Thank you and Merry Christmas

Thank you for all the people who visited our booth, and especially your purchase at JCCAC Artist Village! 

If you have any problem or questions about the products, feel free to contact us through email or phone.

Again, thanks for your support. Wish you having a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year of 2012! :)

JCCAC Artist Village - Handicraft Fair

Nature’s Join will be joining “Handicraft Fair” organised by JCCAC (Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre) at Shek Kip Mei。 Below is the detailed information of the event. Anyone who is interested is welcome to visit our booth.

JCCAC Artist Village - Handicraft Fair
http://jccac.org.hk/index.php/English/eventdetails/handicraft_fair

On 17 & 18 December, 2011 (1pm - 7pm) - Saturday & Sunday

At 30 Pak Tin Street, Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong.


For how to go there, please visit here:
http://jccac.org.hk/index.php/Chinese/contactandvisit


Nature’s Join 將參加在石硤尾賽馬會創意藝術中心的“手作市集”. 以下是活動的詳情. 歡迎任何有興趣的人仕前來參觀我們的攤位.

JCCAC Artist Village - Handicraft Fair
http://jccac.org.hk/index.php/English/eventdetails/handicraft_fair

在十二月十七及十八日 (下午一時至下午七時) - 星期六及日

地點: 九龍石硤尾白田街30號


這裏可看看什麼交通工具可到達該處:
http://jccac.org.hk/index.php/Chinese/contactandvisit

Discovery Bay Fair

Nature’s Join will be joining “Handmade Hong Kong’s DB Backyard Holiday Bazaar” at Discovery Bay. Below is the detailed information of the event. Anyone who is interested is welcome to visit our booth.

DB Backyard Holiday Bazaar Participating Vendors
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150419294870731.412794.129543045730&type=3

Handmade Hong Kong’s DB Backyard Holiday Bazaar

On November 20, 2011 (10am - 5pm) - Sunday

At Discovery Bay Plaza

For how to go there, please visit here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Bay#Transportation_network

Nature’s Join 將參加在愉景灣的“Handmade Hong Kong’s DB Backyard Holiday Bazaar”. 以下是活動的詳情. 歡迎任何有興趣的人仕前來參觀我們的攤位.

Handmade Hong Kong’s DB Backyard Holiday Bazaar

在十一月二十日 (上午十時至下午五時) - 星期日

地點: 愉景灣廣場

這裏可看看什麼交通工具可到達該處:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Bay#Transportation_network

An article about health 一篇有關健康的文章

I read an article a while ago and found it was very meaningful, I would like to share with you……

Western medicine‧Chinese medicine‧Qigong

Humans live in the earth and eat grains of all kinds, how could we not get sick? When we are sick, we suffer so humans strive to avoid it. A saying “What you get, don’t get sick; what you not get, don’t get hard-up.” That is why there are lots of pharmacies in streets and hospitals are crowded.

So how can we get healed and avoid being sick? Generally, there are three gateways, Western medicine, Chinese medicine and Qigong (to practice austerities to become a Taoist immortal).

Western medicine is the most popular and main treatment in this modern world. Modern Western medicine uses anthropotomy as basic to develop a set of clinical theory and healing technique. The main therapy includes injection, prescription, operation, x-ray therapy, chemotherapy etc.. The key point is to cure your head when you have headache, cure your leg when you leg hurts. It is directed against the illness, being handled in part and relatively like machinery. Such as if we have fever, we take antipyretic or get injected; if we have inflammation, we take antibiotics; where we get cancer, we get surgery to cut and remove it.

Chinese medicine encountered prosperity then decline, and now rises again. Distinct from partial analysis and treatment of Western medicine, Chinese medicine treats human body as a whole system. Meridian principles, paths and theory of yinyang, they all emphasize entire and organic concept. Thus, it cures illness based on symptoms. Humans need to coordinate with the universe and nature. Mood and temperament can also affect health. In the classics, it said “Anger hurts liver, depression hurts spleen, fear hurts kidney.” etc. To cure illness and prevent getting ill, not just medicine only, also includes adjusting and improving our own mood and temper as well as daily lifestyle. From this point of view, it seems that Chinese medicine is superior to Western medicine.

I have a good friend who teaches in university. There was a while her period stopped and suffered from it. She saw many Western doctors who they thought it should be gynecological problem. But it still didn’t work after taking lots of medicines. Then, someone introduced her a famous old Chinese doctor who believed her intestines and stomach lack of blood causing the problem. It worked immediately after taking one dose. It looked like illness from gynecology but actually on intestines and stomach. This is how deep and brilliant of Chinese medicine.

