June 7th, 2010

Dads Rock! (And So Does Your Gift ^^)

June is for Dads and you can tell yours how much he rocks with a gift wrapped with love and care. Here’s a variation on the Bow Tie wrap that provides a useful little pocket for a card.

First, put your item or items in the center of a wrapping scarf on the diagonal. Fold 2 opposite corners on top or the item.

Take the pointy corner on top and fold under to create a straight edge across the middle of the item. This is where you can tuck in your card later.

Neatly bring up the remaining 2 corners and tie a snug square knot.

As a finishing touch, I picked a sprig from my wonderfully fragrant mock orange bush to tuck into the gift alongside a card.

This warm silvery wrap is a new arrival called Platinum available in our EveryDay Collection. The adorable “You Rock” Father’s Day card is by Tumbalina.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Family, Green, Holiday | Comment1 Comment »

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June 2nd, 2010

Celebrate: BDay Presents from Philly

Having grown up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I am a Philly girl through and through. I am super picky about my cheesesteaks (provolone, wit!) and the memory of a city gone wild when the Phillies won the 1980 World Series is seared into my mind forever.

I have 3 friends with similar birthdays and this year I scored with this cute Phillies baseball shirt I found on a recent trip to my favorite city of brotherly love.

Here’s how I bobowrapped one of them using a variation of the Single Handle Wrap found on page 46 of The Wrapping Scarf Revolution.
First fold the t-shirt so that it is a nice solid piece instead of all bendy wendy.
Then place items on the diagonal in the center of a small size wrap and tie opposite corners in a square knot (a secure double knot).
Bring the other 2 corners together and tie a snug half knot which is just the first part of a double knot.
Bring those corners together and tie a square knot to make a little handle. Presto your’e done!
Happy Wrapping to all my fellow Phillies fanatics. ;-)

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Uncategorized, books | Comment3 Comments »

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May 28th, 2010

Funny Friday: Introducing Dad to Twitter

With the myriad of funny/interesting/addicting things available on the internet, I constantly worry about our kids wasting too much time on the computer. But what about the older generation? My 87 yo father-in-law for example. He’s got a lot of time on his hands. Much of this time is devoted to a daily washing of his car and the compulsive fixing of anything in his home that might be a little loose or squeaky. He also watches a lot of tv.

One of the many funny Twitter graphics from 11points.com

That’s why we thought a computer would be perfect for him. Little did we know what we were getting into.

Have you heard of the term “click commitment”? If you’ve ever tried teaching an older person how to use the computer, you have experienced this. After a frustrating session with my father-in-law, I read a New York Times article called “It’s Better Late than Never” and finally understood why he it was so hard for him to click the dang mouse.  In his generation, things that got broken were not easily fixable and usually ended up costing a lot of money and time. Clicking the “back” button was not an easy concept to understand.

Even my own dad who is just shy of 70 often clicks something only to sit back and enjoy the results of his decision to commit to that click. He also has his Yahoo portal site all set up exactly the way he likes it and Twitter and Facebook be darned, no one better mess with the Yahoo!

CategoryFamily, Media, Technology | Comment4 Comments »

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May 22nd, 2010

A Great Model for Eco-Friendly Modern Cities

Amazing! The  modern city of Utrecht, Holland, is full of bikes instead of dirty and dangerous cars. So interesting also how none of the people are wearing helmets which is probably a testament to how safe it is to bike the streets without cars whizzing by.

Regardless of its level of green however, no city can escape the occasional cheat. Check out the guy cutting the line at 1:02. Guess he had an emergency! ^^

via  Good.is

CategoryGreen, Health | Comment3 Comments »

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May 20th, 2010

The Good and the Ugly at The National Stationery Show

Finally back in the office after an AWESOME week at the National Stationery Show. Opened some kick a** new accounts and loved seeing many of my best customers at the show. Sadly many of them reported that a copycat has been calling all my retailers and doing their best to knock off BOBO. Really?? Calling my hard earned customers and shamelessly trying to knock me off?? Many words come to mind but most of all: KARMA!

