A big thanks to Bree Kessler—author, traveler, professor & friend of Nau—for this well-written and insightful piece on the hidden meaning behind a few of today’s most ubiquitous words.

If you live in New York City (and definitely if you live in Brooklyn) it’s nearly impossible to visit a weekend market without seeing the following words: local, organic, artisanal.  If you’re lucky, you will usually see these words used together (as in the photo above taken at the Brooklyn Flea Smorgasburg).  If you’re like me, after you finish nervously laughing at the sign but still purchase the must try item, you wonder: what does it mean for something to be “local” or “organic” or “artisanal”?

I have to be honest, I don’t really know what those words mean and I don’t know if anyone does because these terms are “reified.”  The theory behind “reification” (the noun, “to reify” is the verb) originates in Marxist theory.  The idea is that things (from food to clothes to body parts) are given meanings that do not inherently exist in them.  For instance, when I call some chickpeas “local” I expect that everyone knows what I am inferring: that the chickpeas came from nearby — that they didn’t travel too far.  There was also a time when I thought it meant that they were solely grown on a family farm, handpicked by the farmers sons and daughters.  But for someone else, “local” may have a different definition such as grown within a 500 mile radius or maybe grown within 25 miles and it doesn’t really matter if the harvest was gathered by low-wage workers or not.  Chickpeas are reified in this case because we are assigning a meaning to them that wasn’t there initially.  Making the chickpeas “local” gives them a value that was not originally there before they arrived to Brooklyn Flea Smorgasburg and practically speaking, it may raise their price too.

There is nothing wrong with reification. In fact, Marx himself argued that it was an essential part to creating a market economy: some things are given more value than other things and therefore some items costs more than others.  Local chickpeas are worth more than non-local chickpeas for those willing to pay a premium.  The issue with being a consumer in a reified world is figuring out exactly what these terms mean because they don’t mean the same thing to everyone.  We all know that we prefer our clothing to be made from sustainable materials, but do we know how something becomes a sustainable material or what it means for clothing to be sustainable?  Reification allows us to not think how things become products — to reify allows us to say something is “organic” or “local” or “sustainable” without truly considering how and where that product transitioned from from fabric to shirt  to arrival at your house.  A fun project (much like the one seen here.) I like to see is a slideshow that reveals where you think your shirt (or you chickpeas) come from.  If you make one please post them below.

Bree Kessler is a freelance writer currently living in Northern Alaksa.  She is the author of the Moon Handbook: Big Island of Hawaii and currently completing her PhD in Environmental Psychology from City University of New York — Graduate Center.

Matthias Hollwich, co-founder of Hollwich Kushner (HWKN), a NYC-based architecture and concept design firm—at TEDXEast.

“Creativity is exhaustion, and one idea beyond that;” this is how globally renowned architect Matthias Hollwich closed his 2012 TedXEast (TED NYC) talk.  Matthias’ speech was focused on sharing his team’s exhaustive creative process in coming up with the perfect architectural concept for the Moma PS1 Young Architectural International Program. At Nau, we understand this. Taking an unconventional and unexpected approach to business and product design can be exhausting, but always worth it.

TEDxEast is one of the 800+ independently organized TED events. Ranked as one of the top five independent events globally, NYC Ted 2012 did not disappoint. At Nau, we’ve always admired the innovative thinking and influential speakers that these top tier events attract. And this past year we were given the opportunity to began supporting TED Long Beach and now TEDxEast through creative sponsorships.

The event theme of this year’s TedXEast was “A View from In Here,” and through four sessions (the Right Brain, the Left Brian, From the Inside Out, and Reframe), 30 speakers were given 18 minutes to give the most important talk of their life. Our lovely host, Julianne Wurm, referred to the day as being “an emotional journey.” And she was right. One of Nau’s fundamental beliefs has been to use business as a force for positive change – it was inspiring to see how many of these speakers are also using business, science, medicine or theatre to make this type of impact.

