One of our very favorite treats of all time. Try these delicious chocolate and almond dipped cookie sticks by Lotte and you’ll be hooked. Pre-wrapped and ready for gifting!
Regularly: Single $16, Double $26
Special Introductory Offer: Single $10, Double $20
New gift items have arrived and we are so excited to give you a first look.
1. Ladies Who Lunch, Insulated Lunch Tote with Bamboo Handles
A lunch tote elegant enough to use as a purse!
2. Almond Delight, Chocolate and Almond Dipped Cookie Sticks
A favorite snack in Korea, these crispy delights from Lotte Confectionery are simply heavenly.
3. My Own Lunch Bag, Cotton Reusable Lunch Bag that You Decorate Yourself
Colorful Fabric Markers are included to make lunchtime an eco-fun activity.
4. Sushi Snacker, Sheets of Roasted Savory Seaweed
Everyone who loves sushi knows that seaweed is an amazingly delicious and nutritious food. Now enjoy the crispy savory goodness anytime with these roasted seaweed sheets. Just cut with scissors and enjoy alone or with steaming hot rice. Yum!
Business, Family, Food, Green, Health, Holiday, Korea, Uncategorized | 
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Is the IPad on your wish list for things to get this year? I really didn’t understand the hype and then I actually tried one at the Apple store. Call me a wimp but within 30 seconds of holding an IPad, I felt fatigued by the sheer weight of the thing. Yes I’ve had carpal tunnel and maybe I’m a little more sensitive than most, but I could not imagine why I would want such a thing when a laptop with a keyboard worked just fine for me.
Then I saw this video on Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop page and the IPad immediately shot to #1 on my most wanted list. Take a look:
Like most Moms (and a lot of Dads), I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. With this toy, you may never get me out! No more printing out recipes or unwieldy stereo cluttering the kitchen. I could even cook while listening to my favorite webcast or watching some Korean dramas. The possibilities are wonderfully endless.
If you are giving the IPad to a special someone this year, make it even more special by BOBOwrapping it. A Medium sized wrap will be a perfect fit for the 8 x 10 x 2 inch box. If you’re giving it to me, I promise to give the wrap back! ^^
BOBO Wrap, Food, Korea, Media, Technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Making a proper cup of tea from loose tea leaves is an affordable luxury that can add so much pleasure to your day. However, with all the extra equipment and hassle, you might often find yourself reaching for that lower quality tea bag instead. Take a look at this!
I first discovered the ingenious 3 piece tea mug years ago in Korea and marveled at the beautiful marriage of form and function. A matching ceramic strainer actually plops right into the tea mug and the lid goes right on top of that for proper steeping of the tea leaves.
Loose green tea leaves are hand picked and unoxidized. They contain life-giving nutrients such as cancer fighting anti-oxidants called catechins, theanine, chlorophyll and Vitamin C.
When making tea bags, lower quality leaves are crushed and chopped into small particles called Fanning and Dusts. No wonder tea connoisseurs are only interested in loose-leaf. Loose leaf has so much greater aroma, body and nutrients.
This tea mug set makes it so easy to brew loose tea. When your are finished steeping, you just flip the lid upside down and convert it into a holder for the strainer that will now sit and drain mess free. After enjoying your tea, you can plop the strainer back in the tea mug and steep the leaves for a second cup. Many tea lovers actually like the second brew better! So peaceful. So wise.
Don’t you love discovering great design that functions as beautifully as it looks? The beautiful crackling of the celadon porcelain is a topic for another day but you can read a bit about it here.
These celadon tea mugs are our Spring Special and are available now pre-wrapped and ready to delight you or any tea lover in your life. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
Going green can seem more than a little intimidating sometimes. Solar panels sound wonderful and as I look out at my laundry drying in the sun, I dream of the day I can harness that same great energy to power up my home. But for now, I 
reach for the lower hanging fruit on the tree of eco-living. Wrapping with fabric to reduce senseless garbage? That’s like fruit on the ground!
Giving gifts is one of the great pleasures in life and the suspense and mystery in unwrapping a gift is the icing on the cake. But did you know that during the holidays alone, Americans create 5 million additional tons of garbage and that 80% of this garbage is just wrapping paper and gift bags? These are crazy numbers and there’s a lot we can do about it without eliminating the joys of beautifully wrapped gifts.
The ancient Korean people really hated waste and considered it bad luck. They created the concept of the wrapping scarf or wrapping cloth called bojagi (boh-jah-kee), which they used to wrap and carry everything from gifts to bundles of merchandise for the market. The great thing about wrapping with bojagi is that it adapts to the shape being wrapped for a custom fit and then can be reused countless times. This was my inspiration in creating my own line of reusable wraps called BOBO.