If you are interested in launching a product that would be of interest to stationery stores, event planner, or novelty shops, this is the place to show your stuff. On the down side, there are definitely people walking the aisles looking for ideas to rip off and even snapping pictures when that is clearly against the show rules. I guess it’s a bit of a double edged sword but all we can really do is aim to be the cream that rises to the top!

Thanks for all your support everyone!! I’ll keep on truckin to bring you the best and most extraordinary products possible. ♥♥♥

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Business | Comment8 Comments »

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May 12th, 2010

Eco-Fabulous at the JDRF Promise Ball

We are so proud to have been a supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Promise Ball last week. For this year’s “Cirque du Cure” theme, the Ball chairs were looking for a super fabulous way to wrap special gift boxes that were being auctioned off to raise money for the charity and fell in love with our Earth friendly BOBO Wraps. Look at this amazing presentation!

There currently is no cure for Type 1 diabetes, although there is a lot of promising research.  The JDRF is constantly striving to find new, less intrusive treatments and ways to monitor blood sugar levels.  They offer assistance, training and funding to hospitals, clinics and other organizations that are working hard to find a cure, or better treatments for this disorder.  This, as with most medical research, involves a great deal of time and money and events like the Promise Ball are essential to this effort.

Bravo to all the volunteers, staff members, patrons, and guests for making the JDRF Promise Ball a huge success. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. No amount is too small, or too large, to help in the race to find a cure.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Health | Comment1 Comment »

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May 8th, 2010

The Perfect IPad Application: The Kitchen Cabinet!

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! ^^

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Food, Korea, Media, Technology, Uncategorized | Comment1 Comment »

May 7th, 2010

First Prize for The Wrapping Scarf Revolution

My sincere thanks to the Connecticut Press Club for honoring The Wrapping Scarf Revolution with a First Prize Award for Nonfiction-Instructional. Judged by members of the Delaware Press Club, the annual contest was celebrated at the 9th Annual Awards Dinner last night at Quattro Pazzi Restaurant in Norwalk.

Celebrating with CT Press Club President Sherry Cohen

The highlight of the evening (other than winning!) was listening to a talk by Pulitzer winning playwright Donald  Margulies. His speech was fascinating and full of gems of wisdom that he normally reserves for his students at Yale. At one point, he talked about his Broadway debut which he claims was a “debacle” and when I asked him to elaborate on that, it turns out that what happened to him was what happens to so many of us when we compromise too much and lose our original vision.

Talking to playwright Donald Margulies.

Like all successful people, he picked himself up, dusted himself off and moved on to eventually win the Pulitzer prize for his drama, “Dinner with Friends”.

Thanks to everyone who has helped my little green book get off the ground and cheers to all our successes and dusted off failures!

Happy wrapping everyone! xoxo Patricia

Categorybooks | Comment1 Comment »

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May 6th, 2010

The Talents of a Middle Aged Brain

Part of every healthy lifestyle is staying fit mentally but if you’re anything like me, you have a lot going on in your life and your short term memory is becoming a bit like Dory from Finding Nemo. I’ll often ask my son something only to have him look at me with disbelief, “Mom, you just asked me that 5 minutes ago!”.

Scary.

2 things really caught my interest lately in terms of brain research in adults. The first is an article from the NYT called “The Talents of a Middle Aged Brain”. This interview with author Barbara Strauch confirms that many “older” people have issues with short term memory but surprisingly declares that on the whole, our brains are better than ever between the ages of 40-65.

Strauch says that our ability to logically solve problems and find solutions are at their peak which reminded me of another interesting book I read recently by Malcolm Gladwell called “Blink”. In it, Gladwell touts the merits of thin slicing, which is a term that psychologists use to describe our ability to make quick assessments and snap decisions that are usually right. Gladwell says that we are smarter than we think and based on our subconscious knowledge and years of experience, we should often go with our gut instinct and first impressions.

Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions to this rule of thin slicing and my favorite from the Blink is Gladwell’s illustration of how the American people were duped into electing a tall, regal looking William Harding into the White House only to soon realize that he was terribly unsuited for the job.