NYC has the power to draw fantastic individuals, with speakers coming from around the world.  Some standouts included Maya Lin (artist and architect), Dr. Pasi Sahlberg (global school improvement activist), Dr. Colin Campbell (40+ years of being on the forefront of nutrition research and links to cancer), Matthias Hollwich (architect), and Cassandra Lin (13 year old entrepreneur who founded project TGIF – turning grease into fuel), among many many others.

TedXEast talks can be viewed here. We hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Since most of us around here are getting back in the saddle after a rather soggy winter (and it’s bike month), we decided it’s time for the third installment of our blog series— The Camera Steals the Soul. You might remember it—our compilation of cheesy Hollywood flicks that have sucked the living soul out of sport (and a few that haven’t). Born out of a few drinks on a cold winter’s night some years ago, our “ode-to-trash” anthology has tackled the ski and surf genres. Now it’s time to shift gears to—yeah, you guessed it—cycling.

Of course, this time around, we’re drinking Prosecco and staring down an 80-degree weekend, which is why our list is short. Plus, we got sidetracked on youtube. You’ll see why.

The Good
Breaking Away
Better off Dead
Napoleon Dynamite
Revenge of the Nerds
A Sunday in Hell

So Bad, It’s Good
American Flyers
Quicksilver
Pee Wee’s Big Adventures
RAD

The Guilty Pleasures
Sh*t Cyclists Say
Performance

Honorable Mention
Wizard of Oz
The Goonies
ET

What did we miss? Let us know.

The Bos

We love great design. We think about it, talk about it and realize it’s our distinct, intuitive designs which make Nau styles unique. Our friends over at the Copenhagen-based BioMega have a similar approach to thinking about product design. The philosophy behind their stunning collection of commuter bicycles is to create bikes so beautiful that they transform the way a society thinks about transportation. Their goal is to create urban-landscape changing bikes which imbue cities with meaning and create deeper connections with the natural world.

Of course, we believe BioMega’s mission is similar to ours: to create beautiful, sustainable garments that transform the way an industry does business and the way consumers think about fashion. We also appreciate how, like us, they see design as a vehicle to express something familiar in a new, unexpected way — not just for design’s sake, but with performance and end use in mind.

To celebrate our similar ideologies (and to kick off national bike month), we teamed up with Biomega to offer a chance to win the ultra-portable Boston bike (aka The Bos) and a head-to-toe Nau kit. The Bos, with its theft-proof, foldable design, is described by its designer as a mix of  “BMX, Downhill bikes, and American bad boy pop culture.” Upon its debut, it won such praise that it became a permanent fixture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Now you can have a chance to win this piece of foldable art and any Nau kit of your choice. Register to win here. Only a few days left. The winner will be announced on May 9th in our Off The Grid newsletter.

To learn more about BioMega and the BOS, check out their website here.

The Bikes Belong Foundation was launched in 2006 in Boulder, CO. Their mission is simple: get more people on bikes more often.

They have their hands in a variety of bike related projects including: maximizing federal support for bicycling, connecting communities through bike projects, organizing ad campaigns, promoting bikes through the Safe Routes to School partnerships and the program we’re supporting– People for Bikes.

If this motivational poster above Peter’s desk isn’t enough to convince you to choose two wheels instead of four the next time you leave the house, read more about the benefits of biking on their website.

Welcome Bikes Belong, we’re proud to welcome you to the Partners for Change program.

Courtesy of University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Last August in the Thought Kitchen, we featured a two-part, behind-the-scenes look the Eco Index—a collaborative effort with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) to create an industry-wide standard in sustainability. Well thanks to OIA and their tenacious work on the Eco Index, the organization was recently recognized by the White House.

Yes, that’s right: the Barackness Monster (thanks to Jimmy Fallon and his slow-jamming term of endearment) selected the OIA Sustainability Working Group (SWG) as a Champion for Change for Environmental Sustainability. The Champion for Change program was created as part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative to formally recognize extraordinary efforts across different industries and communities.

We’d like to extend a big congrats to OIA SWG’s volunteer collaboration of more than 250 outdoor industry brands for their persistent effort to create higher standards in sustainability. And, more specifically, thanks to Jamie Bainbridge, our Director of Textile Development and Sustainability, for her tireless work representing Nau as part of OIA SWG’s Advisory Council.

