Fay Cullen » ECO Friendly

Hand-made

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:05:15 +0000

Handmade jewelry is jewelry which has been assembled and formed by hand rather than through the use of machines. According to the guidelines of the FTC, in order to be stamped or called ‘handmade’ the work must be made solely by hand power or hand guidance [1].

In essence, this means that jewelry may be made using drills, lathes, or other machinery, but it must be guided by human hand.

This precludes the use of punch presses, CNC machinery and casting to name a few processes that would not qualify as ‘handmade’.
Beyond that caveat it can be anything made out of anything that would be considered jewelry. The American Gem Trade Association Spectrum awards[2], the Gem Center Idar Oberstein, and the De Beers Awards include awards specifically for handmade jewelry.
Although there is much mass produced jewelry in the world, there are many people who prefer to have work that is hand-crafted by a real artisan, and the arena of hand made jewelry and other items will likely remain healthy because of that fact. Much jewelry that is marked or sold as ‘hand-made’ often is not truly so, though it may be essentially so.

Sustainability

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:04:45 +0000

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. The ecological form of sustainability refers to how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, while human sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well-being, reliant on the well-being of the natural world and our responsible use of natural resources.

Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth, from local to a global scale and over various time periods. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems.

Invisible chemical cycles redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon through the world’s living and non-living systems, and have sustained life for millions of years. As the earth’s human population has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of natural cycles have had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems.

There is abundant scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably, and returning human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits will require a major collective effort. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms, including the reorganization of living conditions (e.g., eco-villages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy) and adjusting our individual lifestyles to conserve natural resources.

Clean Green Habits

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:04:17 +0000

Although our building doesn’t recycle (and we may never persuade them to), we do! We make an effort to take all our recyclable plastic waste to a place that will appreciate it and we recycle all our paper products…but more about that later.
Our office has an unwritten policy of ‘Print Only when you Need To’ and ‘Take your Lunch to Work’. Our food is brought in recyclable containers, half of which is organically grown and some of which is proudly grown by us!

Mac Recycling

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:03:53 +0000

MAC Aids AIDS

I keep stashing my used MAC containers in the bathroom draw because I know that this is what Mother would want, Mother Earth that is, not ‘my’ Mother on this occasion. Below are a few containers I have lovingly stashed for about five years and today it’s time to go…below are details of the MAC program that I thoroughly support and which I have supported for at least the last ten, so this is not a case of ‘Green-washing’, this company actually cares!

Back to M-A-C Program
Because we share your commitment to the environment, MAC accepts returns of its primary packaging through the Back to MAC Program. By returning six [6] MAC primary packaging containers to a MAC counter or MAC Cosmetics Online, you receive a free MAC Lipstick of your choice as our thanks to you.
Since 100% of the retail selling price of Viva Glam Lipsticks is provided to organizations that help people living with HIV/AIDS, these colors are excluded from this program.

Just ‘Stick it Against the Wall’ VS Feng Shui

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:03:10 +0000

Feng Shui today focuses on situating ourselves in areas of good qi, which is loosely interpreted as energy. Some areas on earth are not considered suitable for settlement, consequently they should be left in their natural state. For me, there is a close correlation between our present Green bubble and feng shui which will become more apparent as we aim to blend our office with a cocktail of both.
Persecution during the Cultural Revolution classified feng shui as a custom that needed to be terminated and practitioners and their work were abused by Red Guards. At the end of the Cultural Revolution, the official attitude became slightly more tolerant but in PRC it remains illegal to register feng shui consultation as a business and advertising feng shui practice is completely banned. Not one of the main agendas in the Communist Manifesto, ‘promoting feudalistic superstitions’ resulted in the sacking of Communist officials who had consulted feng shui as they were repidly expelled from the Communist Party.
As a result, less than one third of PRC believe in feng shui with less than 5% of followers from the younger generation. Today learning feng shui is considered taboo in China, perhaps just as much so as their perceived carbon footprint. According to a BBC Chinese news commentary in 2006, Communist Party officials have gained adherents since the Chinese economic reforms. Although the number of feng shui practitioners is steadily increasing today, it is strictly limited to anthropologists or architects by trade, studying the history of feng shui or historical feng shui theories behind the design of heritage buildings.
People have reacted skeptically towards the alleged benefits of crystals, wind-chimes, fountains, and mirrored balls and such on life, finances, and relationships despite a multitude of documented testaments to the contrary in a number of books that may interest you.
A growing body of research exists on the traditional forms of feng shui both used and taught in Asia, such as the Landscape Ecologists who find traditional feng shui an interesting study. In many cases, the only remaining patches of old forest in Asia are ‘feng shui woods’ which strongly suggest the ‘healthy home’ sustainability and environmental components of ancient feng shui techniques should not be quite so easily dismissed; especially as archaeological sites discovered in the American Southwest, conclude that ancient Native Americans considered both astronomy and landscape in their building.

