I rarely take a weekday off from this space, so I hope you’ll understand when I say I’ll be taking the rest of the week to be where my head and heart are. Volunteering in my Oklahoma community, taking care of misplaced pets and attempting to reunite them with their loved ones. Most of you know how near and dear furry ones are to my heart and how much time I dedicate to trying to help them out. I can’t imagine losing everything and my pets on top of it all.
If you want to lend a hand in the effort you can donate to the animal rescue I work with, Safe Haven is accepting donations right here via PayPal. Simply note that it’s for tornado relief. Or you can purchase a Benefit Tee from Shop Good, a local store with a big heart donating 100% of the proceeds to the American Red Cross.
Again, thank you for all of your kind emails, tweets, and Facebook messages checking in. I’ll see you back here Monday.
There’s no way I can start today without taking a moment to talk about yesterday’s destruction.
The biggest thank you to everyone who checked in to make sure I was okay. The monster twister hit about 20 miles southeast of my home, following nearly the same path as what was previously the most powerful tornado on record May 3, 1999. That one happened to be the first tornado I ever experienced after moving to OKC, it was finals week my freshmen year of college and I can remember how terrified I was as we hunkered down pre-cell phone era in the basement of my dorm. I’m not ashamed to admit I was clutching my favorite stuffed animal for comfort.
As bad as that was, this is at least three times worse. The F5 was over two miles wide at one point with winds up to 200 mph. Two elementary schools were leveled, one with luckier students than the other where they’re still recovering tiny bodies. It was on the ground for twenty miles and some people are comparing the destruction to atomic bombs and warfare in the Middle East. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around the loss. Landmarks are gone, houses look like piles of matchsticks, there are at least 51 confirmed dead with I can’t even guess how many to come.
I’ve lived in Oklahoma on and off since 1998, and while it’s not where I’m from it is my home. Oklahomans are some of the most resilient people I know. They rebuilt the community after the bombing in ’95 and they rebuilt again after the May 3rd tornado. And we’ll do it again.
If you want to make a donation to help in that effort, text REDCROSS to 90999 and specify OK tornadoes.
Crane & Canopy is all that and a bag of chips, and I’m about to spill the many reasons why. Bedding is one of those final touches that make a room feel finished and pulled together, it’s also one of the more expensive elements in a bedroom. It seems like every search I’ve embarked upon has ended with me being in love with a set waaay out of my price range. (Followed by wine and chocolate.) Crane & Canopy has revolutionized all of that. First by creating their own designs, second by working directly with premium companies to cut out the middle men and lower costs.
But here’s the thing, just because the textiles are actually affordable doesn’t mean they’re lower in quality. All of Crane & Canopy‘s base fabrics use the highest quality cotton with 300 to 400 thread count weaves, optimized for softness while maintaining lifetime durability and longevity. And every piece has special touches like convenient corner ties, easy care zipper, exquisite piping, or beautiful embroidery. Not to mention the bold, graphic, and inspired prints created by their designers. (I picked up the Octavia for an upcoming project!)
The icing on the cake (or bag of chips) is that this spring Crane & Canopy has partnered with New York’s Safe Horizon to give back to domestic violence victims. For every bedding set purchased they’ll be donating a complete bedding set to to Safe Horizon’s shelter residents. I can only imagine how amazing it must feel to someone looking for even the most basic of human needs to safely and comfortably snuggle up at night.
Crane & Canopy also sells the most delicious sheets with colorful edging that I can’t wait to pick up, they look perfectly crisp for summer! Also just launched is their spring pop-up shop, filled to the brim with lovely modern things for your entire home – not just the bedroom.
LSTN Headphones proves a great point, why are so many instruments made of wood and headphones are not? The recycled wooden chambers in these brilliantly constructed headphones lend a warm and natural sound that produces more resonance than plastic or metal. The ebony, cherry, and beech woods come from furniture scraps that would otherwise be discarded and are never dyed. You can choose from three different styles – The Troubadour, The Fillmore, and The Bowery. Oh, and one more thing that will make you fall even more in love. Every time a pair of LSTN Headphones are purchased, all proceeds go towards their charity partners for the deaf and a child with hearing difficulties is helped.
See that beautiful, graphic scarf up there? It was woven by a former sex worker named Genet. She lives in Ethiopia and has been counseled, trained and employed by FashionABLE, an incredible for-benefit company based out of Nashville. The Genet scarf was designed by my friend, Janette (different spelling, same name!), who won the vote of 600 Alt Summit attendees in January to have her design produced in a limited-edition for delivery by Mother’s Day. Today and tomorrow the scarf is available for pre-order through the ONE Campaign and FashionABLE. The more scarves sold, the more lives we can change!
Fashion meets philanthropy with Angela & Roi‘s vintage-modern vegan leather handbags. For their Donate By Color mission, Angela & Roi promise to donate a portion of each sale to a chosen non-profit health organization by color of a handbag sold. Help them support the community in a positive way by making a purchase you’re sure to use for years to come!
Check out the Miir Tumbler, a simple 12 oz. double-walled coffee/tea cup. But it’s so much more than that, each one provides a person in need with clean drinking water for an entire year and comes with a tracking bracelet that’s engraved with an identification number. Your personal ID number can be entered into the MiiR tracking system allowing you to see what project you helped fund, complete with interactive maps, photos, and testimonials from the water project site. The Miir Tumbler is being crowdfunded on Indiegogo right now if you’d like to become a supporter!
A few weeks ago, in the name of having pets and being chemical-conscious, Truce Clean sent me some of their cleaning products to try out. And since then their Crate Spray, Clean & Brighten, Shampoo for Dogs, and lavender & citrus Room Spray have been in heavy rotation. The crate spray freshens my dogs’ beds with peppermint, the cleaning spray makes my kitchen smell mighty clean, the dog shampoo is easy to use in its spray bottle form, and the room spray isn’t at all cloying. And because all of Truce Clean‘s products are so pure, most have multiple uses – the room spray can even be used as body spray!
The philosophy is simple: use commonplace ingredients (like vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and essential oils), add your own tap water, and reuse the bottle. All of these things make perfect sense and provide a product you can feel good about using all around your home!
I haven’t posted anything about Hurricane Sandy, and the reason is that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around it. The day before it struck I was making my way back from the Electrolux Design Lab event in Milan, and after narrowly making a connection in Frankfurt was thrilled to have landed stateside in Newark. Only to have my flight cancelled upon arrival. Instead of holing up in a hotel for the two days the airport was already scheduled to be closed, I opted to rent a car and drive through the night to my hometown in Pittsburgh where I spent three days before finally getting a flight out. Inconvenience, that’s really the only price I had to pay.
The devastation faced by New York and New Jersey is unbelievable, the photos don’t even make sense. The level of destruction, the help needed, the cost to rebuild. All of it. I hope you’ve all done at least a little something to help out those in a world of hurt, and if you haven’t here’s a starting point. Print Aid NYC has gathered a group of artists to create a poster around the idea of light. Each will be printed in limited edition runs of 50, new pieces will be added daily, and 100% of the proceeds go toward the Mayor’s Fund For Hurricane Relief.
