Happy Holidays!
Choose Local Card
Gift
Registry
Happy Holidays!
Our warmest wishes to you as we approach Winter
Solstice! Recognizing Winter Solstice is a great way to connect to our
planet and our own natural selves, as we anticipate the return of
longer days and thus, more light. Occurring this year on December 21st
at 9:47 AM, it is thought of as both Midwinter and the beginning of
Winter, depending on tradition.
2009 has been a challenging year for many people worldwide; we can't
think of anyone that has not been affected by the economic slowdown.
Whenever we discuss the challenges in front of humanity at this time,
it seems the most reasonable and hopeful approaches all have to do with
strengthening our local connections; to our neighbors, to our
schools, local businesses, community organizations and on and on. It's
where we have the most power! Mirador has experienced your support this
year and it has kept us going. We thank you for that and wish you what
you need in 2010!
If your holiday plans involve gift buying, we think we have a
collection of wonderful products and as always, we are
concentrating as much as possible on products that can be described as
follows:
Locally Made, Fair Trade Made, US Made, Sustainably Made, Made from Recycled Materials or Organic Materials
Here's a sampling:
Soap & a lovely soap dish made from soapstone, ceramic, stainless steel or wood.
Arghand Soap from Afghanistan. See an interview with Bill Moyer and Sarah Chayles,
the NPR reporter who went to Afghanistan to report and instead wound up
staying to start a soap business with the intent to offer Afghanis an
alternative to opium production.
Or a bar of Camamu Soap, made right around the corner from Mirador.
We have a great selection of winter scarves, hats, & gloves
as well as many scarves of various designs & sizes to complete an
outfit. There are some really cute hats & gloves for children from
Andes Gifts, a Fair Trade company with manufacturing in Bolivia.
Very sweet aprons made in
Portland by Lynn Jenkins, as well as some from Nepal, Guatemala &
India. The aprons from India are matched by the Fair Trade, organic
cotton table clothes and napkins; all are block printed by hand – an
old, traditional art.
A great range of baskets
from either Ghana or Baskets of Cambodia. The Ghanian Baskets are the
ones you see so often at the Farmers Markets, brimming with produce;
they come in numerous sizes and colors and could be given by themselves
as well as to hold a gift.
Stained Glass Mosaics by Missy Lambert
of Portland. We met Missy at the Mississippi Street Fair this year and
fell hard for her mosaic glasswork in used picture frames that would
dress up any window. No two are alike and they're all beautiful.
For the bed & bath: Towels in organic cotton by Coyuchi, and bamboo towels by Bamboo Moon. Organic cotton sheets, also by Coyuchi; they've brought out new colors in their flannel so we can now offer Taupe, Fog (grey), Laurel (green), Ivory & Charcoal.
Wool pillows from Holy Lamb in Washington and millet stuffed pillows by Serenity Pillows in California. Both pillow companies are women-owned and produce excellent products.
If people on your list plan to get into (or back into) yoga in the new year, we have a wide selection of mats,
many of them PVC free. Some examples of the mat materials are rubber,
natural jute, TPE (Thermal Plastic Elastomer foam - no latex, PVC or
rubber). In the same vein, we have balance ball kits, yoga & Pilates DVDs, and meditation cushions (Zafus) made right here in Portland.
For the table, Fair Trade napkins & placemats, and tablecloths from Ganesh Himal and Marigold, recyclyed glass dinnerware from Spain, Green Glass US-made glassware from used wine bottles, and artistic serving utensils
by Carol Davis of Portland. Carol is a master at using Fimo (polymer
clay) to decorate the handles of serving spoons, cake servers and the
like. Her pieces make great gifts; they're unique, functional and
pieces of art!
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Laptop Lunch & Lunchsense
are lunch systems designed by mothers who wanted to make sure that
their children, husbands and themselves had nutritious food for lunch
at school or work, and that the food traveled in reusable, safe
lunchware. Also available are the popular stainless steel To-Go Ware tiffins in three sizes. To-Go Ware also makes bamboo flatware, available in a recycled plastic holder or separately. See the article in our Fall Newsletter for more information on lunch products.
