Ever imagine standing in front of one glorious designer rack full of clothing, shoes and accessories that tripled your wardrobe? It’s a reality for the woman ready to trade in her massive closet and mind-set of nothing to wear. Ecovogue365 is here to dress that woman in convertible fashion, fashion that can wrap, strap, convert and morph in endless ways.

The benefits? Imagine again. One simple closet, full of beautiful on trend garments. Pick out your morning classic work style, switch up the same garment mid-day and re-accessorize for a convention, meeting or presentation. Switch again for cocktail hour, and finish off with an elegant red-carpet look for a night out. Truly recession proof clothing at its’ best, ecovogue365 is designed for the conscious fashionista, the budget friendly buyer, the carry-on traveller, the professional on the go, the small space city dweller, the woman with creative vision, the mom who handles it all, and the functional style types with a vogue vision.

Started by Mother, Russet, & Daughter, Jerah Coviello, both challenge the designer and the consumer at the same time through this Q&A; “How can one design change a woman, her wardrobe, and the environment? With inspiration from the designer, the design and you.” Launched in 2010 as an experiment in eco-fashion, Russet & Jerah learned that over 50% of energy useage for a garments lifecycle is in the use phase (wash and wear). Their eco-answer became, clothing inspired by convertibility. Now they challenge global designers to create a convertible design for ecovogue365’s Digital Editions that showcase vetted bespoke convertible fashion that lessen a woman’s fashion footprint. Russet, is the in-house designer for ecovogue365 bringing constant fresh convertible ideas to the market.

It’s about the added value one design gives you. Doing more with less. For those hectic lifestyles with little moments to spare. Currently featured on the website is the #1 convertible design called B, a 20 way to wear design that goes from top to dress, to scarf in seconds. B. you, B. creative, B. fresh, is what launched the company in 2010. In addition you will find a 6 way to wear top in Spring’s on trend tangerine tango color, and beautiful long spring dresses in poppy colors and lace that convert 4 ways. Up and coming designs are convertible high heels, flip-flops, jewelry, and pants. Each design is produced exclusively for ecovogue365. In support of the slew sew movement, akin to the slow food movement, limited editions of up to 365 of each design are available. Every design is editioned and signed by the designer as a certificate of authenticity.

In addition, 1% of the proceeds of your purchase goes to the Girl Effect. If properly supported, a girl will use her education to change the future of her communities and environments on both a small and global scale. Quickly inspired, Russet & Jerah, are building a community around the Fashion Effect, supporting Girls to change their notions around fashion consumption to inspire creativity and design through convertible wear. In the end, less couture in your closet is less waste in our landfills. “We know women won’t give up fashion, and we are not asking them to, we are giving them options to expand their wardrobe with less material,” says Jerah.


About ecovogue365

ecovogue365 is an online concept shop for vetted bespoke convertible fashion that aims to lessen a woman's fashion footprint. Visit: http://www.ecovogue365.com / Contact Jerah Coviello at 941-350-0900. Sign up for the mailing list on the homepage and receive $20 to start shopping.

Mercury Magazine is offering a FREE $25 Hotel Card for your business.

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The technical details of opening an online store are best left to the technical people. If you are one of those types and know how to and enjoy installing and configuring your online store, you're a step ahead. In the vast majority of cases, however, this is something you'll turn over to your IT department, even if that's your own tech-savvy teenager. Your most important task is deciding how the store will accept payments to offer your customers and yourself maximum security and ease of use.

photo by Ed Yourdon 

Even if you're not in a position to need a credit card terminal on your counter or to learn about payments via wireless, merchant account services are one of the major options to process payments securely and efficiently online. The main concern consumers express about shopping online is the risk of identity theft. When you have a merchant account, you can more effectively analyze your transactions and spot suspicious patterns.

If, for instance, a lot of orders are coming from the same IP address, but all the credit card numbers are different, you can block that IP address from placing orders. It's a common trick of fraudsters to test a batch of stolen card information on a number of small orders to make sure they can use the cards. They can get away with that using a service like PayPal, but the pattern of questionable activity is readily apparent via a well-monitored merchant account.

