News from American Clay

July 2011

Dear American Clay Community,

As we head into the Fourth of July weekend, I am seized by the challenges that the world is facing. Yet, with all that is occurring, everyone continues to push to grow and develop. Projects are progressing, and building is slowly returning. Here, at American Clay, we are looking for ways to be more sustainable--in business, in materials, and in processes. We have changed some of our packaging, but we are pushing the industry to make even more changes.

Currently we are looking to push for a simple post consumer, recycled content fabric that can be used in place of our cotton. "Why?", you my ask. Well, in our current use of plastic materials, the waste produced by them is growing. Increasing the demand for post consumer fabrics instead of cotton is a step in the right direction. Instead of using an intensive crop, we could continue to provide a re-use stream for the millions of plastic bottles. This same fabric can also be re-used again to produce more fabric. Cotton has a much better use for cloths, sheets, and garments close to our skin.

So our search continues for a simple cost effective fabric that will, someday, replace our current cotton. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Croft Elsaesser

CEO/President

JULY 2011 FEATURED PROJECT

Ranchos Restaurant Uses American Clay for a Healthy, Low-Impact Environment

Ranchos Concina, at 3910 30th street in North Park, San Diego, is a lively, colorful restaurant that serves delicious, healthy Mexican and vegetarian food. Ivonne, the owner, has an artist's eye and has filled the space with interesting and beautiful objects.

The landlord recently redid their foyer area and we were delighted to be asked by Rancho's to make a new backdrop of clay plaster.

CONGRATS TO SHERRI T. GAMBLE!

Sherri T. Gamble Wins the 2011 "Dirtiest Rosie" Women's Workwear Contest!

American Clay is proud to announce that Sherri T. Gamble, an American Clay dealer and artisan of Sage Artistry, won the "2011 Dirtiest Rosie" Women's Workwear Contest! Rosie's blog of Rosie's Workwear for Women, talks about the contest and Sherri explains her years of getting dirty. We congratulate her for winning the contest and are honored to have her as our dealer and artisan.

In Rosie's Workwear for Women blog, Sherri talks about how she got started working with plaster and getting dirty using American Clay plaster.

APPLICATION TIPS FROM THE FIELD

Shaylor's Corner

It's been a long time since I've written for the newsletter, so I'm just going to give a rundown of things I have heard on the street. Things that have gone well, wrong, changes, and maybe an odd joke or two.

ILENE'S INSIGHTS

Why Does My Wall Still Smell?

A lady called me a couple of weeks ago asking me why her living room still smelled like a cow lived in it after several months. The first thing I asked was if she had used Mud Glue. "Yes and it smelled when I put it up, but I thought the smell would go away when it dried."

Of course, that is not the way it works, as she found out.

READ MORE » For the Answer

NEWS FROM THE COLOR ROOM

Carrie's Color Blog

Check out the latest news from the Color Room:

- Go Ahead! Break the Rules

- Discerning Clients Need to Know

Have specific questions or requests for Carrie? You can email her at carrie@americanclay.com or leave her a comment.

To subscribe to Carrie's blog, CLICK HERE and look to the top right corner.

NEW PACKAGING

New Packaging for PlasterPlus and Primer Sand!

Primer Sand Inside Bag

We are excited to share our new packaging for PlasterPlusand Primer Sand in bulk. This shift is a step in the direction of using more sustainable materials, and reduce the use of plastics for material packaging.

To see more images of the new packaging click below: