Locally Grown Flowers

Flown to Miami - flown to Chicago - picked up by truck in Chicago and driven to Madison - finally delivered to a florist. Whether you are concerned with global warming, human rights, pesticides, or freshness and longevity, locally grown flowers are the answer to your concerns. We at J. Kinney are here to provide you with the one of the widest varieties of locally grown flowers. During the summer months about 90-95% of our flowers are locally grown. Even in the middle of winter we have a number of locally grown flowers!

You may ask why local - one of the reasons we feel it is important to carry locally grown flowers is because flowers grown outside the U.S. (especially ones grown in South America) are not subjected to the stringent laws that govern pesticide use here. Pesticides that have been banned elsewhere are freely used in South America. This means countless poorly paid workers exposed to massive doses of these harmful pesticides. Traces of these pesticides can be carried into the U.S. and your home on the flowers themselves. Another reason we proudly carry locally grown flowers is because of freshness and longevity. Our flowers are cut and delivered immediately to us from local growers, some grown right in Madison. The flowers thus last longer because they are not put under the stress of traveling long distances, for long periods of time out of water, and packed tightly in boxes.

Your local growers offer a large variety of flowers great for weddings, anniversaries, and all other special occasion. However because Wisconsin’s growing conditions change quickly a sense of openness to availibility is needed. Fret free though, everything your local growers have to offer is beautiful and we can work our magic to make your vision a reality.

We are proud of carry locally grown flowers and hope it matters to you as much as it does to us!

Michel Design Works carries a wide variety of products from bath and body gifts to paper products in a decorative box. As a small, family-owned company they specialize in top-quality gifts presented in beautiful packaging.  Beside their trays and great boxes of blank cards with a large variety of themes including botanical and oceanic, Michel Design Works includes a line of baby gifts. These adorable gift sets are a must for a baby shower or to fill your nursery. The precious polka dotted, yellow duck theme is one of our favorite gift ideas. From socks to bath products, Mother and Baby are sure to be delighted!

Jane Kinney: I grew up in the far south western part of the state in a house that my parents had Frank Lloyd Wright design — we turned a cornfield into a paradise of magnificant trees and flowers, and I guess that is something that will never stop having a huge effect on me.

After attending the UW for a few years, I moved to San Francisco where I opened my first business - it was a store that sold house plants, baskets, macrame plant holders and Austrian crystals -After all, this was the 70’s, and that’s what people did then.

Eventually I was unable to resist my homesickness for the woods and prairies of Wisconsin, and came back exactly 10 years and 1 day from the time I left.

In 1983 I opened J. Kinney Florist in King Street area of downtown Madison. That was considered daring to the point of foolhardiness back then, as there were very few businesses in that area at that time - It took a long time, but I proved them wrong and stayed there for 22 years. Three years ago I moved to Monroe St. in search of more space for less money in a great neighborhood that is a mix of retail and residencial. We’re still doing fabulous fresh flowers but have added a whole range of cottage style housewares, and are starting to feel accepted in this area. Please come visit so that we can show you the many things that we are proud to carry !

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J. Kinney also features trendy neckwear for your favorite furry friend! Yellow Dog Design Inc. is located in Greensboro, North Carolina who specializes in the design and manufacture of its own unique line of dog and cat collars and leads. Each designer collar and lead is made in the U.S. A. of 100% vibrant colour-fast polyester. The collars feature a durable plastic buckles and metal D-ring for the lead. The matching leads are equipped with a metal hook to attach to the collar. Best of all they are both  machine washable!

The company began in 2004 when Pat Cockrell’s Yellow Dog Design, Inc. joined Mike and Don Dempsey sublimation and printing business. Every day their 5 canine companions join in their work to produce some of the most unique collars and leads around. The 4 labs and 1 Dachshund are also their models and product testers - in addition to cunning thieves should they forget and leave their lunches out!

These whimsical alarm clocks are a huge hit! Each 2 inch square clock has a round original printed face and a “floating second hand” which is printed on a clear plastic disk, so the image appears to float around the edge of the clock. For example, on the Cat alarm clock the second hand is a tiny mouse, which runs around the face of the clock. Each alarm clock comes in a gift box with the batteries included and a lifetime warranty.

Paper Scissors Rock clocks are reproductions of original paintings by Northwest Artist, Pamela Corwin. For as long as Pamela can remember she has painted and sketched. As a child she drew on rocks, napkins, jewelry boxes, and to her mother’s dismay her bedside clock and lamp. Art has always been a way to loose herself, calm herself, and meditate. She says art is more of a drive than a desire - that it’s as much what keeps her alive as food and oxygen. Her paintings are created in her studio in Olympia, Washington where she works in acrylics and watercolors. Over the past 25 years Pamela’s work has been featured on several national television shows and magazines such as House Beautiful, Seventeen, and Pacific Northwest. She was even commissioned to paint an egg for the White House Easter tree in 1996 and she designed the Pike Place Market Festival Poster in 2000.

