Check out our sales! We’re winter cleaning and wanting to purge ourselves of the holiday leftovers. Want to help us clean our cabinets out? We still have 2010 calendars, great gifts that you can keep yourself and not pass onto an ungrateful uncle, fair trade kitchen items and winter wear all on sale. Just look for the obnoxious orange price tags and you’ll know you’re getting a steal! We are preparing for 2010 where we can wow! And dazzle! you with new fabulous items, vitamins and body care. We’ve done a lot of growth this past year, rearranged our ‘room’, reevaluated our philosophy and we hope that the changes only help you, the customer, better! SWAK!

Year of the Tiger approaches...

Oh, end of the year is nearing and the dark, winter days make it easier to practice solitary magic. For all of the witches out there, if you are in need of any materials for your craft I'm here to inform you that you can find limitless supply of herbs, oils, resins, divination tools, pendulum charts, astrology reference, and many other tools at Greenlife. We have things for most every flavor of witches: green witch herbal guides, spiritual bathing books, wonderful crafting books (how-to: candles, potions, clothing) We'Moon calenders, pentagram earrings etc. We even sell matches to help light your Yule log. ~Happy Yule 2009~

Here's a quick tip to save a few dollars on any Kiss My Face product. You'll find a great selection of Kiss My Face products here at Greenlife as well as loads of other wonderful body care items.

Go to KMF's website to join their mailing list and you can download free coupons to use anywhere! (but we'd prefer that you use the coupon with us since we told you about it :)

http://kissmyface.com/coupon_access.htm

Enjoy!

Can't find something?

If you find yourself wandering up the aisle looking for that bar of soap you just know you got at Greenlife but can't see it for the life of you...don't fret. You aren't going batty or blind. This fall we have done some major resetting of products. Our aisle signs may not be of help to you, but please ask for assistance from any one of us. Our ultimate goal is to have an easy to navigate department, shelves that are organized and self explanatory, full of fabulous products and great deals for you. Please be patient with us while we finish up these projects. Check out all of the new products we are now showcasing! We've got great deals on old favorites like New Chapter and Dr Hauschka. 2010 calenders are here including the famous WeMoon calender! We've got you covered if you are in the market for fair trade Christmas stockings, local holiday cards to send to your family and friends or a brand new line of awesome clothing: Livity. (check them out at http://www.livity.org/
Our reference and retail library has had a recent makeover. We pride ourselves on having the best books that a grocery store can offer!
Still can't find what you need? Ask us! We will try our best to research and special order whatever your needs are!

The O factor

There is a theory out there that Oprah has a master plan to control the universe and we're all under her spell. While that may not be exactly true (or very original) when it comes to Oprah and marketing products, she is a mastermind. And she does it so effortlessly! Here in SBC, we assume that if Oprah is going to feature any natural foods/natural beauty care/alternative health product on her show that we will be bombarded with people wanting to buy those products. It happened with Acai berry, it happened with Neti pots. In the old days, whatever was featured in Women's World magazine was the fortune teller for what the new hot product in our industry was. Now it is Oprah and her billion dollar marketing team displaying "alternative" products in a mainstream world. A lot of people groan when Oprah is brought up, but really, she is an excellent ally. She invites those who never venture into natural foods stores to explore the alternative food world. Most recently, along with her new Doctor friend (Goodbye Phil, Hello Oz) Oprah discussed toxins in the body that we get from foods, chemicals, cleaning supplies etc. Neem oil was suggested for a toxic free pesticide and immediately after the show aired there were dozens of people looking for neem oil. Neem oil has many uses besides acting as a safe pesticide in farming. Neem is used in oral care, viral management care and topically for skin issues. People with Psoriasis have seen excellent results in treating inflamed skin with aloe and neem. Most people would never know about these uses without being introduced to them by Oprah in the first place. Oprah works. She's trusted, she's convincing and her message gets out to people.

Here is a list of items that we'd like Oprah to tell the world about. It's our own wish list of products in this industry that don't get enough props:

1. Enzymes! Enzymes! Enzymes!- they aren't just for digestion! Enzyme therapy for auto-immune diseases, chronic illness, allergies and so many more health issues.

