Cranford resident and entrepreneur Wendy Ramirez is such a propagator of all things organic that she gives out business cards embedded with seeds, and written with organic dye. When she started her business on Eastman Street just over a year ago she said it was because she wanted to keep her shopping, and her products, local.

"I couldn't get to a place in Cranford to find organic eye cream," she says. Ramirez, a native New Yorker, who moved to the township in the early 1990s is co-owner of Artemisia, on Eastman Drive. She says she created the store, along with her cousin, on the idea that she would only sell products that were fair trade, organic and American made.

The store, with its polished, artisan vibe,  carries organic and natural skin care products, in addition to other items for home decorating or even eating.

Ramirez is pointing to a row of olive oil made by McEvoy Ranch, on a recent evening where she hosted a skin care seminar. She says the olive oil is pretty exclusive for her her store. "I had to be put on a waiting list for those," says the former research administrator. 

Ramirez' store is packed with a line of pre-k and kid's toys, soaps, scarves, art work, skin care and of course LOVE (you'll have to stop by and see the giant sign). Among her top-selling items are:

• Maruca vegan handbags
• Dolan Geiman mixed media art
• Ben's Garden copper and glass coaster set
• 80s Acres organic body care products 
• Saint Vintage jewelery (proceeds go to cancer research)

Ramirez says she takes a personal approach to picking her store's products, often trying things out for herself after visiting trade shows. "There's a movement," she says about the ubiquity of organic products on the marketplace. "Our tag line is gifting with a conscience."