I’ve never been a speedy decision maker and often mull things over for way too long. In business however, this is a huge liability where time is money and things have to be decided quickly. I’ve been trying a little thin slicing myself lately and feel like I have a new Turbo button for making good yet quick decisions. It’s still depressing when I can’t remember someone’s name but at least there is an upside to this ever changing brain of ours!

Here’s a great Saturday Night Live skit about a product that is perfect for all of us confused Moms this Mother’s Day. The best medicine for all our ailments is a good laugh after all.

By the way, Strauch says that exercise is the best thing we can do for our aging brains so let’s all get outside, do a little walking and celebrate the power of our wonderfully ripened brains!

CategoryBusiness, Family, Health, books | Comment1 Comment »

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May 4th, 2010

Spring Special: A Proper Cup of Tea

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!

Celadon 3 Piece Tea Mug

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!

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Family, Food, Health, Korea | Comment4 Comments »

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April 27th, 2010

Toting Fruit with a BOBO Bag

My boys sure love them some grapefruit. We buy it by the boxful and devour all through the winter to steer clear of colds and other nasty winter bugs. Since it’s the one thing we always have lots of, we often share the wealth when going over a friend’s house or repaying some debt of neighborly gratitude. Here’s how to make a great little hobo bag from a wrapping scarf for carrying your fruit.

Bagging up about 9-10 regular sized grapefruits will require a Medium sized wrap.

Spread out the wrap and fold in half so that the wrong side is showing.

Take one corner of the wrap and tie a single knot about a third of the length of the side. When making the single knot, try wrapping the fabric around your hand to make a neat knot.

Repeat on the other side with a nice snug knot.

Open the wrap by separating the corners that aren’t tied.

Give the whole thing a little fliperoo and fold the knotted ends into the center of the wrap.

Lift up your newly formed bag by the free corners and give her a little shake down. Gently punch your fist into the bottom of the bag to form the pocket.

Tie the loose ends in a tight square knot. The bag looks deceivingly small. But look at how much grapefruit goodness fits inside!

So much nicer than a yucky plastic bag. Now off to my wonderful neighbor Ann’s who gave me a tub of the most wonderful kimchi a couple weeks ago. Easy peasy grapefruit squeezy. ^^

Wildflowers wrap on sale now at  bobowrap.com.  While you’re there, check out all the limited time special values.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Family, Food, Green | Comment2 Comments »

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April 23rd, 2010

The 4th R: REFUSE, 4 Main Polluters that We Can Refuse Today

I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the huge patches of garbage floating about in our oceans. The massive one in the Pacific is estimated to be between the size of Texas and the size of the entire continental US.

Scientists say that in these garbage patches are 4 main polluters.

1. Plastic bags

2. Styrofoam cups

3. Styrofoam containers

4. Soda bottle lids

Albatross chicks fed plastic. Photo essay by Chris Jordan.

Photographer Chris Jordan traveled to the Midway Islands near the center of the Pacific garbage patch and captured images of decomposed bodies of albatross chicks that were fed plastic by their confused parents. Photos of the chicks document the actual stomach contents of birds and Jordan says that he did not touch a single piece of plastic in taking the photos.

Yesterday I heard David de Rothschild, who is sailing across the Pacific in a boat made from 12500 plastic bottles, say that in addition to the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), there indeed is a very important 4th R: Refuse.

How many of the above 4 things can you refuse to use today. This week? How about this year.

Let’s take it one day at a time and see just how much we can refuse together before it’s too late.

CategoryFamily, Food, Green, Uncategorized | Comment3 Comments »

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April 22nd, 2010

This Earth Day Join the Wrapping Scarf Revolution!

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 zebra-giftreach 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.

bowtie-wrap

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 wrappingrevolutionWrapping 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.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Green, Korea, books | CommentNo Comments »

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April 21st, 2010

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

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.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Green, Korea, Uncategorized | Comment1 Comment »

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April 19th, 2010

It’s National Hangout Day! (But you can hang in too :-)

Is there anything more wonderful than clean crisp laundry that’s been dried in the sun? It’s amazing that we all have the power of the sun right at our fingertips yet most of us don’t consider this option in our busy lives.

line drying laundry

A peaceful protest for my right to dry.

