site travels | chocolate slaves

how many slaves do you have working for you? i'm sad to say i have 65. slavery footprint is a well-designed, user-intuitive site that calculates this for you. i took the footprint test after watching a cnn freedom project piece about how the chocolate industry is heavily supported by child slavery--it's not just blood diamonds anymore. watch or read about it here. these are kids who haven't even tasted chocolate before; it's heart breaking. be an informed consumer, take the test and learn more about the origin of your products: http://slaveryfootprint.org/

merger for a cause | warby parker + invisible children

warby parker (wrote about them here) and invisible children are teaming up. the result: a pair of sunglasses. they say "do more than just watch" on the inside. love it. sign up here to be notified about when they hit the market.
                                                                via | warby parker + invisible children

artistic causes | one million bones

have you heard of one million bones? such a beautiful/artistic way to fight & bring awareness to genocide. in their words its a collaborative art installation designed to recognize the millions of victims/survivors who have been killed or displaced by the ongoing genocides and mass atrocities in sudan, democratic republic of congo, and burma.  you can create or sponsor a bone, have a bone made in your name, donate money, or volunteer your time. check out their site for more information. 

                                                                 via | one million bones

onyx feather | the marseilles necklace

had the opportunity to make this custom marseilles piece (from the paris collection) for the 16th annual PILA auction and awards dinner in seattle. PILA (public interest law association) is an organization that raises revenue to provide grants to students who pursue unpaid public interest work and funds social justice programs at the university of washington law school.   the necklace will be auctioned off and all the proceeds will go to PILA (85%) and invisible children (15%).

the marseilles piece consists of a vintage bow clasp, layers of vintage chain, clear multi-faceted quartz stones, and a strand of shimmering pewter Czech glass.  usually a piece like this would be hard to let go, but these organizations are worth it.

via | onyx feather

model watch | liya kibede

her elegance and natural grace are so arresting. and so is her humanitarian work. check it out here.

                                                                 image | marie claire

party crashers | davos edition

the world economic forum is unfolding in davos right now. great opinion piece from joe cerrell (director of the bill & melinda gates foundation, european office) titled: "global development crashes the davos party." check it out.

                                                        image |  charity water

onyx feather | invisible children stories from the field

one of the most exhilarating things about working on onyx feather pieces is the privilege of being able to take 15 percent of the revenue onyx feather makes and contribute it to the invisible children legacy scholarship fund. it's a scholarship fund for former child soldiers and children affected by the conflict in northern uganda. kicking off the year with an uplifting update from the invisible children blog on daniel; he's a ugandan legacy fund recipient finishing up his second year at university! it's wonderful how a little support can make a huge impact on another person's life. read the update here.

                                                             image | charlotte's web

onyx feather | invisible children update

what a wonderful week. got to send out the first quarterly onyx feather check to the invisible children legacy scholarship fund! it makes all the hectic, crazy moments associated with this line so worth it. thank you to every customer, friend, supporter, blogger, publication, and tribe member that made this possible.  invisible children is such a remarkable organization and i’m grateful you would use your purchasing power to join the mission of using art to help create a positive impact in the lives of war-affected children.

sola 

image | invisible children

blog travels | modern wreaths

had a dream about this wreath last night. (which probably means i need to see someone about design blog addiction right?) check out the twig and thistle tutorial here.

in other wreath news, yes i have more news about wreaths…how is that even possible? a friend invited me to honor the memory of recent fallen soldiers by laying wreaths in arlington cemetery with wreaths across america. great  idea, especially around the holidays. how encouraging would it be to visit the grave of a loved one and see that other people have acknowledged his/her memory as well? more information here.

                                                                                     image | twig and thistle