Faceplant Blog

If Covid has taught us anything, it’s taught us to improvise, adapt and find creative ways to care for ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. When we couldn’t get face coverings soon enough, we made them… by the thousands. Americans who had never sewn before pitched in, then companies caught up, and now there are cute face masks all over the market. One of our favorite customers hand-stitched buttons to hundreds of Faceplant headbands which were then donated to nurses around the country to protect their ears from the discomfort of face masks.

The foundation of Faceplant based on the concept that how you feel before you ‘Faceplant’ into your pillow each night inspires your dreams. And if you feel good before you Faceplant, those dreams will be sweet ones.

It’s a pretty solid logic and our goal is to provide products to inspire happy Faceplanting, but there are loads of other ways to feel good. Sure, we encourage sweet messages on your pillows and cozy bamboo pajamas, but only as an aside to filling your life with many things that help you to feel joy, love and peace.

Enter crafting. We find deep relaxation in doing the things we love and for us, crafting is one of them. We have a crafty group here at Faceplant, and it’s always fun to see and share what our team is working on when they aren’t working on Faceplant.

Meet our very own Mary Alice (Hobby Knitter):

Mary Alice is our hobby knitter. Did you know that our very first washable organic cotton facial wipes were originally a knitted version hand made by Mary Alice?

More recently, she has knitted some beautiful gifts for our Digital Marketing Manager, Jen. Jen’s arm was severely injured in an accident and she was growing tired of protecting the skin grafts with unattractive medical wraps. Being the fashionable girl that she is, she tried wrapping it with Faceplant Bamboo headbands for a while, but they didn’t quite cover right. Enter Mary Alice’s beautiful solution: Hand-knitted arm wraps in a selection of beautiful colors and soft cozy fibers. This is a true win-win. Mary Alice relaxes. Jen receives the bounty of her crafting.

Mary Alice learned to knit from her babysitter when she was 7 and has never stopped. She says the feel of the yarn and the repetitive motion soothe her soul.

Crafting and relaxing. It’s just one of the things we do that bring us joy before we Faceplant into our pillows each night. What brings you your greatest joy?

If I weren’t busy designing cozy jammies, I’d want to be a costume designer. I generally only have an excuse to do it at Halloween, but out of the blue, my son recently posed the greatest costume challenge I’ve ever tackled: A blue wolf Fursuit, complete with oversized foam head and paws.

 At first, I was initially intimidated by the foam head, but with YouTube as my collaborator, I figured it out.

 

I carved the elements of the head out of foam and hot glued them together to form the wolf head base. I covered it with tape to create a pattern. I cut the tape off and marked the foam base to match each piece, so I’d remember how the pieces fit together. Then the fun part started… stitching it together. It was a challenging sewing extravaganza, but it was a blast to see it evolve each step of the way. Each night as I conquered a bit more of my crafting challenge, I felt a sense of achievement and the joy that comes with that achievement. The greatest joy though was seeing the look on my sons’ face when he spotted the finished “head” sitting on the table.

 Crafting and relaxing. It’s just one of the things we do that bring us joy before we Faceplant into our pillows each night. What brings you your greatest joy? What do you do before you Faceplant? We’d love to hear about it….

Sweet dreams always,

But have you considered the question of formality? Regular clothing is out of the question. We all learned that lesson by about day 3, didn’t we? So today should you choose Pajamas (capitol P – formal) or pajamas (lower case p – informal)? You have to consider the schedule.

 Working online, organizing, and acting as home-school geometry teacher today? Clearly informal. Any Faceplant will work nicely. If it’s warm out, the V-neck nightgown is like wearing a dress except waaay cozier. Wrap the Voyageur around your neck to dress it up with a scarf and when the mailwoman comes in the afternoon, she won’t even know you woke up in it!

Do you have a Zoom call today? I’d definitely go formal. Capital P- pajamas. Start with the relax tank but layer the swing jacket over it to dress it up.  If it’s a serious meeting you can wrap the same Voyageur Wrap from above as a scarf. They’ll only see you from the top, so if you want to wear your racy lacey Zsa Zsa shorts on the bottom, go ahead. You do you, girl!

The decisions may be getting more complicated these days, but if you have to decide between Pajamas and pajamas, we’ve got you covered.

Sweet Dreams Always,

My favorite walking route along the bay is currently choked with Covid-runners who are missing their treadmill at the gym. I secretly hope they’ll eventually return to their gym, but for their sake, I hope they’ve discovered the beauty they’ve been missing. For now, I’m walking down new streets throughout my neighborhood, uncovering hidden treasures I’ve never before seen. Historic homes, alleyways, and a community garden complete with a hammock for weary walkers who need a sit-down.

The other day after a brief nap in the hammock, I walked yet another new street that was quiet except for the sound of stifled laughter from one porch. As I approached, I saw a middle-aged couple and an older gentleman gazing off their front stoop, thoroughly captivated by something. As I stopped, they pointed to a single squirrel balanced on its’ haunches in the middle of their yard. The squirrel was kind of alternating between shaking its’ tail and waving its’ front paws, which they deemed to be some kind of dance it was performing solely for their entertainment. They told me they’d been enjoying the show for over 30 minutes. Their tiny artiste had left once but had just returned for his encore which had triggered their recent round of laughter.  

And that was that. I discovered squirrel dancing – an entirely new way to relax!

To think that I’ve spent years trying to slow down enough to meditate deeply. I’ve sought out inspiring and soothing thoughts, quotes, psalms and words to comfort my heart and soothe my soul. I’ve pined over the perfect fabric to control night sweats. Designed cozy jammies and slippers to help you and I both feel relaxed before we Faceplant each night. And all I was missing was Squirrel Dancing! The simple and complete joy it brought to them, and in turn to me, to watch him shake his little tail was oddly life-changing. It gave me a hope that there is so much magic to discover in our Covid-induced slower pace of life. One that I hope we will hold on to in so many ways. One where we all can find joy and new ways to relax right in our own front yards. 

So, this week, as some of our communities begin to re-awaken and venture out, please be respectful and safe. And please remember to enjoy the squirrel dancing in your own front yard.

Sweet Dreams Always,