Mushpa + Mensa’s Journey

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belle and bear, Cara Reynolds, corona virus, covid 19, Craft Beer, el jefe, gay, hurricaine florence, lesbian, lesbians, Maria Emilia Borja, Maya the Magical Mobile Art Machine, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, NC Beer, NC State, organic cotton tees, organic t-shirts, robot girl, tuxedo cat, wilmington

Happy Thanksgiving Mushpa + Mensa Super Fans! We hope this newsletter finds you well in these 2020 times.

You may know us from when we used to travel up and down the eastern seaboard in our art truck Maya, the Magical Mobile Art Machine (our small mobile, solar powered tiny boutique) advocating for local, conscious, women-owned small businesses all over the world, all the while spreading our art, messages, laughter and love!

Things have changed a bit from then, for better or for worse in September of 2018, our art truck Maya was flooded during the destructive Hurricane Florence via North Carolina. Our little Maya was under 5 feet of filthy water and debris. She no longer started and was covered in black mold. It was her end and yet another new beginning for Mushpa + Mensa.

Yes, it did break our hearts, but we are firm believers that everything happens for a reason.  

Honestly, we are so happy to have discover Maya hidden in a corner lot in Staten Island, to have been able to transform her inside and out with our very own hands into the beauty she became. We are grateful that she took us on such great adventures, thousands of miles worth since we began in 2014. She was there for many a grand moment in our lives, always helping us spread our message of love to the masses. For that we are blessed.

Mushpa + Mensa did not give up their travels. We went back to tents, just like the good old NYC days. We kept touring and even made it to the Central Time Zone!

We did that for a year and then in March of 2020 came “The Pandemic” aka Covid-19 and all shows were cancelled until further notice. It is now nine months later and Thanksgiving weekend and we are thankful that our loved business endeavor has survived through it all! Nine months later and Mushpa + Mensa’s rebirth is a transformation from the streets to an amazing online presence thanks to all the support from our loyal customers and all the new ones we have found on this journey in the New World.new ones we have found on this journey in the New World.

We truly hope you see we love what we are doing, making a living selling our art, and get inspired to create change in the world through your own blessings and devotion to what you love.   We, Cara and Maria-Emilia, send love to all and a wish that we all stay safe this holiday season. Chins up, the vaccine is just around the corner.  

-Mushpa + Mensa (Cara and Emilia)

Happy Six Years of Us

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6 years, anniversary, candy, Cara Reynolds, iron, Jah Cure, Maria Emilia Borja, Mushpa + Mensa, Never Find, our next house

That’s right.

– Mushpa

How To Tie A Bowline Knot For Hanging A Hammock

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anchor boat, anchor ship, Bowline Knot, burn ends of rope, camping, Cara Reynolds, diy, dock boat, hammock, hanging a hammock, hero, hero knot, heroine, heroine knot, how to hang a hammock, How to tie a bowline knot, How To Try A Bowline Knot For Hanging A Hammock, Maria Emilia Borja, mountain climbing, Outdoor, spring, summer, survival, survival knot, yogi bear

Mushpa + Mensa got a hammock in Ecuador last Christmas, but had not hung up said hammock as we had no idea how to do it! Me, I am from NYC and we are not in the business of hanging hammocks, so I delved into the world wide web for some answers. I even used my own mystery solving brain and incorporated this new knowledge of knots towards hanging this hammock in a way we would never crack our skulls on the pavement. I am here now to share this wisdom with you via the video above.

The bowline knot is a pretty amazing knot. It is real simple to tie and will make it so not only can you hang your hammock using 4 knots and 2 pieces of rope, but you can also tie your boat to the dock and not worry about it floating away, you can tie your horse outside the saloon, climb the Appalachian Mountains, tie your camping treats up in a tree out of Yogi bear’s greedy little paws and last but not least, rescue damsels in distress out of wells. It’s a hero’s knot really.

Mensa and I have both sat in the hammock together for some time now and it held us perfectly, swinging and all! I am the heroine of hammock hanging, here to save the day!

Enjoy.

– Mushpa

Sidenote – I did not show it in the video, but I burned the 4 ends of the pieces of rope to make sure they did not fray. Better safe than sorry.

