What do the Studio and the Takoma Park Co-op have in common? They don’t share a style or a coast, but they do share an overarching, all-consuming drive to carry the best quality products they can find. As it happens, they also began carrying Vivesana yesterday afternoon. We’re thrilled to be working with both of them, and love what the variety of approach says about Vivesana – stores from across the spectrum meet when it comes to strong, safe, stylish and effective sun care. Hurray!

We encourage all to give what they can to help. For our part, Vivesana will donate at least 50% of online sales to Haiti relief via Doctors without Borders from January 14-20.

She took some convincing – but not by us. By mom.

I sat down with Lakey and her parents on a sunny Santa Barbara afternoon. We talked about our approach to things. We were on the same page with just about everything – from the importance of organics and sustainability, to being a responsible corporate citizen, to reasons why a moisturizing, all-natural formulation is ideal for active, prolonged exposure to sun, wind, water and salt.

Lakey was a hesitant. She liked the tinted sun stick she had always used. Mom pointed out how good Solar to Polar made her skin look, and why it’s better to use nourishing natural ingredients. Lakey tried it, flashed a bright smile, and ran off to guitar lesson.

The Petersons seem like a wonderful family, which helps explain why Lakey is such a funny, energetic, charismatic young lady. She also happens to be one of, if not the, top young women surfers in America. She just won the national NSSA open women’s surfing championship. Read more here. And, we’re happy to report, she just joined the Vivesana family.

We set out to make our dream products and to build a company with a moral compass. We believed if we did things differently, and better, people would find us.  We spent years in developing our screens. We launched in worst economy in our lifetimes.

Would anyone care about organics in a downturn?  Is environmentalism truly a widespread, lifestyle-altering movement or an ephemeral fad?  Will people pay a little more for something better?

The response has been immensely gratifying and a little overwhelming. In the last two weeks alone we’ve launched in the perhaps the preeminent baby boutique in Manhattan (Yoyamart), the best skin care shop in the Hamptons (White’s of East Hampton), the biggest, most respected organic market in San Francisco (Rainbow Grocery), and one of the prettiest baby stores in LA (Bellini’s of South Pasadena).  And then there are the re-orders already piling up from stalwarts like Lazy Acres in Santa Barbara.
The blogosphere, of course, already has their own two cents on the subject (e.g., here, here, here and here and so on, and so forth) but that’s a subject for another time.

Thanks to all…and spread the word!