Plastic number 1

A little while ago I was at a Tupperware party - which is all about plastic.  I don't have a huge problem with plastic when it's designed for long term use.  I've had some of my food storage containers for years and years and they're great.  So much food might be wasted without them and its a better way to store leftovers than putting cling film over a bowl or plate.  (I'm trying to train Mr C out of that habit!).  

But... plastics designed for single or short use applications are a HUGE problem.  Picture the pile you are leaving behind you as you go through life throwing away all those sandwich wrappers, toothbrushes, disposable razors, shopping bags, shampoo bottles etc etc and most of all, those rotten soft drink and water bottles.

At the Tupperware party, the sales lady asked if we knew what the '1' on the base of drink bottles meant.  Several women thought they had heard that it meant 'single use'.  I was quite horrified by this, and wondered if this urban myth was widespread.  By that logic, anything marked with a '2' should be used twice, anything with a  '4' should be used four times - well you see the problem.  

It is true that plastics made from the monomer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are ideally suited to single uses, such as drink bottles. But the claims that was made that these bottles shouldn't be reused and that the plastic 'dissolves' into the water the more often they are refilled were just rubbish.  With that sort of misinformation around, it's no wonder that people feel overwhelmed by the environmental messages they are asked to absorb. 

For a start, if plastics dissolved easily in water we wouldn't be able to store liquids in them.  There wouldn't be the Great Pacific Garbage Patch either, as the plastics would be dissolved in the ocean, instead of floating in small pieces on it. PET bottles are easily recycled into a whole host of other products, including polar fleece, which is great.  However, bottles have to be collected for recycling, and that just doesn't happen with most of them.  On the rare occasions I'm in a food court I get quite anxious watching all the recyclables being dumped in with the rubbish. Discarded water bottles make up about 38% of general waste.

PET is also known as polyester and clothing made from that certainly doesn't go anywhere fast. This is one of the two main concerns with using this polymer.  While it can be recycled, most of the PET produced (and it's the third most commonly made polymer) just sits in landfill forever, after a very short life of use.

The second problem is related, and it's the sheer amount of oil used to make and transport a single use item, such as a drink bottle.  It's just wasteful to use up to seven litres of water and a litre of crude oil to produce and transport one litre of bottled water.  When surveyed, most people prefer the taste of tap water and many can't even tell the difference.  Australians are blessed with fantastic tap water and there's only 1% of the environmental impact compared to drinking bottled water. 

Soft drink is even worse when you look at the number of kilojoules in a typical bottle.  Many of us couldn't eat the number of kilojoules we easily consume in liquid form - we would simply feel too full to keep eating. 

Planet Ark reports that one bottle of water has the same impact as driving a car 1 kilometre, more than 65% of the bottles up in landfill and it takes 314,000 barrels of oil a year to make the bottles for the Australian market alone.  Not very long ago nobody drank from PET bottles, and yet now Australians spend $500 million a year on the things! 

If all the environmental negatives don't make people change their behaviour, then what will?  Maybe the answer is hinted at in the claims made by the Tupperware lady.  If people think their health is affected by the plastics they use, then maybe they will change. And new evidence is emerging that PET as its commonly used may leach endocrine disruptors such as phthalates and antimony. 

The solution, as it so often is, is simple.  Buy a stainless steel water bottle in a size that suits you and with a design that delights you.  Fill from the tap.  Enjoy.  If you want to add bubbles, an investment in a Soda Stream will save you a fortune over time, more than repaying your initial investment.

Lots of lovely water bottles are always available at both ZURIs.

Rachel & Vanessa's Grand Day Out

People often ask us where we source all our lovely products. Well, we find quite a few at the Life in Style tradeshow, and our visit yesterday was a very exciting. 
It always features many new products from Australian designers, and aisle after aisle beautiful things.  Many have fabulous eco-credentials and we choose as many as we can that we know will fit right in at ZURI.


One our team, the marvellous Rachel, aka Morsey, came with me for the fair. We made new friends and met with old ones, and it's always nice to meet people in the flesh that you have been dealing with for a while.

We made quite a day of it, starting with coffee at 11am and finishing, after lunch, afternoon tea, champange, dinner and more coffee at 9pm.  Here's some of what we found:

We already stock Michelle's lovely cards at ZURI Leura. They have a packet of seeds inside a cute pot-shaped card, and make a lovely gift for a gardener.

