Lunapads Blog

Suzanne and I are just back from an epic journey to Uganda. Among many high points while there was a visit to AFRIpads, a washable padmaking venture started in 2009 by Sophia Klumpp and Paul Grindvals, then recently graduated university students eager to make a difference in the developing world. The story of how this all came to pass has a magical quality to it, in the way that truth can so often be stranger than fiction.

Try this for a story: Carrie-Jane Williams, a young Canadian woman, traveled to Uganda in 2008 as part of a group of students from the University of British Columbia researching education for girls in the area. Being a Lunapads customer and aware of the lack of sanitary products for girls, she fundraised and purchased some Pads4Girls Kits to bring with her. On her last day of her trip, she met Paul and Sophia and showed them the products.

Intrigued and inspired, they contacted us to see whether we were OK with them essentially copying the Lunapads design and business idea. We said yes, little imagining that 4 years later we would be meeting them in person, touring their factory and exploring ways to support one another’s business growth.

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As we near the end of 2011, I thought it might be fun to recap some of our most popular / most read / most discussed posts this year.  If you haven’t already read the posts listed below, please do! And by all means, if you think your friends might be interested, please use the handy dandy buttons below to share via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Email and more.

What would you like to see us blog about in 2012? We’re compiling a list to keep us inspired and posting regularly, and welcome your suggestions! Post a comment below telling us what you’d like to read about or see here and we’ll do our best to deliver. Thanks so much, and all the best to you and yours in 2012!

Now, on to our our most popular blog posts of 2011 (and 2010, too)!
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ABC Prize-Pack Giveaway
Tell us which prize pack you’d like to win, and why, in a comment below. Good luck!

Prize Pack 1
1 set of 3 piggy paints in candy corn colours
1 small Planet Wise wet/dry bag
1 set of Motivational Posters from FosterMind

Prize Pack 2
1 Rumina Nursing Tank
Sensible Lines Milk Trays

The All Baby and Child Expo held in the fall is the biggest get together in the Mom / Baby / Child industry. I was lucky to represent Lunapads and have the opportunity to attend the event in Louisville, Kentucky!

First, I want to give a shout out to Louisville as the most hospitable town I have ever been to, and the Hyatt Regency Downtown Louisville KY staff (Jean in the lounge, front desk, security and everyone in between) gave top notch service. Having a customer service background, I have high standards and want to recognize excellence! Thanks for making me feel cared for and comfortable while away on a very long trip to the land of Bourbon and Bluegrass. A highlight for me was a side trip to the Louisville Slugger Museum and bringing home my own custom mini bat! As a fan of the game and recently retired slo-pitch player it felt awesome to have my hands wrapped around a piece of baseball history!

On the way down to Kentucky I discovered an unexpected benefit to working for Lunapads; accelerated border crossing! At the border, we were asked the usual probing questions: Citizenship, Where do you live, Where are you going, Why, Where are you staying, What business are you in and finally “Can I see your business cards?“ My driving companions did not have their cards handy but I did and promptly handed mine over. When the young man flipped my Lunapads card to the back side he paused, a bit flustered; all of a sudden there was no need to see any more cards, no further questions, and he waved us through. This was the one time when someone not wanting to talk about periods or my work was okay by me!

Now, on to ABC! I know many of you do not have the opportunity to go to this event and I had promised a few of you that I would share my favorite finds from the show. It was very hard to see it all, so I focused on Mom and Baby, Natural Parenting, First Timers and a few other miscellaneous booths I stumbled upon.

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Please check out and pass along this great opportunity to grow your business in a hip, up and coming East Vancouver neighborhood:

Located in Vancouver’s hippest up and coming neighbourhood (and recently chosen as Georgia Straight’s Best Of Vancouver 2011 “block most worthy of revitalization… this little slice of Kensington–Cedar Cottage looks to have a bright future”.) The block features an eclectic mix of businesses including martial arts studio, tool rental, hair salon, bicycle shop and cafes.

