April = Environmental Month

Spring is here so it's a perfect time to celebrate Mother Earth on April 22nd - Earth Day!

We at Aesthetyx are taking the 3R's mantra 'Reduce - Reuse - Recycle' to heart
by supporting gloabal artisans who take the 3R's to a whole new level. By supporting these artisans, you support their efforts toward independence while protecting the environment and giving or receiving a unique gift!

Come see some of our green and sustainable products by these talented artisans next time you're in the store:

* Acholi Beads made of discarded magazines by displaced women from the Acholi tribe of Northern Uganda.
* Barro Sin Plomo (clay without lead) lead-free pottery hand-crafted by artisans in Central Mexico
* Kenyan Soapstones carved and painted by hand by artisans from Kenya

SAVE THE DATE - Saturday, May 9th
for our First Aesthetyx World Fair Trade Day Celebration
featuring Anna O'Leary and Barro Sin Plomo

Barro Sin Plomo and Aesthetyx- Working Together

Aesthetyx proudly welcomes Anna O'Leary to our new gallery! Anna is the vice president of Barro Sin Plomo (BSP) Mexico and has worked in Mexico for over two years on the design and implementation of its projects. Anna was previously a consultant to Aid to Artisans in Mexico as well as the marketing coordinator of lead-free pottery. She is currently the Director of Development for Barro Sin Plomo USA. And she is working out of our new gallery in Encinitas! We are happy with the change, and hope that all of you will soon have a chance to check out the new space with all its beautiful BSP pottery. 10% of all sales of BSP pottery out of the Aesthetyx gallery will be donated back to Barro Sin Plomo. Come by and have a look at the exquisite work by these talented artisans!


A LITTLE ABOUT BARRO SIN PLOMO:

In 2003, anthropologist Victor Aquila Sanchez and ceramist Barbara Garrido, founded BSP as a non-profit Mexican organization dedicated to lead-free pottery production. Barro Sin Plomo is now working in five Mexican states with 300 potters who have or are transitioning to lead-free glazes.

In 2004, BSP helped launch a for-profit social enterprise, Echery Pottery (www.echerypottery.com) which specializes in packing, shipping, and exporting of lead-free pottery. BSP and Echery Pottery are both based in Patzcuaro, Michocan Mexico.

Barro Sin Plomo has ongoing efforts to eliminate lead glazes in traditional pottery production in Mexico and now in the U.S., construct fuel-efficiant kilns, introduce lead-free glazing technologies and equiptment which will enable these family based businesses to re-enter and reclaim important international markets for their products. The primary focus for BSP right now is to eliminate lead-glaze in the states where there is the hightest population of potters currently using lead glazes and where there are hundreds of artisans requesting assistance from BSP's training team.

The two most important ways people can help people expand this effort right now is by making a tax deductible contribution to BSP USA or by purchasing lead-free pottery.

Please stop by and visit the Aesthetyx gallery, and see what's new in the world of pottery.

A Big Change for 2009

Happy New Year from all of us at Aesthetyx!

In 2004 we began our business in order to achieve a higher mission to create a socially responsible company that would give back. Inspired by the artesianias (arts and crafts) of Central Mexico, we decided to showcase and sell the work of worldwide artisans in order to help support and sustain these talented individuals and their families. Through the years, we have worked directly with many artisans to achieve this goal but, there is much more important work to be done.

Our goal is to be able to further assist artisans who do not have the means to market themselves and get their products to those who will appreciate them.

In line with our social mission we have decided to refocus the concept of
our Encinitas store to become 'Aesthetyx- an Artisan Gallery and
Showroom' beginning in February 2009. Together with the multinational
organization that unites Mexican non-profit, 'Barro sin Plomo' and Barro sin
Plomo USA (clay without lead), we will feature the work of many talented
artisans that this wonderful non-profit assists. Barro sin Plomo's (BSP)
mission is to end the use of lead in traditional Mexican pottery
substituting lead-free production methods which protect the health of the
artisans and their communities.