The Eco Trio: Tagua, Pambil, and Acai Jewelry

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acai, amazon, antioxidant berries, aRT tRUCK, Cara Reynolds, cruelty free, eco art, eco ivory, eco jewlery, eco-friendly, Ecuador, handmade, heart of palm, iriartea deltoidea, Latin America, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, organic, palm trees, pambil, phytelephas, rainforest, seed jelwery, seeds, South America, sustainable, tagua, vegetable ivory

Many of the pieces that are made here at Mushpa + Mensa, use little, medium and larger seeds from the amazon rain-forest, collected specifically from Ecuador.

As a native Ecuadorian, I am able to travel back to my childhood country, bring my lady with me, and browse though many of the outdoor markets that sell these wonderful seeds, which we then take and make our eco-jewelry from.

So what are the three seeds?

Tagua:

The largest of all the seeds is tagua, although in other Latin American countries it can be referred to as vegetable ivory, palm ivory, marfim-vegetal, corozo, or jarina, the seeds all still derive from the same genus of palms: Phytelephas. There as six known species of this palm that thrive from Panama, to Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru.

Often it is referred to as “eco-ivory” because it has the same characteristics of elephant ivory, as it can be carved very easily as well as dyed with different colors, and it is hard and unbreakable and can be polished beautifully.

The female palm is the one that bears the fruit, which falls from the trees and  inside it holds usually 4 individual nuts. The immature fruit is usually sweet and soft, while the mature fruit has transformed into a harder that wood nut covered in a brown shell, which can later be used for multiple projects, like our tagua necklaces!

Pambil:

The second seed we often use is called pambil, and it is another palm from the Ecuadorian rain forest. This palm tree known scientifically as  Iriartea deltoidea,  which can grow between 20-35 meters tall and can be “easily recognized by the prominent bulge in the center of its trunk, and the stilt roots, which form a dense cone up to 1 m in diameter at the base.” It is also surrounded by a brown shell covering that can be removed and either left naturally as a cream color, or can be dyed as well.

Acai:

This is the smallest of the seeds we use. It is pronounced ah-s-ah-ee, and it is found in the tropical Amazon rain forest. It has recently been popularized in the United States as a super food for its rich antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and you can find it in juices, body products and supplements.

It has also been used by indigenous tribes for centuries as one of their most important sources of daily nutrition, and has been cultivated also for building materials and artisan crafts using its palm leaves and seeds. It also mostly cultivated as a source for hearts of palm! Delicious.

But here at the Mushpa + Mensa studio, we use it as the third in the trio of our sustainable seed collection.

All of these seeds are free from petroleum based products like many conventional beads, and free from animal cruelty. They are harvested by local communities as a source of income, and their popularization in recent years has allowed for many of these communities to build themselves up from the sustainable sources that the tropical rain-forests of Ecuador provides.

Now that you have a better knowledge of our trio of seeds, take a look at our shop and see what inspires you!

-Mensa

Last Minute Women’s March Sign Ideas

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activism, art, Audre Lorde, Awesome Event, be brave, Cara Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Ecuadorian, environment, Feminism, gay, God, Government, green, Happiness, Health Care, inspiration, Latina, lesbian, love, Love is Love, March, march signs, Maria Emilia Borja, NC, North Carolina, political, politics, Princess Leigh, Protest, protest march signs, protest signs, queer, recycled, resistance, revoltion signs, revolution, Sign Ideas, Star Wars, The South, Voltaire, wilmington, Woman Owned Business, Women's March, Women's March Sign Ideas, WomenAlice Walker

If you are anything like us, we can get real close to the time of whatever-it-may-be and then get what needs to be done, last minute style, done. Don’t get us wrong, we do it well under pressure. The Women’s March tomorrow is no different. We are going to wake up around 7AM to get our signs done to get out to our local Wilmington, NC Women’s March. I did some image research and quote digging and came up with 10 good sign suggestions off the World Wide Web.

1. We go high.
2. Your silence will not protect you.
3. Nasty Woman
4. “Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” Voltaire
5. Hate Kills
6. “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” Audre Lorde
7. Woman’s place is in the resistance. (in reference to Carrie Fisher…Princess Leigh….Star Wars. You get it.)
8. I am stronger than fear.
9. Truth matters.
10. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”  Alice Walker

Get your recycled pieces of boxes, cardboard, old sheets and get to creating. We will collectively be with every human at every women’s march tomorrow. We love you.

