Tuesday Tinker- Zephi

The Girl Who Leapt,

"Over time I have come to realize that art is more than just what makes us different from other creatures. Art is a human right. Something we all need, just like food and water. It is nourishing. I want you to be nourished by my artwork."

To enter Zephi's artful world, visit her Esty shop!  You will enter a place of peace, thought, curiosity, and magically soft colors and images. Just like Zephi, the sentiment is elegantly and beautifully simple, pure of heart and a with a witty sense of humor.

The Sunday Supplement - Artful Giving

Many artists on Etsy donate part of their proceeds to a charity that touches their hearts or supports a cause they believe in.  Several of our Freethinkers team members have done the same!  

TrueNatureYoga donates part of her proceeds to an organization called YogaHOPE.   This organization was "created to facilitate access to yoga and meditation education specifically for women experiencing debilitating life transitions – those establishing independence from domestic violence, self-sufficiency from homelessness, recovery from drug addiction, or rehabilitation after mental illness."  Learn more about their mission and ways you can help by visiting www.yogahope.org.

Zephi contributes 5% of her shops earnings each year to a different organization.  This year she has chosen to donate to the Heroic Imagination Project (HIP).  It is a program to help youngsters learn what it takes to be a normal person doing extraordinary things to help others.  Get HIP and check out all the wonderful projects currently in the works at www.heroicimagination.org.

GoodOldBooks donates 50% of her shops proceeds to Doctors Without Borders and Heifer International.  Both of these organizations are doing amazing work to provide medical care and economic sustainability in impoverished countries around the world.  Check out these causes at www.doctorswithoutborders.org and www.heifer.org.

Somalia - Doctors Without Borders

Heifer International -Bringing an end to world hunger.

What could be better?  Artists supporting others through their most beloved craft!
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Sunday Supplement -Remembering 9/11

We all remember where we were that day.  Each of us in the middle of a tasks when someone told us to turn on the TV.   We collectively, as a nation and a world, watched as events unfolded before our eyes.  Surely this isn't real.  Surely something this horrific cannot be happening.  But it was. 

We spent the rest of that day glued to the TV screen, watching scenes that would haunt our dreams and waking hours for a long time to come.  We watched the TV screen to feel connected to a nation that was hurting and numb.  We called our loved ones to hear their voices and make sure they were ok, even if they lived no where near NYC, DC or on flight 93.  All of us woke the next day to a changed world.

This day, an amazing 10 years later, our hearts hurt once again for the families who lost their loved ones on that tragic day.  Our hearts hurt for a world that is less trusting and more fearful.   Today we cry fresh tears for old wounds.

In whatever way you choose to commemorate this day, whether by watching all the memorial coverage on TV, spending time with loved ones, or quietly sending up a prayer for our world, do remember the heroism shown that day, the coming together of communities across America, the collective tenderness we treated strangers with for the days following, the increased patriotism, the hundreds of thousands of men and women who serve our country everyday, and most especially, the souls that paid the ultimate sacrifice on this day, with their lives.

For the families, the firefighters, the rescue workers, those in the towers, pentagon, and planes, our nation, our world.

Tuesday Tinker - beachcomberscove

Beachcomberscove lives on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico from which she draws her inspiration. Besides prints of her art work, she also makes cards and jewelry.

Visit her shop and see her many creations.

The Sunday Supplement - On Location with Our Next Tuesday Tinker -Beachcombers Cove

Many of our team members take their Etsy shop on the road to local Arts and Crafts shows.  Many times they report back to the team that they had a great show, sold a good number of items, and made some new friends.  Other times they brings reports of slow sales, sunburns, weird neighboring vendors and exhaustion.  With it's 50/50 chance of being great or really stinking, what keeps them going back for more?  For some it seeing customers eyes light up when they really like their work, having a face to face conversation with their buyer, and building relationships within their community.  For others it's a way to support a favorite cause, reach a greater audience of buyers than selling on Etsy might allow, make a larger chunk of change, and to just experience something new and different. Whatever the case may be, as a team, we all enjoy hearing about each others latest show excursions.

Beachcomberscove just completed a mini set up at the Treehouse Art Collective, in Galveston, Texas, where she is a member.

Should you not be able to get to a beach anything this summer, stop by BeachcombersCove's Etsy shop.  Her marine inspired jewelry and tropical art pieces will soon have you feeling like you are walking down the beach, collecting shells, hearing the breeze, and smelling the fresh salty air!