Here’s a shot of the current Lunagals: L-R Suzanne, Goni, Jennifer, Charlene, Morgan and me. Sandra is off for the summer working at an organic fruit orchard in the interior of the province, and Lisa is on the other side of the lens. Enjoy your summers, everyone!

The Lunagals, (team intern: Jennifer and Char ) and Lunapads owner Suzanne spent the weekend getting to know our customers, building a new clientele, and listening to great music. The highlight of the weekend was Ozomatli’s main stage performance on Friday evening.. although free samples of Lunatic bars all weekend came close second.

Over all it was a fantastic weekend, and we can’t wait to “man” our Under the Volcano table next weekend.

So if you’re in Vancouver (August 10th) come check out one North Vancouver’s ode to Art and Social Change.. and don’t forget to stop by and get some great deals and more chocolate!

Thank you to Dave Niddrie for the photo, and all the lovely customers who stopped by to chat and support Lunapads!!

I recently talked to you about doing presentations on natural menstruation at Northern Arizona University. I want to thank you for the promotional material you sent me. In total, I did 9 presentations between February and June. They all went wonderfully!

Because of the success of my presentations, I’ve wanted to get more involved in spreading the word about natural products for women. I really want to start my own business where I can sell natural products (for mothers, babies, and menstruating women) as well as books, gifts, and women-friendly sex toys.

I have the theme for the store already decided and much of the business plan done. The problem is, I am absolutely poor. I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to start a business. I’d like to be a physical store, rather than an online store. I live in Arizona and there are no stores like this in the entire state! I’m at a loss as to what to do, so I’d appreciate any advice or help you can give.

Thank You,

Stephanie Byng

This year we have made a commitment to be a little more “out there” in our community and as a result ended up attending 2 major events this weekend - the annual Doulas of North America (DONA) conference, and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. I’ll share a bit about DONA, and Suzanne will tell you about Folk Fest (as it’s known locally) in a subsequent post.

Having both been attended by Doulas in our births, Suzanne and I were only too happy to meet several hundred of them! For those of you who may not know, Doulas are highly skilled and compassionate professionals who attend Mothers through their pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum stages. You can learn more about their role and services here.

Not surprisingly, several of our Doula friends were also in attendance, and it was a great opportunity to reconnect. I’m sure this is true of many places, but in the past few years, Vancouver has seen the emergence of a wonderful community of Midwives, Doulas, La Leche League leaders and other breastfeeding and attachment/natural parenting advocates etc. and their devoted clients and supporters. Here’s a nice photo of me and Nikiah Seeds of Mama Goddess Birth Shop in front of the Mama Goddess and Lunapads displays. Other treasured colleagues at the conference included Sarah Juliusson of Mama Renew and Dancing Star birth), Sarah’s business partner Jennifer Lee Koble, Bridgitte Alomes of Natural Pod natural toys, Paula Violi of Baby Buddha slings, Amanda Spakowski of Luna Birth, Aimee Sturley of Adar Birth Services and Wendy Armbruster of Pump-ease breast pump supports.

Love you gals - keep up the great work!

While I’m on the topic of women and politics, a plug for Equal Voice, a Canadian multi-partisan organization working to increase women’s participation in public life, seems apt. In my time as a citizen, feminist and media observer, I have come to the conclusion that we as women need to support our sisters on the public stage, regardless of political stripe (i.e. you don’t have to vote for or even agree with all their ideas, but please at least respect the crucial value of their participation, and for having the courage to step up to the plate.) Thanks ladies.

Dear Lunagals,

I am currently starting my own business (as you know since I want to sell your products!)

It all started when I found out, at 21, that I had Asperger Syndrome (a distant relative of autism). I was studying international development and wanted to carry on to do my masters in gender or women’s studies, but from the moment I started being “looked after” by a psychiatrist, I had to change my plans.

I tried a few things but came to the conclusion that, although I got along well with customers, I just couldn’t deal with colleagues, bosses, and social interactions, and I really couldn’t cope with the stress. This meant that I had to find a job where I could work alone.

I came to the Lunapads website through my sensitivity to issues facing women and the earth. I fell in love with the products and decided I wanted other women to know about them too.

At the time, my mum, step dad and I were trying to figure out a way to help me work in the fields that are most important to me - environmental protection and the respect of people.

One day, it suddenly came to me. Why not do an online website selling products that are good for both women and the environment? I am quite competent with computers, and thought this arrangement would allow me to work in a way that would best suit my needs and desires.

Here’s what I’m planning to do: I will sell products from Canada (Lunapads), Britain and France. I can use my knowledge of English (I studied 5 years in Britain), my sensitivity (to look for environmentally friendly products) and, because my mum will be working alongside me, this will help me cope with any stress that should arise.

Success, for me, will be when I am able to live off of this business, which I am confident will eventually be the case. But success will also be when women will use environmentally friendly products daily, not just as a “one-off to try”. I am going to have a blog as well, where I will do my best to educate women about this because, in my opinion, respecting the earth also means respecting yourself.

I hope to open in June.

Blessings,
Marie

Hi Madeleine and everyone at Lunapads!

I am a 25 year old dancer who is finally tired of working day jobs to make ends meet. My priorities became very clear when I became pregnant last October. I am expecting our bundle of joy on August 4, 2008. As a young woman training in dance 6 days a week in addition to working full time at a ballet academy, this pregnancy was a huge surprise and an emotional rollercoaster. With time, as I started to feel the baby, my maternal instincts kicked in and my whole perspective in life changed.

