Greener Dry Cleaner & Wedding Dress Preservation in Austin, TX

Leather Cleaning Part 1 – Leather Tanning

Adam — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:18:01 +0000

Leather cleaning is a very specialized process. We will be rolling out a series on the entire process, what to look for and what to expect when looking to have a leather garment cleaned.

Leather Tanning

Before leather can be used for making coats and other garments it must go through a process called tanning. Tanning leather consists of may steps which has a real effect on the leather you can clean. Animal hides are first treated with special chemicals so that they are not subject to the hides rotting, something that would take place if the leather isn’t tanned

Leather Curing

The leather hides are fist cured in the slaughter house. In the leather Curing process, hides are first applied with salt to preserve them.

Leather Sorting

The leather hides are sorted according to size, shape and color.

Leather Siding

The hides are cut length wise through the backbone area, making two sides.

Leather Soaking

While the curing process removes natural moisture from leather hides, the soaking process removes dirt and the salt added in the curing process

Leather Washing

At the end of the soaking process the leather is then washed by fresh water

new dry cleaner

Adam — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 01:28:18 +0000

yada yada

Dry Cleaners Pond Springs Rd.

Adam — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:59:12 +0000

We recently found out that the dry cleaner Clothing Care on Ponds Springs Rd. closed down. While we don’t wish a business closing on anyone if you live off Pond Springs Rd. and need a dry cleaner we would love to fulfill that need for you. Hope to speak to you soon!

National Academy of Sciences Panel Agrees with EPA Analysis of the Risks of PERC

Adam — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:10:32 +0000

PERC, a chemical known as perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, is
the solvent used by 85% of dry cleaners in the United States and is a
“likely human carcinogen,” according to the National Academy of
Sciences. PERC is used in degreasers as well as in the production of
other chemicals and can be found in the air, drinking water, and soil.
Varying levels of PERC has been detected in breast milk and human
blood.

EPA Suggest PERC is a Carcinogen

The Environmental Protection Agency suggested in 2008 that PERC be
classified a “likely human carcinogen” and found that PERC can cause
nervous system and brain damage. There is strong evidence that PERC
can cause cancer in animals even if there is not strong evidence that
it causes cancer in humans. The Environmental Protection Agency set
safe exposure levels well below levels that cause damage. Before
finalizing the ruling, the National Academy of Sciences was asked by
the Environmental Protection Agency to review it’s PERC risk analysis
and the National Academy of Sciences agreed with the findings.

National Academy of Sciences Agrees

The National Academy of Sciences stated that the Environmental
Protection Agency’s method for evaluating PERC was basically sound.
“The Environmental Protection Agency was commended for doing a
thorough job”, said Ivan Rusyn, MD, PhD, a toxicologist at the
University of North Carolina. He stated that the opinion of the
Environmental Protection Agency committee was on target.

Dry Cleaners Might See Stricter Policies

A complaint the National Academy of Sciences had with the
Environmental Protection Agency was that they relied too much on a
single study in setting safe concentration levels. The Environmental
Protection Agency stated that a safe PERC concentration level is 2
parts per billion but the National Academy of Sciences committee used
several different studies and calculated a higher level between 6 and
50 parts per billion. Rusyn stated that it was an “immaterial”
difference. The National Academy of Sciences offered no policy advice
on the use of PERC by the dry cleaning industry as policies are for
the Environmental Protection Agency, Congress and states to pass.

California Banned PERC

In 2007 California passed a law banning PERC by the year 2023 and will
require dry cleaning machines 15 years old removed by July 1, 2010.
At present, no PERC machines can be used in buildings shared with
residents in California.

Dry Cleaners Riata Area

Adam — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:06:25 +0000

We recently found out that the dry cleaner on Riata Trace closed down. While we don’t wish a business closing on anyone if you are in the Riata area and need a dry cleaner we would love to fulfill that need for you. Hope to speak to you soon!