Because merchant accounts are tailored to accept all the major credit cards you choose to process, the level of convenience for your customers is greatly enhanced. In the event of a chargeback, you have a clear transactional trail to follow, which also elevates your record keeping to a whole new level of efficiency. In fact, the major reason small business owners with an online presence opt for a merchant account is to facilitate their own financial paperwork and profit base.

When you select a merchant account services provider, you will likely receive a recommendation for the best online store set-up, or you can simply call tech support and ask. Then you can find someone with the technical expertise to get everything set up for you. However, without the underpinning of a secure merchant service provider, no online store is going to be as secure as you want it.

Always remember the crooks are getting smarter, and are armed with better snooping tools, many of them wireless. It's a smart idea to getting your credit card processing details worked out as your first step in building your virtual shop, not your last.

More on Business here

It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and you are in need of some hot new shades! Search no more because we just came across these very California, Eco-friendly & ultra chic sunglasses. *LIKE*

btl sunglasses use the finest lenses and hinges, frames are made out of 100% recycled materials, and are manufactured and assembled in Los Angeles, CA. They are also a young startup that's currently on Kickstarter. Why is that awesome? That means we get our shades at introductory prices while helping a young and local business grow!

Check out their Kickstarter video:

More info about the product: 

The Frames

The Lenses and Hinges

Our frames are accompanied by Carl Zeiss lenses (polarized lenses are available, see reward options) which will provide great optical quality in this product. The hinges are a 5 barrel design which not only has a great look but will provide great durability to the frame construction.

Manufacturing

Not only are btl frames designed in Los Angeles but we manufacture and assemble in Southern California as well. This is a very important aspect of our brand and we are very proud to offer American made products.Our "eco. friendly. eyewear." goes beyond the frames themselves... each pair of btl's will ship with a pouch handmade from repurposed clothing and in an ECO Green shipping box made from 100% recycled/recyclable content. 

Why we need your support

We have arrangements with all of our vendors and now funding the new frame injection molding tooling is the only project element holding us back from scaling up our production. That's where you come in! With your help we can purchase the new tooling and immediately begin production. In return you will of course get a great new pair of sunglasses! 

Support btl Optical @ Kickstarter

About btl Optical

Co-founders Josh and Sean are both design engineers with a passion for designing great and meaningful products. Their products are designed and manufactured in Los Angeles, CA.  

To get in touch and find out more about btl, you can visit them at btloptical.com or send a message info@btloptical.com

Did you know that soil was alive? Many people do not realize this, something that on the surface may look look dead, but upon closer inspection is bustling with life!

Many people have misconceived notions about soil, it is usually associated with words such as something being dirty or soiled. An inaccurate correlation to an element of our life that is so critical and and that is such a dependent element to our survival. Healthy soil goes hand in hand with a healthy environment.

The first and most important step in improving soil health is to recognize that soil is a living organism and all parts of our ecosystem depend on it – it is vital to our survival, the growth of our food and maintenance of our ecology.

There are billions of microorganisms that make up a whole network below ground. In one spoonful there are 600 million bacteria! Imagine that – there is an entire network of life below the ground, right underneath our toes. A network that works together with the trees, the plants, the fungus and so much more, all to be able to sustain life above ground for us – amazing!

Soil, for example, is the measure of the health of biological systems. In other words, soil is the metaphor of our environment, if we have healthy soil we have a healthy environment. Annually, we are losing 1 percent of our topsoil per year, due to industrial agriculture, the process of mono-cropping, heavy chemical use and erosion of our soils. Just to put things into perspective - it takes thousands of years to form one inch of topsoil.

Life in the soil provides the structure for more life, and the formation of more soil. Soil is equated to food and food is equated to life. The fertility and the quality of soil will determine the health and stability of all life that is relying on it – just as the health of each human being will determine fertility and the quality of their life.

The reality is that a simple way to help maintain healthy soil and manage waste in your home is by simply composting. In essence it is an excellent free resource of nutrients for our plants and the earth. It doesn’t smell, but mainly, it reduces the amount of waste going to a landfill, all are creating the fertile ground for a microcosm universe to exist and for soil sustainability to flourish! Don’t know where to start? Check out our simple DIY Urban Vermiculture Composting post!

We are all organisms working within one larger organism – called Planet Earth. Seeing on the micro and macro level, gives us a wider perspective into the many realms that are living in harmony here with us.

Original article can be found here.

For more on Nancy, visit The Living Seed Company