Love trumps hate. Be brave.

Cara and Maria Emilia

Mushpa + Mensa’s Low Impact

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#GiveBackPack, abuse, against forced labor, alternative apparel, Alternative Earth', biodegradable fabric softeners, certified organic, child labor, chrome, Common Thread, copper, eco-friendly, environment, Fair Labor Association, FLA, G2 Eco-Wash, insufficient wages, low-impact dyes, mordant, Mushpa + Mensa, Mushpa Y Mensa, natural enzymes, non-toxic, non-toxic clothing, Oeko-Tex Standard 100, organic, organic cotton, organic cotton certified, Philanthropy, R6, reclaimed water, recycle, reduce, Reflect, ReImagine, Replenish, reuse, safe working practices, Social Responsibility, STATE Bags, sustainable fabrics, Workplace Code of Conduct, Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, WRAP, zinc

The main shirts that Mushpa + Mensa hand-print their original designs on is Alternative Apparel’s 100% organic collection, made from pesticide-free organic cotton.

Is Alternative’s cotton certified organic? 

A: Yes. Anything in our line stating it is 100% Organic Cotton is certified organic cotton, produced pesticide-free. We keep copies of the organic certificates on file.

The dyes used to color Alternative Apparel’s pesticide-free organic cotton tees are low-impact dyes. Let’s breakdown this process called low-impact dying. A low-impact dye is a dye that has been classified by the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 as eco-friendly. Generally, low impact dyes do not contain toxic chemicals, heavy metals (like chrome, copper and zinc), or mordants (a substance, typically an inorganic oxide, that combines with a dye or stain and thereby fixes it in a material).

Low-impact dyes are dyes with a higher than average absorption rate (70%-80%, depending on the color). This means less water is required in the rinse process and less dye runs off in the water; therefore, the dyes have a lower impact on the environment. Alternative Apparel also use a G2 Eco-Wash to finish garments which uses 60% less water and no chemicals.

Alternative Earth’s collection water washes with reclaimed water, the organic cotton is certified, biodegradable fabric softeners and natural enzymes for their super-soft finishes to make the best basics.

Alternative Apparel make their clothing from sustainable fabrics (currently 65% of the fabrics they use are eco-friendly, although they are working to increase this figure), with a transparent supply chain in officially audited factories.

Alternative Apparel publishes its factory vendor guidelines, which the company says are in line with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) Workplace Code of Conduct, on its Social Responsibility page. The company states that many of its factories have Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) certification, and that Alternative Apparel places ethics as a priority in vendor selection: Alternative Apparel is committed to safe working practices for all employees.

Manufacturing: They have all the right policies against forced labor, child labor, abuse, and insufficient wages — and they work nearly as hard on keeping their clothing non-toxic. Their factories are frequently inspected to make sure their dying processes are toxin-free, and their wool is sourced from sustainable alpaca farms in Peru.

The first elements we consider when selecting a vendor is their ability to meet our social compliance standards and the quality of their products … Typically, there are only certain geographic areas of the world that can meet our production needs. We head to those areas and search for vendors that exceed our expectations and requirements. If a factory does not meet our social compliance standards from the very beginning, we don’t even consider them. After that, we base or search on the quality of the goods and the efficiency with which they can be produced.

Environment: Thirty percent of their sales are from the Alternative Earth line Mushpa + Mensa uses, which is made from organic cotton, low-impact dyes, energy-efficient facilities, and absolutely no toxic substances. A portion of their sales benefits a variety of environmental organizations and charities.

Philanthropy: Alternative donates to multitudes of different charities under their “Common Thread” program. For instance, like with STATE: Going Beyond the Bag. STATE Bags one-for-one model provides at-risk kids with a fully-stocked backpack every time someone purchases a bag. That means when you get an awesome bag, you support #GiveBackPack at the same time.

Down with fast fashion! R6 – Reduce, ReUse, Recycle, Replenish, Reflect, ReImagine.

Get your Alternative Apparel organic cotton Mushpa + Mensa original design t-shirt on and feel good in it, while feeling good about yourself. Functional art Mushpa y Mensa style.