2. Biodynamic farming. Rudolph Steiner would be proud.

3. Dr Ohhira's probiotics. best. in. the. world.

4. Fair Trade body care like Allafia and Dr Bronners.

5. Protein: The truth about Soy and why you should eat Hemp

There you go, Oprah. You can take any of these that you want! We love that you are our mainstream ally in this skeptic world.

Recycling Rules!!!!

Earlier this summer when we were talking about having a month of recycling we were trying to estimate what the response would be to the program. "Everyone in this town recycles already (big assumption, but probably a little true) why would we ask people to recycle here?"

We figured out if you lure people with free stuff that they'll bring in their 'trash' and it worked! We guessed that we might get 100-200 vitamin bottles to recycle, enough to make a fifteen pound difference in a landfill. We were happy with that number. Besides, we really just wanted a good Virgo theme for our department for late summer. :) Encouraging others to continue to recycle seemed like a good idea. However, the response was incredible! We received over 500 bottles in a short four weeks during the program. In addition to the vitamin bottles, we received pallet sized piles of #5 plastic (yogurt containers, prescription bottles etc) which were previously unrecyclable in North Carolina. Greenlife has teamed up with Preserve, a company that uses recyclable materials to create new products (razors, toothbrushes, picnic tableware etc) in recycling #5 plastic. The public is able to have a convenient space to drop off their empty containers, Greenlife then sends the containers to Preserve, Preserve reuses the plastic to make sustainable products for the public! Overall, Greenlife had a lot of valuable trash in our "backyard" that ended up in sustainable hands rather than go to a landfill or a floating ocean island of trash. Now as for all of those Sigg bottles...

Dr. Dr. Dr.

Hauschka Hauschka Hauschka

If you haven't ever used Dr Hauschka before, here is an opportunity to become aquainted with them: by looking at their website after you've read our store profile!

http://www.drhauschka.com/events/featured-store-spa/

Unfortunately, here at the Asheville store were being busy bees and were unable to give our 2 cents about the Dr Hauschka line for their website. But here on our blog, deadlines are thankfully a little more forgiving!

Here's what some of us have to say about the line (this is for you, Allison!)

"Christa gave me a sample of this lotion and I just love it!" Evelyn says as she's slathering it all over her arms.

Amy exclaims "Mom! That's like $40 lotion for your face and you just used it like it was Avon!"

"Well...it was a sample!" Evelyn replies.

(My mom loves the rose day cream and has since realized how precious it is and only uses it on her face. She's also in love with the rose body moisturizer)

"I think Dr Hauschka is a Leo with Leo rising because they think they're the only face care line in the industry."

"No, they are Pisces with Pisces rising. They just have their heads in anthroposophical clouds."

Customer asks: "What's your favorite bath stuff?"

C: "Well, it depends on whether I'm in a salty mood or not."

customer: "I'm not in a salty mood..I want something more heavenly."

C: "Oh, well then try this bath kit. It's a great bathroom accessory. When you pour in the bath oils, pour it in a figure eight shape into the water and you create a vortex of energy that just charges your bath with cosmic goodness!"

customer: "ooooooooohhh"

All in all, we have always been Hauschka apologists. Yes, it is expensive. But once you look into the intentional steps of the bio dynamic processes that everything goes through, you realize that we are lucky to even have a face care line with that kind of homeopathic, rhythmitised energy. And then, once you use it and use it correctly (!) then your skin is the one that feels lucky.

For those of you who have never tried Hauschka before, come into the store and we'll send you home with a few days' worth of samples so that you can become a follower of Hauschka like the rest of us. We love to infect others with our cosmetic obsessions!

Juliette de Bairacli Levy

Juliette de Bairacli Levy is one of the modern grandmothers of western herbalism. An Englishwoman who attended veterinary school in Manchester, left college to travel and study natural herbal therapies. She traveled and lived throughout the mediterranean particularly in Kythira, Greece where she lived in natural dwellings and abandoned villas with her pack of dogs. She authored many books focusing on animal health as well as child and mother herbal health. She has been a source of inspiration for herbalists such as Rosemary Gladstar and Susun Weed. During the second world war, she tended wounded soldiers with sphagnum moss while she worked in the Women's Land Army in England and was praised for her actions that saved entire flocks of sheep who were deemed "incurable" by conventional veteranarians.