Qigong is a new term. Its essence is to practice austerities. If there is no progress from the previous two methods, people start looking for Qigong and practicing austerities. For simple Qigong, people probably think that only practise movement and take a breath. But real practicing austerities believes that illness comes from people who did bad things in old days and have karma. Thus, if you want illness to be healed, you need to practice austerities in order to repay and remove karma. Our heart needs to be kind, be true, be generous and patient to remove illness from the root. This is the thorough treatment, of course. However, there are some people do not understand and accept it.

There was an example on internet years ago about how an American medical doctor sees patients. He used to learn Chinese medicine in China, and then went to America to learn Western medicine and after that learnt Falun Gong. The doctor left work from hospital afterwards and opened a clinic. The price list being marked was: For Western medicine – USD200 per time; For Chinese medicine – USD100 per time; For learning Qigong – USD0.  

People felt strange and asked him why there were three different prices to have the same doctor seeing patients. He replied “If you take Western medicine, I need to be fully responsible for your health so I charge you full price; If you take Chinese medicine, besides prescribing to you, I also give you suggestion of improving lifestyle. I am responsible for half of your health as well as you are responsible for half of it so I charge you half price; If you would like to learn Qigong, you will be responsible for all your health so I don’t charge you anything and teach you for free.”

You see, this American doctor just exactly remarks the true significance and mystique of healing illness. Three methods, three mechanisms, three levels, advanced in order.

Dear friend, do you want to get true health? Then you really have to ponder what the doctor said.

Copied from EpochTimes.com

http://hk.epochtimes.com/11/2/10/131998.htm

早前看到一篇文章覺得很有意思，想藉此與您們分享……

西醫‧中醫‧修煉

人在世間，日食五穀，焉能不病？病則痛、難受，所以人又極力避之，

正所謂：「有甚麼別有病，沒甚麼別沒錢。」故街上藥鋪林立，醫院擁擠。

那怎麼才能治病、防病呢？一般說來，大致有西醫、中醫和氣功(修煉)三種途徑。

西醫是當今最風行和最主要的治療方法。現代西醫以人體解剖學為基礎，發展出臨床的一套理論和治療技術，打針、吃藥、開刀、拍片、化療等主要治療方法。講的是頭疼治頭，腳疼醫腳，比較有針對性，局部處理，也比較機械。比如：發燒就吃退燒藥、打退燒針，發炎就吃抗生素，哪兒癌變了就開刀切掉它。

中醫在歷經了興盛又衰落後，現在正再度興起。區別於西醫的局部分析和治療，中醫將整個人體看作一個系統，經絡學說、子午流注圖、陰陽五行說等，都強調了整體、有機的概念。所以講究辯證施治，人要與天地、外部環境相合相配，心情、情緒也影響到健康，經典的有「怒傷肝，鬱傷脾，恐傷腎」等說法。要好病、防病，就不僅用藥物調理，還要調節、改善自身的心情、脾氣乃至生活習慣。這樣看來中醫比西醫高明。

我有一個好朋友，在大學教書，有一段時間月經停了，憋得很難受。找西醫看了多次，都認為是婦科出了問題，開了很多藥，吃了也沒用。後來有人介紹了一個有名的老中醫，老中醫看了認為是腸胃納血不足所致，一劑藥下去，立刻見效。看似是婦科的毛病，問題居然在腸胃，這正是中醫的深刻和高明之處。

氣功是新名詞，本質是修煉，用了前兩招都不行，人們就開始求助於氣功與修煉了。簡單的氣功人們覺得只要練練動作，運運氣就行了，可真正的修煉認為病是人以前做了不好的事情欠下了業力所致，所以要好病，就要修煉，要消業、還業，人心要向善，要求真，要學會寬容、忍耐等，從根上祛病。當然這也是最徹底的治病方法，不過也有些人對此不理解，不接受。

以前在網上看到一個美國醫學博士施診的例子。他在中國學過中醫，到美國又學了西醫，後來又煉起了法輪功，從醫院工作出來後，他自己開了一家診所，出診的標價是：看西醫一次200美元，看中醫一次100美元，教煉功法0美元。

別人覺得很奇怪，問他同一個醫生看病，為何三個價格。他答道：「看西醫，我要為你的健康負全部責任，就收全價；看中醫，我要開藥，還要提出改善生活習慣的建議，我為你的健康負一半責任，你也要為自己健康負一半責任，所以我收一半錢；而你要修煉，你將為你自己的健康負全部責任，所以我分文不取，免費教功。」