Unbelievably, outdoor clotheslines are illegal in many homeowners’ associations around the country including all 35,000 in the sunny state of California. In our state of Connecticut, a bill proposed to give all Nutmeggers the right to dry has yet to be passed.

Which makes me sort of a criminal for line drying my laundry.

Considering that automatic dryers are second only to the refrigerator in amount of energy consumed in homes, it’s time to rethink the issue. Not only is it green, it saves a lot of money too. Winters and rainy spells, we may need to use our dryers, but on a beautiful sunny New England day, it seems like a crime NOT to line dry!

The power of the sun also disinfects clothes and helps keep whites their whitest. Even if it’s just a few pieces, join the movement and hang something out to dry. Take a picture and send it to us this week for a $10 coupon to shop at our eco-friendly online store. BOBO Wrapping Scarves are all hand washable and best air dried.

Hanging out is awesome, but so is hanging in. Call me a prude but I think underwear is still best left indoors if possible.

Do one thing green today and try line drying some laundry using “solar power”. Remember that one green thing will most certainly lead to another.

If you believe it is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child to line dry, check out right2dry.org and sign the petition. Here are some great ideas and pics from the National Hanging Out Day post on TreeHugger.com

Hanging "in" is great too!

Artful hanging out.

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Family, Green | Comment6 Comments »

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April 14th, 2010

Facebook Giveaway!

Become a fan on our Facebook Page and be entered to win a signed copy of The Wrapping Scarf Revolution, 3 gorgeous wraps, and a fabulous canvas bag with bamboo handles. Mother’s Day gift anyone? Increase your odds of winning by telling me your favorite BOBO Wrap from bobowrap.com. Leave a comment on our blog or Facebook page and each comment will be an additional entry. Winner will be chosen by random generator on Friday April 16. Good luck!

April Facebook Giveaway

Enter the April Facebook Giveaway

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Business, Green, Luck, Media | Comment1 Comment »

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April 13th, 2010

The Hidden Wisdom in Chan Ho Park’s Diarrhea Faux Pas

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!

CategoryHealth, Korea | Comment7 Comments »

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April 12th, 2010

Free Coffee in Your Reusable Mug

Yes I am an addict. A coffee addict to be exact. I start my morning everyday with a steaming hot mug of strong coffee fresh from the percolator and wouldn’t want it any other way. When someone has an addiction to something like alcohol or food that I don’t fully understand, I compare it to my coffee addiction and then I understand.

Free Starbucks Coffee

If you are a hopeless coffee drinker like me, bring your reusable mug to Starbucks on Thursday, April 15, and get a free fill up of coffee. It might make tax day a little less painful!

Whether you like coffee or tea, carrying around a reusable travel mug in your bag or car is great for avoiding using disposable cups. Do you have a favorite reusable travel mug? If not, here are some reviews on the best ones out there.

Go one step further and take the pledge to stop using disposable cups altogether. Starbucks will take 10 cents off your cup o joe every time you byo mug.

I feel so guilty whenever I forget my travel mug and “have” to use a disposable cup. I usually rinse it out and use it one more time the next morning and only once did it start leaking on me. I do the same thing with ziplock bags and brown bags. If I have to use them, I’ll try to reuse them at least a few times before throwing them out. I figure if everyone did that, we’d have half the amount of that particular kind of garbage. Sometimes baby steps are better than no steps.

Please don’t try to tell me coffee is bad for me cuz I’ll barrage you with research that shows the health benefits of drinking coffee. Others have tried and they’ve regretted. Now let me get back to my coffee before it gets cold!

CategoryFood, Green | Comment2 Comments »

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March 31st, 2010

DC and Westport Lead Battle Against Plastic Bags

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.

CategoryBusiness, Green, Korea | Comment2 Comments »

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March 30th, 2010

BOBO Live in DC

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!

CategoryBOBO Wrap, Green, Korea, Luck | Comment1 Comment »

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