-Mushpa

 

Happy Labor Day

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1887, alternative apparel, art, artist, beauty, Cara Reynolds, Central Labor Union, clay bead necklace, coffee cozies, DAS, Detroit, eco-friendly, eco-jewelry, EcoFi felt, etsy, Fair Labor Standards Act, fashion, felt, gay, Groover Cleaveland, handmade, Happiness, home-made, homemade, inspiration, jewlery, Knights of Labor, Labor Day, Labor Day 2015, Labor Day Women, lavender, lesbian, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Michigan, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, Mushpa y Mensa Free Shipping code, necklace, NYC, organic, organic cotton tees, plush animals, plush pets, promotion code, queer, recycled, recycling plastic bottles, refurbished fabric, screen printing, stuffed aimals, t shirt designs, t-shirts, tablet case, tanks, tea cozies, tops, toys, unique, Women in Labor Day, Women workers

Happy Labor Day to all! For those who don’t know what Labor Day is all about, here is the skinny. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement (mostly promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor in NYC). Groover Cleaveland made it official in 1887. Labor Day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Now on to some interesting Labor Day trivia!

• To take advantage of large numbers of potential customers free to shop, Labor Day has become an important sale weekend for many retailers in the United States. Some buyers retailers claim it is one of the largest sale dates of the year, second only to the Christmas season’s Black Friday. Ironically, because of the importance of the sale weekend, some of those who are employed in the retail sector not only work on Labor Day, but work longer hours. More Americans work in the retail industry than any other, with retail employment making up 24% of all jobs in the United States. As of 2012, only 3% of those employed in the retail sector were members of a labor union.
• Women were among the earliest factory workers in the mill and textile industries and also among the earliest to organize.
• 21.3% of women work in service occupations, some of which (domestic work, for example) are not covered by many of the employee protections we celebrate on Labor Day.  This lack of coverage dates back to 1938 when Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act based on a political compromise by which it excluded domestic and agricultural workers, who were primarily African-American. Today, high rates of Hispanic women work in the service sector (33.2%).
• In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable to wear white or seersucker.

We here at Mushpa y Mensa strive to contribute to the strength, prosperity and well being of our country, world and universe in everything we do. From the meaning we put into our art, to all the people we come in contact with at amazing events where we end up and through our online presence. We are blessed to have this job that pushes us to learn so many things from others and hopefully we give back as much to them.

Here is something tangible we can give back today, on the 2nd largest sale date of the year! ;] A free shipping promotion code MAYA007!!! This will get you out of shipping charges on any item(s) at our Etsy Shop. Exciting!!! 😀 Click below to get to our shop and check out our original designs on organic cotton tees, tanks and tops, plush pets with felt made from recycling plastic bottles and stuffed with real lavender, eco-jewelry, coffee and tea cozies made from unique, refurbished fabric amongst tons of other cool stuff. Spread the word!

We hope everyone has a chill Labor Day and you are doing whatever it is you want to do today and everyday.

– Mushpa y Mensa

We Got Into the Leaf Festival

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art, artist, Cara Reynolds, clay bead necklace, clay beads, crafts, DAS, diy, eco-friendly, etsy, fashion, fear, felt, gay, God, God is a Woman, handmade, Happiness, homemade, jewlery, Leaf Festival, lesbian, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, North Carolina, organic, queer, screen printing, stuffed animal

We got into the Leaf Festival. I was unaware of how much I was pulling away from faith, mysticism and the Truth until I watched this video. I have been worrying about bills, money, and bullshit and forgetting about miracles, beauty and truth. Logistics are a lie. I am blessed and amazing and God is good. I’ve got nothing to worry about.

Everything is better than okay. I got into the Leaf Festival and have nothing to fear but fear itself.

:]

-Mushpa

Mushpa y Mensa Super Summer Update

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art, artist, beauty, Cara Reynolds, clay bead necklace, clay beads, clothes, crafts, DAS, diy, eco-friendly, etsy, fashion, felt, gay, handmade, Happiness, home-made, homemade, inspiration, jewlery, kickstarter, lesbian, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, necklace, organic, plush animals, queer, quote, recycled, screen printing, stuffed aimals, stuffed animal, t shirt designs, t-shirts, tablet case, toys, yarn

Hello Mushpa y Mensa Super Fans!

