Mayday Handmade Fair

This Saturday's Mayday Handmade Fair is open to the public and free to all! Doors open at noon sharp. Feel free to RSVP or share via FB. In honor of Mother’s Day, 10% of vendor proceeds will benefit the East End Pregnancy Test + Help Center. Read here about my own reasons for supporting the center with proceeds from Limb & Leaf!

I'll have fresh batches of Zzzzzzz Cream, Breathe Balm, Healing Salve & gift certificates for upcoming HerbShop events, among other thoughtful gift items! Other vendors plan to offer:

• paintings, prints & home decor
• toys, greeting cards & garlands
• handknits & printed apparel
• herbal body care & loose teas
• jewelry (both local & fair trade from overseas)

DIY Herb Love & Lore

Three more spaces available this Saturday for HerbShop. We'll be making first-aid remedies, drinking probiotic tea & identifying wild, healing herbs of spring! Sign up via the Square marketplace.

Hope to see you there!

April HerbShop: Skincare & Seasonal Relief

LIMB AND LEAF HERBSHOP

Skincare & Seasonal Relief

Learn & practice hands-on methods for making herb infused oils & medicinal tinctures to help protect against & recover from common skin ailments & allergic reactions. Starting with an overview of herb properties, we will examine different extraction methods while learning when they can be best applied. The remainder of the class will be devoted to preparing an herb & essential oil first-aid antibiotic salve, a bentonite clay body powder & ending with a Q&A session and talking the pros & cons of ordering herbs in bulk. Our structure is a lab rather than lecture, so please come ready to work with your hands & revolutionize your medicine cabinet while having lots of fun! 

All materials will be provided. Each student will walk away with a travel size healing salve, recipe cards to jog the memory at home, book lists & online resources... It's taken me 4 yrs to learn where to find the best ingredients at affordable prices & what works for sensitive, damaged, acne-prone or newborn skin. I'm just sharing the love!

Date/Time: April 12, 2014 / 2-4pm
Location: 23223 (my house)
Cost: $35 (includes all materials) 

Sign up via the Square marketplace 

Hope to see you there!
xoxo 

Megs

March HerbShop: Skincare & Seasonal Relief

LIMB AND LEAF HERBSHOP
Skincare & Seasonal Relief

Learn & practice hands-on methods for making herb infused oils, salves and poultices. Starting with an overview of herb properties, we will examine different extraction methods while learning when they can be best applied. The remainder of the class will be devoted to preparing an herbal first-aid & antibiotic salve, ending with a Q&A session and talking the pros & cons of ordering herbs in bulk. Our structure is a lab rather than lecture, so please come ready to work with your hands & revolutionize your skin-care practices while having a lot of fun! All materials will be provided. Each student will leave with a travel size sample of healing salve, recipe cards to jog the memory at home, my book lists & online resources... It's taken me 4 yrs to learn where to find the best ingredients at affordable prices & what works for sensitive, damaged, acne-prone or newborn skin. I'm just sharing the love!

Date/Time: 2-4pm, March 22, 2014
Location: RVA's Northside, 23222
Cost: $35 (includes all materials)
Register on Square Market

Holiday Handmade Fair

Limb and Leaf Herb DIY Workshop

Four years ago, as a new mama running out all of the gifted teas/soaps/lotions/powders, many aspects of natural, whole-body care felt elitist & pricey. The library & a YouTube video weren't enough to help me find raw, healing, plant-based ingredients that were affordable to DIY. 

Herbs were once the medicine of the people. Their natural beauty & virtue have fallen out of common practice in the home, as it takes time, trial & error to learn. I would like to share some simple, natural solutions & resources to let you see if it works for your family. To the first 10 people who sign up, please enjoy the second...


