Stationery Scoop

Photos from Thursday

We had a fast-paced, butt-kicking day yesterday with renowned speaker Jeffrey Gitomer. Got my Little Red Book of Sales signed, and even had a chance to chat with Mr. Gitomer and get a photo taken. Here I am, along with Marketing Manager Petra McGowan:

We connected with friends and business colleagues that we haven't seen in a while - Michelle & Adriana from Tiber River Naturals, John Heppenstall from Hep Communications and Dean,Wade & Carmen from Pinnacle Staffing.

Here's the Botanical team that went - Toni, Petra, me (Heidi) and Laurie.
Have a great day!

Yummy Cards - the background story

Yesterday, I ploughed through 145 blog posts; yes, I was a little behind. But here's a post worth checking out - designer Kal Barteski details a step-by-step explanation of how she created the extraordinary plantable Yummy Cards. I quite enjoy Kal's blog, and this posting is a unique chance to have a peek into her creative depths.

[click image for entire post]

I've added Twitter to my blog - see the top left side of the page for the latest tweet from me. If you're on Twitter, be sure to join me by clicking on the link.

Today....this is so exciting....I'm spending the day in a seminar with Jeffrey Gitomer. It's not often that we get speakers of this calibre in our home town of Winnipeg, so it's a treat to not have to get on a airplane and travel a bazillion hours to get to a stinky conference center. I'm bringing my copy of the Little Red Book of Selling to get autographed, and will even try to get a photo with him. We'll see. Hope you have a great day!

Wednesday woowoo

Did you have a good day yesterday? We rested and took the day off because of Remembrance Day here in Canada. In the morning, John and I enjoyed breakfast at the Sherbrook venue of Stella's Bakery & Cafe with friends Andrew, Cheryl and Carl. Then in the afternoon, we did a combo of emails/house fix-ups/playing with kids/pizza baking and more.

There are some great draws going on over at Kal's blog Love Life, so check that out. Rumor has it that tomorrow is a Botanical PaperWorks day.....

We're making some changes to the website these days, so please email me at heidire@botanicalpaperworks.com if you find anything wonky. Also today, we're interviewing for a new Customer Care Associate. Welcome to all of the candidates - we're excited to meet you!

Here's an updated image of the popular Bucket of Love plantable wedding favor. The bucket with handles is for the 100-piece orders and the other bucket is for the 50-piece orders. Love it!

Celebrating National Vanilla Cupcake Day

Yesterday at Botanical PaperWorks, we celebrated National Vanilla Cupcake Day. Here are some photos from lunch when we enjoyed the fresh-baked cupcakes.
Above photos: Toni, Mediatrice, Phoebe, Lyndsay, Bernie, Christopher

On Facebook, we've been having fun checking our birthdays with the corresponding national food day. Mine is National Coffee Ice Cream Day! Check it out here.

Green fundraising

School fundraisers are an important way for schools to raise money for programs and equipment. And I was very pleased when we started working with two green fundraising companies, one in the US and one in Canada, who are bringing unique, green products to the fundraising marketplace. Good-bye chocolate covered almonds, hello plantable calendars, Kleen Kanteen drinking bottles and more.

This week, client Green Students Fundraising was featured on the Canadian Living eco blog called Green Living. They even mention Botanical PaperWorks (thanks Daniela!). Here's a clip:

 

Another client, Raising the Lights, just issued their holiday catalog. Here are links to both of their catalogs, and a link to their Holiday Boutique.

Download order_form_holiday.pdf

Download order_form_traditional.pdf

On the radio

Here's me yesterday taping the segment for the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce. The piece airs tonight on 92.9 KICK FM at 6 pm (do I have that right Dan?). I'll be uploading a link to a PodCast when available.

Now, I'm off to my book club and then to my weekly lunch with Granny. In the afternoon, a call with Toni, Customer Care Manager and some work on the website. A nice, well-rounded day!

Laryngitis and other weekend wonders

The bad thing about this weekend - I came down with laryngitis.

The good thing about this weekend - I had lots of time for reading, snuggling with kids and cleaning out my home in-box. I read a bit of this and a lot of this. I was as quiet as I could be, which is tricky with an active family.

Today, I'll croak my way through a radio interview for the Manitoba Cool Companies Initiative. I'm looking forward to meeting the other CEO's and engaging in some lively dialogue.

