Frequently Asked Questions
Update: WEBSHOP CLOSING
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Contact Info
Hours & Location
Ordering & Shipping Info
Gift Certificates
Gift Packaging
Submission Guidelines
Subscribe to the Greenjeans Gazette, monthly e-newsletter
What kind of craft does Greenjeans offer?
What’s “conscientious living?”
How is Greenjeans part of the sustainability movement?
Our Mission
UPDATE: WEBSHOP CLOSING
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Have you glimpsed the first yellow crocus tips or green daffodil shoot peeking through the snow? Or spied a robin red breast hopping across the lawn?
For me these are sure signs of Spring, and I can’t remember when they have felt so incredibly welcome and refreshing as they do this year!
There’s no doubt change is in the air, and as good as it feels to be finding renewal and new directions, change can also be difficult, sometimes even sad.
Indeed with the shift in season has come a change in plans.
In my last newsletter, I announced that while we are holding off opening a new space, we would keep both the blog and the webshop going. The blog most certainly will continue. I enjoy it immensely and love how it gives me an outlet for sharing my point of view and a way to participate in the community.
However, after exhaustive deliberation and soul-searching, Jae and I have decided to close Greenjeans Webshop. We were actually developing plans for expanding the Webshop, but slowly I realized that my heart wasn’t in it. I loved having the physical space where I could make exhibitions and interact with people, maintaining the webshop as one component. But selling only online and promoting a web-only store is a completely different kind of business, and while I believe it is viable, it turns out I’m simply not as interested in it.
I still want to open a new space one day, but until that is possible the best thing for me is to move on and do something else.
Now, part of our mission has always been to help support artist’s careers, so I intend to keep parts of the website live and provide links to the artist’s websites, most of which list retailers around the country who carry their work.
I am by no means leaving the craft world. I will be taking up more writing, speaking, and curating projects, participating in events, and covering shows for the blog. So please keep in touch with your news!
For many of us change is hard, and I for one certainly have not taken to this decision easily. Though they say it’s better to have loved and lost, it’s still very painful to let go of a dream. However I do look forward to carrying on in the craft world in new capacities.
As for me and Jae, we will be forever grateful for the experience of running Greenjeans. And, even though we still are both job searching, we are happy and healthy and feeling the promise and hope that comes with spring thaw. Every hint of warm weather and appearance of spring color cheers us, and our hope floats on.
Thank you for your continued interest, your gracious support, and for your understanding. Stay tuned…
May the hope of springtime freely flow,
- Amy
March 16, 2009
Brooklyn, NY
E-mail
info@greenjeansbrooklyn.com
Phone
718-907-5835 (fax 208-730-2709)
Webshop
www.greenjeansbrooklyn.com
Blog
www.greenjeansbrooklyn.blogspot.com
Greenjeans is CLOSED, but hoping to reopen in the future!
Stay tuned to the blog to find out more…
Find us some Sundays at the BROOKLYN FLEA
Dates we’re there
General info about the Flea
ORDERING & SHIPPING INFO
PAYMENT INFO
We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, PayPal, & Google Checkout.
SHIPPING RATES
Order Amount. . . . . Shipping & Handling
$0 – $75. . . . . . . . . . . $7.00
$76 – $150. . . . . . . . $10.00
Over $150. . . . . . . . . FREE!
Additional rates may apply to shipping outside the continental U.S. and to oversized or special items, including furniture. Call or email us to discuss shipping charges, or we will contact you upon receipt of your order to arrange shipping and delivery.
There is no sales tax on orders shipped outside of New York State. New York State sales tax (8.375%) will apply to all orders shipped within the state of New York.
Most orders ship within a few days of receipt via USPS from Greenjeans. In some cases, items will be shipped directly from the artisan’s studio. Rush delivery is not available at this time.
RETURNS & EXCHANGES
Items in original condition accompanied by a copy of the receipt may be returned for a refund within 14 days of sale. Store credit or exchange is available within 30 days of sale. Replacements are given only if items are found to be defective. Items may be returned to Greenjeans in person at our Brooklyn location, or may be shipped at the customer’s expense to the address above.
Kindly note: Each item is made by hand one at a time, so any variations may be embraced as characteristics of the handmade work, and not considered defects.
Gift certificates are available in any amount. Packaged for gift-giving, we can mail them anywhere. Order by phone at 718-907-5835 during business hours or email us (info@greenjeansbrooklyn.com).
