May 2010 (pdf) - Hampden Community Council

4 historic hampden happenings • May 2010
historic hampden happenings • May 2010 5
Feel Good about Shopping
at Sevi and Earth Alley
By Carrie Stickel
It’s not every day that you find a shop with a
mission, but shops in Hampden offer much more
than the everyday experience. Shop at Sevi and
Earth Alley and you’re patronizing more than the
local economy—your support is global.
Sevi
“Some people are born in their homes; it just
took me 18 years to find mine,” says Sevi Kay
of her journey from Turkey to Sweden and,
finally, America. When Sevi, owner of Sevi, an
organic, vegan, and all-natural skin care, body
care and cosmetics shop at 813 36th Street,
moved to America in 1987, she said that she
never felt foreign and never took for granted
the kindness and sincere curiosity of her new
American friends.
Sevi started out making animal products: her
German shepherd, Mundo, had skin problems
that confounded the veterinarians and was
never alleviated by prescription medications
and creams. When Sevi saw Mundo suffering
through side effects and more skin problems, she
started researching ingredients to make a salve
that would give relief to her pup. She created an
ointment that soothed Mundo’s aggravated skin,
and her friends and neighbors took note. Not
only did Sevi tell them about the ointment she
created, she gave them the recipe! She quickly
discovered, however, that they didn’t want to
make their own ointments—they wanted to buy
hers. Thus, an entrepreneur was born.
When I mentioned to Sevi that her story started
out very similarly to Robin McDonald’s of Howl,
she mentioned that Robin was one of her early
customers. At the time, Sevi was living in New
York and selling her wares to wholesalers; Robin
found her online, loved her products, and started
Photos by Whitney Cecil
selling Sevi’s products to Baltimore pet owners.
As customers realized how wonderfully Sevi’s
products worked on their dogs, they couldn’t
help but want products they could use on
themselves. One woman treated her dog with
Sevi’s paw ointment and noticed that her
fingernail fungus went away too. Another woman
happened to have the paw ointment on-hand on
a ski trip. When she couldn’t find her lip balm,
she and her skiing companions used Sevi’s
ointment instead. Another woman was really
adventurous: she tried Sevi’s dog shampoo on
her own hair! She loved it, and told Sevi that for
the first time she could feel her scalp breathing!
These women were among the first to encourage
Sevi to begin making products for people. Thus,
the skin care and body care lotions, ointments,
and washes were created. From there, people
started to ask Sevi to add color to the lip balm,
and Sevi’s cosmetic line took shape.
Sevi’s business started out as wholesale: she
created the products, put it in bottles, and
shipped it to her clients (mainly salons and spas).
When Sevi and her network-administrator
husband Steve moved to Baltimore, Sevi worked
out of a 200 year-old tobacco warehouse in East
Baltimore. After four years there, she decided
she needed new digs because she was having
a baby and the warehouse would not be a safe
environment for her child.
Sevi started looking around and toyed with the
thought of having a storefront; a gregarious
woman, Sevi craved regular interaction with
clients. She had never heard of Hampden, but
when she was introduced to the neighborhood,
she knew it was the right spot. She moved in and
opened her doors last May. She named the store
“Sevi” because people connected her work with
her name. Also, “sevi” is the Turkish word for
love, and love goes into all of Sevi’s work. This
keeps her Turkish heritage alive, as does her
daughter’s name, Ayla, Turkish for light around
the moon.
When you talk to Sevi about her research and
philosophies on natural products, she’ll tell
you as much as you want to know. If you come
into her shop with specific questions or skin
issues, she’ll tell you about her research and
give you some ideas about where you can find
information for yourself. The one piece of
advice she has for everyone is to stay away
from perfumes—too many harmful synthetic
materials go into the making of perfumes simply
to make the scent last. She suggests looking
for natural perfumers and protecting your
body against these unnecessary and harmful
elements. She also recommends keeping a
daily journal to track your health. Track what
you eat, how it makes you feel, and any unusual
occurrences in your body. In other words, be the
expert on your own health.
Sevi keeps retail hours on Saturdays from
noon to 5 pm. Stop in to try out her handmade
products and see if you don’t leave with a
handful of samples. If you can’t stop by on a
Saturday, check out her website and blog: www.
sevicosmetics.com and www.ecosevi.com/blog.