你看，這位美國博士醫生剛好道出了治病的真諦和奧祕，三種方法，三種機理，三個層次，依次遞升。

朋友，你想得到真正的健康嗎？那就好好想想這位博士醫生的話吧！

轉載自大紀元時報

http://hk.epochtimes.com/11/2/10/131998.htm

Honey and Chrysanthemum Soap 蜂蜜菊花肥皂 (Sold | 售完)

 

This soap mixes honey with chrysanthemum. Honey is not only good for our health by eating it, also good to use on skin. It has very good ability to keep our skin moisture. It is very mild. In traditional Chinese herbal tea, we often use chrysanthemum to release “heat” out of our body (Chinese medical term). Chrysanthemum can detox and kill bacteria. It is completely natural.

The colour of the soap is formed by honey and chrysanthemum powder naturally. No artificial colour is added.

The soap has gentle smell of oil. It is also suitable for baby to use. If you love yourself and would like to give the best to your skin, get one today!

Suitable for:

- Body - all skin type;

- Face - dry skin, normal skin;

- Hands;

- Feet.

Weight: approximately 75g±10 (per piece).

Ingredients: Olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, honey, chrysanthemum powder.

* Note: No synthetic colouring and floavouring; No essential oil.

* If you need more quantities, please let me know.

Price (to Hong Kong):

Item cost - HK$39

Shipping fee - HK$4 (by Hong Kong Post)

Payment details:

You may pay via Paypal, email address naturesjoin@gmail.com

這款肥皂混合蜂蜜和菊花。蜂蜜不但在食用上對我們身體健康有好處，用在皮膚上也有幫助，它有十分好的保濕能力，性質温和。在中國傳統的草藥茶，我們常會用菊花去清熱，菊花能解毒和殺菌，這款肥皂完完全全是純天然。

肥皂的顏色是自然由蜂蜜和菊花形成的，不含任何人造色素。

這款肥皂有温和的植物油香味，嬰兒也可以使用。如果您愛自己及想給自己肌膚最好的，今天就買來試試吧!

適合:

-          沐浴 - 所有肌膚;

-          臉部 - 乾性肌膚, 中性肌膚;

-          手部;

-          腳部.

重量: 大約75克±10 (每塊).

成份: 橄欖油, 椰子油, 棕櫚油, 蜂蜜, 菊花粉.

* 備註: 沒有人造色素和香精; 沒有精油.

* 如要更多數量, 請與我們聯絡.

售價 (往香港):

產品價錢 - HK$39

郵費 – HK$4 (用香港郵政)

付款資料:

您可以用Paypal, 電郵地址naturesjoin@gmail.com

Lemongrass and hazelnut oil soap 香茅榛果油肥皂

Just found there were dried lemongrass / citronella at home, it is time for me to use it to make soap. Lemongrass water can help repelling mosquito. When we have mosquito bites, we may use lemongrass water to wash our body to relieve itchiness and redness. This time I want to make one which can reinforce keeping water, so I use hazelnut oil. To combine it with sweet almond oil and olive oil give plenty of moisture to skin and wash gently.

When I mixed sodium hydroxide with lemongrass water, there was strong bad smell coming out. When the saponified process of mixture was almost done, the smell reduced. The soap has pretty creamy bubbles that feel like having rich essence in it. Feel silky and nourished after using it on face.

Ingredients: Coconut oil, palm oil, pure olive oil, sweet almond oil, hazelnut oil, jojoba oil, lemongrass water.

Super fatting: Wheat germ oil.

Essential oils: Geranium oil, tea tree oil.

家裏剛好有一些乾的香茅，正好是時候用來做皂。香茅水有助驅除蚊子，當我們被蚊子叮咬後，我們可以用香茅水清洗身體去減輕痕癢和紅腫。今次我想做一款可加強保水的，所以我使用棒果油，再加上甜杏仁油和橄欖油能提供足夠的滋潤給肌膚和温和地清潔。

當我將氫氧化鈉和香茅水混合的時候，有一陣強烈的怪味，但當皂化過程差不多完成時氣味就減退了。這款肥皂的泡沫很綿感覺像有很豐富的精華在裏面，用在臉上感到很幼滑和潤澤。

成份: 椰子油，棕櫚油，純橄欖油，甜杏仁油，榛果油，荷荷芭油，香茅水.

