pressing news

when i have garage sales there are always certain items i have a hard time parting with (last minute). when someone wants to know the cost, i bluntly state 'a million dollars', they look at me like i'm crazy, + i put my previously unwanted, newfound treasure back in the house. how could i have ever let it go?

i am reminded of this feeling as we are making our press kits. we recycled old catalogs to make bookmarks + buttons, + each set is so poetic, i have a hard time parting with any of them. they make the perfect bling! don't go, don't go! luckily, erika is in charge of sealing the envelopes.

10 reasons

why growing organically is good for our speesees:

1. no earth-polluting toxins
600,000 tons of pesticides + chemical fertilizers are applied to cotton fields each season, causing devastation to our land, air, water + the health of people living in conventional cotton-growing areas. the simple act of growing + harvesting the conventional cotton needed to make one t-shirt uses approximately one third of a pound of pesticides + chemical fertilizers.

2. supports sustainable agriculture practices
organic sources of fertilizer, including manure and compost, improve the microbial activity of the soil, producing a healthy “living soil.” conventional farming reduces the health of the soil by using soil-destroying chemicals to fertilize plants.

3. protects water quality
water makes up two-thirds of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the planet. despite its importance, the environmental protection agency (epa) estimates pesticides - some cancer causing, contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population.

4. reduces health risks of agricultural workers
a national cancer institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a cancer risk six times greater than non-farmers. in california, workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state. farm-worker health is also a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide use is poorly regulated. an estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.

5. high-quality fabric
organic cotton is often more durable; speesees’ is long-staple + longer-lasting. organic ring-spun prove to be among the softest available on the market; organic is soft + nice.

6. skin is the largest organ
our skin is the largest organ in our entire body. it’s a living, breathing, absorbent organ. baby’s skin is especially vulnerable to its environment, + deserves to be clothed with cotton grown without chemicals.

7. saves energy
organic farming uses the soil as the foundation to grown cotton while conventional farming relies on planes + tractors to chemically fertilize cotton plants.

8. reduces genetically modified cotton
scientists + activists are concerned genetic alteration of conventional cotton crops is proceeding without adequate testing for health + environmental ramifications.

9. invests in a sustainable economy
the short-term cost savings of buying conventional cotton clothing do not outweigh the long-term costs of cleaning up the environmental damage it causes. investing in organic cotton promotes an economy free of future costs.

10. protects future generations
“we have not inherited the earth from our fathers. we are borrowing it from our children” - lester brown. buying organic promotes a fundamental change in the way we treat the environment around us, looking not just to the next crop, but to the future of our children’s planet.

the life of models

we recently paid a visit to speesees models shuli + her brother bodhi (+ mom wesley). bodhi was sweet enough to wake up from his nap in a good mood for a fitting! he tried on some speesees samples (for next year), while his sis shu ran around photographing everyone! what fun. thank you, lovely stahler family!

*super speesees mom* :: erin rische sheridan

we recently received this email from a monkey business mom + just went bananas! her note was a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do. we are so very humbled + honored to have such fabulous customers...:::thanks, erin! (ps. we can't wait to see a picture of kiernan!)

Hi! I am Erin Rische Sheridan, I live in Cary, Illinois, and would LOVE to be considered for your "Gorilla Business"! I am an at-home, attached, home-schooling, breast feeding, environment protecting, small business supporting, organic eating, cloth diapering, family bedding, natural birth teaching, lactation consulting, natural clothes wearing, Speesees LOVING Mama of six beautiful, Speesees wearing babies! We ADORE your clothing line, my eighteen month old wears almost exclusive Speesees clothing. It has been amazing for us. Kiernan has sensory "issues" and your clothing has been awesome for him in an enormous array of reasons. His cloth diapers fit perfectly under his pants, and we LOVE to layer the tees. He looks like a little Speesees model every day, and we get tons of compliments (I have passed your web site on may times!). I would be thrilled to help you build your business, it has been such a blessing to us. Kiernan has trouble with some textures, and your clothing is perfect for him!

bringing it home

this past weekend, stephanie + i created a speesees set for pharmaca, an integrative pharmacy, in pacific palisades (my hometown). it was quite an honor being back on my home turf, + i couldn't help but feel nostalgic for 'bay pharmacy' (the pharmacy i grew up going to, bought by pharmaca) + simultaneously excited for the next generation of holistic pharmacy.

inhabitat

handmade speesees

we forget that frankie mcgee is a *senior citizen*. she possesses the energy + vision of a 12-year-old girl, + when she isn't busy whipping up vegan chocolates for the crew, she can be found creating an array of handmade speesees via crochet + knitting, soon to be sold in the shop + online. we are thrilled to be offering our first line of cozy one-offs, featuring bamboo, soya, + hand-dyed yarns. thank you, frankie, for creating each piece with love! we love you.

