new ownership. new chapter
The rumors have been circulating, the excitement has been building. Good things are happening!
Terra Tots will have new owners as of May 20th.
Jennifer Creel and Rebekah Wood will soon be the fine ladies in charge of Terra Tots.
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As of August, it will be four years since Terra Tots has been in operation. It has been a delight to start up & operate this business. I have met wonderful people, worked alongside fantastic companies that bring innovative and outstanding products to our attention, met local artist and local small businesses that bring terrific products to our marketplace.
There have been hundreds of baby wearing workshops, cloth diaper 101’s, new mama talks, tears of happiness, and hugs of thanks – I cherish each experience and am delighted to have been here this long. However, the ebb and flow of life brings forth new adventures and goals – and I am moving on to work towards many goals and opportunities that have been presented.
I’ll be spending more time focusing on music. You can find me rambling around with our band, 3 Penny Acre, as we tour nationally and continue to play locally. Also, our daughter, Bergen, (who inspired us to open Terra Tots) who is now five years old, begins her adventure into kindergarten this fall. I am very much looking forward to spending this golden summer with her before we open the schooling chapter of life!
Cloth diapering, and reusable products in general, have been a focus in my life for years now. This focus will continue as I’ll be lobbying for more cloth diaper and reusable options in our community, state, and beyond. My work and support for the Real Diaper Association will continue. You’ll certainly be seeing or hearing more of this work and organization.
From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for your support of Terra Tots and our family. Please continue to show the same support to Jennifer and Rebekah as they now enter into this chapter of Terra Tots natural parenting. They have superb ideas for the future of Terra Tots; great product lines will be introduced soon, more workshops and classes will be offered – so keep your ears and eyes open to the new happenings around here!
PLEASE NOTE:
we will be closed on Friday, May 20th, in order to make a smooth transition and to complete our business transactions. back to normal on Saturday the 21st.
Respectfully,
Bernice Hembree
mama post
welcome mama’s – new and old – to the new decade. 2011 is here!
There are a couple things I wanted to highlight on this post:
1. New MAMA PADS from Leslie’s Boutique.
Recently, I was in a pinch since Aunt Flow was visiting a couple days earlier than expected. (TMI?)
This pad was unwashed in my bag as I had just received it. With a frown on my face I marched into the Terra Tots bathroom. Surprisingly this pad absorbed well and worked great, even without the initial washings to strip the oil. No leaks, no awkwardness. A big thumbs up for the newest edition of the Leslie’s Boutique family. If you want to try this pad as well, Terra Tots has them. Cute colors too. Come on, admit it – everyone wants to feel just a little cute during this unhappy monthly cycle 🙂
2. Milk Savers “milkies”
I very reluctantly brought this product into Terra Tots. (I assumed it would be too bulky and customers wouldn’t “get” it…I was wrong) A loyal Terra Tots customer was browsing the store last week when she came upon the Milk Saver. She was very excited to see this product at Terra Tots. It was on her To-Do list to order that exact product online later that day. Well, she checked that task off her list (thanks to Terra Tots) and promised to give me her honest feedback on the product after using it for a few days. Her feedback = rave review. This product works! The milk saver catches 1-2 oz of milk each nursing. For new moms, especially in the first 2 months of breastfeeding, this would be a very handy product. So, skeptic proved wrong, this product will be found at Terra Tots in the future.
3. Earth Mama Angel Baby Birth Plan
This birth plan opened my eyes. EMAB not only makes fantastic herbal products, but the also have wise resources for mamas. Check out this birth plan – forward it to expectant mothers you may know. It was invaluable to me.
thursday (9/23) event
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Get one 25% off
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Offer is good only for the Thursday evening reception (5-7pm).
And applies only to the new Eileen Jennings fall collection.
Don’t miss this super duper deal!
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new news
my oh my, how time flies…fun or no fun.
Much is happening at Terra Tots. New diaper lines, old diaper lines with new names and new products. new awards for Terra Tots! In March, we learned that Terra Tots was named one of only five Green Ambassadors for Plan Toys.