超脂: 小麥胚芽油.

精油: 天竺葵油，茶樹油.

Sweet almond oil lotion for face / body 甜杏仁油乳液(身體及臉部適用)

This lotion was made by natural material without any chemical composition, so the storage period is short. It is better to finish it within 7-14 days, but it can be kept for a month in refrigerator. Sweet almond oil is very good for dry and sensitive skin. It can soothe redness and itchiness. I applied it on my cleaned face every morning and night. It is very comfortable and light, not oily or any heavy feeling. The redness on my face is improved. The simplest ingredient is already the best.

Ingredients: Sweet almond oil, rosemary water, vegetant emulsifying agent.

這款乳液全部由天然材料製造而成，沒有任何化學成份，所以保存期較短，最好在7-14日內用完，但可在雪櫃的話可放置一個月。甜杏仁油尤其適合乾燥、敏感肌膚，它能有效地減輕皮膚發癢現象，消除紅腫。我每天早晚洗臉後塗在臉上，感覺很舒服及清爽，不油膩和任何厚重感，臉上的紅印有改善。最簡單的成份已經是最好了。

成份: 甜杏仁油，迷迭香水，植物性乳化劑.

How to recognize natural handmade soap? 怎樣辨別純天然手工香皂

Oil + sodium hydroxide + water = soap + glycerin (a soap with glycerin simply). However, there are many different types of soaps selling in market. Some would say they are “handmade”. How to define?

I think almost everyone who uses natural handmade soap at the first time could feel completely different texture and feeling comparing to commercial soaps / cleansers / detergents in market, including me. I have used natural handmade soap for some time already. I am so delighted to see how big improvement of my skin. Skin problem is not always a bothering issue to me now. I hope for those who still suffer from skin problem can read below article and understand why natural handmade soap is so uniquely different.

Natural handmade soap:

The more natural a soap is, the more difficult to make. All made by hand throughout all the processes. Each time can make very limited pieces, thus output is not much and the cost of it is relatively higher than general soaps in market. Natural handmade soap does not have much fragrance, its colour would change with time and is a bit soft. The surface of soap is usually moist and damp when using. There would have flaw over surfaces. The flawed area of soaps is different from one another. Even the weight of soaps has little bit discrepancies. It is not easy to make it in transparent colour. Even if it is transparent, large amount of alcohol solvent is needed to add into soap. Generally, natural handmade soap is in creamy white or creamy yellow colour.

Because it is manufactured by cold processed (room temperature), the nutrient of vegetable oil is not damaged and kept in soap. When we use this type of natural handmade soap for washing, our skin is nourished and kept healthy.

Handmade soap made by soap base:

This type of soap is more like art form. Modeling is so beautiful and colourful, even with transparent texture (needs to add alcohol solvent and transparent agent in the process in order to make it transparent). Flowers can be put into soap, and the colour of flowers can still be able to maintain. Finishing usually would add colourant / pigment, flavouring essence / perfume or essential oil. Soap is made by heating and melting soap base.

Alkali is not touched during the soap making process, so children may participate in it in company with adults.

I don’t recommend using this type of soap myself as the soap is not 100% natural. As for a handcraft or an art for decoration, it is acceptable.

Soap manufactured by factory:

The shape of soap is very neat and soap body is hard, even hard to dissolve in water. Label of ingredients may mark not include soap base or soap is in weak acid.

A manufactured soap generally, for profit, uses cheap and low cost of animal oil / fat or high cost of vegetable oil (such as coconut oil), then mass produced by machine. Preservatives are added during the process and then adding salt to separate out soap (from which the most precious glycerin is extracted for resale). Next, adding flavouring power / essence, paraffin and other additives to make it dry out as soon as possible; more modern method nowadays uses solidified agent to make synthetic surface-active agent becomes block form. This type of soap is powerful to wash grease / oil off, thus it makes skin so dry and chapped. Moreover, chemical composition contains in it may block skin pores, lead to skin allergy and pathological changes. This is the type of soap which dermatologist suggests patient not to use. It does not merely affect our skin. There is a new research saying that chemical composition can be absorbed through skin and go into our body organs and damage them.

油脂 + 氫氧化鈉 + 水 = 皂 + 甘油 (簡單來說就是有甘油的皂)。不過，市面上有很多不同種類的香皂出售，有一些宣稱是"手工製"，究竟怎樣定義呢?