recycling 101

one of the ways we recycle here at speesees is by reusing. our latest group project was making buttons + bookmarks with old catalogs. every online purchase over $50 will receive one as a special gift.

next: composting.*

monkey business tote

oh yay. we just came up with our new gorilla marketing team totes + have decided that we all want one! we'd love to hear any opinions about which designs (front + back) are your favorite>>>*

speesees in puerto rico

sample sale peeps

a good time was had by all at our sample sale this last friday + saturday...so many speesees models in the house! thank you all for coming + helping us clean house. *

our new bedding

we are bringing out a line of bedding for spring/summer 09! here's a sneak peek of us sneaking prance on a crib at ikea...

parents connect

indian summer sample sale

we have officially moved into our new space, + are in the midst of getting organized. this friday we will have sale goodies to bestow upon you to make room for the new. we had so much fun last time + would love for you to join us again (in our new space. hurray!) for a day of sample + spring/summer 08 line selling. for those of you living in another part of the country (maria) or unable to make it, we will do a two days only (fri + sat) (pst) spring + summer clearance for you online :). we will miss seeing you in person.

friday, october 10th
10am-4pm
+
saturday, october 11th
10am-2pm

2475 third street suite 252 san francisco ca 94107

sorry for the confusion above. no samples were being sold (too tricky to manage), only spring + summer line were on sale. for those of you who emailed (+ everyone else online) we are adding classics (think yoga pants, seahorse kimono, bodies) + various samples on sale this tuesday, the 14th through friday, the 17th. thanks for your patience + enjoy...

speesees staff

from left to right: jennifer warner, roya kashanian, charity coleman, sara chun, lindsay grant, rachel pearson, erika stallworth, eliza jane bradley.

hot off the press!

Contact: Erika Stallworth

For immediate release.
Tel: 415.552.5808
Fax: 415.552.5809
E-mail: erika.speesees@gmail.com

All-Woman speesees Staff Prepares to Open Doors to Public with Launch of New Flagship Retail Store, Community Art Space and Children’s Gallery. San Francisco-based organic cotton and fair-trade baby clothing and accessories company speesees is busy designing, transforming and setting up shop in their new, larger showroom and headquarters, and they want to invite you in.

Painted anew with non-VOC paint and designed with a bold, clean vintage-modern aesthetic in mind, the speesees home base is a sight to behold. But they don’t just want their neighbors to come admire the view. speesees aims to utilize the new space, still located in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco, for much more than supporting its popular clothing line, which is now carried all over the world. When the new space opens up to the public November 1st, you’ll be able to twist and twirl, doodle and draw, hum and strum right along with the speesees team.

You can pick up a marker and add a drawing to the giant community canvas on the wall, grab a comfy cushion and settle in for an impromptu puppet show, or tune up your vocal chords for an old-fashioned sing-along. And of course, you can plunk your little speesees down to page through a vintage book or participate in an art lesson while you peruse the new fall/winter collection, all the while listening to classic children’s records playing on the turntable.

While the speesees staff, square-footage, and grand designs for the future have blossomed greatly in recent weeks, never fear: the company’s core mission—to be fun, fair and organic in the clothing they make, the way they conduct business, and the baby steps they take towards creating a more sustainable future for our children’s planet—remains firmly intact. The current focus on community involvement and artistic expression reflects the talents and passions of the seven creative, innovative young women that comprise the speesees team. The events and exhibits in the works for coming months will foster the team’s skills and interests, while expanding and deepening the company’s positive impact on children and the community.

Tucked in one nook of the retail store will be speesees owner/creator Rachel Pearson’s artist studio, where she’ll continue developing a children’s book series and characters that will soon become another facet of the speesees brand. Pearson’s beautiful and empowering characters are just one aspect of the speesees brand expansion waiting in the wings—the company is also introducing a line of lifestyle products, such as organic pillows, bedding, wall prints, cards and totes, to be released this winter and next spring.

Pearson dreamed up speesees in 2003, when she began designing and making organic baby clothing as gifts for her friends’ new babies. In the beginning, each speesees design featured a different plant or animal species along with its phonetic spelling. Over time, the brand slowly shifted into what it is today. “We believe it's possible to have fun while working towards a sustainable future for our animal, plant, and human species,” Pearson says. Thus was born the playful name “speesees,” the way Pearson envisions a child might phonetically spell the word.

introducing::roya kashanian

when roya's not busy being the speesees ècouter, she can be found daydreaming at the beach, playing dominoes, + drawing flowers.