This 1,062 street level space at 3471 Commercial St would suit a design firm, fashion atelier & boutique, yoga studio, chiropractic/massage office or… your awesome business or organization! MC-1 zoning, permitting a wide variety of commercial uses as well as ample free street parking. Freshly painted with new lighting, it features an open plan with one private office, kitchen area with refrigerator, 1 secure underground parking spot and insuite wheelchair-accessible washroom with shower.

Monthly rental: $1,837.50 + HST. Min lease term 1 year. Available immediately.

For viewing or further information, please contact me (mshaw@lunapads.com), and feel free to spread the word!

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HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY
Find 3 Halloween Cats on our website this weekend and receive a free bottle of Lunablend with your order! Offer Expires Sunday, October 9th at Midnight. Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter to find out about future Lunapads sales and giveaways.

All Hallow’s Eve is just around the corner so just for fun, we have created scavenger hunt style giveaway to those of you who place an order over the weekend.

Here’s how to play:

1.  Find 3 black cats on our website (see right). Hint: keep a close eye on our product photos.
2. Click + Halloween Giveaway in your shopping cart before proceeding through checkout.
3. Email info@lunapads.com the same day you order with the subject line “Meow!” and list the 3 locations where you spotted them.

You may be wondering: what do essential oils and cats have in common?  Both are a great help for menstrual cramping and all sorts of remedies.  Lunablend is a combination of orange, lavender and geranium essential oils and can be massaged directly onto your abdomen or you can use a few drops in the bathtub.  A hot water bottle used in combination with the oil can be quite delightful as well.  Even better?  Lunablend and a furry friend to purr on your belly.

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Apple Blossom Sampler Pack Giveaway!
How do you celebrate changes in the season & the harvest? Share what rituals you use to bring in the fall with us here and be eligible to win an Apple Blossom Sampler Pack!

Here at the Lunapads office, we are all about celebrating cycles. As with the Moon Cycle, the cycles of the seasons are great teachers for us and have been reason to celebrate for many millennia. When I was teaching yoga full time, I taught a quarterly meditation on each Equinox and Solstice. Each season is a great metaphor for phases in our lives and the only constant in the world, change and a great opportunity to reflect on the macro and micro cycles in our everyday lives.

A few years back I took an amazing trip to Ireland and Scotland to research my ancestry and visited an amazing site Brú na Bóinne in County Meath, Ireland. While there, I really got how important these cycles are, they have been very important in ceremonies and traditions around the world much earlier than Hallmark. Newgrange is one of the heritage sites there. It is an ancient tomb and temple that has an incredible design. It was built with the doorways opening to the sun at high noon on the winter solstice. Pretty brilliant neo-lithic culture! This site even predates the Great Pyramid!

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I had an awesome summer working at Lunapads as a Marketing and Info Tech Intern this summer. Last year I was very lucky to work for Lunapads on the “Ditch the Disposables” and “Pads4Girls” videos.  Getting to come back for a second summer was an unexpected treat that was made possible by Industry Canada’s Small Business Internship Program.  The program provides small business enterprises with grants to hire post-secondary students to assist them in adopting e-business strategies.

This summer has been very eventful at Lunapads. To start, I got to do a lot more than just making videos! Working in a smaller business allowed me to take on larger and more diverse projects than what a large corporation would have allowed. Rather than your stereotypical Intern tasks, I got to tap into many different parts of the business, from Customer Service to IT to Marketing.

I was able to really sharpen my Marketing and IT skills under the supervision of Lunapads Webmaster Lisa. Seeing how the company operates from its backend, using my skills in social media as well as creating a video marketing campaign has been such an invaluable learning experience.  Seeing the actual results of my efforts in the form of more YouTube Subscribers, more YouTube video views, blog responses and number of contest participants has also been very rewarding.

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Lunapads was so proud to host this year’s LunaRevolution Video Festival and Contest! The contest was a highlight of our summer and we hope you all enjoyed it just as much as we did.