BOBO wrapping is a lot like origami in that a square shape works best. Try the bow tie wrap technique for wrapping up your next gift with a square scarf or hankie. If you like the contrasting reverse effect, try using 2 scarves put together with a bit of light spray adhesive.
If you are crafty and have fabric lying around your home from old projects, you can make your own BOBOs by taking a square piece of fabric and finishing off the edges. Just make sure the fabric’s not too thick by grabbing a corner of material and tying in a knot. If it doesn’t knot easily, it’s probably too thick.
Stanford University Recycling Center says ”If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.” Now 3 presents a year is a number we can all commit to.
I wrote The Wrapping Scarf Revolution to teach a new generation of Earth citizens a great old way to be kinder to the planet. Join the 
Wrapping Scarf Revolution and take the pledge to wrap at least 3 gifts in reusables this year. Send me a picture of your fabric wrapped gift and you may receive a nice a little gift certificate from yours truly. Happy Earth Day everyone. Let’s hear it for the low hanging fruit!
For more information and video demonstrations on how to wrap with fabric, visit the How-To Page at BOBOwrap.com. To enter a great book and wrap giveaway, check out the original site of this post at galtime.com. Write a comment there by tomorrow and be entered.
For a nice 15% off discount to try our products, use this great coupon by the Eco Diva. Code: DIVA410 Expiration: 4/30/2010.
A selection of our favorites for all those special Moms out there. LOVE the new Celadon Tea Mug set from Korea. Steep loose tea in the ceramic strainer then just lift out and place on the lid while enjoying all the health benefits of a great cup of tea. All lovingly pre-wrapped with Earth friendly reusable BOBO wrap. We’ll even hand write your message on a beautiful BOBO card. Check out all the great wrapped gift items in stock now.
Sadly, one of my most memorable moments in college has nothing to do academics but everything to do with the toilet. A few of my best friends were international students from Korea and weren’t too keen on the finer points of American etiquette.
Having missed a few days of class, my friend HJ went to the instructor and started to explain that she had had a VERY serious case of diarrhea.
Just to make sure the instructor understood her correctly, she earnestly went on and on to describe everything from the severe stomach cramps to the constant running to the bathroom.
The instructor was stunned speechless. Obviously embarrassed by this lengthy explanation, he told HJ that everything she missed could be made up and hopefully she was feeling much better now.
When I saw this video of Korean pitcher Chan Ho Park explaining that “a lot of diarrhea” was the cause of his poor performance on the mound, I died laughing remembering my old friend HJ. Oh how I love Korea. Park is bewildered by the laughing reporters as would be many a Korean!
Koreans are very upfront about the functions of the body and talking about BMs has always been a common topic of conversation. The consistency, how much, how often, color–the whole nine yards.
The funny thing is that Americans are now starting to follow suit with Dr. Oz and Oprah trailblazing the road to talking more openly about what’s going on in the toilet. BMs are most certainly a very good indicator of a multitude of health conditions and apparently the perfect “S” shaped BM is what we should be striving for (his words not mine!). Dr. Oz says that this topic is actually so important that we should actually be talking a whole lot more about it.
Back in college, when my friend Younny and I witnessed HJ’s now legendary teacher meeting, we howled about it for days. We joked about trying out this fool proof method the next time we got in a tight spot but never dared.
We may be laughing now, but Korean culture is very old and wise and Chan Ho and HJ may have the last laugh yet!
I knew I loved DC! What great news to hear that our nation’s capitol has started charging a 5 cent tax on disposable plastic bags. The new law which went into effect on January 1st, not only dramatically reduced the amount of plastic bags being used, it generated $150,000 in one month to help clean up the Anacostia River. This is great news!
The Hobo Bag, from "The Wrapping Scarf Revolution"
Back in 2002, Ireland placed a 15 cent tax on their plastic bags and dropped their usage by 90%. When I was living in Korea in the late 90s, we purchased pricey mandatory garbage bags, forcing us to be careful what we threw away. These garbage bags were also translucent and if you happened to throw out some recyclables in your regular garbage, forget about it. People in your apartment building would give you nasty looks for weeks. Seinfeld style.
It’s taking the US a long time to get the message, but this taxing thing works! Especially when so many people are already on the verge of giving up plastic bags. Now the whole nation just needs to follow suit. At a time when most cities and states are experiencing budget crisis, THIS is the time!
Very important to remember is how resistant people can be to change. Many District residents were furiously up in arms when they first faced the tax in January. This Washington Informer article from January makes it very clear how angry many people were at the time.
I so admire our neighboring town of Westport, CT, for banning plastic bags in March of last year, becoming the first town in Connecticut to do so. In the year that has passed, not a single additional town in CT has followed suit although Westport reports no problems with the ban and a reduction of about a million bags so far. Wilton is said to be considering a similar law.
