dare to dream

Store & Style Guest Post: Making Space For Your Dream

In the November 2009 edition of Store & Style, they've featured my article Making Space for Your Dream.   I'd encourage you to also read The Comforts of Home, and Cross it Off Your List.  Both are written by founding editor Christine Vick.

If you've clicked through from Store & Style -- Welcome!  While you're visiting, I hope you'll read Christine Vick's post Simply Living in which she shares some of her story, including the why behind her on-line organizing website.

Crafting this article was a challenge.  I thought I'd be able to bang out it out.  On the contrary.  When I post here -- it's my house, my things, my voice.  When I post elsewhere, it's not.  Christine Vick is a terrific editor.  I would encourage anyone who can, to work with her.  I'm also all about photoshopping, whether images or words, so as to bring out our true and best self.  Writing was still difficult.  

SO -- if you've thought about 'being my guest', and are hesitating, I hope you'll do it anyway. 

I promise I'll be gentle, and...
I promise to help bring out your best and truest voice
as Christine has kindly done with me. 

Dare to Design: Shabby Apple

When Shabby Apple announced a Dare to Design contest, I thought -- Neat, tweeted about the contest, and indicated I'd be happy to feature the winner.  Done.

But then a tweet came back -- 'Why don't you enter?"

Surely they were talking smack.  But Miss Shabby Apple was serious: "You have a good sense of design, and you are darling, why wouldn't you?"

1. Because I don't draw.  I. Really. Don't. Draw.
2. Because "Designing clothes isn't my dream. It's for someone else to dare.  Why waste anyone's time, including mine?"
3. Because Athelia Woolley, one of the owners, though not a judge, guest blogged here... and I'm so very cautious about conflicts of interest.

But after two weeks of unsuccessfully pushing the idea aside, I capitulated, and got to work.  As per the instructions, here are my dress designs (in collaboration with Leslie Graff) for Shabby Apple dresses.

Design 1:  Work
Though I usually wear pants to work, sometimes I want to punch things up.  This dress is meant to be professional, tailored, feminine, and worn with my Manolo Blahnik patent leather strappy shoes.

Here's what I've learned:

1)  We don't dream in isolation;
Had it not been for Miss Shabby Apple giving me a sincere compliment, I wouldn't have considered this contest as within the scope of possibilities for me.  Simple words from a relative stranger; she was an artist of encouragement.

Is there someone for whom we have or can with a few words help open up their world? 

2)  To get our dreams done, we will likely need to field dare to dream teams;  
Only by asking for help from, and collaborating with Leslie Graff (thank you Aaron Hutchins for introducing us), was I able to enter this contest.  As an expert artist, Leslie was able to put what I envision on paper.  On the off chance that I win, I will split any royalties received with her.  Incidentally, she has dared to design her own dresses. They are adorable -- she should definitely have her own collection.   

What would you like to try?  What kind of help would you need?  What can be your quid pro quo?  Who can use your help?  What's her/his quid pro quo?

Design 2:  Cocktail Party/Fundraiser Evening
This flowing, figure-flattering dress with trumpet sleeves and in colors reminiscent of my favorite Hermes scarf is to be worn with high-heeled slingbacks.

The final thing I learned:

3)  Sometimes it's about doing something, just because we want to...
Would I like to see one of these designs as part of Shabby Apple's Spring collection?  Yes.  But it was the process that made this contest worth entering.  Thinking through the occasions for which I'd need a dress -- what neckline, sleeve length, skirt style, and colors would most flatter my figure.  It was so much fun!

What would be fun for you?  Just because?

*** 

Related posts:
Is your dream off-the-rack?  Or tailor-made?
What we can learn from TLC's 'I've Got Nothing to Wear'
TLC's What Not to Wear:  A Hero's Journey

Giveaway: Naartjie Kids -- $50 Gift Certificate

Naartjie, a children's clothing store, has their grand opening in Boston's Natick Mall this weekend (October 8).  They are inviting us to celebrate with them by making a $50 gift certificate available (redeemable on-line or in-store) to our 'dare to dream' community.

From the website, the name “Naartjie” (pronounced nar chee) is an Afrikaans word for “a small, sweet citrus fruit found in Africa”.  When founder Anna Eales opened her first store in 1992 in Cape Town, South Africa,  a tall standing vase filled with branches of tiny naartjies stood guarding the doorway. These had been cut from a “lemon” tree growing in her garden. 

