What's New at TKB Trading

For those who have interest in how this project is going forward, it looks like the Maker's Meet won't happen in September as I had hoped, but things are nonetheless moving forward!

Our new deadline is November 15th when I am scheduled to teach a class on making pressed powders and lipstick at thenovastudio.com. I have notified all participants that the class is both for them, as well as a rough...

Long ago I learned to compartmentalize some of my small business owner activities so that they don't overwhelm.

• I order new supplies once a week (Wednesdays) and I don't even think about it in between.
• When bills come in, I immediately tuck them into my "pink folder". I only sort through and pay bills on Friday.
• I come in at 9:00 and leave at 6:00 and weekends are not for working.
  

It's like Maslow's...

Recently I was contacted regarding the company 100% Pure and its patent pending for use of fruit, vegetable, flower and seed pigments for use in cosmetics.

The concern was that if 100% Pure succeeds in their patent then it will negatively affect all natural cosmetic companies.

The author requested that we call the examining attorney Tania Ashby at 571-270-1348and that we write a formal complaint to...

In 2008, Clorox Corp (based here in Oakland, CA) came out with a line of green cleaning products. More than 99% of the ingredients in their new GreenWorks line come from natural, non-petrochemical sources. The ingredients include:

• Water
• Alkyl Polyglucoside. This is a detergent surfactant made from coconut oil
• Ethanol SDA-3C. This is a dirt-dissolving solvent made from corn oil
• Glycerine. A...

It was 1996. EBAY and Craigslist were uncertain startups right along with Lori Schenkelberg's “Pigment Lady” and Kaila Westerman's “TKB Trading”.

“We met in an AOL chat room,” explains Kaila. “What started out as a hobby for us, quickly became micro businesses. Our other chat room buddies...

Last month we took a day off to have a company outing. We took the ferry to San Francisco, then rented bikes and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge. Here are some photos. They should play as a slideshow automatically, just be patient!

My business is a simple one. It boils down to buying large quantities of interesting stuff, packing said stuff into smaller quantities and then shipping it out to people who have the time and energy to play with it.

While it is gratifying to be part of my customers' creative cycle, the work is work. It's routine. I try to be very Zen, to see the task in front of me as meditation. But, during a...