Within the new gallery we will continue to carry most of your favorite artisans in addition to the Barro Sin Plomo featured artisans. With our new concept we will be
phasing out some of our merchandise before we temporarily close
our Encinitas store location to do some remodeling January 19th - 31st.

Starting January 10th we welcome you to take advantage of some amazing 'AS IS'(items that may be slightly damaged and/or nicely repaired) deals sold at major discounts, as well as significant markdowns of 70-90% OFF select merchandise, and 10% OFF the ENTIRE STORE!

We look forward to having you eXperience our new concept this spring and
thanks again for your support of our store and our mission!

Give Gifts that Give Back

Happy Holidays to you and yours! May your season be bright and full of joy.

We recently published an article on eHow.com that went a little something like this:

Shopping at a socially responsible retailer like Aesthetyx- who buys directly from artisans, is a good way to give great gifts while giving back to local and global communities.

With only a little over a week until Christmas, now is the time to shop! Go on a shopping outing and discover your local socially responsible or Fair Trade retailer (search online to find one if you are not familiar with any where you live). If you live in Southern California visit Aesthetyx in Encinitas or Huntington Beach, California. Both of our store locations offer beautiful and unique gifts,jewelry and home furnishings hand-crafted by talented artisans from around the world. Aesthetyx proudly features a number of talented artisans from Mexico including clay artisan Roberto Tirado and tin artisan Cecilio Hernandez. Aesthetyx also offers great gifts such as Acholi Beads. This exquisite bead jewelry is hand-made from recycled paper by the women of the Acholi tribe of Northern Uganda. These beads help these women sustain themselves and their families by providing long-term work and the ability to develop their skills.

Discover the joy of gift giving while giving back at the same time. Give artisan gifts that really give twice - once, when purchased, by supporting the Artisan and again when received by the recipient. You have a choice as a consumer in the modern world of things made in China.
SHARE the artisan stories - most of our artisan products @ Aesthetyx comes with a story card for each artisan explaining briefly their products and how it helps support them. Please ask your local socially responsible retailer for the stories to go along with the hand-crafted gifts you are purchasing. They are extremely appreciated by the recipient!

When you shop with socially responsible retailers like us you are supporting your community and beyond by purchasing gifts (or things for yourself) that support others. There is a sense of peace that takes over during the gift giving exchange, and you will feel it even more when you give back to the world while giving gifts to your dear ones. We hope you will seek out socially responsible retailers (like Aesthetyx) and see what an amazing experience shopping can be.
Shopping and giving with a social conscience - a winning combination, enjoy!

NOVEMBER NEWS

Bring the kids and don't miss our Sugar Skull Decorting Contest- or participate yourself. We are celebrating our 3rd annual Dia de los Muertos by having another FIESTA! We will be celebrating November 1st from 5:30-8:00 PM at our Encinitas Aesthetyx store.

We will have the traditional offerings of fruits, flowers and chocolate, but we invite you to get creative and bring a photo or memento of your loved one and then an item they would enjoy at our Fiesta. We will also be showcasing artwork by local children from ARTS (A Reason to Survive) a program which supports young people by offering them free art programs. We've commissioned them to design some Day of the Dead tiles that will be for sale the evening of the event. All proceeds from store sales will go back to this ARTS program.

So bring your friends and family to this special celebration and enjoy authentic food, refreshments, and great prizes from the raffle drawings!

We also have a special La Luz candle offer for you. Buy your La Luz candles for your home alter and receive a gift of a travel candle. A gift from us- enjoy! This offer will run through the fall season.

If you haven't seen the new Roberto Tirado sculptures you are in for a treat! They are beautiful. We also just received some new mirrors in all different sizes from Cecilio Hernandez.

We will be holding a holiday sale Thursday 28th-30th on select merchandise. Items will be anywhere from 30-85% off. Get your holiday shopping done with us while supporting local and global artisans.