While the industry still has a long way to go, it’s comforting to know that sustainable efforts are being recognized by our governmental leaders.

For the first time in nearly four years, we’re expanding our Partners for Change program. Beginning on April 30^th, we will launch a rotating partnership which will allow us to have relationships with more NGOs throughout the year. To accomplish this, four of our Partners for Change will remain constant, while our fifth Partner will rotate about twice a year.

Shifting this program means we must part ways with Kiva, one of our dedicated Partners working toward positive change. Kiva was one of our original Partners for Change when we launched our giving program back in 2006. Since Kiva’s founding in 2005, 754,040 lenders from 219 countries have loaned over $305 million to people in 59 different countries.  Impressive.

We’d like to acknowledge them for their many accomplishments and thank them for inspiring us over the last six years. Want to be inspired too?  Check out a few of these facts and stats about Kiva, and learn more about the Kiva Fellows or Kiva’s Green Loans.

April 30^th will mark the last day customers can direct 2% of their purchase to Kiva. While this day marks the official end of our partnership with Kiva, their passion for creating positive change will remain a permanent inspiration for all of us here at Nau.

Toni Greaves, award-winning documentary photographer, unveiled in Afghanistan (Photo by M. Ashraf Wahidi)

We’re not sure what’s more impressive: her list of accolades or the stunning beauty of her work.  In just three short years since being selected as one of PDN magazine’s “30 Emerging Photographers to Watch,” our good friend and documentary photographer, Toni Greaves has graced the pages of TIME magazine, The New York Times, Communication Arts, The FADER, and Marie Clare (to name a few).

She has traveled to Paraguay and rural Nepal as part of projects for Outside magazine and The Gates Foundation. Most recently, she returned from Afghanistan where she photographed for an organization dear to us—Mercy Corps, one of our Partners for Change. We were lucky enough to sit down with the award-winning photog to talk about the art of becoming invisible and what it’s like to shoot behind a burqa.

OTG: You’ve been shooting professionally for a little less than four years and you’ve already won numerous awards and have been published in an impressive list of publications.
Toni: Yeah, I feel very blessed. But I have a 15-year background in art direction, design, and creative direction, so I understood SEEING before I was professionally trained in photography. And I was always doing it as a hobby. But there came a point when I realized that I wanted to make it everything I was doing. So I made some major life changes and personal sacrifices to go back to school. I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. And I feel very lucky it’s working out.

Can you give us some insight into some of the projects you’ve enjoyed the most?
I have a long term project called Radical Love that spans the course of three years, which is about a community of cloistered nuns. I have spent a lot of time with these women, being in their monastery, being around their lives, and I love it. One of the great things about documentary photography is getting to experience different worlds.

From Radical Love: The Dominican Nuns of Summit, New Jersey are a Roman Catholic cloistered monastic community. In this photo, the youngest nuns enjoy playing basketball during their half hour recreation period. (Photo by Toni Greaves)

So when you’re on assignment, do you have an idea of what you want to see behind the camera or do you let things organically unfold?
The thing about documentary photography is that you never know exactly what’s going to happen and you can’t plan anything. That’s one of the things I love about it—this dance of figuring it out while it happens. There is a kind of magic of getting into the moment of everything…of developing relationships with people you engage with and being able to help them feel comfortable. Because their level of comfort, as well as yours affects the quality of images that you take.

Do you ever coerce your story?
Here’s the thing, in your job as a writer, you’re asking questions right? And the simple act of asking questions, you’re helping to initiate something that helps guide and direct….

Exactly. Like leading the witness.
But in documentary photography, you can’t do that. I get to be aware and observant of everything that is around me, and my job is to take all that in and process it, in order to be in those situations when they happen. Of course, there are different approaches, but from my background and training, if you start influencing things, you’ll lose your credibility and honesty in what you’re doing and you’ll immediately be dismissed.

But you have to make people feel comfortable with your presence, so there has to be some level of influence.
That’s true. But in the same way if you, as a writer, were sitting there watching somebody and taking notes, they are aware of you sitting there, so to a degree that will changes things. However, I’ve also had clients tell me I become “invisible” over time.

