Oh, hey. Have you seen anything cute today? No? Well, here’s a video of a bulldog and some bulls to fill your cute quota.

Basically, this video just contains one thing: bulls kissing a bulldog, and a bulldog kissing back. You’re welcome.

Related on EcoSalon

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This Bulldog Puppy Trying to Walk Will Totally Melt You [Video]

The post Bulldog and Bulls Smooch Through Fence [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoThe biggest barrier to happiness is believing that you are alone.

Love, heartbreak, happiness, sorrow; no matter our experiences, we all share the same emotions. This short video by Forge Motion Pictures reminds us why we should never feel alone.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE from Forge Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

The post Video: You Are Not Alone appeared first on EcoSalon.

Remembering the power of nature. 

Nature is powerful, and sometimes you get caught in a serendipitous moment that makes you appreciate it in a whole new way.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

We love the art of storytelling, so every weekend we bring you videos that have been making the rounds at EcoSalon. Enjoy!

The post Video: Murmuration appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnA new web series hilariously mocks the foodie movement.

When the Portlandia trailer hit and all my Portland-based friends had it posted to their Facebook profiles within minutes of each other, I had no idea that four weeks down the line people outside of my bubble would be asking me, “So is Portland really like Portlandia?”

Some find Portlandia hilarious (me) and others cock their heads and raise their eyebrows, because why would anyone find the reality of Portland funny? But that’s the thing about going viral: the message has to strike a chord. And so when Portlandia makes fun of book shop owners ogling the zine section, or restaurant goers overly concerned about where their chicken came from, it’s hilarious because there’s an element of truth. It’s a lesson in not taking yourself – or where you live or what you eat – too seriously.

In Foodie Underground, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about organic food, DIY markets, and underground trends, which I am sure that many of you are very interested in. But when was the last time you brought all three of those topics up at a dinner party and didn’t get a look of disapproval? When we take ourselves too seriously, it gets much more difficult to get our message across.

Which is why Foodies, a new web comedy series, premiering March 9th, should get a good laugh.

Mockumenting “a group of L.A. culinary enthusiasts whose passion for food spills off the table and into their personal lives,” the series is all devoted to poking fun at the smugness that so many love to point out comes along with loving good food. That assumed pretension some people think is inherent in the foodie movement may or may not be a valid argument, but in poking fun at it, Foodies is actually giving the movement more street cred.

“She’s still into me, cheese puffs prove it.” This is good humor for anyone who has a food obsession.

Click to view: Foodies

Even the recipes have a certain tongue-in-cheekiness that’s easy to appreciate.

Example: Moose’s Classic Gougères

The fun thing about gougères is that they sound really impressive for a little work. You can say things like, “Oh, these gougères? They’re nothing. I just whipped up a pâte à choux, threw in a little gruyere and called it a day” and still have time to enjoy wine with friends. Because really, it’s just a cheese puff with a fancy name.

So, put the DSLR down and stop uploading last weekend’s food photos to Flickr. Take some time to find the humor in the movement that we’ve created. Because, after all, food should be fun.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, taking a conscious look at what’s bubbling in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: Why So Serious? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what the biggest problem facing the world is? Climate change? Political warfare? Finding parking during the holidays? Ugh, take your pick, right? Those are the branches of the tree, but what’s the root of them all?

According to John Marshall Roberts, it’s empathy. Empathy? Yes, in a world with deeply embedded cynicism, our lack of understanding others, or feeling understood, leads people, communities, companies, and governments to dig in our heels, or just give up that a different reality is possible.

In doing this, progress on the big issues of the world gets slowed, and on a personal level, interactions with our family, friends and coworkers are needlessly harder than they could be.

I’d encourage you to take a little break from the holiday hubbub and watch the video below that will make you laugh, think, and give a boost of inspiration. And if you want to take further action, go have a look at the Igniting Inspiration course, giving frameworks and action for you to take to help make the world around you a better, more enjoyable place.

Readers: Whether you’ve watched the video or not, what are your thoughts on the value of empathy, and what we can all do to improve the world around us?

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Paul Smith from GreenSmith Consulting. Paul did not reach out to us requesting that we share this video of his client, we were just truly inspired and asked him if we could share it with our readers. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

The post How to Save the World in One Step appeared first on EcoSalon.

Designers aren’t alone when it comes to being held responsible for their claims of eco-design; so are the boutiques that carry them.

In fact, as greenwashing heats up and the public is able to be more informed, all participants of the manufacturing and selling process are being held accountable and nobody wants to look stupid.