We have ordered some of these beautiful products from Emiti. All are handmade in Melbourne using organic and natural hand screen printed fabric. The owner of Emiti, Kim Stark, designs and prints all the fabric and you can see from her love of colour that she likes to focus on the light and bright side of life.

Some our most popular products are the Myrtle & Moss range and this is the proud owner, the fabulous Georgia.

This is Fiona from Pashom, a beautiful lady and a passionate fair trader. We have ordered even more hats than last year as they were so popular. 

We also met Kate, from Elly Oak. We stock her beautiful cards at Leura, and those with heart designs were really popular for Valentine's Day.

Not forgetting local-girl-made-good, Peta of Elm Designs. We already stock her lovely range at Katoomba, but are really excited about the new styles coming soon.

Are you getting a sense it was a bit of a ladies day? Mr C rang to ask if I was missing him and if it was the same without him.  Hmmmm.....

 

The Giving Season

My lovely husband, Mr C, gave me a gorgeous pair of earrings for our anniversary.  They were exactly the right shape, size, colour and style.   He knows me so well!  I exclaimed with delight as I opened them "Oh I love them!!!". 

Isn't that what we all hope when we give a gift? That it is perfect for the recipient and that they will truly love it? That it will be used and cherished and not just become another piece of stuff to clutter up the home. So at ZURI, no gimmicky gifts - no foot spas, pie makers, slushie machines or milkshake makers.  No huge TVs, get fit equipment or plastic whatnots.  We do have lots of beautiful gifts for friends and relatives of all shapes, sizes and ages. 

Here are some of our favourites:

Eco decorations from Polli

Heat packs by Memi Designs

Gorgeous skin care from Myrtle & Moss

Lovely cushions by Bonnie & Neil

Cross stitch clock from Skulk of Foxes

Printspace prints

Wall words from Adorning Al

Christmas soaps from Skye's the Limit

Don't forget our annual Christmas Shopping Nights, where you can browse at your lesuire while you sip on bubbly and nibble on a mince pie. Have your gifts wrapped while you wait, or pick them up later.

Thursday 15th December at Katoomba 5-8 pm
Friday 16th December at Leura 5-8 pm
Saturday 17th December at Katoomba 3-7 pm

Loving Spring
After a couple of false starts, Spring has finally arrived in the mountains.  This is the lovely view that greets me as I walk to work in Katoomba each morning down the driveway of the Carrington Hotel.

With Spring comes thoughts of lighter clothing. We certainly get sick of our tights and boots and jumpers  here and look forward to wearing something different as the warmer weather arrives.

Tightology (one of our favourite eco brands) have moved into clothing and we have just unpacked the new season's offerings. This is the Inka dress - bamboo with a little spandex, and made in Australia!

The Marla dress is made from the same fabric, with a silk and wool belt/tie that can be worn on the waist or as a bow on the shoulder - just lovely!

And check out these 3/4 tights and anklet socks for Spring!

It's so hot today that Mr C and the kids are off to the beach. Hmmmp - I have to work.  Mind you, I love the buzz of Leura on a Saturday.  The best way to enjoy is to start early, quietly enjoying a bowl of latte at the Red Door Cafe before opening up. A couple more lattes from the Garage through the day and lots of lovely customers to chat with and the day just flies by.
Speaking of Leura zuri, we have boxes of gorgeous goodies arriving every day and no time to get them onto the online shop yet, so I'll give you a sneak peak of a few things here shortly.

zuri too

We have been extremely busy at zuri this last few months. Flat out in fact. And the reason? We are thrilled to have opened a second store! We can now boast that not only do we have one of the loveliest shops in Katoomba, but one of the loveliest in the lovely village of Leura.

zuri Leura is located next to the Leura Garage Cafe. This outstanding conversion of a disused garage and petrol station has the whole town talking. The space is amazing, with old tools embedded in the concrete floor, car hoists used to display the regional wines and the patina of the original walls on display. The ambience is lovely ('very Melbourne' is a common comment), the coffee fantastic and the staff friendly and accommodating. Stella the stylist, creates beautiful displays of constantly changing seasonal flowers, fruits and veggies which you can admire as you sip your coffee under a lap blanket if you aren't used to our weather. And right next door to this is our little shop.