We sell lots of Plan Toys and know as much as possible about them. As a reward, and to build our knowledge, we’ve been invited to Thailand to check out the rubberwood trees that are used to make the toys + watch the production process + sit in on a product development meeting. Exciting! (however, we’re waiting for the civil battles to cool down before going.)
Arkansas is doing a fantastic job of producing some of our best diaper lines. Arkansas is home to the production of Swaddlebees, Blueberry, and WeeHuggers diapers. All of them are super and we’re proud to have them made in our home state. Be sure to check out the new weehuggers. You’ll like them.
Eileen Jennings is rolling out some beautiful apparel for Terra Tots. We have dresses, skirts, shirts, pants, (little boy vests coming soon). All made from recycled scarfs, tea towels, men’s shirts, etc. Hard to believe how great they are until you see them.
Ergo baby carriers have a new carriers coming out. We will have it sometime in August. It’s the answer to many parents request of having a “performance” carrier. Specifically designed for outdoors activities, equipped with CoolMax mesh. It looks great!
Sea Pearls are finally at Terra Tots. Sea Pearls are a sea sponge used as a natural tampon. I’ve used them for awhile now and love them. Along with cloth mama pads, we now have you equipped for “that time of month”.
So, that brings you up-to-date a bit on new Terra Tots developments. However, there’s always something new and terrific happening here!
Happy Summer.
other uses for old cloth
are you on the “rag”?
I know, nasty topic – but something we all discuss at least once a month (on average!).
If you have old cloth prefolds or inserts or doublers lying around your house USE them. What do you use for pads while on your monthly cycle? If you’re using disposable methods, think again. Consider using a reusable material.
When Bergen was done with diapers we passed many of them to our friends who were still diapering. It’s nice to see some of our diapers in their 4th generation! I smile every time a “bergen” diaper makes an appearance on a friend’s heiny. Although most diapers were passed down, I still have a bin of inserts – mostly hemp or bamboo – that work great on my early cycle days.
But, do you have random inserts (hemp, bamboo, cotton) hanging around the house? Use those for your menstrual pads. They are comfortable to use, and much more sanitary and healthy than the disposable options. Either cut them to contour your shape or just lay them in your underwear. It’s not as gross as you think. Actually, it is helpful to see just how your flow changes over the course of your cycle. Be comfortable with your body, inside and out.
So, next time Aunt Flo visits be ready with your stash of reusables.
weather
weather makes people go nuts…especially cold, icy weather. For instance, someone was just in the store today saying “Wal-Mart is sold out of bread”. Wow, I thought – “probably the white wonder bread section only”.
The weather has even been good for diaper sales at Terra Tots! Usually the cold, dreary weather keeps people inside and away from any shopping. NOT when a winter storm advisory is in effect. I’ve had a couple customers come in today because they needed the next size up on covers, and they needed them before the ice storm hit. I know – it’s very smart thinking. Planning ahead.
I’ve been thinking: what did people do before electricity, stoves, heaters, sliced bread, and sized diapers? I bet they survived okay. Yes – they were adjusted to that way of life. We were given that way of life last year – this exact day actually – when the ice storm hit. No power for 11 days. Despite the melted wax everywhere, shattered windows (a tree fell through our large dining room window) and a small case of cabin fever, it was kinda fun.
Hopefully this winter storm will provide some much needed winter fun as well.
You better hurry…Wal-Mart is almost out of bread and Terra Tots is out of prefolds!
All joking aside, enjoy the winter weather. See you when the ice melts.
bernice
told you so…
OKAY – here’s to all those folks that think the Hembree family is “out of date” or “weird” for not having a microwave. If my opinion ‘that microwaves are terrible for your life’ is not enough to satisfy your curiosity, then read on….
(A link to the full story from Natural News is at the bottom)
The rise of widespread nutritional deficiencies in the western world correlates almost perfectly with the introduction of the microwave oven. This is no coincidence. Microwave ovens heat food through a process of creating molecular friction, but this same molecular friction quickly destroys the delicate molecules of vitamins and phytonutrients (plant medicines) naturally found in foods. One study showed that microwaving vegetables destroys up to 97% of the nutritional content (vitamins and other plant-based nutrients that prevent disease, boost immune function and enhance health).
