Ecotrust is across from Jamison Square, which made for an interesting morning. I did something I don’t normally do when I have a business meeting. I brought my toddler along. I don’t know how some moms do it, having a business discussion and having the little one there. I’ve seen moms make it look easy, and thought I could pull it off. My energetic darling sitting on my lap lasted about a whole three minutes!

So we left Ecotrust and I think let’s go see the fountain at Jamison. My little one, Mackenzie, runs in. I can barely get her leggings and shoes off quick enough. I roll up my jeans, take off my blazer, and look around. At least I’m not the only one whose toddler is swimming in a diaper.

Thirty minutes of fun later, I realize the parking meter has definitely expired, so I grab my protesting daughter out of the water, walk down the street barefoot, with my baby (she now seems like a baby again) on my hip in a soaking wet diaper. I get to the car to find that I don’t even have the diaper bag with me! Luckily, there is a spare dipe in the Ergo and a towel loose in the trunk. I manage to change Mackenzie into a dry diaper in the trunk, and get her buckled back in her carseat for the trip home.

Business and Mama time – lesson learned. Keep them separate, as I have usually done. Considering, the meeting went fine and we had a blast playing in the Pearl. I am usually very prepared and give whoever I am with 100% of me, which certainly was not the case yesterday morning.

Back to the wedding album…

This green wedding album is from Wild Magnolia Design, in Santa Monica, California. It is handmade by a small sustainable company. The cover I choose for Ecotrust is a peace silk, accompanied by a handmade end orange/brown end paper. These albums come with different endpaper options, and a variety of covers, including hemp. The pages are made of thick recycled paper, and are archival.

I also just ordered a goodie box from Wild Magnolia Design. At first I thought, “well I’ve already found a green album maker” but the two companies make such completely different books I think offering them both will work well. The Wild Magnolia albums are printed on eco-friendly cotton paper, have peace silk or hemp hard covers, and are mounted similar in style to a traditional flushmount.

Speaking of flushmount albums, I still plan to offer a leather bound photographic printed flushmount album too, as well as coffee table books. While these are not very green, I have given this lots of thought and done some research. I have found a company that gets all their materials locally, manufactures in the US, and is responsible with their environmental practices. An album is something you order once and lasts many lifetimes. Considering this longevity, I feel it is a sustainable choice as well.

What I need to find now is a coffee table book maker (for casual albums and guestbooks) that uses recycled paper, and natural materials for covers!

One is the Sustainable Group in Seattle. They sells green office paper products. Everything is locally made of recycled material, and is reusable. Plus they feel good to touch! I can not wait to get my new cd cases and folders. You can get these locally in Portland at The Office (in the Alberta neighborhood).

The other company makes wedding albums. All of their lines are from 50% recycled paper, and shipped in recyclable packages. Each book is handcrafted in the USA. It gets better. They offer a line of books that are 100% from consumer recycled materials, and the entire bookmaking process is done with green-e certified windpower. A portion of the sales proceeds is used to purchase carbon offsets and plant trees.

I just opened an account, and think I will start offering a special green wedding photography package featuring one of their earth friendly albums. More info to come.