Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a series of conversations with some of my lovely sponsors, to give us a peek behind the scenes at their businesses and hopefully get inspired as well! Today I would like to welcome Flo and Marci, owners of Marci’s Garden, an Etsy shop selling handmade reusable cloth snack bags, lunch sacks, and recycling bags – a cute & eco alternative to plastic bags. Let’s get started!
Lolalina: How long have you been in business, and what first inspired you to open your own shop?
A little over two years. When I was taking my cans and bottles to the recycle center (trying to do my part for the environment), I noticed I threw away three big trash bags and that just didn’t seem right. So I made the first large recycl-a-bag to store my recyclables until bringing them to the center. It was so much nicer to have the colorful fabric bags in my trunk instead of the plastic ones. I just washed and dried the recycl-a-bags and I have been using them for about two years – that’s a lot of saved trash bags!
I also became aware of how many plastic grocery sacks I was throwing away everyday after lunch. I’m a nurse and we all brought our food in the plastic grocery sacks. I thought I could make a prettier, reusable bag for my lunch and save those plastic bags from the trash plus my bag would stand out in the crowd. After that it just evolved into the sandwich, snack and utensil bags. We also sell a tall kitchen can Recycl-a-bag to put in the recycle can in the kitchen.
What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
The snack and sandwich bags since they keep more baggies out of the trash. We use them so much for carrying snacks for the grandkids in the car, our own popcorn when we go to the movies and of course, everyday in our lunch bag
How do you generate new design or product ideas?
Usually it’s something we decide we want to try or our customers will suggest things to us. Like right now our customers are asking for a bigger grocery-size sack larger than the lunch bag.
What advice would you share with others who may dream of opening their own shop?
Just get started, don’t wait to perfect your product because you’ll learn and change things along the way.
What do you dream of when you think of the future of your business?
We hope that we are helping to make people more aware of the little things they can do to reduce the amount of trash in everyday life and reuse what they have. By using our bags you are taking small personal steps to change the world around you. Practically speaking, we dream that our business will be a success for us.
Thanks so much, ladies!
Go visit Marci’s Garden to see more, and I will be back in a bit with one more Shop Owner Q&A.
(all images: Marci’s Garden)
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