Why Shop at Online Boutiques
What shall I do with my desire to live the natural life? The natural life is an ethic of earth care where we seek to move away from the mass-produced world of chemical laden products that in the end harm our environment as well as our bodies. Now this does not mean a break with the modern world, but more so crafting the organic into to a world that is going increasingly in-organic. So we have begun by buying from farmers markets when we can. We are vegan six days a week. We do yoga on Saturdays. We find a grassy patch and walk through it bare foot. We reuse, recycle and compost. But what about how we shop?
In the 90s in Venice, California, there were a few great vintage shops and many, many great boutiques. For a time, when I moved to New York, I missed the little stores where I could find unique hand-crafted things, old things, or pre-owned things. Then boutiques become all the rage in NYC and the people started to frequent thrift stores in the strange economic times. But we can't all live in New York City or Venice, California, so a great alternative to buying mass-produced, sweatshop-made things harmful to our earth and ourselves is the world of online boutiques. Online boutiques are intimate and personal. Often, just as you would with a local boutique, you can develop friendships with the owners and also order items specially made for you.
Safiya operates "Fruits Boutique" at www.etsy.com/shop/fiyamitch. A fantastic Rastafarian artisan crochet shop where one can find those little things to make you standout and draw you and those around you closer to nature and an ethic of earth care. She creates these afro-centric pieces as way for bring diversity to world. She says, "My interest in crochet is rooted in my appreciation for all things afro-centric, particularly, Rastafarian culture and natural locks. I was very fascinated with how beautiful a woman could be with her hair wrapped in a turban or covered in a tam. I thought, wow… how innovative, how liberating… It was a movement/lifestyle that I had to be a part of…. Every color reflects my mood at the time of creation, and every finished product represents that which has been influential throughout my journey thus far."
She told me, what she truly loves is the connection she makes with people all over the world through her art. I love her hats. It is not just for women and men with Rastafarian locs but for all women and men, of all ethnicities, with long or short hair. Wearing one of these pieces shows a deep love for the earth and a connection to people not found in large aisles of a department store. The hats are great for your hair also. They allow the scalp to the breath and not sweat as other hats can. Sweat releases salts that damage the hair by drying and cutting it. The earrings are light, strong, and colorful and are not made in a sweatshop.
Visit her store and get to know her. If you are in NYC on June 30 th , you can meet the artisan of the "Fruits Boutique" at the Wellness Though Beauty Style and Fashion Mixer hosted by The Pomade Shop (www.thepomadeshop.com) at Kombit Restaurant, 279 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217.