To order your purchase gift packaged, click here. Gift packaging is $5 per item.
We will wrap your purchase in brightly colored tissue paper, tuck it into a pinstriped recycled brown paper box (or white box for larger items) with our handsome signature sticker on top, and tie it with a length of natural twine. As with all items we sell, the box will also contain information about the artisan (when available) and one of our postcards.
We can also add our signature gift card with your greeting written inside for NO CHARGE —just call in or email us what you’d like to say.
Gift packaging is not available for furniture or other large items.
We are no longer accepting submissions, as we have closed our location and are not continuing the webshop.
When we reopen, we will resume accepting submissions. Any submissions sent until that time will not be reviewed. We apologize for any inconvenience.
SUBSCRIBE TO GREENJEANS GAZETTE, MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
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WHAT KIND OF CRAFT DOES GREENJEANS OFFER?
Greenjeans is the next generation craft gallery. We offer beautifully handmade items by carefully selected independent artisans who create works of exceptional quality, integrity, and unique vision. We currently work with about 60 artisans, mostly from the United States.
Greenjeans carries a range of styles from the traditional to the edgy. Items include fine furniture, table settings and pottery, jewelry, classic wooden toys, baskets, handbound books, fused glassware, polished wooden boxes, stainless steel handbags, and 2- and 3-dimensional art inspired by craft traditions. People shop at Greenjeans to furnish their homes, to treat themselves, and to find gifts for weddings, birthdays, baby showers, housewarmings, and holidays.
We do not think of the items in our shop as mere inventory or the artisans we work with as our “stable.” Instead, we are committed to showcasing the work of independent artisans and to developing strong relationships with artisans and customers.
While art, design, and craft may all be found here, and some may even say these are all of a piece, at Greenjeans our specialty and our passion is art and design in the service of craft.
Please note, since each item is made by hand one at a time, there will be slight variations. Variations may be embraced as characteristics of the handmade work, and not considered defects.
WHAT IS “CONSCIENTIOUS LIVING?”
“Conscientious living” means supporting and living a lifestyle that promotes sustainability, principled, mindful choices about dollar votes, and treating others with integrity and honesty. Can we always live conscientiously 100% of the time? Probably not. Will some of our choices contradict others? Probably so. But at the end of the day, every dedicated effort counts.
We also want to help close the gap between consumers and producers by educating our customers about who made their purchase, how it was made, and how to care for it so that it will serve them for years if not generations to come. In an age when hand skill is severely undervalued, education is a major part of how we help people see the value of fine craft.
Running our business ethically and mindfully is also part of our idea of conscientious living. Stewarding open, honest relationships with the artisans, customers, and vendors is paramount. We do not offer anything that we don’t believe in. All of our printed materials use recycled paper and soy-based inks. We do all we can to reduce, reuse, and recycle. And when we package a gift, we use both recycled and recyclable materials. We want to keep our footprint on the planet small, while making a big gesture toward conducting an ethical business.
We believe in living with beautifully handmade things, supporting independent artisans, and running an ethical business. Greenjeans is the place where we put those beliefs into action.
HOW IS GREENJEANS PART OF THE SUSTAINABILITY MOVEMENT?
We believe that whenever possible people should buy high-quality things that will last for generations, not seasons. The less “disposable” merchandise we buy, the smaller our ecological footprint will be. We esteem the value of the handmade and the possibility of returning to slower consumption patterns.
Also, it is our persistent goal to operate with a double bottom line: to make a profit and to be socially and environmentally responsible. We believe that capitalism can be used in the service of changing the world, and in our own small way that is what we’re trying to do.
More tangibly, many objects in the shop are made from recycled or repurposed materials such as old wine barrel staves used to make folding chairs, old quilts used to make stuffed toys, and old men’s shirts sewn to make the curtain at the back of the shop. The artisans who make these objects are talented craftspeople using traditional skills in an unconventional way to produce beautiful functional art.
Remember that shopping doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every time you make a purchase, you are also casting a dollar vote. You are voting for a product, as well as how that product is produced, transported, marketed, and sold. A dollar spent at Greenjeans is a vote for integrity, sustainability, small-scale production, and independent small business.
Our mission is to create a space where traditional craft meets the craft new wave, and customers can view, learn about, and purchase work by independent artisans from around the country (and beyond). We are committed to running an environmentally- and socially-responsible business. We write about all this and more on the blog.
Still have questions?
Drop us a line at 718-907-5835 or info@greenjeansbrooklyn.com.