it's a new day ....

yes, it's a new day ... one that all of us will tell our grandchildren about. "where were you when ..." regardless of our positions, or our beliefs, who we voted for or who we hope for... this day a new president will be sworn into office and he has the task of helping us save our country, our lives - our dreams. i choose to believe in his ability to do so, because i want to believe my own ability to do so, too.


these pictures are ones that were sent to me from just a fraction of the Obama supporters who bought one of my pieces. i had envisioned a collage much larger than this one, because i asked each and everyone of them if they would send a picture, but i guess most people are camera shy.... it is ok. the comments and notes that i received from customers over the past several months have been so nice - it brings me back to the energy at the rally in st.paul ... feeling a part of something that was so much larger than myself. so much larger than anything i've ever experienced. something is happening .... and it is happening TODAY!

i'll be watching the inauguration on tv ... and then heading to the university for the first day of the design workshop that i am teaching at the school of architecture! exciting day, all around!

election night....

this is the crowd of fellow {bob dylan} concert-goers outside of northrup auditorium on election night. my dear friend jody was my diligent news source updating me with text messages with each state that was called for obama throughout the concert ... by the time dylan sang his last song, the election had been called for obama. at least half of the 4,000+ concert-goers stuck around outside on the mall of the university. in the middle of this sea, someone was beating a drum and the masses of people were jumping up and down to the beat, chanting "obama. obama. obama." i've not experienced anything like it! i felt like a little kid with a sugar-high. unbelievable!!

BusinessWeek - online

this article just came out on BusinessWeek's website. i am mentioned {quoted actually!} in the article in the second to last paragraph (on page 2)- and my pin is featured as number 10 in the slide show of a selection of 21 political products. nice!

ObamaBags.com

last week at the knitting circle that i've {finally} started attending, i {finally} met cyntha levine - a friend of martha's and a minneapolis-based potter that was in baltimore for the acc wholesale show (who i had hoped to meet while there, but time didn't allow for it.) anyway - cynthia was toting this lovely obamabag (the eco tote in grey.) i loved the print so much i ran home and ordered this one (the shopper in grey.) both bags come in a red version and can be found at obamabags.com (along with bandanas, throws and fabric by the yard.) i tried to wait until i got mine in the mail, but wanted to give those of you who are interested a chance to get one before election day rolls around. (thanks cynthia!)

accomplishments

this has been a week of accomplishments. the inclusion of my OBAMA pin on a well-read website/blog, on monday afternoon, proved to be very exciting and turned into a rapid influx of orders over the course of 24 hours with more trickling in day after day.

i purchased wood, ordered extra posts & backs, and cut wood on tuesday and started production (hand-production) of 50 pins on wednesday.

by friday i had half of the orders boxed, packaged and labeled and to the post office - with the second half of orders going out of saturday at noon. wow! all of that while getting my "day work" done! kind of exhilerating.

today i ran the twin cities marathon ... my first marathon since giving birth to my son: a huge accomplishment for me. it went well and i finished feeling really strong! pretty sore now, though {with stiff joints and blisters from the 1.5 hours of rain starting at mile 2!} but that's what comes with running marathons.

i must say that i am so in love with the graphics package this year {so obvious they hired a designer!} it is just beautiful - from the postcards and posters to the "awards" given away .... i like the color, texture/layering and consistency throughout - making the finishers t-shirt something i envision actually wearing! {it is a long-sleeve wicking-material making it perfect for training in usually finishers t-shirts are cotton, so this is a bonus!} BUT .. my absolute favorite is the finisher's medal because it carries through the 08 graphic that i've been seeing since last year. i love the shape, the layout of the imagery on the medal and the way that it hangs on the ribbon. (and you see the 08 graphic carried through on the orange ribbon and how it becomes a repeated pattern.) mmm nice!

shop update

i've updated my shop with the obama pin and brooch. i've only added one each in inventory on my shop to gauge people's response .. but there are more to be had....

pins/brooches

despite the fact that i finished the 27 mn_necklaces, the special order was not complete. a request for 3 pin-versions proved to be a very fun project in itself. i'm really excited about how it turned out and admit it has my mind spinning with ideas! proof of my new commitment to more brooches is the fact that i ordered a bunch of smaller boxes for them!

my first pin-endeavor after finishing the 3 special order pins was to adapt the OBAMA necklace into a pin for the male supporters out there.

i tested out 2 different sizes {both smaller than the necklace} - one that is more of a pin {appropriate for neckties or suit-lapels} and one that is more of a brooch. i can't decide which i like more....although the small one is so *cute*!!

