Residency New York: Winter Greening

Anjie Cho January 16, 2014

featured in the Winter 2014 issue of R esidency New York this month: Sales in the City by Kelly Kreth

How to Prepare your Home for the Change in Season: Winter Greening

According to Anjie Cho, architect and feng shui interior designer, one should pay close attention to respecting the environment and conserving energy (and money), even before aesthetics. She suggests removing your air conditioner because air infiltrates through its vents; if it is impossible to remove it or if storage is a big problem, fit the vent with a fabric cover that can easily be found in a hardware store. Do not use plastic, as it is not breathable and may cause condensation, which can damage your appliance.

"Heavy drapes will also help to keep the cold air out and heat in," Cho advises. "Weather sealing on doors or getting a door sweep (or even putting a heavy towel at the bottom of the door) will block the gap, preventing cold air from getting in."

"Don't forget about your foliage!" Cho adds. As it gets colder it is a good time to move plants from window sills or outdoor spaces. "The extreme difference between temperatures can kill your house plants. Instead, move greenery a foot or two from the sills or doors, or get an indoor grow light set on a timer for the colder months."

by Anjie Cho

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Feature: Keukmi Kim-Ali from MoMo Soap

Anjie Cho August 3, 2013

Keukmi Kim-Ali is the founder of MoMo Soaps in New York City. She's originally from Japan, and now resides in the Bronx. Everyone I know is obsessed with MoMo homemade all natural soap! I gave them as gifts last Christmas holiday, and now everyone is raving and ordering them like crazy. My sister loves the Afternoon Tea. My mom loves the Green Tea. My friend Jessy love the Blue Poppyseed. My husband and I love them all! Currently I'm into the Carrot soap.

I think it's so important to use natural bar soap. First, liquid soap use plastic bottles that are unnecessary waste. Second, she makes REAL SOAP! Not a detergent with chemicals. Keukmi makes soap from ingredients you can find in your refrigerator. She makes them herself with love. And because I appreciate the amazing soap she makes, I wanted to feature my interview with Keukmi on my blog this week!

AC: What is MoMo?

KKA: Momo is a girl from a book by Michael Ende. It examines mass manufacturing and consumption; it challenges you to make time for yourself. It made me see how making something by hand always gives you joy in life. When I think about my soap company, I think about this story of MoMo.

How did you first learn how to make soaps?

I have been making soaps for almost 10 years. When I lived in Japan, the first book that I translated looked at environmental issues and it caused me to look at what I was using in my life that was mass-produced. So I rethought about how I use things in daily life. I was interested in how to use leftover oil because I love to cook and hate to throw out the used oil – so I read about books on how to use oil to make soap.

The weather in New York City is drier than Japan. It changes your skin condition, especially in the wintertime. So I also began to think about what could I use without chemicals to help with the dry and itchy skin in the winter.

What are the basic ingredients for your soap?

All real soap is made with oil, water and lye. Lye is a strong alkaline made with salt. These are the very basic ingredients, oil being the most important. I started with the very basic ingredients but a friend of mine introduced me to variations on soaps. She suggested adding honey, which is softening for the skin. Anything you can eat you can add to your soaps! I started add in other natural ingredients like carrot, oatmeal, charcoal, etc. Oatmeal, honey and milk are breakfast foods that make excellent soap. It’s like a breakfast shower for your skin!

What’s your favorite soap?

My most favorite soap I don’t sell! It’s special for me! The ingredients include lavender, rosemary, lemongrass and geranium essential oils. Geranium is especially good for women. I also like to add adzuki beans for the abrasive scrub.

What’s your most popular soap?

I have two very popular soaps. The Charcoal soap is very popular with men. It’s good for odor control. The Honey Oatmeal Milk soap is very popular with the ladies. Again, it’s breakfast for your skin.

check out Keukmi Kim-Ali's website at www.momo-soap.com

by Anjie Cho

Visit the Holistic Spaces Store

Feature: Sacha Jones from Stiggly Holistics

Anjie Cho May 27, 2013

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Stiggly Holistics NYC is an East Village, New York City based wellness company, specializing in wellness and nutrition counseling and cleansing, using a holistic approach. I met Sacha Jones, the founder, a few years ago when we were both core members of the Stanton Street CSA. (she’s still a core member!)

Sacha describes “holistic” as “looking at your wellness in the context of your whole life. We look at what you eat but it’s so much more than that. By looking at your whole lifestyle, we get down to the nitty-gritty of what’s really going on. We start talking about kale and smoothies, but end up moving on to relationships with their mother. It’s actually very interesting and deep, meaningful work for me.”

So, what is this funny word “Stiggly?" The name “Stiggly” comes from a children’s book called “Stig of the Dump” by Clive King. This book is about a cave boy named Stig, who lives in a dump, and makes things out of garbage. Sacha adored this book growing up and was impressed with Stig being “such a recycler and up-cycler”. Later on she discovered that “Stig” means “path” in Scandinavian languages. Sacha explains, “I love the idea of getting people on the wellness path. It had been a silly name that bounced around for years, and at some point I wanted to add it to my business.”

Sacha has always had an interest in natural remedies. As a child she made perfume from rose petals and washed her face with morning dew. At 15, she began studying herbs and at 17 became a vegetarian. Then 10 years ago, Sacha became ill with colitis, which inspired her to start seriously studying nutrition. She did not want to use drugs, so she focused on a high probiotic and gluten-free diet.

Similar to how the feng shui of your home can represent blocks in your life, Sacha says she “began to realize how much of her illness was emotional and how it can really be representative of what’s going on in your life." With her lifestyle changes, Sacha has truly healed her body and has not had any flare-up in 8-1/2 years.

Besides private wellness counseling, natural body products (from Stiggly Lab) and workshops, one major focus of Stiggly Holistics are guided group cleanses. Sacha provides a shopping list, recipes, and guidance throughout the entire cleanse.

There is a secret, private Facebook group that really acts as “glue” for the group. Sacha explains how “everybody gathers together and cheers each other along which is such a big part of the cleanse.” Although it is for a focused period of time, Sacha describes her cleanses as “a springboard into wellness forever, it’s not like the master cleanse, too intense, or too soft, which is not very sustainable over time. My cleanses look at eating clean and overall nourishment. Many people just don’t know how to do that, so a cleanse can help people make permanent changes to move forward.”

In fact, Sacha is organizing a Spring Cleanse this week! The official cleanse starts on Monday June 3rd and ends on June 17th. If you miss this one, she holds them at least once every season. She welcomes participants at ALL levels and it's international!

Be sure to check out Sacha’s fabulous super-cleansing recipe for Fire Water that she so kindly shared. I’m making it tomorrow!

by Anjie Cho

Sacha Jones, founder and director of Stiggly Holistics, is a Certified Holistic Wellness Counselor (American Association of Drugless Practioners) - a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Sacha grew up in Wales & England, and has always been passionate about plants & natural healing. Professionally, Sacha was drawn to work in the healing arts after working through some of her own serious health issues, and loves helping others get on their personal path to being their best self. She believes there are many ways of looking at wellness - that a truly holistic approach is necessary for optimal healing.