3rd Annual Dia de los Muertos Fiesta - Saturday, November 1st

Please join us for our 3rd Annual Dia de los Muertos Fiesta
Saturday, November 1st from 5-8pm

Help us build our community 'ofrenda' (altar) by bringing mementos for your loved ones who have passed. We will have the traditional offerings of food and drink but we invite you to get creative and bring a photo or memento of your loved one and then an item they would enjoy at our Fiesta.

The kids will enjoy our Sugar Skull Decorating Contest and we will also be showcasing artwork by local children from the ARTS (A Reason to Survive) program which will be for sale the evening of our eVent. All proceeds will go back to the ARTS Program.

Bring your friends and family to this special celebration and enjoy authentic food, refreshments, and great raffle drawings!

Leucadia Nights

Tomorrow night we will be staying open late along with other Leucadia businesses for an afterhours Walkabout along the North Coast Highway 101. Join us Saturday night October 18th from 6-9PM for this community event. Stroll with family, neighbors and friends through the neighborhood of Leucadia. Enjoy snacks, beverages and games of "Walkabout Poker" in certain businesses. Hope to see you in the cool Autumn evening!

Little Italy Festa This Weekend!

We hope to see you this Sunday in Little Italy!

On Sunday October 12th, we will be attending the Little Italy Festa- San Diego's largest Italian American Festival and Festa! Visit our booth (#DS15) located on India Street between Date and Cedar Streets, right in the Heart of Little Italy. Enjoy the sidewalk chalk art while you browse! Come down and join in the festivities from 10AM to 6PM.

Upcoming Events with Aesthetyx!

On Saturday October 18th from 6-8 PM, Leucadia Nights is an After Hours Walkabout with take place along Highway 101 in Leucadia. Join us and other local businesses that will stay open late for this fun-filled community event. Hope to see you in the cool Autumn evening!

This November 1st from 5-8 PM, we will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos with our 3rd annual Aesthetyx Day of the Dead Fiesta! Join in on our very special celebration for our loved ones who have passed. Participate in our interactive community ofenda (alter). Authentic food will be served throughout the event along with lively music. We will be hosting a sugar skull decorating contest for the children as well, so bring the little ones. We have also invited youth artisans from ARTS- A Reason to Survive, a non-profit organization in San Diego. The young artists will be displaying their Day of the Dead tiles for you to buy for your home. See you there!

The 8th Annual Mainstreet Oceanside Dia de los Muertos Festival will be happening November 2nd and we'll be there! Join in one of the largest Dia de los Muertos events in San Diego. Visit our booth (#M17) right in front of the fountain, located on Coast Highway and Pier View Way in Downtown Oceanside. Again, this event takes place Sunday, November 2nd 10 AM-4 PM

Don't Miss our First 'Aesthetyx Artisan Exposed Series' showcasing local artist Annika Nelson

We are thrilled to be hosting a very special Summer Solstice eVent on Saturday, June 21st at our Encinitas store from 6-9pm. Local and internationally known artist Annika M. Nelson will be debuting her first clothing collection exclusively designed for the Lewsader Collection.

Annika will be signing our best-selling book 'Folk Wisdom of Mexico' with her woodblocks which are featured throughout the book. Annika will also be giving a complimentary woodblock print as a gift with any Lewsader purchase.

This special eVening will celebrate the official beginning of summer complete with pomegranate refreshments, light appetizers, and lots of dulces (sweets).

Annika will be hosting a private collection of her prints that will be available for sale that evening and even have an interactive art project for the kids.

We hope to see you to celebrate the beginning of Summer!

Viva! Verde (live green) in honor of Earth Day

We celebrated Earth Day early last Saturday with our first Viva! Verde (live green) eVent at our store. We hosted a special trunk show with 'Acholi Beads' , the beautiful jewelry handmade from recycled paper by refugees from Northern Uganda. Local San Diegan, James Pearson started this wonderful company and he and his family were all on hand to showcase the beautiful beads and explain the story and mission behind them. Thank you James for the wonderful work you are doing to help the environment, sustain artisans, and support free trade!