Where Austin Wedding Gown Preservers And Planners Meet

Adam — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:35:28 +0000

Engaged couples in the Austin area planning their weddings are turning
to a new online wedding source that has anxious couples sighing with
relief and has the Central Texas wedding industry taking notice.

AustinWeddingBlog.com has become a popular and reliable resource for
Austin, TX couples looking for the newest trends, ideas, news, tips
and reviews to help with their wedding plans. Couples can find the
best wedding information in one place whether it’s wedding venues,
information on local wedding photographers or advice on dresses,
flowers and table settings.

Bringing The Austin Bridal Industry Together

Rudy Hernandez, co-founder of the AustinWeddingBlog.com states, “Our
relationship with some of Austin’s best known wedding vendors is
allowing us to bring all the latest wedding news and popular bridal
trends directly to our readers.”, and adds, “Having all that
information in one central place is the cornerstone of our web site.
We bring the entire Austin, TX wedding scene directly to our readers.”
The Austin wedding industry agrees.

Austin Brides Keep It Local

Word of mouth advertising and vendor references caused the site to
grow steadily with amazingly positive responses from the Austin
Wedding Industry and more and more local couples turn to the site for
help. “We’re the local choice for planning a wedding in beautiful
Austin, TX”, said Hernandez. New discount specials and exclusive
promotions from Austin vendors can also be found on the site.

Austin Wedding Blog Helps Brides On A Budget

“Austin area couples are watching their budgets and looking for more
ways to save money for their big day. We’ve witnessed a huge response
from local wedding professionals that are proactively reaching out to
engaged couples and offering more ways to help them maintain their
budget. Our website is the platform which allows that interaction to
take place,” added Hernandez.

Visit Austin Wedding Blog Today!

AustinWeddingBlog.com is a free resource for area couples searching
for the latest wedding planning information. Visit
AustinWeddingBlog.com for help with the most important day of your
life as a couple, so far.

Wedding Dress Preservation Austin

Adam — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:09:30 +0000

Brides preserve their wedding dresses as a way to keep their dresses appearance looking the same as the day it was worn. One of the big benefits of having your wedding dress preserved is that it gives you daughter the chance to wear your dress on her big day, if desired. If your wedding gown is not preserved and left out in the open air without some form of acid free box or bag then over time your wedding dress can yellow, making restoration the only option for keeping your dress looking new. When you preserve your wedding dress you are ensuring that it will remain in the same state that you preserved it in for a lifetime.

The Process of Preserving Your Wedding Dress

The fist thing we do when your wedding dress arrives at our store is check the entire gown for any and all stains, tears and other blemishes that need to be addressed. The pre-spotting process is where the rubber meets the road in stain removal and there is no one better then our resident expert Juana Muguia.

Juana personally cleans and preserves every wedding gown that we receive and her commitment to excellent work in unparalleled. After pre-spotting the wedding dress Juana then dry cleans the gown to ensure a deep through clean.

Benefits of Preserving Your Wedding Gown

As stated above the biggest benefit of preserving your wedding gown is that you leave open the possibility that your daughter could one day wear your wedding dress on her big day. Another big benefit it gown preservation is that is also saves space.

Many brides that come to us have had their wedding dress for a number of years taking up space in their closet. Another reason that many brides are happy to get their dress preserved is because they take up so much space. If you are not going to use a wedding dress for four years or more then it’s a good idea to have it preserved.

A wedding dress should be preserved if it is not going to be used for at least three years. Even if you are not going to preserve your wedding dress right after your wedding you still need to get it dry cleaned. Whether you plan on keeping your wedding dress or selling you want to make sure that the stains won’t set in and even unseen stains on a wedding gown can cause series damage in very short order.

Austin Dry Cleaner News: Industry Defends PERC

Adam — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:56:22 +0000

Recently, representatives of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute,
MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners and Korean Drycleaners Association
appeared at a hearing of the District of Columbia’s Committee on
Government Operations and the Environment to defend perc
(perchloroethylene) against a proposed ban. Several chemicals were to
be banned in the District of Columbia by the Human & Environmental
Health Protection Amendment Act of 2009, including perc.

