As big as any so far…we’re officially opening our doors to New York City for 50 days of interaction, experience and education.

At Tuesday night’s private media opening, it was hard to tell which impressed the crowd more: the store aesthetic, the energetic vibe, or the Nau product itself.  The one thing that was clear – beyond the genuine enthusiasm of what we created and what was about to unfold in the coming 50 days – was that no one believed the space had been built in only 10 days, and that it was intended to be a temporary installation.

My favorite comment from the night: “You have to stay”.

Even our musical guests, Zee Avi and Will Dailey, had to outfit their bands in Nau for their upcoming tours before leaving, and they’ll now be making a stop to play Lizard Lounge the next time they pass through Portland.

Today we unveil our project to the public.  With the help of Secret Machines on stage tonight, the photography of our Grantees for Change Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele, and the support of a tremendous number of partners here in NYC and back in Portland, here/nau/nyc finally (officially) arrives.  We won’t be staying this time around, so make sure you come see us during the next two months if you find yourself within striking distance of 69 Mercer Street in Soho. Keep a close watch on the ever evolving calendar of events as we weave through the beauty, performance and sustainability themes with a dynamic list of community events, activities and charitable partnerships.

We look forward to seeing you there, and staying connected through Facebook and Twitter. And, whichever way you visit, we’d love to know what you think.

We signed a lease and started painting this weekend in a discreet space on Mercer, just north of Broome.

Why SoHo? We wanted to be in a space that would be convenient, easy to find, and welcoming to all.  And, we needed to find a space large enough to throw a party (or ten), play live music late into the night, and be open to creating a buzz.

After a pretty involved search this Fall, we found the perfect two-story space. For the street level, we’ve designed a clean, minimalist retail space to host Nau’s Fall 2009 collection, peppered with some of our favorite sustainable and socially responsible complimentary brands. Downstairs, we’ll have a coffee bar, lounge and gallery.

In a series of blog posts over the coming weeks, we’ll share details of the making of the pop-up, including the dumpster diving process we just went through to assemble locally sourced, sustainable store fixtures; the store design and our site specific art installation process; the line-up of music, featured artists and events; and the selection of our local charity and other partners.  Part store, part gallery, part event space, and with plenty of room for all things unpredictable, our NYC pop-up’s about sharing our approach to sustainable business and considered design with our friends out East in an unforgettable way. It feels great to finally see the first of our plans unfold.

We hope to see you there, and if you are not planning to be in NYC in the next two months, tell your friends to come say hi for you.

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On Saturday, October 24, nearly 200 whitewater and sea kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and canoes converged on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon to form a giant floating 350 as part of the largest global day of climate action ever. Paddlers in this River of Action event joined more than 5,200 rallies in more than 180 nations to urge world leaders to take fast and effective action on global warming, to bring attention to the number 350. Scientists have insisted in recent years that 350 parts per million is the most carbon dioxide (CO²) we can safely have in the atmosphere. The current CO² concentration is 390 parts per million.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day in Portland. The sunny, warm weather helped to keep folks in good spirits as they fought a strong current in the river channel to form the 350. But even with the current, everyone came together to make it happen. Paddlers were stoked to be out on the water taking a stand to protect the planet where we live and the rivers where we play. As paddlers, we experience the impacts of climate change firsthand. Less snowpack is drastically affecting our rivers and waterways. The climate is something we can get back on track. And after Saturday, there’s no doubt that we want to see real action from the world on climate change before it’s too late.

Around the world on Saturday-from the Willamette River to the melting slopes of Mt. Everest-people took part in the 350.org International Day of Climate Action.

The actions come six weeks before the world’s nations convene in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to draw up a new climate treaty. Eighty-nine countries have already endorsed the 350 target, as well as the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, the world’s foremost climate economist, Sir Nicholas Stern, Nobel prize-winner Al Gore and hundreds of thousands of global citizens. All agree that current atmospheric levels of CO²-390 parts per million-are causing damage to the planet and to its most vulnerable people, and that government action at the Copenhagen climate conference is required to bring the earth’s carbon level swiftly down.