i'm also really happy with the backing mechanisms. much cleaner than the one with the little 'butterfly-wings' that you see every where. mmmmm i love the adrenaline that comes with working on new things --- even if they are adaptations of an old idea.

my friend jody in conneticut

sent me this picture of her wearing the obama necklace. {she looks so happy!} she gave one to her friend and apparently that friend has had a friend tell her it is "the most fashionable political statement they'd ever seen." .... thanks friend of a friend of a friend!

obama necklace...

i posted an image of my obama necklace back in february and didn't say much about it. i actually sent one to Michelle Obama at that time - as a gift. i wanted to be sensitive to the fact that someone designed his amazing logo and did not want to be exploiting it by selling my necklace to anyone else. well, not surprisingly, i never heard anything back from her. i can only hope that she received it, but with the size of their opperation, i can't really assume anything. so, since february, i have been pretty quiet about it and haven't really been trying to promote it.

last night my husband and i ventured out to st. paul to go to the barack & michelle obama rally where he claimed the democratic nomination for president. it was an amazing night! we attempted to get there early - arriving around 5:30. the doors were set to open at 7:00 pm with an expected speech-time of just after 9:00pm {after the polls in montana closed.} we'd heard on the news that some supporters had parked their lawn-chairs in front of the door at 7:30am in order to be the first in line. there are always super-fans who are willing to come early, but we didn't think we'd be 'late' coming when we did.

i was totally pumped when we got to the front of the Excel center and saw the huge crowd and excitedly started walking towards the end of the line. we had been to a john kerry rally outside the metrodome 4 years ago and there was a long line that had wrapped back and forth around the building, so we were prepared for the same sort of thing. when we got around the building we were told, "the line continues across the street." .... what? hmmm that's kind of crazy - across the street. so, we followed the stream of people moving across the street. after 2 blocks it turned the corner ... and then after another 2 blocks it turned another corner, at which point it we could see rice park one block down and realized that the line turned and wrapped around rice park and the landmark center {a total of another 4 blocks!} ........... at this point we took a short-cut to skip to what we thought was the end, but when we got there we were told the end was around the next corner and 7 blocks down. SERIOUSLY?!?! seriously. they weren't kidding. we made it to the end of the line at 6:10. {yes, 40 minutes after getting out of our car in the excel parking ramp...}

we stood in that spot til after 7:00pm and heard reports that they were letting 20,000 people in. everyone in line near us was nervous we wouldn't make it, but remained hopeful the entire time. my husband and i started running numbers and figured we had a realistic chance on the basis that we had travelled aproximately 12-15 blocks and even if there were 1,000 people/block we'd land somewhere around 15,000. the line started moving around 7:00pm despite the fact that they had opened the doors early and we knew that people were in as early as 6:20pm. it started moving slowly at first; one block and stop and then slowly at a regular pace. we retraceed our steps, recalling the path we had taken to get there in the first place -mentally calculating how much further we had to go. we finally made it into the venue just before 9:00pm! WE WERE IN!!! and just in time.

our seats were far enough away from the podium that we didn't really get a good look at him in person, but we were facing the podium and WE WERE THERE! our voices were among the 17,000 who made it in. {there were 15, 000 left outside to watch on the jumbo-tron.} i've never experienced a crowd like that before - overflowing with a magnetic energy of positivity and hope and excitment. there were times the cheering was so loud that i could not hear what he was saying. {had to read the text on the big score-board screen.} barack has said before that this election is not just about him, but about the american people. and i must say i feel fortunate to have been one of the people in streets, to experience the magnitude of the turn out. and to really understand that he is not just saying that to sound good. he has inspired so many people. it takes my breath away. W O W !

the other thing that had an impact on me last night were the numbers of people selling cheezy t-shirts on the streets. it's not like these were 'official' obama campaign t-shirts, so the graphics are what you would expect. {actually there was a group 'the united states of obama' selling t-shirts by local designers which were leaps and bounds better than the majority being sold last night. i haven't been able to find them online anywhere, but will include a link if i ever do.}{thanks andy!} i decided last night that if they can sell those cheezy t-shirts, i should give people the option to show their support in a tasteful way.


so, i have added my obama necklace to my shop here. i'm listing it at a special {lower} price because of the special circumstances. and i will make a donation to the obama campaign for every necklace that i sell. i have never been so invested in politics. perhaps it is that i'm older and have more at stake.... but for the first time in a long time, a politician is saying things that really resonate with me and i can't help but want to support that!

inspired ....... to show my support