Neighborhoods, property owners, local businesses and government (Wow! That’s quite a crowd!) all come together to use empty retail spaces in both Seattle and Tacoma.  And if you’ve walked down some neighborhood streets over the past few years, sadly, you know there’s a lot of space available.

Kristin Tollefson 2011 Exhibit at 409 Maynard Avenue South, Seattle

Some of the formerly-vacant storefronts have been filled with life — sparked by the work of local artists and creative businesses.  The Seattle and Tacoma programs both look for artists, groups and creative businesses that will engage the community and produce high quality work to display or sell.  The intent is to bring vitality and interest to various neighborhoods, while providing a low (and in some cases, no) cost workspace alternative.  Hard to beat a deal like that!

Storefront rents are either donated by the property owners, or paid for by program grants.  In some cases, the “free rent” participants have become so successful that they have signed leases on some formerly vacant locations.  Tina Witherspoon, owner of glam.spoon and a fabulous designer of women’s clothing made from vintage and recycled materials, recently did a blog post about one of Storefront Seattle’s artists, Tuesday Scarves.  Tina is on the list for the program and I can hardly wait to see what great fashions she’ll be sharing with us in her new shop!

Chairs before Modern Cottage, a Tacoma Spaceworks participant, does its magic

Both the Seattle and Tacoma programs have been in place since 2010, and have been very successful.  Property owners and communities benefit by having their storefronts filled, “beautification” of an area, getting more people to come and visit their neighborhoods, and increasing safety.  All these things in turn help other businesses in the area.

Artists and creative businesses benefit by being able to create, showcase or sell their work to a large and diverse audience at a drastically reduced cost.  They can also try out a business strategy with little financial risk and gain the experience they need to move their creativity to a new level.  Both artists and communities benefit by building strong relationships with one another.

Chairs after being rescued by Modern Cottage

Usually the use of a storefront is for a limited time, so if there’s a specific exhibit or business you’d like to see, make sure to visit before something new takes its place.  If you’d like to donate to either of these great programs, click Storefronts Seattle and Spaceworks Tacoma.

Related Articles

• Things to Do in Seattle: Visit the International District (localistseattle.wordpress.com)
• Storefront Seattle: taking art to the street (window) (mentalflowers.wordpress.com)
• glam.spoon Tuesday Scarves

I’m thrilled to announce that WorldWise Jewelry has been selected as one of the jewelry designers for Hybrid Her Trunk Shows!

My vision is to design jewelry that lets you say something about the kind of world you want to live in – one that treats people fairly and uses the earth’s gifts mindfully.  Partnering with shops and boutiques who share the same vision is important, and I’m always on the lookout for the perfect fit.  So when Sarah Shaw at Entreprenette.com posted a request for products for Hybrid Her Trunk Shows, I sent an email expressing my interest.  Stacey Duffy, one of the owners of Hybrid Her (formerly Hybrid Mom), contacted me immediately, and I knew that she and Beth Smith (the other owner) had a vision that blended well with mine.

Stacey and Beth dreamed of a business that made them feel good about helping other women – one that allowed them to make their own rules and gave them access to some really cool stuff.  Their idea to make their dream a reality is to find great independent designers for Hybrid Her’s exclusive online marketplace, and help “Mavens” build successful trunk show businesses that sell the merchandise made by the designers.

Instead of the usual “pyramid” style of marketing that other trunk show companies typically run, Hybrid Her believes in letting each Maven establish their own business with total control over what merchandise they select for their trunk shows.  Mavens buy at wholesale prices, and then decide how much to sell it for at their trunk shows.

The merchandise includes gorgeous jewelry, bags, clothing and accessories – everything we love to see at our favorite boutique.  Hybrid Her also shares information about where everything comes from, how things are made, and the story about the woman making each product.  The Mavens can then pass the info along to their customers, making each item much more meaningful.

Byzantine Swirls Bracelet Available at Hybrid Her Trunk Shows

If you’re interested in becoming a Maven (and selling my jewelry designs!), you can find out more here.

Wear the World!

Related articles

• How would you like to see your designs sold at trunk shows by women across the country? (andreeaayers.com)
• Interview with Amy Impellizzeri – Director of Community & Content at Hybrid Her (theworkathomewoman.com)

I recently had the opportunity to include a bracelet similar to my Entwined Blue Bracelet in an eco-friendly gift basket to Ed Begley, Jr. I received a wonderful note from his wife, Rachelle, thanking me for the gift.

Entwined Blue Bracelet

Ed and Rachelle are two of the greenest celebs on the block — and  just plain nice people. They co-star in Living with Ed, a show that’s all about the Begleys’ day-to-day journey (and challenges) of living green together.

The show covers everything from the way the Begleys get their power (Ed rides his bike to generate enough power to use his toaster every morning.  If that’s not true dedication to being green, I don’t know what is!), to the fact that their home is so small that The Oscar is displayed over the litterbox. Rachelle says that she feels a little like Lisa on Green Acres. I haven’t seen any sign of Arnold the Pig at the Begley’s house though.

If you haven’t seen the show, I highly recommend it – it’s a hoot! Although it’s currently not airing, you can get some episodes from Netflix. Here’s a little sample for you…

Related articles

• Edward Flattau: Eco Hollywood (huffingtonpost.com)
• This one’s for you, Ed Begley, Jr. (crazyauntpurl.com)
• Mother Earth News Fair Draws Eco-Experts to Puyallup (prweb.com)

silver dreams necklace

Here’s an easy way to figure out if your skin tone is warm or cool, and no draping is necessary.  Look at the veins on the inside of your arm.  If the veins are greenish, that means you have yellow undertones and a warm skin tone.  If your veins look blue, you have a cool skin tone.  When I read about this little trick, it seemed easy enough… until my vein color seemed to change from day to day.  Whitney’s veins are decidedly blue, while mine seem to bounce around — blue one day, green the next, or even bluish-green.  Must be the lighting, or maybe I’m eating too many carrots…

If you’ve decided that you have a cool skin tone, you’ll look best wearing silver, white gold and platinum metals.  To compliment your cool skin tone you should wear jewelry that includes pink, violet, magenta, red, rich blue or green.

glistening moss necklace

For those of you that fall in the warm category, yellow gold is your main jewelry metal.  You also look amazing wearing pewter, brass, and copper colored metals.  To bring out the color of your skin you can wear earth-tone jewelry.  You’ll look best if you choose beads that are coral, orange, an earthy green, brown, yellow, peach and turquoise.

These are just a few ideas.  Regardless of the color of your veins, though, what really matters is that you feel comfortable in whatever earrings, necklace, bracelet or ring you choose.  There’s nothing more beautiful than a woman wearing a jewelry design that makes her feel confident and happy – whatever the color.

She has never received a formal education of any kind, making it hard for her to read and write more than her name. Ange Hana is one of the 1.5 million Internally Displaced People of the DRC. She is living in a home with no electricity and the only source of light is the sun. Ange Hana has joined a circle of women who will become her support group as she goes through life changing training.

She will spend the next 11 months learning about economic self-sufficiency, taking classes relating to psychological and physical health, gaining knowledge about her legal rights, and focusing on building leadership skills and techniques for negotiation and conflict management.

I will be sending a note to Ange Hana in the next few weeks. If you are interested in sending a message to our sister, I would be happy to include it with what I am putting together. All you need to do is message me on Facebook or email me.

By choosing to purchase a design from WorldWise Jewelry, you are giving Ange Hana an opportunity to change her life in a positive, significant way. Thank you for making this possible!