我想差不多每一個在第一次使用純天然手工香皂的人都能夠感受到它的手感和洗感是完完全全與市售商業的香皂 / 清潔劑 / 去垢劑不同，包括我在內。我已經使用純天然手工香皂一段時間了，我很高興看見自己皮膚大大的好轉及改善，皮膚問題不再是我時常擾人的煩惱。我希望那些仍然受皮膚問題困擾的人能閱讀下面的文章並理解為何純天然手工香皂是那麼與別不同!

純天然手工香皂：

愈天然的純皂愈不好製作，採用人工操作，少量製造，因此產量有限而成本也遠遠高於一般市售肥皂。手工皂不太香、會變色、有點軟，使用期間表面經常是溼潤狀態。表面會有瑕疵，瑕疵位置都不太一樣，重量也會有一些誤差。不容易做出透明質感，如果做成透明也必須加入許多的酒精溶劑，因此手工皂正常來講是呈現乳白色至乳黃色。

因為是採用冷製(室溫)製作，所以植物油的養份能夠不被破壞並可以保留在皂內，我們使用它的時候，皮膚也能吸收養份及保持健康。

皂基製作的肥皂：

藝術型態的手工香皂，造型漂亮五顏六色，甚至具有透明質感(製造過程需要添加酒精溶劑及透明化劑才能使之透明)，可包含花草而能夠保存花草原來的顏色，成品通常會加入色料、香精或精油，這些是使用皂基加熱融化製作的皂。

因為過程中不會接觸到強鹼，小朋友在大人的陪同下也可以參與其中。

因為這種香皂不是百分百純天然，我本人不建議使用這類香皂，而作為一件手工藝或裝飾的藝術是可以接受的。

工廠製造的肥皂：

肥皂形狀工整、非常的硬，遇水也很難溶。成份標示，有寫不含皂鹼或者肥皂呈現弱酸性。

一般香皂的製造，為了利潤，使用成本低廉的動物性油脂，或成本稍高的植物性油脂 (如椰子油)，以機器大量生產，過程中添加防腐劑然後加鹽把肥皂析出 (其中最寶貴的甘油成分抽出另行轉售)，再加香粉、石蠟和其它添加物，快速進行乾燥；現在較新的作法是使用凝固劑將合成的界面活性劑結成塊狀。這類的香皂脫脂力太強，往往造成皮膚乾裂，且含有的化學成分會對皮膚產生毛細孔阻塞、過敏或病變。皮膚科醫師說不要使用肥皂是指這一類的肥皂。這不僅只針對皮膚， 有最新的硏究指這些化學成分會經由皮膚吸收進入人體影響身體器官的病變。

Cocoa butter and coffee soap

Many people like drinking coffee. Coffee is very good to eliminate bad smell. Grinded coffee putting in soap can help rubbing off skin cuticle. I only put very little amount of coffee powder in it this time, so the coffee smell is not quite strong. I shall put more next time if I do it again. This time I used cocoa butter, the smell of cocoa and coffee matches with each other.

I was thinking to make the soap like layers. But when I poured in at the second time with the coffee-coloured soap into mold, its weight “pressed” the first layer with light yellow soap in mold down already which turned out this very interesting look – the side has thickness but the middle is in thin layer.

One thing I need to improve is the coffee beans were not grinded small enough. The foaming of the soap is great with delicate and light bubbles. Moreover, it contains cocoa butter which is very suitable to use in winter.

Ingredients: Coconut oil, palm oil, pure olive oil, canola oil, cocoa butter.

Additives: Grinded coffee and little bit of oat powder.

相信很多人都喜歡喝咖啡，用咖啡來消除異味效果卓越，將磨碎的咖啡放入肥皂裏能有助去除皮膚的角質層。今次做的這款肥皂只放了比較少的咖啡粉，所以咖啡的香味不是太強，如果下一次再做的時候，我會放多一些咖啡粉，這款肥皂用了可可脂，可可豆和咖啡的香味很配襯。

我本來想做分層皂，但當我把有咖啡顏色的皂液在第二次倒入模具的時候，它的重量已把在模具內第一層帶微黃色的皂液向下壓，造成這十分有趣的樣子 − 側面有厚度而中間是呈薄薄的一層。

我覺得唯一要改善的地方是咖啡粉磨得不夠細，肥皂的泡沫十分棒，泡沫細緻輕柔，再者它包含可可脂，十分適合冬天使用。

成份:       椰子油，棕櫚油，純橄欖油，芥花籽油，可可脂.

添加物:   磨碎咖啡及少量的燕麥粉.