In spite of regularly being watered and talked to, this little tree had struggled to grow, and been overlooked for months and years as everything else grew up around it.   Some months before the first store opened, this tree that had struggled was covered in beautiful, scented, creamy blossoms; weeks before the opening the small tree bore its first fruit.  Instead of getting bigger and gradually turning yellow, the hard little green balls became wider and fatter and turned orange.

The little “lemon” tree had decided it was time to show its true colors. It was in fact no lemon at all, but a naartjie tree.

Source:  Flickr - aquilaonline

To be eligible for the $50 gift certificate giveaway, click through to the Naartjie website, choose an outfit that you like, and copy the link to the comment section.

For example, I like this newborn jester-hat outfit.  After browsing the newborn page, I'd copy and paste this link in the comment section below.

If you like this outfit for boys, you would copy and paste this link.

For the girls in your life, copy and paste one of these links. 

The contest will close at midnight on Friday, October 16,.  I'll determine a winner using www.random.org, and announce the winner, on Saturday, October 17 via Twitter (see 'Tweet, Tweet') over to the right.

Which outfits do you like?

Which outfits do you think best show the true colors of the children that you love?

***
Have you struggled to grow, thinking you were a 'lemon tree', only to find that you were an 'orange tree'?

What has been or could be the catalyst for showing your true colors?

Founder Anna Eales started Naartjie because she wanted clothes that her kids could live in -- what ideas have come to you because you wanted to solve a problem?

P.S.  It is now October 17 -- and the winner of the Giveaway is Donna G!

Helps for Saying our Name

Heather Bailey and Melanie Mauer's recent postings are relevant to 'dare to dream':

Heather Bailey
I've posted about Heather here and here.  The quality of her work is so superb, her style so breezy, I mistakenly believed the achieving of her 'dream' was effortless...

...Until I heard her 'tell her story' in this post. 

When we tell our story we begin to 'name what hasn't been named or recognizable' in our selves -- and encourage others to do the same.

***

Melanie Mauer
I always leave her blog happy; her idea is so terrific, that I could only comment to her LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

 

In Saying our name, I suggested we buy domain names for ourselves and our children, but what if we also 'said our name' by getting Mommy, or even personal, Calling Cards?  In fact, I love this idea so much -- perhaps this should be one of the final prizes for the Resolutionary Challenge?

What are your thoughts?

Artist My 'I' Likes: Jane Maxwell

My friend Liz and I discovered the artist Jane Maxwell at an art gallery in Boston a few summers ago.

Some of you are going to love her work as much as I do. Which means that when I'm ready to buy a piece the price will be even higher.

But I just wanted to share.

Of my favorites, the first is 'Walking Girls'.

'Pick your Fruit' reminds me of of a photo I have of my mother who modeled in San Francisco in the early 1960's; I also remember going to orchards to pick apricots with her as a child.

Though I've read Ms. Maxwell's statement, her work has a slightly different meaning for me (as it well may for you). I see a both/and -- the connecting and caring that is symbolized by the fruit labels/the farmer's market -- and the 'I or identity piece of ourselves that I see in the stance of the women -- at least in the images that I like.

Bottom line -- I'm not quite sure why I love her artwork so much.

Isn't it usually that way?

We discover art, we love it, and only later we come to see how the art has named for us something that we somehow couldn't.

What is your response?

Do you like, dislike, love, hate -- or are you indifferent to her work?

What meaning do you make?

Related posts:

Blog I Like: Portabellopixie
Affirming our 'I'dentity
Farmer's market metaphor
Dreaming or deflecting?

Scribble Press: Helping our children tell their story

When I was in Mexico last month, my friend David Luhnow told me about his sister-in-law Anna's store Scribble Press, a place where children can write, illustrate and publish their very own books.

Why was I so taken by their concept?

Because Scribble Press helps us help our children move to the center of their story.

To dream, not deflect -- to be the hero.

For example, Anna shared with me that several children had recently made meaning of their adoption by writing and illustrating books that were then bound before their eyes.

What events do your children need to make meaning of?

What do you need to make meaning of?

If you are going to be in Los Angeles this summer, and want to encourage your children to be the hero of their story, then run, don't walk, to Scribble Press.