Part of the old garage, but beautifully refurbished, the shop features skylights and faces north, so it's light and bright and beautiful. With customised lead-lights above the door and soaring ceilings, it would be hard not to create a beautiful environment in this space! So we have tried to do it justice and have filled the shop with all the lovely goodies we didn't have room for at Katoomba.

We hope our loyal customers will love visiting both stores and the feedback so far is that they are thrilled with our expansion. Katoomba will continue to be the hub for locals and their eco-needs such as cleaning products, nappies, Bokashi buckets, fair trade gifts and bamboo clothing. Leura will also carry gifts and local gourmet foods, Pure Pod and 3Fish clothing and the best examples of sustainable design. We look forward to introducing you to ranges such as Muskhane (French designed fair trade felt homewares), Bonnie & Neil, Delilah Devine, Skulk of Foxes and Adorning Al (contemporary Australian made jewellery) and Love Mae (wall decals).

We have also introduced a loyalty card for our regular customers. On your tenth visit, to either store, you will receive a gift from us as a thank you for your support. Something for you to enjoy, or to give to someone you love.
In the busy lead up to Spring, school holidays and Christmas, the team (Vanessa, Helane, Ziggy, Rachel,  Robin, Narelle, Rachel, Armani and Alec) are looking forward to seeing you at zuri and helping you to create a beautiful environment in your home. And if Mr C can manage to sneak me away for a weekend mini-break to recuperate before this busy time, then life will be perfect!

Winter Magic??

This is turning into a winter that mountains folk won't forget in a while. Around the time of the Winter Solstice, we enjoyed our annual Winter Magic Festival.  This year was one of the best on record, with huge crowds and a sparkling (if slightly windy) cold day. In the afternoon Dave the busker played for a couple of hours and entertained the crowds outside zuri.

 Thanks to the fabulous Armani Nimerawi for the pictures. Dave (in case you were wondering) is dressed as a Space Bunny because he was in the big parade earlier in the day. Why was he still in costume so much later? Only Dave knows...

In the background you can see the lovely artwork, by the Textile Group, which adorned our window for a few weeks. It was called 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and drew a lot of interest.

Then came the winds. Last Tuesday night was a frightening experience, with trees snapping and crashing around us as we sat in the candle light. This picture (from the ABC website) shows what happens when a tree meets a train.

Our household was without power for three days, which was long enough for us to really appreciate all that electricity does for us. Luckily we could come into Katoomba for hot showers and meals with friends (thanks Rachel!) and to work at zuri. I mainly came in for the morale boosting heater and coffees.

How to keep children amused in the school holidays and potentially with the battery flat in their electronic devices? Good old fashioned games and craft, that's how!  And we have some lovely things at zuri.

From East of India we have lovely board games - Draughts, Snakes & Ladders and House, 

from Rosie Flo we have colouring books,

and our perennial favourite, Honeysticks beeswax crayons.

You'll have so much fun you won't want them to go back to school!

Snuggle

It is a wild and windy day today in the mountains. A day to snuggle in and enjoy the joys of mid-winter. Surprisingly, we've been very busy today in the shop, but chocolate, woollen tights and coffee are what the brave souls out on the street today have been buying. 
We love the raw, organic chocolate from Loving Earth, and their new range, sweetened with coconut sugar, is proving just as popular. Today feels like a day for the Organic Mild Chilli flavour.

With twice the antioxidants of conventional chocolate, you'll be glowing from within!

Last winter the cooking range from La Chamba was such a hit we've expanded our stock this winter.  This Fair Trade range from Colombia can be used on the stove top, in the oven, microwave and barbecue. Perfect for starting casseroles in the stove, then finishing in the oven, and beautiful enough to serve from on the table, every La Chamba piece is hand made by an adult indigenous artisan. The black micaceous clay from the Magdalena River is dusted with fine terracotta, polished with semi-precious stones and fired with herbs and mango leaves.

Unlike most glazed ceramics, La Chamba has a porous finish which allows slow evaporation of steam meaning that the cookware retains heat, moisture and flavour. 


And what is slow food cooked without your own produce. Winter seed varieties, including kale and kohl rabi are available now.

Also available in store, but not online, are a great range of BPA-free thermos and food flasks. These are two of my favourite designs.