Also, I mentioned recently that Botanical PaperWorks' plantable cards and journals are featured in the AARP's 2008 Gift Guide. The AARP sent us this scan from the actual magazine. Check out our Think & Write & Grow Journals at left and the "Seek peace" card from our Plantable Greeting Card Set. Thanks AARP!

 

Photo from Friday

This was the scene in the Customer Care zone at Botanical PaperWorks on Friday.

Happy spooky day

And get ready for the change of month by downloading a November desktop wallpaper calendar here. I just can't decide which one!

One Million Acts of Green, starting with plantable business cards

Here's something we love to see - a movement that makes a difference, a real difference to our planet. Last week, The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos launched One Million Acts of Green. Did you receive one of these 100% post-consumer waste/seed-embedded plantable business cards? Botanical PaperWorks produced them for The Hour.
 
What is One Million Acts of Green? The CBC website describes it best:

This season, CBC and The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos want to mobilize Canadians to do One Million Acts of Green. In partnership with Cisco, the idea behind the campaign is that one small act can make a big difference.

It’s not about overhauling your life; it’s about one act from each individual amassing to a million. It can be as simple as switching to compact fluorescent lightbulbs, starting a recycling program, or walking to work. You can do one act – or you can do all one million! It’s up to you.

Young and old, parents and kids, small towns and big cities, we want to create an exciting grassroots initiative. All you have to do is go to this website and register one act – or more. Our green calculator, designed by GreenNexxus, will determine the impact of those acts on the environment.

We're asking everyone to get involved: schools and universities, cities and communities, business, politicians, and even celebrities. George and The Hour are challenging other CBC programs to go green, including CBC News, Kids’ CBC, Steven & Chris, Living, and CBC Sports. But most of all, YOU.

Together we can make an impact. Together we can make our lives, our communities, and our environment greener.

One million acts of green, one act a time.

Clean Your Green

A while back, we donated Share and Blossom plantable favors to the IBEX Clean Your Green campaign. The Osborne Street Underpass has been a notoriously ugly part of Winnipeg. I should know - I drove that stretch of Osborne every day for the 10 years that I lived in Riverview. So it was exciting to support the people who did a MAJOR improvement to the area. Check out their website for before and after pics.

Here's a shot of the contents of the gift bag (thanks Dawna for sending it!). I see our friends from Tiber River Naturals also made a donation to the cause, along with a number of other Winnipeg businesses.

Hello Monday!

Wow - I've been MIA for that last seven days, battling a yucky cold that sucked up any spare energy that I had left after running my business and caring for my family. But after lots of pampering this weekend, including a fabulous Friday night at Indochine and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet with friend Lavonne, I'm feeling great!

Here's the delicious Vietnamese dish from Indochine:

Lavonne and I talked about our desire to eat healthily and later that night, she emailed me a link to Pattycake.ca, one of her favorite food websites.

I hope you are feeling well and staving off any colds and flues flying around where you live. Sunday is Daylight Savings Time in Canada and the US, so for all of our northern friends, enjoy these last days of daylight and get ready to hunker down for the cozy winter!

I'm back...

Four days in Chicago with my business forum and in meeting with clients (Gretchen - it was GREAT to meet you in person!).

So many gorgeous flowers along Michigan Ave.
Shopped 'til I dropped.
 

Boated with friends through the locks and down the river in downtown Chicago on a gorgeous yacht.
And was SO happy to get home to my cozy bed and lovely family!

New blog to enjoy

Here's a new blog that I'm enjoying - Everyday Celebrating. I crossed paths with creator and writer Michelle Stepp recently when corresponding about a press opportunity (thanks Michelle!) and she was good enough to feature Botanical PaperWorks in her blog this week. Read the posting here or click below. I just love finding a terrific new blog to follow and I think you'll enjoy it too.

Thumbs up from Canadian Living

I've been reading Canadian Living magazine for as long as I can remember. My mom is a long-time subscriber and even as a kid, I loved looking at the pictures and doing the crafts. So what a thrill to be recommended by the Green Living CanadianLiving.com blog. In a post called Get a Card, Plant a Seed, author Daniela Payne reviews our plantable Christmas Cards, the 2009 Plantable Eco Calendar and more. Click below to read the entire piece.