We also gave out our 'Viva! Verde' cotton canvas reusable bag as a gift with purchase that night to encourage our customers to stop wasting the paper bags and tissue we use when packing up purchases. We still have more bags left so please come in and ask for one if you make a purchase of $50 or more. We will even donate a quarter to wecansolveit.org everytime you come back to shop with the resuable bag, which represents the cost of the bag and tissue. Also, if you request for us not to wrap your purchase we will also donate a quarter into our wecansolveit.org fund to go to the organization that Al Gore started to solve the climate crisis.

All of us at Aesthetyx are doing our best to be environmentally conscious, here are some things that we are currently doing:

1. Bringing our recyclables home to be recycled (unfortunately our Center does not provide this service).
2. Using environmentally friendly cleaning products which are biodegradable.
3. Not utilizing unecessary energy (just the essentials to operating the store - electricity for lights and equipment).
4. Using kraft paper bags which are recyclable.
**Our goal is to use less of these and encourage our customers to return with our Viva! Verde reusable canvas bags**
5. Recycling the packaging materials that accompany our shipments (reusing boxes, tissue, bubble wrap, newspaper, etc.)
6. Using solar powered lights outside where possible.
7. Using broken items and found objects for artwork (check out in-house artist Robin Nelson's environmentally friendly artwork currently in the store).

If you have any other ideas, comments, suggestions, or thoughts on how we can do more to help the environment please let us know! We all have to do our part to help our planet, after all it is home for all of us.

Viva! Verde

Aesthetyx 'La Tiendita' at The Grove Opening!

For those of you who made it to the Grand Opening of our 'Tiendita' (mini-store) at The Grove in South Park during their first 'South Park Walkabout' of the year on March 29th - Mil Gracias! It was a fun-filled evening that flew by! We prepared one of my new Sangria recipes 'Primavera Sangria' which is a white-wine based Sangria mixed with Italian Grapefruit soda, blood oranges, peaches, grapes, and more! It was well received by the guests who attended the event.

Special thanks to Farra and Agnes from Mano Imports who helped us serve Sangria and entertain guests. Farra and Agnes bring in amazing textiles and wood work from Guatemala and we are thrilled to showcase some of their treasures in our new space at The Grove. We also really enjoy their company as they love Latin-American culture and artisan work as well as great food and wine as much as we do - Gracias Amigas!

We are excited to be celebrating our new space at The Grove in South Park. We have been at The Grove now for 2 years but recently moved our location which we feel much more at home in. Please come by and visit us if you have not already done so. The Grove is located at the corner of Juniper & 30th Street in South Park, an eclectic and great neighborhood in San Diego. The Grove is open Tuesdays - Sundays 11am-6pm, closed on Mondays. We hope to bump into you down there sometime soon.

P.S. There is a fabulous new Gourmet Mexican Restaurant 'El Camino' that will be opening just across the street from The Grove soon - we can't wait. We will be hosting monthly events in San Diego and we hope to have a few at El Camino once they open. Look out for info in our monthly 'eNews and eVents' e-mail blast.

Returning to SMA (San Miguel de Allende)

What can we say about San Miguel other than we absolutely love coming back and look forward each and every time to walking down the cobblestone streets gazing at the gorgeous distressed hues of colors of the walls, discovering the 'Doors of San Miguel', going to the Mercado and buying the roasted corn and 'pan' (bread) made fresh every day, relaxing on a bench in The Jardin, visiting our artisans talleres (workshops), having cocktails on a rooftop, enjoying creative Mexican cuisine, watching all of the locals enjoy an evening in The Jardin with their families, and SO much more!!!!

We are currently working on putting one of our 'Aesthetyx Experience' trips together for San Miguel de Allende and as soon as we confirm the dates and itinerary we will post on our blog. If you are interested in any of our upcoming trip itineraries please send an e-mail to judy@aesthetyx.com.