From Birth in Rural Nepal: An aid worker examines Maheshwori and determines that her unborn baby is breech. Each year in Nepal more than 6,000 women die during childbirth. (Photo by Toni Greaves/Getty Images)

So there’s got to be this sweet spot in documentary photography where you’re constantly trying to capture the moment, but also have the perfect eye. Obviously, you can’t set up your shot.
No you can’t. So it all comes from your training and background and they way that you SEE.  In studying documentary photography you learn to SEE differently. And when you’ve been doing it long enough, it becomes a part of you. Recently, I photographed a friend giving birth. Since I’m close to her, I noticed when sorting through the images, that I had removed myself from the photographer role at times and the images weren’t as strong in those moments. So there’s a balance: you have to be comfortable with people, but you still have to maintain a level of disconnection in a way that you are more active in your SEEING.

So let’s switch gears. You just returned from Afghanistan where you were on assignment with Mercy Corps. How as your trip?
It was one of the most interesting trips I’ve been on. Fascinating, actually.

Did they give you a burqa?
Yes, they did for security reasons. But I always respect cultural norms when I travel. I was in full head scarf, starting from the airport, and only took it off in my room. Whenever we would leave, I would be covered in a burqa. If not, I could put their projects at risk if anyone saw me and my photography gear.

So what exactly where you doing?
I was photographing a women’s and girl’s education program called INVEST. They teach computers, embroidery, sewing, and English. It’s an incredible program that is changing the lives of these girls and also the women who teach there. I interviewed five women who were teachers in this program. In fact, Mercy Corps just put together a multimedia piece of my work that is now live on their website.

A woman takes a tailoring class in Mercy Corps' INVEST program in Afghanistan to learn how to design and sew garments. (Photo by Toni Greaves for Mercy Corps)

You know, most of us only experience Afghanistan through the media as this kind of vapid, hopeless, almost apocalyptic place. What was your experience?
It’s mind boggling to learn about what Afghanistan was like in the 1950’s. It was this beautiful, tourist destination. Then Kabul was severely bombed from the late 70’s. But there’s a sense, with the youth that I was around, that there is potential for something for the future. Nobody wanted to talk about anything being bad. Maybe because there is danger in talking about what is going on or maybe it’s just a cultural norm. But they were very happy and excited about school, about what is to come.

I guess you just never know how a society might react under dire circumstances, eh?
If you’re put in the worst situation, you have two choices: you can give up or have hope. Which one would you choose? These are human beings living in this place of war. And they are choosing to have hope in the midst of often very difficult situations.  It’s an incredible demonstration of the strength of the human spirit.

To view more of Toni’s work, visit her website at www.tonigreaves.com.

We experienced our first 70 degree day of the year yesterday punctuating a brilliant end to our record-breaking deluge in March (that’s right, nearly eight inches in 31 days). Luckily, most of us were able to escape the sogginess for a much-needed break from our northwest spring. Here’s a few photos of our travels, near and far.

Josie “claims” she was sworn to secrecy (by a friend of a friend) never to divulge the whereabouts of this tourist-free, utopian Mexican paradise. That’s alright, we’ll find out soon enough. A little beer, some peach schnapps….we’ll get her talking.

That’s Sarah, the Goat Whisperer, down in Arizona, far from the soggy northwest.

Leigh’s happy feet somewhere south of the panhandle, after she was unexpectedly sidelined in Dallas (for two days) by last week’s tornadoes.

Brett’s mini road trip through Eastern Oregon: fossil beds, lots of wide open spaces and cattle farms. Yeeehaw.

Dear god (or whomever you worship): Thank you for the epic surf today.  Love, Susan

While most of us were off recreating, Tyson was building this impressive bee house. Time from start to finish: 12 hours.

Bry, exploring a new part of town. (Also, a big congrats to Bry for moving into her new abode last week).

We haven’t seen Peter in the office yet today, although he did send us this photo. Location: somewhere on the Oregon coast.

Me: enjoying the first 70 degree day of 2012 at the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia Rivers.