair trade gems? Gemstone supplier Columbia Gem House: "Fair Trade Gems are closely tracked from mine to market to ensure that every gem has been handled according to strict protocols. The protocols include environmental protection, fair labor practices at the cutting and jewelry factories, and a tight chain of custody that eliminates the possibility of treated gems or synthetics being introduced into the supply chain. The program also includes promotion of cultural diversity, and public education and accountability." So that's what romancing the stone really means: making sure that people and the earth are treated with respect, and we support this notion wholeheartedly here at HL Eco Jewelry!

See our Gem Luxe collection!