My friend Ann recently returned from East Africa, full of stories about her adventure: wonderful animal safaris in both Kenya and Tanzania, and fascinating encounters with local people particularly in rural areas. Among the highlights were meeting and interacting with members of the Samburu tribe of Kenya and the Maasai of neighboring Tanzania, both well known for their colorful beaded necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Ann wore her Paper to Pearls necklaces frequently during her trip and in doing so caught the attention of women from both tribes who wanted to know what the beads were and where they were from. "Uganda", Ann repeated several times in response. The women fingered the necklaces and apparently discussed them in their language. Ann and I are certain that whatever they said was complementary! Here's Ann with a Maasai woman, both wearing their unique necklaces.
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( 3 / 307 )Our littlest model is four years old with a magnetic smile and the name of Aber. Aimee Oberndorfer, a great friend of Paper to Pearls, took Aber's picture when she was in Gulu in June doing evaluations for the project. How could I resist posting this picture, especially since Aber is wearing one of P2P's newest necklace styles. Of course we hope that wearing a P2P necklace brings a smile to everyone's face!
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( 2.9 / 307 )There's always excitement in the Paper to Pearls office when a new shipment arrives, but especially so two weeks ago. That shipment represented a defining moment for us--the first necklaces with our new acrylic finish. This means no solvents in traditional varnishes to worry about, no odor and airing out of the necklaces, and the ability to say that our project is 100% "green". I'm thrilled.
We worked with a chemist in Uganda to come up with the finish. Mr. Kamau did a wonderful job. The finish he came up with is based on the one first developed by BeadforLife. It is lightweight, even when two or three coats are applied, and provides the same great sheen and durability as the varnish the women have been using.
Not only that, but the shipment was the first to be completely made with our new silver clasps. Now, instead of the plastic twist clasps, we have a product that has that final element of quality and class. Meg, my assistant, has just finished adding the new arrivals to the web store, and more will be coming in another week.
I continue to be impressed by how creative our beaders can be. It's as if their innovation and creativity have been released after having been bottled up for so long. Am already anticipating the new necklace styles, the category in my order I call "Surprise Me". We'll have to put photos of Meg modeling them in an upcoming blog!
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( 3 / 410 )Paper to Pearls will be back at the DC Green Festival this year on November 8th and 9th at the Washington, DC Convention Center. This is a great community event that profiles a multitude of environmental initiatives the DC metro area, as well as the opportunity to become familiar with the innovations of 350 green businesses (look for us at booth # 627), while enjoying great how-to workshops, green films, a Fair Trade pavilion, yoga classes, delicious organic cuisine and live music. More than 125 renowned speakers will address the major "green" issues of the day. We hope to see you there! Learn more at http://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-dc-2008/
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( 3 / 338 )Well, we didn't win the Impact Award, after all. That honor went to Sister's Camelot a local organization in the Minneapolis area that does a variety of outreach activities in the community. They were uniquely able to mobilize local area My Space voters to vote on a daily basis, which was how the winner was selected. We're disappointed to be sure, but feel the exposure was ultimately very beneficial for our mission. Congratulations to Sister's Camelot. The award will provide meaningful support to their valuable efforts.
The sun just came out after several days of rain in the DC area. Perfect for a photo shoot today with some lovely ladies who have volunteered to model our necklaces. Feel we need to put photos on the website of "real people" wearing the necklaces, so that the visitor can realize on beautiful these necklaces look on people of all ages. (I have to say "people" since young men also buy beads for themselves, as "surfer" beads and also just as part of the jewelry than men increasingly wear.)
The Photo Gallery will be part of a number of new changes to the site, including this blog! (Am including two previous My Space blogs, in case you missed the chicken!) One of the changes will be to make it easier for visitors to understand the value of donations, in addition to purchasing necklaces. Necklace sales, although essential, provide only a portion of the funds we need to support our beaders.
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