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)

Just A Few Laughs

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bowling, Cara Reynolds, Happiness, hedgehog, inspiration, laughs, laughter, lesbian, Maria Emilia Borja, Mensa, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, Mushpa Y Mensa, Pepper vs Tuck, queer, The American Hedgehog Bowling Association, The American Hedgehog Bowling Association - Pepper vs Tuck

Hedgehog bowling and not in a bad way… Please it’s us.

So cute.

-Mushpa

Day 3- Hold Me

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Be Steadwell, Brasil, Cara Reynolds, Hold Me, lesbian, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, Red, Woman

Challenge yourself.

-Mushpa

Pa’lante My Friends

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Alynda Segarra, Alyse Young, bass, Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri, Bronx, Cara Reynolds, cello, Charlie Ferguson, Claire Harbage, congas, Cubana, Electric Guitar, Hurray For the Riff Raff, Jordan Hyde, Josh Rogosin, Juan-Carlos Chaurand, keyboards, Maia Stern, Morgan Noelle Smith, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, New York City, Nothing's Gonna Change That Girl, NPR, NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, NYC, Pa'lante, Patricia Santos, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rico, Rican Beach, rums, Salvatore Maicki, Sarah Goldstone Claudia Chopek, The Bronx, violin

Before you loved me like that.

The three faces of Eve… She is amazing.

I gave up TV and fell deep into the music and books y’all. Not gonna go on and on about it, but life, I must admit, is improving and it wasn’t so bad to begin with.

Edify us Girl.

– Mushpa

Mushpa + Mensa’s Book Nook

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Annie Spence, books, Cara Reynolds, Dear Fahrenheit 451, Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life, Happiness, librarian, library, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, Mushpa + Mensa Book Nook, Nook, public library, reading, reading is fundamental

Dear Fahrenheit 451, by Annie Spence

Welcome All to the Mushpa + Mensa Book Nook! The definition of a nook is a corner or recess, especially one offering seclusion or security. I think a book can be defined the same way. For example, when I read a good book my mind finds itself in a secure corner, alone, where the external world no longer exists. I compare it to dreaming while awake, a dream written by someone else and you’re in the dream, but you’re different. This is what I mean by book nook. The book is the nook!!!

Now that we have the meaning of the name Mushpa + Mensa’s Book Nook, I can tell you what it is about. Here’s the long story, we, have been reading a lot more lately. This is due to giving up watching “TV” (We don’t have a TV but we do have Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc and huge computer monitor to watch said “TV” on, in my book it’s the same.) on February 19th. All those series to binge watch was taking over the little free time we did have and honestly, the payout was never worth the time. We find good movies to watch on the weekends now, but that’s it for the boob tube. I had been reading non-fiction somewhat, but I really wanted to get back into reading. Not reality reading, but that “take you somewhere else then come back with a better understanding of the world around you” type of reading. I wasn’t sure where to start, but being someone who loves free and community I headed over to my local public library. Ah, the library, how I love you; what a treasure to have in this country. I would pay more taxes so librarians could take the amazingness they create with what money they have now and truly go hard, but I digress. I went to the recommended section and found this book, Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life, by Annie Spence. This is a book about a librarian Annie, who is also happens to be the author of the book, very post modern. :] The book is letters she writes to different books, be it love letters, break-up letters, super fan letters, reminiscing about the good old days letters, never liked you letters, Dear John letters, etc. Annie writes from her “personal” self, her “librarian” self and sometimes the “two merged into one” self.

Near the end of Dear Fahrenheit 451 she gives book recommendations in a super witty way, which is how I found the book I am reading now in the “Falling Down the Rabbit Hole: Books that Lead to More Books” section. I am halfway done and will say it has not disappointed. I have 200 and some pages left. I’ll let you know all about it in my next M+M Book Nook post.

Until then, do yourself a favor and go find an amazing book.

– Mushpa

Reverse

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Cara Reynolds, Dimitry Mouraviev, Кольщик, Ekaterina Kononenko, Henry Meder, Ilya Naishuller, Kolshik, Leningrad, Mushpa, Petr Bondarenko, Reverse, Sureal

Кольщик – Reverse

Mwah!

-Mushpa

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

Here Comes The Holidays!!!

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Cara Reynolds, Christmas, Coupon Code, DIY Beading Kit, eaten gingerbread man, eco felt holiday ornaments, eco fi felt, eco-friendly, EcoFi felt, Etsy Coupon Code, felt, gingerbread men eco felt ornaments, gingerbread people ornaments, gingerbread person, handmade, Maria Emilia Borja, Mushpa, Mushpa + Mensa, Mushpa Y Mensa, mushpa y mensa coupon, mushpa y mensa coupon code, Mushpa y Mensa Holiday Gingerbread Ornaments, Mutated Gingerbread man, plush animals

The first week of November is here which means some people are starting their Holiday shopping and others are finishing it. We here at Mushpa + Mensa want to get into the game by offering our super fans a free shipping code on any and all purchases. This code is HoHoHo! It will be in affect until January 1st, 2016. You can start out getting an amazing handmade Gingerbread Peep made of felt created using recycled plastic bottles for your Christmas tree. You’re welcome!

Let’s get this holiday party started!!!

Much love,

Mushpa + Mensa

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

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