In the meantime, take a moment to go to kirtsy and click through on the link Scribbling our children's way to self-esteem. I can't think of a better way to say Atta Girls -- Darcy and Anna!

Related posts:
NY Times: This is if your life (And how you tell it)
Dreaming or deflecting?
Children and the call to adventure
Soundtracks: Finding our voice, telling our story
It takes courage to tell our stories

Blog I Like: Portabellopixie

I can't get enough of Sandi Henderson's new line of Farmers Market fabric; I keep going back and back and back.

Is it because she's telling a story with her fabric? A story of spring, summer and fall, of gracefully blending these seasons of our lives while appreciating women in seasons not our own.

Maybe because Sandi's story is so mouth-watering, many will add their story to hers, as they fashion clothing, pillows, quilts?

Or perhaps it's because there is no market quite like a farmer's market.

When we buy fresh fruits and vegetables, something deep inside of us knows that they are given to us by a Creator; that these delicious apples, cherries, apricots and plums aren't just for us, but will sustain, and most likely be eaten with, our loved ones; that we are not the center of everything, but a part -- that we are connected.

How do you feel when you go to a farmer's market?

Would you agree that for us to experience systergy we need to feel bounty, just as we do at the farmer's market?

Have you ever gone and picked fruit? I have childhood memories of picking apricots off of Blossom Hill Road in San Jose. Have you taken the young children in your life to pick fruit?

If you know of someone who has made a quilt/wall hanging with Sandi's fabric -- will you point me in their direction so I can buy one? SERIOUSLY! What an inspiration to have her art combined with your art on the wall in my home!

Related posts:
Farmer's market metaphor
Blog I like: Hellomynameisheather
Of pineapples and friendship
The sweetness of systergy
Fielding a 'dare to dream' team

Will kirtsy please take a bow?

Within days of writing about Rick Riordan's Golden Fleece, I heard from Gabrielle, one of sk*rt's founders (aka Design Mom), that sk*rt could be sued for alleged trademark infringement, and would need to spend a lot of money on a legal battle royale, or change their name.

In Gabrielle's words:

Last September, Skirt! Magazine (a free monthly newspaper in the SouthEast) switched their domain name from skirtmag.com to skirt.com. Months and months after we’d already launched. And now that they’re at skirt.com, they feel our twinner domain names are too similar. So they sued us in December. And we won. But they keep the lawsuit threats coming anyway. So, we have decided to change our name and move on. Why fight an enormous corporation with deep pockets and a penchant for sueing tiny companies? And. We don’t believe in skirts fighting. The end.

So this past week, sk*rt changed its name to kirtsy, and the process by which it was done has been remarkably systergistic.

Quoting again from Gabrielle:

[kirtsy is] a name that many many many voted for. A name whose solid domain we own. A name that won all legal obstacle courses with flying colors. A name that contains the letters of our beloved sk*rt and its sk*rty adjectival format. A name that means giving greeting, nods, props and respect to something. A name that we now know as kirtsy.

Having recently met kirtsy's Gabrielle, Laura and Laurie, I wasn't at all surprised by the approach they've taken.

I was nonetheless impressed by their textbook 'fleece gathering', the second of Psyche's four tasks.

As Psyche embarks on her journey to really grow up, her second task requires that she gather fleece, fleece that has the power to heal. And yet to obtain the fleece she must wait until sundown when the rams disperse so as to safely pick strands of fleece off the brambles, else she will be crushed by the head-butting rams.

Psyche’s ability to acquire the golden fleece without being crushed is a metaphor for every woman’s task of gaining power without losing her innate sense of connectedness and compassion.

The kirtsy ladies could could have engaged in head-butting, and in fact were encouraged to, but instead chose to gather the fleece from the brambles, to get things done in a way that gives life to and revitalizes others. 

Which is why I can't help but kirtsy to you -- Gabrielle, Laura and Laurie.

Won't you please take a bow?

If you have a blog, or website, have you properly trademarked the name? If you need me to refer you to someone that can do this for you, e-mail me and I'll give you some names.

Did you notice that notwithstanding their getting the name trademarked, etc, even so there was a lawsuit. One of the hazards of getting in the game perhaps?

What can we learn about how the kirtsy founders went about choosing a new name? Did you notice how in involving the community, they gave us an opportunity to rally, to experience systergy?