Viva San Miguel!

Meet San Miguel Master Tinsmith Cecilio Hernandez 'Chilo'

One of the first artisans whose work we began importing 4 years ago is master tinsmith Cecilio Hernandez (fondly known as 'Chilo' to locals, clients, friends, and family). Chilo owns a small tienda in San Miguel where anyone can visit and buy his lovely designs. We came across these designs on one of our first trips to San Miguel over 6 years ago and fell in love with them. His designs are so original, beautifully hand-crafted and exquisitely hand-painted. Chilo has a team of artisans and tinsmiths who work for him who are the best of the best in San Miguel. Chilo's attention to detail and meticulous nature is evident in his sought after work. Chilo is a local celebrity of sorts who is commissioned by many local homeowners (including many Americans) to design grand mirrors and decorative tin for their grande haciendas in San Miguel. Chilo was recently awarded the honor of the Best Tinsmith in the State of Guanajuato with an intricately hand-cut gold mirror which we were fortunate enough to see on our recent trip to his taller.

On our recent trip we were able to take our friends with us to tour his taller (workshop) and see how his one of a kind creations are made. We began at his tienda where a small fraction of his work available for sale, most of his designs are custom and require being special ordered. Above the tienda is where his extremely talented artisans who specialize in painting work. Jose being in charge of this portion of the business takes great pride in his and his fellow artisans' work. Jose is one of the only artisans who works for Chilo who speaks English so he led our group up the cramped stairway where larger than life examples of Chilo's fine design and craftmanship reside, including the now famous gold mirror that won him the award as Guanajuato's Best Tinsmith. As you reach the top Jose escorts us out onto the terrace where he explained the entire painting process to all of us in great detail. The process is very time consuming and labor intensive but once you see their finished piece there is no question that they produce a high quality product very worthy of the prices they charge. Actually after learning about all of the artistry that goes into every single painted piece everyone in the group had a greater appreciation for their 'artesania'.

After the painting taller we all were caravaned in 3 cars that took us to the main taller where they cut, craft, and weld the tin into the mirrors, headboards, and other decor. This taller is also Chilo's personal 'casa' and a museum of sorts. Every nook and cranny of his house is filled with his award-winning work. As soon as you drive into his carport/front door area you are greated by massive scale mirrors displayed on the stone of the exterior of his home, some mirrors are probably over 10 feet high and perhaps 6-8 feet wide. As you enter his home you find his love for his 'rosas' designs everywhere. His dining room wall is embellished with a 'Marco de Rosas' mirror probabaly 8 feet wide and then bookended by 2 large floor lamps all made from the 'rosas. His bedroom is the 'piece de resistance' with a magnificent natural colored (silver) headboard all hand cut in the most intricate design perched against a cobalt blue painted wall- it was jaw dropping!

After the home tour he escorted all of us upstairs to the taller where his tinsmiths and craftsmen work at oversized tables with sheets of tin penciling out designs that are to be cut and punched. Chilo took time to demonstrate how each one of the 'rosas' are made which he is currently so fond of. Chilo took a sheet of tin and hand drew with a sharpie the shape of petals then hand cut and did this 5-6 times and then punched through the center and utilized several metal tools to make just 1 rosa! Some of his 'Marco de rosas' mirrors contain hundreds so there is no surprise that these mirrors are expensive due to the intense hand-crafting each mirror takes. We were also treated to a demonstration of how they 'oxidize' the tin to make it look 'viejo' aged - they literally will dip the tin in a batch of 'acido' (acid) and keep it out in the sun to achieve this look.

After an amazing demonstration at the taller we headed back to the tienda where Chilo charmed everyone by signing each of the pieces they bought, and not with a black sharpie as I assumed he would - he literally hand-tooled a piece of tin for each person and wrote their name and did a unique design for each one with his own signature - quite a special treat. Now that's a great example of the Mexican artisan pride and hospitality we love so much!