Wendy Carlson for The New York Times
The New York Times reported that the ordinance had passed 26 to 5 despite opposition by representatives from the chemical industry and the supermarket chains. “Westport is well known for being progressive, and in the forefront of social issues,” said Gordon Joseloff, a first selectman, noting that it was one of the first communities to pass a resolution opposing the Vietnam War. (NYT)
In Korea, groceries were carried in wrapping scarves for centuries. Check out how to make big hobo bags (first pic) in the The Wrapping Scarf Revolution. Bravo DC and Westport! What a great display of leadership.
We were a few days too early to see any real cherry blossom action but what a night we had in DC last week. So many wonderful people came out to the Korus House of the Korean Embassy to hear my little Bojagi to BOBO presentation. Even the overflow room was full to capacity and it ended up being standing room only.
It was one of those lucky nights when things just seemed to click. DC/MD/VA traffic can be murderous but it was smooth sailing all the way from the highways to the triangular mazes that lead to Embassy Row. The audience was also amazing and we were so on the same green colored wavelength. Heavenly!
Main Presentation room at the Korus House of the Korean Embassy in Washington DC
Speaking to a room full of DC intellectuals was daunting but the guests were very warm and engaged in the topic of the night. A 25 minute presentation with slides was followed by a demonstration time.
Then we had a very lively Q & A with many great questions and comments by the audience. Wish we had more time to hear from everyone. Here’s a sampling of what was asked:
Q: What is the Korean etiquette with using a bojagi (wrapping scarf)? Is it rude to take the wrap back when giving a gift?
A: There are many correct ways to use a bojagi. Many people choose to give the bojagi to someone as part of a gift. Others use the wrap as a personal accessory much like a bag and use it to transport a gift of wine or food. They unwrap the gift, hand it to the recipient and put their wrapping scarf away.
Q: What are the best fabrics to use as a wrapping scarf? I have a lot of cotton fabrics at home and would like to try the techniques.
A: The beauty of wrapping scarves is that you can use so many different fabrics and materials depending on what you may have available. My book, The Wrapping Scarf Revolution, goes into more detail as to what fabrics and sizes to use for specific projects but one easy test to see if your fabric will work is to hold a corner of the fabric and tie a knot. If you can’t tie a knot easily, the material is probably too thick.
Some of our lucky raffle winners.
We gave 7 lucky winners a BOBO wrapped and signed copy of The Wrapping Scarf Revolution.
I loved seeing my friend and eco-warrior Reena Kazmann. Thanks for coming Reena!
Reena Kazmann of ecoartware.com
A mini exhibit of BOBO lovelies.
Before and after the presentation, everyone had a chance to check out the small exhibition of BOBO wrapped goodies. Here’s some of the great feedback we got from the guests:
“Intelligent, poignant, impressive!” -Soojung K.
“Excellent: very informative and comprehensive also greatly appreciated the historical research.” -Peggie D.
“Excellent presentation. Clear and concise, your vision is ecologically appropriate.” -Beth C.
“Absolutely wonderful! I know what I’ll be playing with next week!” -Peg H.
“Well presented, well organized. Enjoyed every moment and learned a lot.” -Regina C.
Many thanks to the Korean Embassy and to all the people who came out for a fun and memorable evening. Cheers!
BOBO Wrap, Green, Korea, Luck | 1 Comment »
I’m getting ready to head down to DC for my Bojagi to BOBO event at the Korean Embassy and all I can think about are the cherry trees and how for the very first time, I may get a glimpse of the famous blossoms that majestically adorn our nation’s capital once a year.
I am a few days early but I hear that there are some sunny spots where the trees will get an early start. In 1912, 3000 cherry trees were given to the city of Washington by the Japanese mayor of Tokyo and the trees have flourished ever since. Most Americans assume that the cherry tree is originated in Japan but it is now know that they actually probably originated in Korea. From wikipedia:
“In 1933, the Japanese botanist Koizumi Genichi reported that the Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino) is of Jeju-do island origin.[14] In 1992, Takaki Kiyoko[who?], another botanist specializing in sakura, also claimed that the Yoshino sakura hails from Jeju Island. According to Invest Korea journal, more evidence supporting this claim is that while this species of cherry tree is indigenous to Korea and can be found as part of the natural flora of Mount Halla, it cannot be found anywhere in Japan”.
Koreans gather for the annual cherry blossom watching. Zyrtec anyone?
Interesting! Well kudos to the Japanese for recognizing the amazing beauty of these trees and sharing it with the West. The cherry blossoms appear in Korea about the same time they do here and Koreans flock en masse to see these natural beauties in action. Wish me luck and if you’re in the area, come on out to Embassy Row tomorrow night and join me for a fun evening of discussion, sharing, and perhaps most importantly, some great Korean refreshments!