Yes, you see right, it’s Mushpa y Mensa’s Super Summer update, after a few months of silence. We are happy to say that in the last three months, Mushpa y Mensa have begun their “Gypsy Market Life”. Already, on this journey, we have met quite a few amazing people, like the folks at Seaglass Salvage Market, Brooklyn Arts Center, Beacon House Inn, and Satellite Lounge to name a few. We have also danced and tasted many sweet wines at the Duplin Winery’s Main Squeeze Music and Wine Festival, as well as met dozens of new, fun people at the annual Azalea and Strawberry Festivals in North Carolina. ;] We even partnered up with Wilmington’s Earth Day Alliance and enjoyed a wonderful Earth Day Celebration at Hugh MaCrae Park.

It’s been surreal so far.

It’s amazing what faith, love, encouragement, and a little help from our friends can do. In terms of our little cottage industry, we are, as you say, busting a hump. We are constantly checking ourselves on how we can make things better from our art, to our business, to our life.

We have actually just updated the “Photos of Our Peeps” page on Mushpa y Mensa’s site. We added a photo uploading tool, so you can upload pictures of you in our organic tees, wearing our amazing jewelry, hugging our lavender filled plush pets, or even just keeping your hands cool with one of our coffee cozies. :]

And in terms of our Art? Well we keep on bringing to life tons of ideas in our head. For example, we recently created 3.5 new shirt designs. A cool Octopus Olivia with an Anchor Tattoo on her forehead,as well as R6: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replenish, Reflect, Reimagine inspired by Earth Day.

We also have new organic Pima cotton relaxed fit tops that are flying out of the truck. Here is an example of the Pima tops with one of our new designs, Argema Mittrei, a female moth. Lastly, we spruced up Robot Girl and added a cute heart. All these designs we print for the ladies, the gents, and of course the smallest people around.

Mushpa y Mensa have also been focusing on custom shirts that have been selling off Maya so fast we don’t even have time to list them on our Etsy shop!

Spread the art, spread the love.

A few questions answered…

Where can I find the Art Truck?

Follow us on Twitter @mushpamensa. We are constantly posting when and where we will be. There is also an events page on our site, www.mushpaymensa.com/events we keep updated, but Twitter is best for the most up to date information.

We are doing some art shows, markets and fleas, but are hunting to find good spots to park around town. We are partnering up with cool people like the folks at the Beacon House Inn on Carolina Beach and Satellite Bar and Lounge in Wilmington.

And for all the natives and people in the know, since we are new in town, feel free to hit us up at info@mushpamensa.com or our contact page with any ideas where to park, festivals to do or whether you’d like us to rock a party or event with you!

Are you going on the road anytime soon?

We want to explore the grounds of NC and the surrounding area, so we will keep the max to weekend trips. But worry not, we will definitely be making it into the mid-west and west-coast! Maybe even an occasional trip to NYC sooner than you think!

If you have any questions about anything, make sure to ask! We love to hear from you all.

Until the next super exciting Mushpa y Mensa’s and Maya, Magical Mobile Art Machine update we say good day!

With lots of love,

               Cara and Maria Emilia

                                                             a.k.a.

Maya’s Magical Zine

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2004 Ford Super Duty E350 Step Van, art, artist, box truck, Cara Reynolds, crafts, diy, eco-friendly, etsy, fashion, gay, handmade, Happiness, home-made, homemade, inspiration, jewlery, kickstarter, lesbian, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Maya the Truck, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, organic, plush animals, queer, quote, recycled, renovation of step van, screen printing, t shirt designs, women dyi, Women DYIers, women owned business

Hello Super Mushpa y Mensa Fans! We know it has been killing you waiting for our next post. Well here it is Maya’s Makeover Zine!!! We will not go on and on about our amazing zine as it is pretty self explanatory, but here is what Maya’s zine includes:   Our truck’s full makeover archive with before & after pictures of the project. Mushpa y Mensa DIY tips a.k.a. our gained knowledge we give unto you! How-to everyday eco-tips Delicious food recipes Plus Mushpa y Mensa’s greatest hits and inspirational thoughts from our blog, “La Casa“! All this in a fantastical and printable PDF. Want some more Mushpa y Mensa?  Check out www.mushpamensa.com With much love, Mushpa y Mensa (a.k.a. Cara Elaine and Maria Emilia)