Treasure Trunk at #Terressentials

This is our second post in the series "Treasure Trunk" featuring small businesses and our partners that carry treasures from around the world including some of our products!

Today we feature "Terressentials" owned by James and Diana,life partners and designers. If anyone ever tells you chemicals are necessary to create skin care products, Terressentials proves them wrong. Each and every ingredient in their products is 100% certified organic and is an ingredient the USDA allows in food.

After learning about their journey and looking at their lovely store you would want to hop in and take in just about everything. Its a feast for the eyes and food for the soul!

Here's a little something about their journey and their dazzling store in Frederick, MD.

The Terressentials journey began 20 years ago with Diana's startling diagnosis of lymphatic cancer at age 29.  Their intense search to assemble the pieces of the puzzle that would allow Diana the means to make a recovery from cancer and chemotherapy led them to discover the infestation of cancer-causing chemicals in their home, their foods and in their bodies. This unsettling discovery was the couple's break-through moment that illuminated the necessity of living a clean organic lifestyle. James and Diana's continued scrutiny into household and personal care product labels unearthed a tremendous, urgent need for completely natural, truly organic products to care for their bodies and was the catalyst that fueled the activist work of these original organic pioneers.  

The Girly Table

Love the colors

James and Diana began handcrafting soothing and rich organic personal care products initially for their own use and word quickly spread about the organic authenticity and effectiveness of their delicious organic personal care creations. Over time, the explosive expansion of the internet exposed the dark misleading faux organic labeling practices rampant in the personal care marketplace and sparked a large demand from many organic-minded people for the Terressentials products, and fed the organic growth of the small company.  Today, the Maryland-based company offers their own USDA certified organic handcrafted products to a worldwide audience via the Terressentials web site and through their two company-owned brick and mortar boutiques. 

Animal kingdom-the window display for the season

With their early formal training and careers in the arts and architecture, and their dedication to creating the highest quality certified organic handcrafted personal care products, it was a logical transition for James and Diana to choose to include an exciting array of distinctive organic gourmet chocolates and teas, and the brilliant artistic works of global artisans in their stores. A visit to a Terressentials store dazzles the eye and soothes the body, mind and soul with inspiring displays of beautiful fair trade and fair-made artisan crafts from the farthest corners of the world, and with evocative organic scents, sensations and flavors.  

Terressentials represent the kind of quality, concern and ethical practices all businesses should aspire to. Their website has so much to offer, priceless information, you may spend more time than you had planned.

Here are some of The Green Elephant products you can find at their stores! 
Bags/Jewelry Boxes/Scarves and many more!!

               

                         

Artisan Group Feature : Palm Leaf Weaving

Bored of the usual mono colored baskets sitting around the table or on your bathroom shelves? Do you find them either just too dark or too light and not bright enough to light up the room with energy? Well end your despair here my friends. Check out these really cool colorful and fun baskets, that are made by palm leaf weaving also known as Kottans. These are made by our artisans from Tamilnadu, South of India. This organisation began as an initiative to income generation and culture preservation in the year 2000. The foundation supports building new markets for Kottans (palm leaf basket) through interventions that assist craftspeople to adapt their traditional weaving styles whilst incorporation contemporary color and design. 

Kottans - Palm Leaf Weaving Baskets 

available at TGE

Multipurpose Baskets

Multipurpose Baskets, Boxes and Pen Holder

Storage Boxes

Multipurpose Baskets, Pen Holders

Tray and Place mats
While we mention this group also check out these cool palm leaf bags. These are one of my own favorites in the entire collection! :)

Handbag

Shoulder Bags

Artisan group feature : Norbulingka

Keeping Tibetan Culture and Values Alive 

Norbulingka products available at TGE

Norbulingka is dedicated to handing down tradition and restoring standards by providing training, education and employment for Tibetans. It supports an environment in which Tibetan community and family values can flourish. It reconciles the tradition creatively and respectfully with the modern, and seeks to create an international awareness of Tibetan values and their expression in art and literature. They create high quality products using traditional Tibetan techniques like appliqué, woodwork, sculpture and thangka paintings. 

Applique work Shoulder Bags

Gem Boxes

Gem Box details

Applique Cushion Covers

Artisan Group Feature : Dastakar

     Introducing Dastkar Ranthambore 

available at TGE

Pillow Cover

Dastkar Ranthambore works with women artisans in the villages around Ranthambore Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan. Dastkar's distinctive Tiger motif and use of trees and birds and animal imagery demonstates the communities concern for the natural environment and in particular, the endangered tiger species found in the area. Their products include fashion accessories such as bags and home furnishings including cushion covers and bedspreads. 

Tiger Utility Bag - Front and Back Views

Inside Lining for the Safari Bag

Animal Print Bags

Utility Bags

Coasters

Dastkar aims to strengthen the traditional textile arts. TGE wishes to extend a HUGE thank you to Ujwala Johda, manager at Dastkar and artisans who work with her creating products that we showcase today. The success story of Dastkar has empowered entire communities and improved their standard of living. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

If you like these products and are interested in helping out... you can either buy these products from us, adopt a family or adopt a project... Write to us - mailthegreenelephant@gmail.com