In other words, eating raw broccoli provides you with natural anti-cancer medicine that’s extremely effective at halting the growth of cancer tumors. But microwaving that broccoli destroys the anti-cancer nutrients, rendering the food“dead” and nutritionally depleted. There’s even some evidence to suggest that microwaving destroys the natural harmony in water molecules, creating an energetic pattern of chaos in the water found in all foods. In fact, the common term of “nuking” your food is coincidentally appropriate: Using a microwave is a bit like dropping a nuclear bomb on your food, then eating the fallout. (You don’t actually get radiation from eating microwaved foods, however. But you don’t get much nutrition, either.)
Why microwave users are so unhealthy
Consumers are dying today in part because they continue to eat dead foods that are killed in the microwave. They take a perfectly healthy piece of raw food, loaded with vitaminsand natural medicines, then nuke it in the microwave and destroy most of its nutrition. Humans are the only animals on the planet who destroy the nutritional value of their food before eating it. All other animals consume food in its natural, unprocessed state, but humans actually go out of their way to render food nutritionally worthless before eating it. No wonder humans are the least healthy mammals on the planet.
The invention of the microwave and its mass adoption by the population coincides with the onset of obesity in developed nations around the world. Not only did the microwave make it convenient to eat more obesity-promoting foods, it also destroyed much of the nutritional content of those foods, leaving consumers in an ongoing state of malnourished overfeeding. In other words, people eat too many calories but not enough real nutrition. The result is, of course, what we see today: Epidemic rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, depression, kidney failure, liver disorders and much more. These diseases are all caused by a combination of malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals (plus other factors such as emotional trauma, lack of exercise, etc.). Microwaves make malnutrition virtually automatic, and being exposed to toxic chemicals is easy to accomplish by simply eating processed foods (which are universally manufactured with the addition of toxic chemicals that act as preservatives, colorings, flavor enhancers and so on).
click here for the full story on Natural News.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/021966_food_microwave_nutrition.html
Better Consumer Bureau
We are a local business. We support our local community because we LOVE where we live and LOVE the people here and we want to see Fayetteville for all it can be. Local Business is what makes a town a community.
That being said, I’m always dismayed when I get the phone call “will you match an online competitor price?”. What they don’t know is that online price is WAY below MSRP and way out of line in terms of manufacturer requests to not sell below a certain price. Retailers can get fined or dropped from that company because they are selling at illegal prices.
Ofcourse – we will always try to gain the business of a local customer. BUT – I’m not willing to haggle prices – yes, we’re local – but we’re not the flea market! It’s hard to earn money in the retail business – especially as a cloth diaper retailer.
Consumers have the benefit of turning in bad retailers to the BBB, I sometimes wish I could turn bad customers into the BCB – better consumer bureau. (it doesn’t exist…that I know of anyway!)
Shopping local is where it’s at. Thanks to all you who understand that. Thank you for making Fayetteville what it is…even if you had to spend an extra $1 to do it.
For more info on supporting local – check out the Fayetteville Independent Business Alliance. And JOIN – it helps educate consumers about the importance of shopping local. After all, it means more than supporting that business…it supports the WHOLE town.
whistle while you work
Terra Tots is moving today.
Yesterday we moved the entire store to our new location in Fayetteville. Don’t worry, it’s just a few blocks from our long time loved location on the square. New address: 557 S School Ave (previously Nightbird Books).
It is shocking how we’ve doubled our space, yet it is filled up already!
NEW PRODUCTS: we are bringing in several new product lines, so be on the lookout. Ask next time you come in and we’ll give you the intro. A few to mention: LolliDoo diapers, Seed Organic cradle/pod, Bravado nursing bras, Under the Nile organics, Kate Quinn organics, and more…. (too early for that file of my brain – we were working til 1am last night!)
See you soon at the new place. We open Tuesday, November 3rd – tomorrow!
Terra Tots Blog 