Stewart & Claire

Between our debut at the Hester Street Fair back in October and the end of December, we raised $680 for GrowNYC by donating $.50 for every lip balm sold directly through us and $.25 for those we sold wholesale. We put the money toward the relief fund for  farmers affected by Hurricane Irene. We're thrilled we could do something to help! Thank you to everyone who helped contribute!

At 3:30 this afternoon, I rushed to take a photo of our new WInter lip balms because the sun was already falling behind the buildings. By 4:30, our studio, aka, our bedroom, was almost completely dark. 

We developed our Winter balm to be the most soothing and comforting yet during this cold, dark time of year. We based the formula on the one we use for our Bare balm, which has cocoa butter and rose hip seed oil, both of which are rich and nourishing and great for dry lips. 

To enhance the balm's natural cocoa smell, we add a vanilla-infused oil. Then, we scent the balm with cinnamon, so the overall experience is like a Mexican hot chocolate. 

We are thrilled to say that last month, we raised about $75 for GrowNYC's fund to help farmers after Hurricane Irene. In December, we will continue to set aside $.50 from each lip balm purchased to donate to the organization. - S&C

We've been on a bit of a blog hiatus lately to make lots of inventory for the fall. Last weekend, we sold our balms at the Hester Street Fair (that's Claire, above!) for the first time and introduced three new scents (we will post them on the site soon!)

Last month, Claire read Blake Mycoskie's book Start Something That Matters about how he founded TOMS, the awesome company that donates a pair of their slilpper-like shoes for every pair purchased. We've always wanted Stewart & Claire to have a mission that did good, but we thought we'd wait until the company was profitable and then figure it out. 

Blake's book convinced us not to wait. He didn't. His TOMS one-for-one model doesn't quite work for us: We don't know that anyone NEEDS lip balm the way they do shoes (someone correct us if we're wrong!) So instead of donating lip balm, we'll donate money. 

For every lip balm sold to customers through us, we will donate $.50. For every balm we sell at wholesale, we'll donate $.25. The money raised from last week's fair through the end of November will go to GrowNYC's fund to help farmers who need help after Hurricane Irene. 

So far, we've raised close to $50. It's not much but it's a start. Thanks, Blake, for the inspiration.