LIMB AND LEAF HERBSHOP
Immune Defense: Herbs for inner strength

Learn & practice hands-on methods for making herb infused oils & medicinal tinctures to help protect against & recover from common winter infections. Starting with an overview of herb properties, we will examine different extraction methods while learning when they can be best applied. The remainder of the class will be devoted to preparing an essential oil vapor balm & honey cough syrup, ending with a Q&A session and talking the pros & cons of ordering herbs in bulk. Our structure is a lab rather than lecture, so please come ready to work with your hands & revolutionize your medicine cabinet while having lots of fun! 

All materials will be provided. Each student will leave with 4 oz of carrier oils, a sample of vapor balm, my book lists & online resources... It's taken me 4 yrs to learn where to find the best ingredients at affordable prices & what works for ailing ears, throats & noses. I'm just sharing the love!

Date/Time: December 14, 2013 / 2-4pm
Location: RVA's southside (email for street address)
Cost: $35 (includes all materials)

Hope to see you there!

At this stage, we're using the Square marketplace to allow HerbShop participants to reserve their slot. For locals who want to pre-order gifts for pickup at the Holiday Handmade Fair, please order via Square & pickup on December 7, 2013 between 12-4pm at 400 W. 32nd St RVA 23225. Unopened/unused products may be exchanged with 14 days. Empty, used bottles & tins may be returned for a "refill" discount on the next item ordered.

limb and leaf

In prep for next weekend's #HandmadeFairRVA, allow me to introduce my wares! Small batch, herbal body care after the traditions of domestic medicine, repurposing containers whenever possible. Low tech kitchen techniques ease the ache in my heart to take natural resources & make products that please the senses, nourish the body & serve everyday life. Secret ingredient: love.

All herbs & essential oils sourced from Mountain Rose Herbs, Native American Nutritionals, Bulk Herb Store (each USDA organic certified & sustainable harvest companies) or my kitchen garden (too small for the USDA to care that it's organic & sustainable.)

Healing Salve

Natural first-aid for all your skin's woes. Gentle enough for the newest baby bum; strong enough to calm a surprise wasp-sting; nourishing enough to help heal surgical scars.  Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-itch. Most effective when applied immediately to injured skin.

Made with cold pressed organic coconut & extra virgin olive oil, organic calendula blossoms, organic comfrey & plantain leaves, natural beeswax, organic tea tree oil, organic eucalyptus & peppermint essential oils. Smooth, nourishing, moisturizing, petroleum-free & friendly to all skin types. Cloth diaper friendly. Rave reviews when given as a new mama gift, at showers & as thank you gifts.

Zzzzzzz Herb Cream

Fragrant, natural remedy for the tossie-turnies. You (& your babies) may start sleeping through thunderstorms. Most effective when applied on the soles of the feet, temples & behind the ears (think lymph nodes.) Smooth as silk, nourishing, moisturizing, petroleum-free & friendly to all skin types.

Made with cold pressed organic coconut oil, organic lavender & chamomile buds, organic cocoa butter, organic beeswax, & lavender essential oil. Makes a great personal go-to solid perfume or works well as a gift.

Detox Dry Shampoo

Vegan, talc free, organic scalp revitalizer for the girl who likes to camp. Or between washes for anyone with bangs, great for use before styling. Removes excess oil & dirt at the roots via bentonite clay (draws toxins into itself, washes away in the next shower, you won’t feel a thing.) Dust a small amount on roots and scalp. Using fingers, massage in. Brush throughout, from roots to end, helping to disperse evenly. Style as usual.

Made with the perfect ratio of bentonite clay, organic brown rice flour, organic cocoa powder (brunette version), baking soda & your choice of essential oil.
Essential Oil Addition Choices;
+lavender      +rosemary
+peppermint  +eucalyptus
+bergamot     +cedarwood

 Herbal Probiotic Tea This vegan drink is fermented with kefir grains. Mild enough for toddler tummies & a great alternative to commercially carbonated beverages, with a low glycemic load & no caffeine. As a natural supplier of probiotics, this tea restores the healthy flora of your stomach & intestines. As a natural source of electrolytes, this tea is a supplemental source of vitamins B12, B1 & B6.  Made using distilled water, organic raw sugars & herbal teas. Fermented over 24-48 hrs. (Kefir consists of lactic acid bacteria & yeast that exist in a symbiotic relationship.) Herbal tea variations:
+lavender        +rosemary
+peppermint    +chamomile

PLEASE: If you have serious health issues, I urge you to consult your physician or health practitioner before adding this tea to your diet.