What else is there to learn from the kirtsy -- aka Psyche -- way of doing business?

P.S. For more on the importance of -- and how to - on trademarking, see Green and Clean Mom's post on this topic.

Related posts:
Rick Riordan's 'Golden Fleece'
Myth of Psyche
Second thoughts on Psyche's 2nd task
The hazards of 'getting in the game'
Site I like: kirtsy (formerly known as sk*rt)

Six Quirky Things

Barbara Torris of At Home in the World has tagged me. Barbara is in her 60's and is seemingly learning and living more than ever. She is a great example to me.

I'm not quite sure how Six Quirky Things falls under the rubric of 'dare to dream', except that having been tagged, and then responding, is systergistic, isn't it? And are quirky things really unimportant? Aren't they part of what makes us who we are?

Here goes:

1) One of my friends once said to me, "whenever someone tells you about their dream, you are like one of Pavlov's dogs." It's true. I nearly salivate when people I love and like tell me about what they dream of doing. Even more fun is helping them accomplish that dream.

2) My driving when another person is in the car is problematic because I focus on the person not the road. The only reason my parents didn't take away my drivers license after six rear-enders during my senior year of high school was it would have been too inconvenient for them.

3) Cooking is not my thing. If I do cook, all the dishes need to be washed first (so that I can get everything dirty again). BUT there is an exception. Chocolate chip cookies. I love to bake and eat chocolate chip cookies.

4) Daring my husband to dream isn't so easy. Possibly because as Tolstoy said (paraphrasing) when it comes to a marriage we don't know where one ends and the other begins. And I am definitely much better at helping others with their dreams than helping myself with my own.

5) Every morning before I get out of bed, I check messages on my Blackberry. I know, I know... but it helps me wake up.

6) Playing the piano when I'm alone is not fun at all, but playing for the children aged 2-11 at church every Sunday is, even though the songs are really simple.

7) And for the bonus -- my husband tells me I say 'terrific' quite often -- which he actually likes, but I suppose that is a bit quirky.

As for the TAGEES, I have chosen people that I've met only virtually, and whose blogs I read regularly.

Dana's Design Studio -- I love Dana's approach to design, and especially to life. I like her so much, she's my co-blogger on Know Your Neighbor.

The Hero Workshop -- Matt was the first blogger to reach out to me (thank you!); his work on heros continues to enlighten and the curriculum he's developing to teach children to see themselves as heros is a terrific idea.

Life as a hero -- Having just discovered Beth, I look forward to her thoughtful writings on seeing ourselves as the hero of our lives.

The Happy Living Blog -- I love how Erinn wants for our physical space to enhance our lives and to represent who we are. Check out her bibliography; I really want to read the books she recommends.

Melanie Mauer Photography -- Melanie's photographs are just lovely, her blog is the blogosphere equivalent of baking and eating a chocolate chip cookie.

Swallowfield -- I bought one of Jennifer's prints to give as a Christmas present to one of my dear friends. That's how much I love Jennifer's artwork. She is a real talent; can't wait to say someday that I bought her prints for only $18 way back when.

The Rules:

Link to the person that tagged you.

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2, Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
3. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
4. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Handicrafts for our hero's journey

Handicrafts foster a feeling of sisterhood among women. From quilting bees to craft blogs, I'm thrilled to be a part of the growing movement toward creative community. Heather Bailey

Every once in awhile I come across handicrafts and/or artwork in the blogosphere that make me so happy that I find myself returning again and again, encouraged to dare and to dream.

May I share three with you?

Ashley G
Ashley's Off I Go evokes the start of a hero's journey -- to become who we are, we must go where we haven't been.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Goldberg

Heather Bailey
Heather's studio symbolically reminds us that we need to create a physical space, if only a small corner of our world, devoted to daring and dreaming.

Photo courtesy of Heather Bailey

Jennifer Judd-McGee
When I look at Jennifer's Little Boxes, I see a metaphor for systergy. Systergy is fully operative when we are willing to look for and grab on to our selves (as represented by the individual homes) AND to share our selves with one another (the patchwork quilt which binds the homes together).

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Judd-McGee

How did you feel when you saw this artwork?

Which handicraft blogs inspire you to dream, to imagine and explore?

Will you share them with us?