She lived in Israel with her two children in the 1950's where they raised many animals including owls, hawks, dogs, goats, donkeys and bees. Juliette became famous for saving her hives of bees from shell attack during the six day war. She moved to Greece and raised her famous Afghan hounds and continued her research for herbal remedies for humans and animals. She spent many years traveling and learning the folklore and herbal wisdom of peasants and gypsies in Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Greece and France. Many of the remedies and stories she learned, she documented and published in her books. Her most well known book is her Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable (1951) and it was the first veterinary herbal book to be published, the art of gypsies and peasants had only previously been passed on through spoken word.

Her knowledge and wisdom have been a gift to the world of herbalism and natural pet care. She passed away in a home in Bergdorf, Switzerland at the age of 97. She will be missed.

Medicines From the Earth

Appalachian herbalist and storyteller, Doug Elliot, convincing a group to play with local herbs: wild cherry (Prunus avium) , sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) and tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera).

Also, here are some tulip poplar blossoms. In the spring, each blossom can hold up to 1/3 cup nectar! Free for the drinking by humans, bees, birds and other thirsty creatures.

Doug Elliot reminded the group that there are so many wonderful herbal partners in our surrounding woods. Aside from those mentioned above, he sang a song about Dandelion (Taraxacum off.), demonstrated how to make a carrier pouch out of poplar bark and hickory bark, told a story about his friend, a Ojibwa-Cree Native American who calls wood sorrell (Oxalis acetosella) "its all here" because the three heart shaped leaves remind him of the six directions: north, south, east, west, sky, earth. Elliot gives fun, informative walks and you can sometimes catch him on the radio telling his stories, singing his songs and generally being delightfully ridiculous and informative.

Here are some great websites for your herbal enjoyment:

www.redrootmountain.com
www.sagemountain.com
www.herbalgram.org
www.fesflowers.com

This blog is intended to be the soap box that SBC uses to sing and shout all of the words we don't have time to sing on the sales floor. Future posts will include 1. Why you shouldn't give melatonin to children! 2. What the easiest way to handle allergies in Western North Carolina with teas and diet. 3. Why we love: Evan Healy! Enzymedica! Simplers! and many other great companies that we carry in our store. Also, we have a questionnaire circulating around the department that all eleven of us are filling out to share our own story within this blog. You may not know us beyond the fact that we work at Greenlife, but we all have stories that led us here. We want you to know various and random things about us! For instance, how many years of education we have as a department between us all in the herbal field or what plant we'd take to a deserted island (remembering that coconut will most likely already be on a deserted island). Let us know what you think! We want this to be a forum for you as well. Have any questions? Post them here and we'll do our best to answer them accordingly. We want to know if our soapbox is worthy :)

Living La Vida Verde

Want to know more about Greenlife Grocery? Please visit our website or befriend us on Myspace and Facebook! We want to be your friend and your friendly grocery store!

http://www.greenlifegrocery.com/

www.myspace.com/greenlifegrocery

http://www.facebook.com/: search "Greenlife"

Medicines from the Earth

Medicines from the Earth is happening this weekend in Black Mountain, NC. This is the 17th annual symposium on botanical medicines, featuring wonderful healers and herbalists from around the world as well as local herbalists from Western North Carolina. There are general presentations, wild food and herbal cooking classes, medicine making, ethnobotany classes, and a handful of full day intensives focusing on Cancer therapies, Ayurvedic medicine and Appalachian plants. This is a great congregation of herbalists from all ways of healing and who come from all over the world that happens once a year in our area. Greenlife is a happy, proud sponsor of this event! Check out the official website for details: http://www.botanicalmedicine.org/.

!!!SBC!!!



Here in the SBC department at Greenlife, we love to win contests. We think we are awesome and we want everyone else to think so as well. Check out our "award" winning Kimono condom display! We like to practice safety in all aspects of our life and we want you to do the same!