Crafted by Skilled Balinese Artisans

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:02:45 +0000

Crafted by skilled Balinese artisans, these colorful minerals, drusies, gemstones and fossils are assembled into wearable artworks that are sold in museum stores nationwide. Utilizing these organic elements, blended with ancient symbols and unusual motifs, these dynamic necklaces are reserved for influential women of peace who have chosen a path of natural harmony. Particularly favoring turquoise, amber, aquamarine, opal, seashells, fossils, and petrified woods, this fervent designer is passionate about striking and distinctive jewelry that represents a myriad of stone collections from exotic places around the globe, each one adoringly purchased for its intrinsic beauty, not simply to fulfill the empty bezel of a pre-design!

Going Green by Recycling a Vintage Wedding Set

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:56:15 +0000

A customer came to us wanting to Go Green by recycling their former engagement ring into a completely different and unrecognizable design. Our manufacturers worked on a design to incorporate all the original tapered baguette diamonds, adding some European-cut diamonds to complete the look. Our happy customer and his fiance were delighted with their new ring and will shortly be married.

Fair Trade Afghan Shopping at Tucson

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:55:39 +0000

A long conversation with Gary Bowersox of Honolulu, Hawaii revealed that his work with ASMED through USAID helps to promote small and medium businesses owned by miners and tradesmen in Afghanistan. ASMED sponsored participating Afghans by paying for both their booths and showcases at the GJX Gem Show in Tucson, AZ. Gary is an active participating member of the Rotary Club and describes his work with Afghan tradesmen as ‘Bringing Minds to Market’. Gary also described his challenging experiences escorting his Afghan friends into the US, accompanied by both the FBI and the Secret Service! By all accounts, they all had a productive show and if you want to participate by supporting this exciting Free Trade opportunity, look out for just two fabulous multi-strands of Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli, direct from Afghanistan to offer at FCI.

Feng Shui, The Front Door

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:55:03 +0000

As Ch’i or energy enters the house through the doors and windows, it may be beneficial to consider the size, the materials from which its made, the dynamics of use and the direction of opening.
Using the front door to enter and leave your house is important to prevent bickering between the occupants. Minimal back-door use for emptying the garbage or accessing the yard if preferable.
The door size should be relative to the size of the property, too large a door may cause loss of opportunity while too small a door may cause disharmony within. Additionally, the front door should be larger than the back door, encouraging energy to enter. However, a faceted crystal hanging just inside the door can easily rectify either issue.
Solid doors are preferable to glass doors but a curtain hanging over a glass door will counteract any negative impact.
Front doors must open inwards to allow Ch’I to enter and there’s no compromising on this one.
As your front door is the entryway to your home, it needs to be treated with respect so be sure to oil hinges, clean it regularly, repair it if broken and ensure that no obstacles prevent it from opening inwards.
To maintain harmonious relationships with callers, ensure that the name or number of your house is clearly visible both during the day and at night.
Beware of ‘poison arrows’ which transform good energy into bad, especially at your front door. This may include a pointed roof, a pointed driveway or pointed decorative pillars, if you do, a Ba Gua mirror can be hung above the door to deflect this energy.
Your front doorbell should be in full working order and easily accessible with a pleasant ring tone.
Optimal door coloring should coordinate with the direction the door
faces as pertaining to the Feng Shui Ba Gua.

South (Fire) = Reds, pink, burgundy.
Southwest (Earth) = Yellows or browns.
West (Metal) = White, silver, copper or gold.
Northwest (Metal) = White, silver, copper or gold.
North (Water) = Blacks or blues.
Northeast (Earth) = Yellows or browns.
East (Wood) = Greens.
Southeast (Wood) = Greens.

Shoes should not clutter your front door, thus creating stagnant energy and neatly trimmed and regularly watered plants are advantageous to flowing Ch’i.
This is the front door to Fay Cullen Inc. We occupy 4,000ftsq of office space so the double door is relative to the office size. As we face east, our color is green and our element is wood, so we accentuate our front doors with live plants that do not require full sunlight for optimal growing conditions.

Baby Carbon Footprints

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:54:44 +0000

In just 30 days, our offices have gone from recycling nothing to about 90% of our waste, with minimal effort. We have a long way to go to turn completely Green with a zero Carbon Footprint but we are all thrilled with our progress.
From a single garbage bin into which we threw everything in our office, we now each have 2 bins in each office, one for paper products and the other for waste other than plastics and recycled materials, which are deposited in our kitchen garbage for recycling.
This is a picture of our beautiful amalgamated wooden garbage bin, reminding us that sustainable trees have to be felled to support our 21st Century paper-habit.