If you own one of these great clocks and have a question here is the link answering some frequently asked questions.

www.psrock.com/faq.html

The definition of Fair Trade can vary slightly but for the most part it means an equitable and fair partnership between marketers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other parts of the world. A Fair Trade partnership works to provide low-income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work. The criteria consist of… 

Firefly

Global Mamas

Funktion

Sacred Threads

We are proud to introduce Global Mamas line of purses to our collection of Fair Trade products. Global Mamas provides women in Ghana, West Africa the opportunity to improve their standard of living with dignity by promoting their traditional crafts. This is made possible because Global Mama’s reduces the economic inequality of women by significantly increasing the revenues and profits of woman-owned businesses in Africa. This in turn increases employee wages, generates new jobs and improves the standard of living. They believe that helping women gain economic independence is the most effective way to reduce dependence on foreign aid and steadily create a prosperous society. Women are provided a “living wage” - over 10 times Ghana’s minimum wage. Members are paid upfront for completed products and receive financial assistance through a raw materials revolving loan fund. This leaves more proceeds to fill the pockets of the women producers which promotes their social equality and gives them the much needed economic security and stability. The traditional rich colours of their beautiful culture are expressed in they fabric used for these wonderful totes. What’s really neat is that each bag’s tag is signed by the women who made it giving a personal touch to your already unique bag. Proceeds go directly to the women participating in the Global Mamas Cooperative and to support the non-profit programs helping them to expand their businesses. Below you will find pictures of the Aggie and Mansa - the women who made the totes we currently have.

Handmade in Texas by Kelly O’Neal and her team of artist, designers, and craftsmen, Design Legacy specializes in classic botanical images for pillows, wall plaques, and wall charts. Their textiles are made in the old-school method of silk screening. Each pattern requires upwards of 35 different color screens to achieve this effect. Because of the hand-crafted nature and that no laser printers are used, slightly missed-prints and variations in each product occur. This is considered the trademark of the silk screening process and considered by experts to be the beauty of the process. Better yet, the fabric itself is woven with pure linen fibers. All of this adds up to a unique and gorgeous addition to your décor.

Just to give you an idea of how much work goes into making one of these great wall charts and pillows here is how the art of silk screen printing works…

A screen made of a piece of fine silk is stretched over a frame of wood. Areas of the screen are blocked off with a non-permeable material to form a stencil, which is a negative of the image to be printed; that is, the open spaces are where the ink will appear. The screen is then placed atop the fabric. Ink is placed on top of the screen, and a fill bar is used to fill the mesh openings with ink. The operator begins with the fill bar at the rear of the silk screen and behind a reservoir of ink. The operator lifts the silk screen to prevent contact with the fabric and then using a slight amount of downward force pulls the fill bar to the front of the screen. This fills the screen’s openings with ink. The operator then uses a rubber blade to move the screen down to the fabric and pushes the rubber blade to the rear of the screen. The wet ink is thus deposited in equal thickness of the stencil on the fabric. As the rubber blade moves toward the rear of the screen the tension of the screen pulls the screen away from the fabric leaving the ink upon the fabric. The operator then repeats this process another 34 times to bring you these luxurious pillows and wall charts.

This Canadian company specializes in kitchen products derived from a sun-drenched land where the olive tree and aromatic plants flourish, filling your kitchen with the delectable scent of fresh-cut herbs! Made with ingredients harvested from Mediterranean gardens and groves, the olive oil rich hand care and cleaner’s pure aromas indulge the skin and the senses. Rather than merely masking cooking odors, the fragrant bouquets of Coriander and Olive Tree, Fig and Fresh Herbs, and Lime Zest and Cypress blend with the aromas of your favorite dishes that whet the appetite. Plus the food inspired fragrances make this line of cleaners and moisturizes ideal for both men and women. All of Cucina’s products contain olive oil for moisture retention-the trademark of Cucina. This is what makes Cucina a must for sensitive and over worked hands. Cucina’s regenerating hand cream combines all the benefits of the olive tree; cold pressed olive oil deeply moisturizes hands while olive leaf extracts stimulate the skin and help heal minor cuts and burns. Cucina has also added sage and rosemary essential oils to act as an antibacterial and toner.

The packaging is so beautiful that these cleaners and moisturizers are worth leaving on the kitchen counter and will lend to a refined look to any décor. For example the regenerating hand cream made from Coriander and Olive tree is in a stoneware jar resembling traditional mustard containers which makes this the kitchen hand cream of choice by professional chefs.

These fragrant collections of decorative products inspired by the luscious Tuscan countryside make for a wonderful housewarming or hostess gift, treat for that special chef you know, or simply you. 

With beautiful packaging and bright colours, these freshly fragrant candles are crafted from natural-wax formulation of either soy, palm and beeswax, or food-grade paraffin. They are blended with essential oils and contain only domestic lead-free cotton or paper-core wicks. These qualities lead to a cleaner burn than that of vegetable paraffin which most other candle company’s candles are made of. The best part is that these candles are hand poured in L.A. only after we have placed our order! This lends itself to unbeatable freshness and quality.

 Illume candles are known for having a very high fragrance load. Rather than leading to an overpowering scent, Illume candles are able to fill your home with their fresh scent both burning and not burning. This idea of a candles scenting a room whether burning or simply a part of a home’s décor is what sparked Illumes initial owner Lynette Reed to begin making candles 15 years ago in her garage. The business has grown into a small boutique in West Hollywood where her objective of vibrant colours and unique fragrances still holds true today.