Three months ago we sent the nation on a quest: seek out the do-gooders and bring us their stories of change. A host of champions deserve great celebration.

The response to the Grant for Change was overwhelming. The first day of the G4C brought eleven submissions. By the first week, there were fifty-four. After six weeks, we had accepted 294 nominations. With each new day I was amazed at the quality, and the range of subjects that each of the projects represented.

Most of all, I was inspired. How often do you get to see page after page of self-starters, dedicated to their passion, working for pennies (or free) and still motivated and excited to keep it up, day after day? Corresponding with these amazing individuals and teams, processing their submissions, and looking deeper into their causes, left me with renewed confidence that our passions and goals are not lost to systemic fiends.

We whittled 294 nominations down to ten Finalists. After a month of interviews, questionnaires, and thorough due diligence, acclamation is due to one team in particular.

I am proud and excited to announce the first recipients of the Grant for Change. Congratulations to Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele, and their project Facing Climate Change.

This was not a contest (although at times it felt like one). More accurately this was an opportunity to bring together the founders and architects of positive action and connect them to one another. The myriad opportunities for collaboration beyond this platform are still out there, in the works, and open for discussion. The return on investment made here is like a hug – hard to quantify, but of indefinite value.

What does a clothing company have to do with sea kelp? Peace activism? Climate change? My job was simply to orchestrate part of this positive change making, and help spread the word that a clothing company does not have to simply sell clothes. The Grant for Change has roused my motivation. It brought optimism with its many accomplished and enthusiastic do-gooders. We can all make a positive difference, one small change at a time.

For the complete schedule of events, details, and what’s happening during the 6 bike-tastic weekends, visit www.oregonmanifest.com

While we had great meetings with a host of people in NYC, the most inspiring was with the folks at Mercy Corps NYC.  Our Partner For Change recently opened its first public space, the Action Center to Stop World Hunger across from the Irish Famine Memorial in Battery Park.  They were incredible hosts spending nearly 2 hours touring the facility and providing an overview of the work being done throughout the world to address poverty and hunger.  The combination of interactive educational tools for students and adults, the deeply knowledgeable staff and the warm reception made for an inspiring visit.

We plan to install a Mercy Corp Action Center display in our space in NYC to inspire visitors to make a difference with as little as one minute of their time and will also have several activities to raise both funding and awareness for the center.  I encourage anyone in the area to stop by 6 Riverview Terrace and learn how you can make a positive impact.

Finding the goods is made easier by Urban Edibles, an online directory of over 400 spots here in the city where an enterprising scavenger can forage more than 58 varieties of fruits and vegetables. They also have a handy introduction to the ethics of public picking: always ask permission for plants on private property, and only take what you need. Those rules, and a little common courtesy, go a long way toward avoiding this kind of situation. Most of the time, owners are more than happy to share fruit that would otherwise rot in their yard.

Even if you don’t aspire to become a freegan there’s a certain pleasure in finding fresh food along an otherwise ordinary urban street. It’s the reminder that even here, tucked in among the concrete and steel, nature is growing, sprouting, sustaining. From my own modest harvesting-a few liters of finger-staining blackberries to tart up bowls of breakfast cereal and ice cream-I can claim no deep connection to the land, like a real farmer might. But learning where the sweet and wild things grow does help me to get know my own backyard better, and maybe care a little more about the the condition of this place that I call home.

I skipped last week because we had an internal conversation about the Thought Kitchen and how we wanted it to evolve over time to a more interactive dialogue with the public.  A forum for discussion, debate and feedback and still be accessible for Nau fans to comfortably participate.  We will work towards that end goal in the coming months and in the meantime, I thought what might be interesting would be to shift my weekly post to an open and evolving dialogue on Nau’s visit to the Big Apple this Fall.

In the coming weeks, I will provide the latest developments on the event along with questions that need to be solved. To start, we need a list of your favorite artists and musicians…local to NYC is always terrific but great art and music travels well so the broader the list the better.