Since the voting period ended, we have been busy in the office watching (and re-watching!) all the videos and trying to pick out the winners. We felt every video was superb in its own way and deserved recognition. You all did an amazing job, and made it extremely difficult for us to choose the winning submissions – more on that in our next post!

Alas, winners had to be selected – and so without further ado *drum roll please*

To be clear about how the winners were chosen: the People’s Choice awards were based solely on the number of votes through Wildfire. The Most Creative, Staff Pick and Honorable Mentions were chosen based on lengthy conversation and general consensus between the Lunagals. That said, as the song goes, “Everyone’s a winner, Baby” (didn’t take 1 of the top 8 prize-winning spots? keep reading!) – please check out all of the entries, and share your favorites with your friends!

The fact that Ashley’s video got so many votes speaks for itself – she was the hands down People’s Choice winner. Our Staff Pick went to Carla. We loved her funky editing style, amazing facial expressions and irresistible enthusiasm and charisma. Top it off with a wonderful musical choice at the end, and you’ve got a winner. DIVA!!! We chose Nicole’s video as Most Creative due to her choice of a multiple interview style, great music, and totally authentic girlfriend conversation about all the stuff us Lunagals dislike about disposables. A little something awesome for everyone!

Aside from announcing the top winners, we would really like to give a shout out to our People’s Choice runners-up. In fact, the top 3 contenders were so close in votes we couldn’t believe it! Coming in with the 2nd most votes was long-time Lunapads fan Holly Pluchinski, followed very closely behind by Kendra Gabert. Excellent work, ladies!

Stay tuned for Madeleine’s follow-up blog post naming our 5 honorable mention prize winners, as well as special mentions for everyone else who participated! For those who did not win, keep an eye on your mailboxes for a thank you treat from all of us here at Lunapads! Please send your mailing address tous at info@lunapads.com (use the subject “Lunapads Video Contest: My Address!”)

Everyone give a final round applause for these lovely ladies and their video creations – and don’t forget to share your favorites with your friends.

Want more video fun? We got you covered. Subscribe to our Lunapads YouTube Channel today for videos on reusable menstrual products, women in business and how-to’s. Thanks again so much from all of us at Lunapads!

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Any sales-oriented Lunagals out there in the Greater Vancouver area? Please read on, and if you feel like you’d like to bring your passion and experience to our team send your resume and cover letter to emily@progressivecareers.ca (no phone calls, please!)

Lunapads is a mission-based business that specializes in natural feminine hygiene products. For almost two decades Lunapads has built an enthusiastic following of modern women seeking greener and healthier personal care choices. In addition to a highly successful web-based consumer sales channel, we also have a growing wholesale and distributor network in Canada and the United States as well as Internationally. We are seeking a motivated and experienced salesperson whose passion for our mission and products will drive impressive growth in these B2B channels.

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One of the most exciting new directions for Pads4Girls these days is that we are creating relationships to facilitate learning about how to make pads, in addition to sending them over from Canada. There is much more news to come on this front, but in the meantime here is a wonderful example that is particularly poignant because of the involvement of a group of girls in Vancouver rallying to support girls in Kenya, via the US Peace Corps.

A dear and longtime girlfriend of mine has been working as a Girl Guides and Pathfinder Leader for the past decade. She brought her troup of ten 12-14 year old girls, the #4 Vancouver Pathfinder Unit, to visit Lunapads recently. The girls were particularly taken with Pads4Girls (I had shown them our video about it when I attended one of their meetings last year), and they surprised me with a wonderful donation of $140 that they had earned via babysitting.

Fate had it that a few days later we received a request from Helen McGuirk, a US Peace Corps volunteer, requesting help with finding donations to help her teach a group of girls in Kenya how to make their own pads. They needed $344 to complete the funding, and so we took the $140 the Pathfinders had raised and made up the difference ourselves. Please read Helen’s email below about the project to see what can happen when girls and women come together for a common cause.

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