Earth Alley
In the mid-80s, Eva Khoury was an exchange
student in Denmark and made a decision that
would shape the rest of her life: she became
an environmentalist. Deeply affected by the
careful way the Danes lived so as not to waste
anything, Eva decided to take a closer look
at her own lifestyle. Twenty years later, Eva
has put her passion for the environment and
her appreciation for other cultures to work
in Baltimore by opening the eco- and worldfriendly
gift shop, Earth Alley.
Eva didn’t set out to run her own business: she
received a bachelor’s degree in international
studies at the School of International Training
and a master’s degree in community planning
at the University of New Mexico. In 2000, she
was recruited to Baltimore to work on inner-city
crime reduction, so she moved here with her
husband, Rick Packie. About three and a half
years later, Rick was offered a job in Seattle, so
they moved to the west coast. Even though the
couple loved Seattle, they always felt drawn to
Baltimore and Eva knew she would come back.
Though Eva grew up in New England and has
lived all over the globe, she says that Baltimore
is the only east coast city for her. She developed a
passion for world travel and a global perspective
years before her time abroad in Denmark: when
she was 13 years old, a family friend took her
to Jamaica. They stayed away from the touristy
areas and, for the first time, Eva saw real poverty.
Her experiences traveling have opened her eyes
to other ways of life and other cultures, and Eva
continues to travel whenever she can.
In 2007, Eva returned to her adopted hometown
to become Baltimore’s first bike coordinator.
She was ideally suited for the job: when the
city started replacing parking meters with pay
stations, Eva was able to think like a community
planner and an environmentalist, and collected
the metal poles. If you look carefully, you can
see the poles have reappeared on The Avenue—
they serve as the central piece for the whimsical
new bike racks that line the streets. All told,
Eva is responsible for putting up 75 bike racks
throughout the city.
When Eva moved back to Baltimore she knew
she wanted to open a store. She and Rick decided
to move to Hampden and open their business
here because they love the neighborhood, and
because they feel it’s important to live and work
in the same community. Eva has always had an
affinity for jewelry and pretty things, so she
knew a store like Earth Alley, with an earthfriendly
mission, could be the perfect venue for
lovely and sustainable merchandise. She has
always been aware of the disconnect between the
stereotype of ‘environmentalist’ and the actual
people who choose to bear the name, and has
worked to find goods that are not only beautiful,
but also practical. In Earth Alley, you will find
journals made out of recycled paper that are
lined and easy to write on; jewelry made from
recycled computer and sewing machine parts
GENIE SCHWIND, GRI
REALTOR ®
Roland Park
4800 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211
Office: (410) 889-9800
Cell: (410) 615-5855
Fax: (410) 889-9815
Email: genie.schwind@longandfoster.com
®
that go with any outfit; and telephone wire bowls
from South Africa boasting amazing colors and
the earthy, warm smell of the leaves they are
packed in for shipping.
A local designer created the logo for Earth
Alley, and Eva chose the name: “earth” for
the environmental connections, and “alley”
because she’s always been able to find good stuff
in alleys—all over the world. There are items
from around the globe in the store, and Eva
knows the stories behind each of her wares. In
pointing out woven handbags from Mexico, for
example, Eva can tell you about the women’s coop
that makes them and explain how important
it is to help people who are employed in
handicrafts stay in business. Her best-selling
items are cards made out of elephant dung. You
might not believe it, and you would never guess
it. (Don’t worry—if your card tastes run a little
more on the conservative side, you can also
find tree-friendly cards that come with various
greetings.) Don’t forget to bring your own bag
when you come—Eva has saved 3,000 plastic
bags since she opened in September 2007.
Stop by 3602 Elm Street to discover what
treasures you can find. If you stop by on the
first Friday of any month, you will be in for a
special treat. On Friday, May 7th, enjoy “mama’s
mojitos” in celebration of Mother’s Day.
Visit Earth Alley online (www.earthalley.com)
and learn more about the causes, missions, and
people you are supporting when you make a
purchase. While you’re online, check out Good
Morning Maryland’s feature on Earth Alley from
April 9th.
Leslie Miller
Branch Manager
821 W. 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: 410-366-3100 Fax: 410-366-3377
lmiller@patapscobank.com
www.patapscobank.com