Beautiful and functional Scheumack Brooms, handmade
in Eugene from broom corn and wildcrafted branch handles, come in a
variety of broom colors, including natural, red, blue, purple and mixes
of two or more colors (the colors are from natural dyes).
Canning Kits which
include all the basic tools for water-bath canning, were a popular item
this summer and fall and would make a good gift for someone wanting to
get into canning.
For pickling and fermenting vegetables (which can be done all winter) we have simple ceramic crocks, and Harsch crocks and Perfect Picklers, which make fermenting vegetables germ-free easy.
Also in the preserving area are Excalibur food dehydrators. These can be used year-round to make crackers and other foods as well as drying vegetables and fruits in season.
Cheese making kits by Urban Cheesecraft of Portland come in three flavors: Mozzarella/ricotta, Feta, and paneer/queso blanco.
Clay cooking is popular and we have some great handmade (in Chile) Pomaireware clay cook- and bakeware that looks glazed yet is only hand polished.
We carry the Family line of grain mills and attachments in both hand and motorized versions for that someone special who wants to make the best wholegrain breads, muffins and cereals.
Also for that special person in your life is either a Champion or Omega juicer. Or a Vita Mix super powerful blender.
In the alternative energy department, we have battery chargers and rechargeable batteries, hand-cranked flashlights and radios, and even calculators and clocks than run off water (or other liquid)!
For everyday use are french presses, stovetop espresso makers, stovetop and electric water kettles and other equipment for the morning ritual.
For the cook we have stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron and Pyrex cookware, bakeware and woks, as well as a wide variety of kitchen utensils and gadgets.
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In all areas of Mirador you can find sweet, smallish items for stocking stuffers. If you're looking for wrapping paper or gift bags, we can help you with a lot of tree-free options that are as beautiful as any paper out there. If you want to make the most out of the gift bag idea, try a Flip & Tumble or Tucker Bag for gift giving, and the receiver then has a great shopping bag. And of course, holiday cards by the box or one at a time.
Shop Local Coupon
New Seasons Market generously donated their four-page Oregonian insert for November 25th to the Sustainable Business Network of Portland (SBNP). In addition to listing the members of the SBNP, many businesses
have special offers for the holiday season (including Mirador). If you
don't get the Oregonian or lost your copy of the insert, you can
download it here.
Also,
if you shop at five local businesses and have them stamp your page, you
can enter a contest for a $500 New Seasons shopping spree! (This contest ends December 15.)
The
coupons are on the back page of the insert. Please only use one Mirador
coupon (don't print multiple copies). Left off the coupon is the fact
that it expires December 31, 2009.
Mirador also has a coupon in the 2010 Chinook Book; look for coupon C-271.
Choose Local Card
Mirador is one of a good number of locations that offers a discount when presented the Choose Local
card and that also has cards available for free to customers. The
Choose Local people only ask for your e-mail & name when we give
you a card. You're then set to get online and find out where you can
use the card to obtain bargains at participating organizations which
will include restaurants, art & entertainment events, retailers and
services. Next time you come by, ask for your free "Choose Local
Card" and start saving some money!
Gift
Registry
If you would like to register
at Mirador for an event, here are some instructions
on how to do it. This is a great way to get what you want and support a
local business that shares your values.
If you have friends that are
registered at Mirador you can see their registry here.
Nepalese Wedding Invitation Close-out
We are closing out our Nepalese Paper wedding invitations at 25% off
either $50 or $60 per box of 25, depending on Bodhi leaf
color.
Sustainable Tableware
If you are looking for sustainable tableware for a special event, check
out: Earth-Centric, 6017 NE Sandy Blvd, http://www.Earth-Centric.com.
Plates, cups, flatware, garbage bags: they have it all.
Nepalese
Wedding Invitation
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