If you can come to the event please click the image above as rsvp is required. Hope to see you there!
A fun article on how I started my business in the April 2010 issue of Redbook. Many many thanks to Reena Kazmann of ecoartware.com for nominating me! Check it out at your local grocery store or newsstand!
BOBO Wrap, Business, Family, Green, Korea, Media | 1 Comment »
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! My own personal obsession with Ireland began after reading Frank McCourt’s masterpiece, Angela’s Ashes. He wrote his story of grinding poverty with such truth and humor that I found myself bawling and laughing hysterically in turns. I literally rationed out the last few chapters as I couldn’t bear to let go of this heartbreakingly hilarious tale of misery and hope.
The tears would stream from my eyes as Frank’s father would time and time again leave his starving family and head for the pub to drink away his week’s wages and my heart leaped as Frank somehow found his way onto the boat that would take him to a new beginning in America. You might not think that Korea and Ireland have much in common, but there are some similarities that might surprise you. Take this quote for example:
“Could he not find in his heart the generosity to acknowledge that there is a small nation that stood alone not for one year or two, but for several hundred years against aggression; that endured spoliations, famines, massacres in endless succession; that was clubbed many times into insensibility, but that each time on returning [to] consciousness took up the fight anew; a small nation that could never be got to accept defeat and has never surrendered her soul?”
This quote by the Irish independence movement leader Eamon De Valera, could easily have been said about Korea. Both countries lay in a strategically central location and while Ireland was pummeled for centuries by Scotland and England, Korea endured the same plight in the hands of Japan and Manchuria. Maybe this is why both countries today are famous for their hard drinking and hardscrabble ways.
“We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.” – Winston Churchill.
I went on to read all of McCourt’s books (none lived up to the first) and was miserably disappointed with the movie version. McCourt brought his tale to life so magically that I literally dreamed about the damp green hills of Limerick and at one point considered going on the Angela’s Ashes tour with a group of hard core Japanese fans. I even read Frank’s brother Malachy’s book which hardly deserves a mention and yet I still savored every morsel of information about the life and times of the McCourt family.
It’s hard to imagine that life could really have been that bad and yet Malachy McCourt says that in reality, their life was worse than Frank wrote. Asked about how they managed to survive and go on to such successful lives (Malachy became a Hollywood actor), he says, “Insane outbreaks of laughter saved us.” Whether or not you’re Irish or Korean, I think we can all relate to that!
Read more about the life of Frank McCourt: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1911633,00.html#ixzz0iRtAkxrt
St. Patrick’s Day Sale! Save 25% off all green BOBO wraps till Friday March 18th. Use Code: LUCKY10
In what can only be called a pinnacle of athletic achievement, Kim Yu-Na somehow found a way to shrug off the immense pressure mounted on her and set a new standard for figure skating perfection.
Kim Yu-Na finally lets out her emotions after a sublime performance in Vancouver.
Here are some great nuggets of little known facts about Queen Yu-Na:
1. In a speed skating-mad country Kim trained either early in the morning or late at night because it was the only time the ice was available.
2. Yu-Na is correctly pronounced “yeo-na” or “yuh-na”, not “yoo-na”
3. Brian Orser never coached before taking on Kim and initially declined the request from Kim’s mother.
4. Not speaking a word of English, Kim first learned from Orser through his demonstrations.
5. Friends since their early days of competitive skating, Kim and Asada are both 19, both 5′4″, both born in September, and both huge celebrities in their home countries. Watch a great video montage of their friendly but intense rivalry.
6. Unable to concentrate in Korea where she needs bodyguards to keep her safe from mobs of fans, she found a peaceful training haven at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club where initiation fees are $18,000.
7. The free skate of the Vancouver Olympics was the first time Kim ever cried after a performance.
8. Under enormous financial strain after Kim’s father’s business collapsed in the late 90s, Kim’s parents decided to quit her expensive training. After watching her land five triples in what was to be her last competition, they instead put up their house as collateral to continue funding Kim’s career.
Proud parents watch their daughter Kim Yu-Na win gold at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
9. International Skating Union (ISU) President Ottavio Cinquanta of Italy put intense pressure on Kim to compete at the Four Continents Championship which took place two months before the Olympics. Wanting to focus on Vancouver, she declined with the support of the Korean Skating Union.
10. Kim Yu-Na’s last name in Korean literally means “gold”.
Bonus: Kim’s fabulous diamond crown earrings have made jeweler J. Estina a killing!
In her single minded quest for excellence, Kim Yu-Na showed so much courage in the face of unimaginable pressure. At the same time, she managed to maintain a humility and grace that melted hearts around the world. Whatever she does from this point forward, I hope that her fans will give her the breathing room she deserves and award her what may be her next big dream: the prize of a semi-normal life.
