I had am amazing time at the Better Living Show in Portland, Oregon a couple of weeks ago. What a great time! There was such a kinship in meeting new people with common goals and even seeing friends. I knew I was in for a great show when there were over 500 people in the lobby before the doors even opened.  It turned out, opening hours were the best time to find people and chat. The afternoons were packed and of course, Saturday was the busiest. I was delighted to see the attendance and I learned so much.

Among the highlights:

Lynn Cowell, Julie Bonn Heath, Corey Colwell-Lipson

Celebrate Green- I finally got to meet Lynn Colwell and Corey Lipson-Colwell, the wonderful authors of “Celebrate Green“. These green-savvy and style-savvy ladies were an absolute delight to have tea with and chat about our green goals. And then they taught a great class on ways to take your green goals into your celebrations all year around. What hit me the most was the mantra “plan ahead”. This is hard for me at times but I agree with them that with planning ahead, you can make most anything green and more eco-savvy.

I know the candy manufacturers are counting on me scrambling at the last minute for Easter baskets (because I usually do) and packing them with candy. But although I have been busy this week and last, I have already put some thought into how to make our baskets more eco-friendly this year.

Biodegradable Bags- Earth-Centric LLC in Portland makes 100% biodegradable bags from cornmeal. They gave out samples at the show and I am very impressed with them. They are not only biodegradable but they are also durable and they have many options including garbage and shopping bags. They also make bowls from sugar cane and a variety of additional products.

National Garden Clubs, Inc- I spoke for a long time with Linda Nelson, Third VP of National Garden Clubs Inc. What an great lady. She is insightful about the industry and so kind. She, her kind “booth-mate” and I chatted a long time about gardening, marketing and getting the word out about the support that there is out there for gardeners-especially those in the organic industry. Thanks ladies for meeting with me!

It was a great show! I was very impressed with the vendors and attendees. I loved seeing new products and atttending the seminars as well. I will definately return next year!

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