Handmade Fair RVA

Perhaps I couldn’t have known how motherhood would change everything. At once I can feel those babies in my belly, on my hip, at my feet & the unfinished projects melt into a puddle. I wake up, pull back from the brain chatter and grasp for reality. My mind & hands itch to get moving: meaningful tasks, honorable work with measurable results. Making moves my mind & hands out of isolation. Toward people to work among, beside, between. To see you do your best, learn from mistakes & get a little closer to the image that started in your head. We get to see one another transformed by making things.

We make with our hands in search of the Maker. We swap skills, share raw materials, screw up, go on a hunch, risk failure. We learn by committed practice. Here we choose to hunt through Scripture & gather to make things from scratch. Together.

Northern Grade RVA

Fall Retreat Sign-up & Sessions

Hunt.Gather's Fall Retreat Registration is now open! We are coming together in hands-on, family-style workshops: from student to hobbyist to career artists to retiree. Sessions are open to the public, facilitated by local women & hosted by The 400 in RVA. Sign up HERE! $10 per session covers materials, so sign up to join the sessions that interest you most. (All skill levels welcome.)

We'll be kicking off at 6:30 - 8 pm Friday night (September 27th) with a fabulous Handmade Fair, coffee and live music! A remarkable mix of amazing artisans and crafters will be selling their one-of-a-kind, handmade goods. The Handmade Fair is open to the public and free to all. If you are interested in being a vendor, we would love to have you join us! Simply check the box upon registering below, or email megan.joy.clinch@gmail.com

After the Fair, we will break up into various workshops Friday night and again on Saturday, where we get our hands dirty with handmade techniques & refresh skills that have laid dormant. These individual workshops are $10/session, and that price covers all materials. For a complete list of all the workshops being offered, keep reading.

You can register for the Hunt.Gather Fall Creative Retreat by clicking the button above. After you choose workshops & click "submit," you will be redirected to PayPal to pay with a credit or debit card, or your PayPal account. Don't wait to sign up, as prices will go up to $15/session at the door the day of the sessions. In addition to the workshops, we will also be hosting a catered lunch on Saturday for all participants. The lunch will be $5, and you can pay in advance using the registration form below. Also feel free to bring your own lunch, stay and chat between workshops!

Since inspiring content is what makes this retreat worth hosting... here are the details from each instructor, in 50 words or fewer at the huntgatherblog!

First Friday

This evening & tomorrow afternoon, grab your #1 beau & join us in celebrating Richmond’s creative artisans at the High Water Pop-Up Shop hosted by Black Iris! 

Ledbury, Shockoe Denim, The Odd Couple, Steady Sounds and Release the Hounds will be showcased in a two-day downtown display of local craftsmanship and utilitarian aesthetics. Shop runs from 5-10 PM Friday & 12-5 PM Saturday. (The space is well-curated, smells like new leather, with a cocktail hour vibe. You don't want to miss it.)

by the seashore

before & after: backyard brunch picnic

This is about asking for help. Irene busted us up, just two weeks before hosting a baby shower. It's.so.bright.back.there. We definitely improvised, for shade especially... Thanks to borrowed umbrellas, crate/stools with cushions, picnic blankets, a quick re-cover job on our piano benches & many some delicious food contributions (envy the deep dish quiche), success! Miraculously, Os slept through the whole thing. Many thanks to all you lovely ladies who made the day so beautiful & full of energetic love!

[Once the other stump is removed & a fence is erected, we hope to plant a magnolia in that spot. For shade & for climbing!]

toddlers + sprinkler = really good nap

A lovely morning with friends, mine & theirs.