Dry Cleaner Opposition

Testifying against the proposed ban, Mary Scalco, Charlie Smith and
Richard Ehrenreich, members of the various Drycleaning Associations,
instead focused on advances in equipment and the resulting reduction
in perc use. Representatives also shared Drycleaning & Laundry
Institute 2007 Solvents White Paper and testified about undue economic
hardship an immediate ban could create for drycleaner owners and
operators.

Committee Argues Against Perc

Representatives from several industry associations appeared separately
at a meeting of Philadelphia Air Management Contol Board Ad Hoc
Committee arguing against a perc use phase-out in co-commercial
facilities in the city, those sharing premises with other businesses.
A representative of the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, Dr.
Paul Dugard, challenged many intrepretations of information regarding
perc and perc exposures.

Drycleaning & Laundry Institute Wants Modification

Drycleaning & Laundry Institute’s Jon Meijer argued for a modified
ordinance allowing drycleaners in Philadelphia’s continued use of perc
in co-commercial facilities if they could lower perc levels to below
40 ppb. The executive director of the National Cleaners Association,
Nora Nealis, stated that New York does not limit perc use in
co-commercial locations and emphasized the effectiveness of technology
available to control emissions.

Philadelphia’s Air Management Control Board will review the
information and may ultimately allow co-commercial locations to
continue to use perc without threat of a phase-out.

Closed Dry Cleaner Opens Opportunities for Drug Addicts

Adam — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:17:10 +0000

Tim was an alcoholic who had regularly visited the site of the old dry cleaners on Lansing Avenue for coffee. Rich & Reida Bartley began their ministry there, challenging gangs & drug dealers for the territory. People at the mission had tried to talk to Jim about redemption many times but no one knew if anything was working.

When Village Grace Mission Center moved into the old dry cleaning building they wondered if they’d lost track of Jim but he surprised everyone by walking into the new location sober, clean and living in a halfway house. He came to thank them for giving him a new shot at life.

From Cleaning Clothes to Cleaning Souls

Richard Bartley grew up in Slavic Village, a once prosperous, thriving, ethnic community on the southeast side of Cleveland during the last part of the nineteenth century. Once upon a time immigrants from Poland, Czechoslovakia & other European countries imigrated to the area to work in the prospering steel & textile mills.

Families grew, businesses developed, churches were built and living became ideal. But by mid-twentieth century mills were closing & suburbanization was the rule. Unemployment in the village rose as did the rate of poverty, single parenting and crime. By 2007 Slavic Village could claim the highest rate of home foreclosure in the country and gang activity, drug trafficking and prostitution took over.

Rich Has Change of Plans for Retirement

Rich retired from the Navy and began teaching and coaching at his old high school. Rich had a heart for his students and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their way. When he retired from teaching, his wife, Reida, thought their lives would be carefree and ‘on the road’ but Rich had other plans.

He knew his retirement would include the kids in Slavic Village but he wanted to be sure he had the tools to make a difference so he attended seminary to become a minister. Rich Bartley became Pastor B.

Village Grace Mission is Born

As Rich was finishing seminary he & Reida helped with a program at their church filling shoeboxes with toys and small gifts for needy children at Christmas time. The first year 35 “Treasure Boxes” were delivered. What a difference these small boxes made in the lives of those children, the only gifts most received for Christmas. As the program grew the Bartley’s were asked to run it and they agreed.

That was the start of Village Grace Mission Center. In 2008, 1,685 treasure boxes were delivered to underprivileged children.Village Grace Mission Center officially needed a location. Finally, an old dilapidated former dry cleaner on Lansing felt ‘right’ to the Bartley’s. It was located next to a bar, the windows had bullet holes and the homeless lived in the basement.

