· By Phoebe Carpenter Eells
May 2025
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May 8th
Spring Energy
My last note was on the morning of Valley Made Market opening day! What a beautiful, busy, energetic event it was. We lucked out on the weather, the market was well attended and the music fantastic. Thanks to everyone who showed up. Above you can see me with my mom at market- she's Valley Made's #1 fan!
Since then we've been to another protest in downtown MV (May Day), printed a big custom merch order for Hayton Farms, taught 2 block print workshops (the last on the schedule for now), gardened, exercised, parented, and enjoyed every last minute of sunshine showing up this spring.
Today we're printing wholesale orders for shops. You can find select elSage items at Skagit Valley Coop & RoozenGaarde locally, Nordiska in Poulsbo, Radical Roots Collective on Bainbridge Island, and soon at PNW Vibes Market in Oak Harbor. If you know a store that would be a good fit for elSage send them our link or reply to this email and tell us their deets!
Tomorrow we'll start the next round of custom printing. We have custom tees for the Mount Vernon Fire Department in the queue and we're printing custom uniforms for a local vet clinic. Custom design and print work has been bringing good energy and we're booking new projects now. If you have a project in mind for your business we would love to hear from you! Our vintage style printing and extensive expertise means we make killer merch! Advertise your business, create uniforms for your staff, and make additional income off sales- it's a win all around!
We're staying busy, creative, and active, we hope that you are too. I'm not sure what to say about the state of the USA other than elSage is going to continue to focus on being a safe place for all, filled with hope and delightful creations. We're going to keep up our work with the indie economy, providing ways to keep your money in circulation with amazing people who are making this world better. I am ever-grateful to be here, to do this work, and to have you on the other end of this email. Enjoy the sun and the sweet moments. Happy Mother's Day! And if Mother's Day is hard for you be gentle with yourself.
Warmly,
Phoebe
Save the Date:
May 18th Valley Made Market |
May 17th
Behind the scenes with a small business founder.
Saturday afternoon is not the optimal time to send out a group email but maybe this will catch you at just the right moment. Anymore it seems like the old rules don't apply and we're paving a new path. I'm giving myself permission lately to show up imperfectly, and to try out new approaches.
Last week was wild with some important birthday to celebrate and Mother's Day festivities. Jonathan and I have been squeezing in time in the garden, daily saunas, and projects around the house. We've been juggling a full schedule at work with custom projects on deck along with our own printing. It feels great to be busy (most of the time). I'm working hard to find the joy and calm amongst the fullness and busy of it all.
The shop received a fresh batch of greeting cards (we get new options weekly), brand new muscle tees, a dad hat restockand more. We're thrilled to be all stocked up for Valley Made tomorrow- including a fresh sale rack with lots of killer deals.
In the last week we printed custom designs for the Mount Vernon Fire Department and a vet clinic in Bellingham. We've had some excellent custom clients lately and are booking out projects starting at the end of May and beyond. If you're interested in a custom design reply to this email to get a free quote started. I'm excited to show you peeks of the next project in the queue very soon.
We keep hearing comments from visitors about how cool Downtown Mount Vernon has become & we completely agree. Downtown is about to become even cooler! Our friend Leeann, boss at Arrows Aims, is moving into the Jeka shop space on June 1st. She's raising funds to help with this incredible opportunity and offering really cool perks for the support. Check out her fundraiser >>> here.
On the topic of good vibes and new adventures, have you caught the adventures of Oliver & Phoenix online? They are a joyful duo to root for! Oliver is sailing from Oregon to Hawaii with his cat after quitting his corporate job, liquidating his 401K, and learning how to sail on the river. Now he's in the middle of the Pacific making his dream come true. If you haven't seen them and love a good underdog adventure story check out their TikTok and Instagram.
Speaking of adventures, this Podcast is all about putting together experiments in your life that give you permission to try things and metrics to track. It was a fun listen for the left brain/right brain work that I'm often drawn to.
Earlier this month I stopped by the studio of friend & maker Kira of Cascadia Jewelry. We have a fresh order for the shop coming from her soon and we cannot wait! She always hooks elSage up with exclusive items, this time it's a style of earring just for us!
Valley Made is tomorrow! We're super excited for our May show. It looks like we might just eke out a weather window but if not the show is always rain or shine. Our elSage booth is bringing a big restock of your favorite hats, a fresh sale section with brand new additions, and our newest design- the cool summer dogs we're calling Squad. 50 makers, 2 live bands and heaps of amazing community will be there. Join in the fun and support the indie economy Sunday May 18, 10 am - 4 pm.
I'm sending you all calm and abundant energy. I hope to see you tomorrow and catch up in person. If you have anything to share feel free to hit reply and send me a note.
Warmly,
Phoebe
Read all of the 2025 notes from behind the scenes >>> here.