We’re Off Again

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African, Alice Merton, and a Children's Universe tent, Appalachian, art, Art Market, artisan market, artisans, artist, arts, Arts & Live Music, arts and crafts, Awesome Event, Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, bluegrass, Cajun, Cara Reynolds, Children's Universe tent, clay beads, clothes, compost, craft market, crafts, dance workshops, eco fi felt, eco-friendly, face painting, fashion, felt, Floyd, Floyd Festival, FloydFest, folk, freedom, Games and Activities, handcraft vendors, handmade, Happiness, healthy living products, homemade, jewlery, kids activities, lesbian, local, local arts and crafts, local craftsmen, love, Maria Emilia Borja, morning yoga lessons, Mushpa + Mensa, Mushpa Y Mensa, music festival, No Roots, North Carolina, or Zydeco, organic, organic cotton, peace, plush animals, poetry readings, queer, reggae, rock, screen printing, soaps, story telling, t shirt designs, t-shirts, upcycled pillows, Virginia, woodworking, world music, Yiddish, Yoga, Zydeco

Our home has never been on the ground.

We are off to the next adventure tomorrow.

We’ve got no roots!

– Mushpa

Welcome Summer

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calvin harris, love, music, queer, rihanna, sledgehammer, Star Trek, Stevvie Nicks, Summer Jams, summer solstice, summertime, this is what you came for, you da one

I can’t believe 2 things I love found each other.

Summer’s Goddess.

You da one. :]

-Mushpa

Grow Your Own Pineapples

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Australia, Cara Reynolds, diy, diy pineapple, farming, Gardening, Happiness, homemade, How to Grow Mini Pineapples From Tops, how to grow pineapple, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Mark, Mushpa Y Mensa, organic, organic farming, pineapple, Self Sufficient Me

In this video, Mark lets us know to only buy pineapples with tops at the stores or farmer’s market, any others without tops he says those sellers can, “go stuff themselves!” :] Other truth bombs he drops on us are, no need to soak in water just cut the head off leaving an inch of the fruit to give them some extra energy, then “bang the head into the ground” and add some water.

He gives us some more knowledge in the video, but I will let you watch and learn the rest on your own if you so choose!

Free fruit! Pictures in the future here.

– Mushpa

What to Read Next: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

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ancient births, ancient history, ancient menstruation, ancient women, anita diamant, bible births, bible literature, bible story, birth, blood, book about ancient women, book about periods, Feminism, genesis 34, herstory, jacobs daughter, leas daughter, literature, love, magic, midwifery, moon cycles, novel, periods, rape of dinah, the red tent, women cycles, women literature, women of the bible

I must admit I do not devour books. Reading was not something I grew up with as a child, but I have learned to become a better reader over time. Every time I finish a book, I find some sort of peace. I seek out knowledge through books, and I try to read a little every day. Sometimes though, a book captures me in such a way, that I become obsessed with the world inside it. I live it, I dream about it, think about it and it consumes me. The Red Tent was one of these books.

The subject matter? Women of ancient times. Specifically one woman: Dinah, mentioned only once in the Bible in the Book of Genesis. Her story comes to life. Her youth, her traditions, and the red tent. A place where women of ancient civilizations used to gather during the new moon, to observe their menses, and bring ritual and in some cases honor the life bearing blood that fills wombs every month.

Not only did the story of Dinah, daughter of Lea, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah bring knowledge of ancient womanhood practices, including midwifery and births, marriage, sex, and a young girls turning of age through her period. My journey with these women, made me understand the strength of the covens that formed during times where their stories, and names were barely mentioned.

This story is rooted on the Bible story of “The Rape of Dinah” in Genesis 34, where the episode of her violation by Shechem is later avenged by her brothers Simeon and Levi on the city of Hamor, father of Shechem.

The Bible is a book where the female is scantly sacred, where lineage is remembered by fathers, and where the births of sons is most honorably, and women’s honor is due for the rise of power for man and tribe. Anita Diamant transforms the stories of Laban, Rachel, Lea, Jacob and Joseph and flips it on its head. She remains true to the old written word, but delves into a world lost by time filling in the gaps of Dinah’s story.  A woman’s world where magic, wisdom, strength and faith are rooted on the spirit of the female.

I give praise to The Red Tent, for it gave me sight into a world where eyes need to go, where women ought to be honored, and most of all remembered.

If you love history, if you want knowledge of ancient womanhood, and if you want to dive deep into a story of love, magic and blood, then I invite you to open the pages of this book.

Thank you to the author, and thank you to Dinah, whatever your real story may have been, today we remember you had a story too, and we honor your story now.

With love,

-Mensa

To Dance is To Pray…To Pray is to Heal

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dance, fly, Follow your dreams, God, Humans, inspiration, learn from mistakes, love, music, Native American, no hate, poetry, Pray, Soul, Supaman, Truth, Why, World

A little food for the soul.

Enjoy.

Much love to all. May you fly, may you dance, may your soul be filled with joy.

– Mensa

Ps. I love you my mushpa!

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

Just Something To Look At

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African Proverb, art, Cara Reynolds, Charlie Chaplin, etsy, Geraldine Chaplin, handmade, Happiness, lesbian, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, organic, patch, Power Surfing, PR, screen printing, SEO, witches

I was power surfing and promoting Mushpa y Mensa last night and came across these photos on the World Wide Web I thought were worth sharing with you all.

Enjoy.

:]

– Mushpa

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.

The Spring Flea @BAC

Tags

art, artist, bac, brooklyn arts center, brooklyn flea, Cara Reynolds, clay bead necklace, clay beads, clothes, crafts, DAS, eco-friendly, fashion, felt, flea market, gay, handmade, Happiness, jewlery, lesbian, love, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa Y Mensa, organic, organic cotton shirt, plush animals, queer, recycled, t-shirts, the spring flea

Guess where we are going to be this weekend… That’s right the Spring Flea at The Brooklyn Arts Center! :]

Renowned as the “ultimate vintage flea” and attended by more than 1,500 shoppers and dozens of vintage vendors from around the region, The Spring Flea is a three-day event that will again be the go-to shopping experience of the season—with a wide array of vintage, retro, and up cycled treasures—and tons of fun, with Wilmington’s finest food trucks feeding the crowds, a coffee shop in the courtyard, and the BAC cash bar serving liquid refreshments.

See you there.

-Mushpa y Mensa