The Mission was not welcomed in the area. Run-ins with gang members, condoms left on the doorknobs and broken windows were the norm but Rich and Reida persevered. When their neighbors realized they were not going to be driven away, relationships slowly began to develop.

Within two years the mission was regularly holding barbecues for the locals and had gained the trust of gang members and the bar owner and patrons. The mission hosted programs for the area’s children & offered counseling for families. They were touching lives in a supernatural way and Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli asked them to start a food pantry and so their ministry expanded.

Old Dry Cleaners is Now Beacon of Light

Village Grace Mission Center has become a beacon of life and light in an area of darkness. Reida sits in her office and wonders if this is all worth it as she shivers from the cold and aches from working long hours. She thinks of long forgotten and lost retirement plans and sighs as she looks around the old dry cleaning business in the 110-year-old church building where the mission now resides.

The furniture is beat-up and donated as is the ancient computer. In her reverie she sees two small faces through the dirty window. The tiny girls wear third-hand clothes, hold a small, scraggly bouquet of flowering weeds and enthusiastically scream “These are for you!” Reida is abruptly reminded of why she is here and that yes, it is worth it and yes, it all makes a difference.
As a matter of fact, there is nowhere on earth she would rather be…

To donate to Village Grace Mission click here for their website

Craft Network Connects International Artisans with Customers

Adam — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:46:06 +0000

A new breed of business owners labeling themselves as ‘Social Entrepreneurs’ combine business practices and product development to try and find solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing people in third world countries. Now 30,000 strong and growing, B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies the business practices of these purpose driven companies last year accounted for $40 billion in revenue. The movement has caught the attention of many venture capitalists including the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit organization investing in companies that strive to alleviate poverty in poor countries and The Bay Area Equity Fund, which backs businesses who aim to make social or environmental improvements to needier neighborhoods in San Fransisco.

What is CraftNetwork?

One such company, CraftNetwork, was founded in 2007 by Christopher Benza in order to connect artists in developing nations with wholesalers and retailers in wealthy nations. By employing local artisans in underdeveloped communities under a unified brand, CraftNetwork assures they produce quality products and meet market demands. The 26-employee company has exported products from over 1,355 artisans in 124 villages in three countries to date totaling over $419,000 in 2008 alone.

How Does CraftNetwork Help Artisans

CraftNetwork’s artists maintain freedom and integrity by setting prices and crafting products they feel best represent their talent. Artists advertise items on the network and other company mediums at no charge and are also not financially obligated when merchandise is damaged or returned by a customer. CraftNetwork assumes responsibility for all products once the items are received. The care and welfare of the artists is the main focus of CraftNetwork and 100% customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

Excellent Business Operations

CraftNetwork provides export facilitation and product development services for its artisans to increase sales, strengthen ethical trading practices, build employment opportunities and raise and improve the standard of living of the artisans. CraftNetwork as a company is known for having a strong social mission and is committed to providing worthwhile and lasting employment for disadvantaged artists. Through CraftNetwork’s online e-commerce platform the artists individual backgrounds and cultures are represented through handcrafted products that are imported from around the world. Through improved effeciency and the volume of products they sell CraftNetwork is able to provide extraordinary quality products at competitive prices.

Support and Financing for CraftNetwork

CraftNetwork is supported by the International Finance Corporation’s Grassroots Business Initiative (GBI). The IFC’s Grassroots Business Initiative supports businesses that create “sustainable economic opportunities for the poor and marginalized”. Grassroots Business Organizations are socially-driven ventures that empower and engage those at the “base of the pyramid” as entrepreneurs, suppliers, consumers and employees. GBI aims to have a catalytic impact in this emerging sector of entrepreneurship by building partnerships with like-minded groups and leveraging its position within the World Bank Group to aid business ventures just like Craft Network. Sir Austin wants to encourage all his readers to help CraftNetwork help it’s Artisans by purchasing something on their website!

Buy Something From CraftNetwork!

Click here for E-commerce site