Before I became pregnant I didn’t want to teach dance. I just wanted to train and perform. But now with a baby coming, teaching in the evening while my partner takes care of the baby, became a very attractive option. With this in mind, at 6.5 months, I organized and taught a small workshop, and I absolutely LOVED teaching dance!

Teaching freelance is a small business, which I was always afraid of jumping into. Now I am ready to take all the skills that I learned working at the dance studio and give myself a career that allows me to spend time with my baby, and slowly build up towards having my own dance studio. Success encompasses a huge spectrum of areas. Most people would define success in regards of fame and fortune, but for me is having a career that I really love, being able to balance this career with my family, and very importantly, giving back to the community. I would like to make enough to be able to pay myself what I deserve, and be able to fund various not-for-profit programs. I dream about offering free after school dance and theatre classes for underprivileged youth, and a special free class for women who have suffered violence. In my personal experience, dance really helped me heal many wounds, and I feel responsible to gift this opportunity to those around me.

I can’t wait to read a copy of this book. Thanks for this great contest idea, and to everyone at Lunapads, for keeping women and the environment healthy!

Julia

This beautifully illustrated 28 page booklet (also available as a .pdf download) presents an inspiring, educational and eco-minded look at cycles and periods.  We wrote this booklet to provide young girls and teens with a perspective about periods and cycles that we wish someone had written when we were growing up.  Emphasizing the positive and celebratory aspects of getting your period (without being preachy or getting technical) the booklet features a “do it yourself” Cycle Chart, natural remedies for cramps, a discussion about the environmental impact of disposable products, and tips for using natural menstrual products at school and beyond.  We think this booklet ideal for every girl or teen who is just starting her journey to becoming a woman. 

Receive a FREE copy with every Lunapads Teen Kit purchased – this month only!

Big thank you’s to all the amazing women who helped to make Happier periods, naturally! happen: contributors include past and present Lunapads staffers (and alumni) Sandra, Lisa, Marie-Genevieve and Krisztina, Scarleteen.com creatrix and S.E.X. author Heather Corinna, cunt: a declaration of independence author inga muscio, progressive local GP Dr. Dorle Kneifel, teen sexual health educator and creator of “You Go, Girl!” workshops Saleema Noon, mother-daughter customers Karen and KT Patrick, myvag.net’s Sarah Mundy, uber-supporter and webmistress Emira Mears and last but hardly least, Dr. Jerilynn Prior, Scientific Director of the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR), who dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s and contributed a gracious foreward. And in case you were wondering who’s responsible for the gorgeous layout and design, look no further than Tessa and the wonderful team at Fluid Communications. It was wonderful to share this project with so many talented people.  Please write back and tell us what you think!

(more…)

We are thrilled to announce another campaign to help menstruating girls in Africa get back in the classroom.  Carrie-Jane Williams (pictured with her students at the African Women’s English Support Group that she volunteers at each week through Frontier College) is a University of British Columbia masters student who is travelling to Uganda to do a volunteer teaching placement.  While she’s there, in addition to doing her master’s research on digital literacies in rural libraries, she’ll be supplying girls with our very own “U-Go-Girl Kits” (with the “U” of course being for Uganda.)  

Last month, I met with Carrie-Jane,  Dr. Shelley Jones and Mr. Dan Ahimbisibwe (a Ugandan community leader, businessman, father, librarian and student at Uganda Martyr’s University) to explore ways we could work together to help girls and women in Uganda, both in the short term and long term.  Dr. Jones is one of Carrie-Jane’s mentors.  Her doctoral thesis (titled “Secondary schooling for girls in rural Uganda: challenges, opportunities  and emerging identities”) was focused on educational policy in Uganda and the emerging government policies making education more accessible to Ugandan youth (girls especially).  While in Uganda, Dr. Jones talked to the girls about their hopes and dreams and saw the daily challenges they faced, including the lack means to deal with their menstrual cycles.   Women and girls use cloth rags, leaves and newspapers for absorbance in lieu of unaffordable disposable pads and tampons.  In some cases,  girls may not even own underwear with which to keep these products in place.  Girls risk feeling humiliated when they are inadequately protected as they end up with leakage, blood-stained legs and clothing. The girls will hesitate to go to the front of the class to write on the board or stand up to answer teachers’ questions, which is common practice.  As a result, the girls stay home during their period, and some stop going to school altogether.  

Menarche (the onset of a girls first period) should be cause for celebration, but for many girls throughout the developing world, menarche signals not only the end of girlhood but also of education.  Carrie-Jane wants to change this.  Moved by what she has learned from Dr. Jones and Mr. Ahimbisibwe, Carrie-Jane will be holding a fundraiser in Vancouver this summer to collect donations to buy pads for the girls and distribute them.  To date, she has already collected funds for over 20 U-Go-Girl Kits and we just received another 10 orders on our website!  In addition to providing cloth pads, Lunapads will be donating Lunapanties to support Carrie-Jane’s efforts. 

To read more about Carrie-Jane’s trip and plans, see her blog here.  If you want to support Carrie-Jane and supply her with pads for her trip (she’s leaving September 1, 2008, so hurry!) you can purchase the U-Go-Girl Kits here.  Thank you (or “webale” in the Luganda language) for your generous support and thank you Carrie-Jane for your amazing work.