Shows like D&A (Designers &Agents) and the NOW Showcase are making that quest for transparency a lot easier. For example, with green leaf icons at D&A serving as code for sustainable designer’s booths and with the NOW Showcase, an established venue offering various shades of green depending on the hue you so desire.

Still, nothing is perfect. In fact, at the last D&A show when approaching a designer toting a green leaf (for my own boutique), I was left to stand and have her waste 15 minutes of my precious time explaining to me why she had acquired her green leaf.

“So are your chains reclaimed?” I asked her.

“No, we give women fresh out of prison jobs to support their new life,” she answered.

“So nothing is recycled or reclaimed?,” I asked again horrified.

“Ahhh, no,” she said, now looking at me in bewilderment.

I had at least three other run-ins with designers marked with the green leaf that were, in my opinion, not even mint green.

While venues keep improving, we buyers keep pushing forward with our rigorous drills on designers, asking lots of questions and hopefully getting the right answers.

While in New York for Market Week, I bumped into Shana Yansen, owner and buyer of Jute and Jackfruit for a buyer’s love fest.

Here’s what she had to say about her adventures as a buyer.

The post Video Interview: Shana Yansen of Jute And Jackfruit appeared first on EcoSalon.

Fall is the time when farmer’s markets are filled with delicious goodies like cranberries, apples and more. So what better time to set aside some produce and pamper your prettiness? Check out our step-by-step guide to making an apples and cranberry facial mask, inspired by Narine Nikogosian’s Return to Beauty. Cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants, which help fight skin damage. They are also mildly acidic and make a great skin exfoliator.

Along with Erin Fox of Squee TV, watch us go toe to toe with mashed cranberries, shredding apples, and some absconded flax seed supplement!

Image: The Gifted Photographer

The post DIY Fall Beauty: Homemade Apples and Cranberry Mask appeared first on EcoSalon.

The idea of being sustainable, eco or green has changed tremendously over the past few years, so it’s hard to say what fits into these three categories.

Below are just a few ways that Leslie Yang of Feisty Elle embodies these concepts:

• Using eco friendly materials such as bamboo ply and 100 percent merino wool felt.
• Keeping it green at the Feisty Elle office and using packaging made from recycled content as well as recycling all packaging and materials.
• Producing locally with all pieces designed and assembled by hand in San Francisco as well as sharing a commitment to working with local business (suppliers, manufacturers, printers) whenever possible.

I recently caught up with Leslie in New York at the NOW Showcase to see what makes her tick when it comes to sustainability. Here’s what she had to say.

The post Video: An Interview with Leslie Yang of Feisty Elle appeared first on EcoSalon.

Not only is Scott Mackinlay Hahn a refreshing and talented designer/founder of Loomstate, he’s one of the most attractive designers cutting cloth this side of the Mississippi – and I know I’m not the only woman to think it so shut your mouths.

Physical attributes aside, Scott, who co-designs with Rogan Gregory (also of Rogan) for Loomstate is a pioneer in the sustainable field working from the soil up when it comes to his line. The designs exclude “the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives,” and only use 100 percent certified organic cotton from various regions of the world such as Turkey, Peru, Africa, India and the USA.

The Loomstate site says: “Beginning with the design process in its New York studio, Loomstate directly manages all stages of manufacturing, from the fabric mills, to the cut and sew facilities and finally the laundries to ensure all partners are participating in responsible manufacturing processes. Loomstate works with factories representing the ‘Gold Standard’ or model of excellence of responsible production methods. All Loomstate factory partners are required to adhere to a code of conduct and Terms of Engagement in our company manufacturing agreement. These factories must use the highest environmental and labor standards, controlling factory pollution, and enforcing fair labor as the cornerstone of the effort.”

Phew. The label really does work hard to be sustainable in every way. I recently caught up with Scott in his New York studio to have him talk more about what sustainability meant to him. You can catch the interview above.

The post Chatting with Scott Mackinlay Hahn of Loomstate appeared first on EcoSalon.

Raina Blyer, designer of sustainable label Creem and one of the founders of the NOW Showcase, has long been a face amongst New York’s sustainable community.

Her collaborations with other designers, and being one of the founders of the NOW Showcase seem like a natural progression for her when it comes to supporting the newest in independent, locally-produced fashion.

I caught up with her recently at the NOW Showcase, while she was debuting her spring 2011 line (which was stunning) and asked her a few questions about what sustainability has grown to mean in the fashion world.

The post Raina Blyer of Creem Talks Sustainable appeared first on EcoSalon.