The Glamor of Renting

Since last January, my family has been all abuzz over a very special event slated for July 23^rd, and I’m delighted to report that it went off with only one hitch—my cousin Hillary to her fiancé Cameron. Yip!

In the weeks leading up to Hillary’s wedding, I decided I didn’t want to buy anything new to wear, but I did want to find something to jazz up my outfit. So I turned to two directories of sharing-based services here and here, and the second is where I came across Renttherunway.com.

The company offers its customers access to clothing and jewelry from over 95 designers at a 90% discount. So instead of purchasing and wearing a dress or accessory only once, multiple gala goers can use the same garment or necklace over and again. Love. Wear. Return.? Yes ma’am, sign me up.

In the market for a piece of jewelry, I initially felt uninspired (I’m quite picky). But then, seconds away from throwing in the towel, I found this piece by Miriam Haskell . . .

and I was sold.

The process of renting the cuff was surprisingly simple, as it’s nearly the same as making an online purchase. My only question was this: If I damaged the cuff, would I be responsible for paying its retail price in full? (My pocketbook wouldn’t respond fondly!) My fears were quickly assuaged by the site’s insurance policy, which covers any incidental mishaps, so I went ahead and made the booking. And just as Rent The Runway assured, the Secret Garden Cuff arrived in the mail two days before the big event.

I adored wearing the bracelet at the wedding, and after receiving so many complements, I was reluctant to take it off.

However deeply we wished for the festivities to continue, the shindig came to an end in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and shortly thereafter I had to seal The Secret Garden Cuff in the prepaid mailer and send it on its way to Rent The Runway’s headquarters.

In the end, what I loved more than the bracelet itself was sharing the story of renting it. Have you tried a service like Rent the Runway? If you haven’t, there are a number of companies that offer similar services, such as Bag Borrow or Steal and Fashion Hire, and I'd recommend giving them a go. If you've already discovered the glamor of renting, I’d love to hear your story. Do share.

The Mill City Farmers Market

Nothing says summer like a hearty farmers market, and I’ve discovered one that surely passes muster. Nestled between the Mill City Museum and the iconic Guthrie Theater lies the Mill City Farmers Market (MCFM), an indoor-outdoor event that not only offers up tasty local fare, but also challenges the market goer to wander between two worlds: the historic Mill City, which had its heyday in the late 1800’s when flour was king, and the progressive hub of arts and culture that Minneapolis is today. As if this weren’t already a top-notch setting, the Mississippi River rips through its channel just a stone’s throw from the Guthrie’s steps, where a sated gourmet might sit after wolfing down a few spiced mini-donuts from Chef Shack, one of the market’s renowned vendors. (Guilty as charged.)

View of the MCFM looking toward the Guthrie

View of the MCFM looking toward the museum

The MCFM got its start in 2006, when local restaurateur Brenda Langton teamed up with the Mill City Museum to promote healthy foods and local farmers. Since then, the market has grown to host over sixty vendors who are committed to educating their customers about local agriculture and empowering them to make intentional choices about the food they buy. The market is among a growing number in the United States.

This resurgence signals something "deep and poignant" about our desires, claims social innovator Rachel Botsman in her recent book about collaborative consumption (aka the share economy). She says it reflects the desire to both create a sense of community in our economy and restore the connection between consumer and producer. As I strolled from vendor to vendor last weekend at the MCFM, that’s exactly what I witnessed: lively conversation between shoppers and farmers about growing techniques and seasonal food around the exchange of local goods.

I also saw, and tasted, so many of these: 

Radishes from Uptown Farmers

Each variety had its own yummy appeal, but I settled on a bundle of the French Breakfasts from Uptown Farmers. And as soon as I started pedaling home, with a bag choc full of veggies slung over my shoulder, I remembered a photo of some fine looking radishes in the June issue of bon appetit. Over lunch I later found the spread featuring nose-to-tail pioneer Fergus Henderson, who suggests how to eat the red beauts. It was so simple and delicious that I've got to share:

HOW TO EAT RADISHES AT THEIR PEAK

4 servings: Pile 16-20 scrubbed French Breakfast radishes with pert green leaves still attached onto a plate. Set out a bowl of coarse sea salt and a dish of slightly softened best-quality butter. Pick up a radish, spread a bit of butter on it, sprinkle with salt, and eat the radish. Place the leaves in a bowl. Drizzle the leaves with ¼ cup Dijon Vinaigrette, season to taste with salt and pepper, and enjoy as a salad. 

DIJON VINAIGRETTE 

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Double yum. 

I had a terrific first experience at the Mill City Farmers Market, and I'm keen on making regular visits to it and other markets near my home in South Minneapolis, too. If you're on the prowl (like me) for a convenient place to fetch your greens, you can find the locations of more than fifty Twin Cities area farmers markets here. Or perhaps you already have a favorite farmers market? No matter if you're near or far, I'd love to hear about it. Do share. 

About encommon

There’s a new sharing-based movement underway, and it’s ramping up—fast. It leverages the power of technology-enabled networks to help us use existing resources with greater intelligence and efficiency. It is disrupting traditional patterns of consumer behavior, while replacing them with fresh, community-based alternatives. Simply put, it’s a new form of economy, where consumers share, lend, trade, and swap products instead of own them. You may have heard of Zipcar, the car-share service, or Roomorama, the online marketplace for short-term accommodations. These companies are perfect examples of the share economy, which is turning business on its ear across sectors from social lending to peer-to-peer transportation, clothing swaps to coworking, and more.

Author and Entrepreneur Lisa Gansky first introduced me to this new economic and social phenomena in January 2010. I had the pleasure of working with her for just over a year while she wrote and published her book The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing (Portfolio Penguin 2010). With an academic background in environmental studies, I became an instant fangirl (in the best possible sense of the word). The share economy seems to be the most promising way to live an efficient and fulfilled life on the planet—sans all the junk, and the detrimental effects its production and lifecycle has on our environment. For a product or service to exist in the share economy, it must have various essential qualities: durability, classic design, adjustability, and “share-ability.” (Sorry, your gas guzzling jalopy just won't cut it in a peer-to-peer car-sharing service.) In the share economy, we don’t have to rely on words that have been rendered essentially meaningless from overuse, such as “sustainable” and “green,” to describe an earth-friendly offering. The proof is in the pudding.

And so, after a terrific run as Lisa’s program manager at www.meshing.it, and my subsequent move from the City by the Bay (San Francisco) to the City of Lakes (Minneapolis), it came as no surprise that ideas about sharing-based organizations and activities kept floating to the top of my mind. Then I got to thinking: How can I put my knowledge about the share economy to use?

Enter encommon, a year-long project in which I will attempt to conduct my life as fully as possible within the share economy—with one caveat. I will integrate sharing strategies into my day-to-day life within reason. Ultimately, it is my intention for this sharing-based lifestyle to extend beyond the life of encommon. The project is not designed to be a life study that I might make it through by the skin of my teeth; it's about making deliberate changes to my real life.

So for the next year, I will explore and try to use many of the hundreds of organizations that provide unique ways for individuals to become more connected to their communities and make better use of existing resources. And I will share my experiences with you here on encommon.

You might wonder, Why now?

The time is ripe. Faced with building a life and starting a career in this recession, my peers and I are discovering that there are countless new ways to re-imagine how we work and play and shape our communities. I want to find out whether the share economy will truly help us re-value what matters most, so I’ve prepared myself to meet the challenges of living a sharing-based life in a (sometimes very chilly) mid-sized city with creativity and gusto.

Thank you for being here. I hope at times to inspire you to try something new and to learn from you in return. Please keep in touch!

Warmest wishes,

Jessica