“Greetings, I just received your Nataraja in double thread Turquoise Necklace and I am very pleased with your item. Quick delivery and well packaged. I put the necklace on and went to the store and found a person who\’s car won\’t start. I asked if I could give it a try and loo and behold the engine started right up! Coincidence??? Maybe. However nothing in our creation happens by chance. I hope to do business again with you….Thanks so much… Namaste” ~ DONALD ZELAZNY~ ROCHESTER, NY
Oops!! It’s almost Thanksgiving already. I could not focus on the latest newsletter since the last couple of months have been so busy. I volunteered to be one of the select few planners for Phoenix Fashion Week this year, which was a tremendous amount of work and responsibility. Despite the time and effort involved, I am happy that I participated to help the local community, spread knowledge about Attapinya and meet many new people… it was worth it!
I gave so much attention to make sure that my responsibilities were carried out to the best of my ability and to work in a cooperate spirit so that the event could be smooth as possible. In addition to volunteering, Attapinya unveiled two new pieces on the runway and participated in the trunk show. I spent my energy to the last drop. It was a glorious ride that ended with my total exhaustion. One of the new pieces seen at the Phoenix Fashion Week is a stirring bracelet called Hope in Africa. The second showpiece, the Global Warming Bangle, is a gorgeous work of conscientious art.
Hope in Africa Bracelet was created to support the Partners in Malawi non-profit organization www.partnersinmalawi.org. Attapinya donated the first Hope in Africa piece to the PFW for the fund-raising auction, with 100% of the proceeds going to Partners in Malawi. Now, Attapinya is making this beautiful bracelet available to everyone. For each piece sold, 25% of the proceeds will go directly to Partners in Malawi. This is beautiful and well done design, perfectly suited to sponsor such a wonderful organization. I talked to Dr. Janson, the founder, and told him that I would love to volunteer to work at his clinic in Malawi, Africa. He joked that, as long as I do not mind paying for the $2,500 for the plane ticket, I am more than welcome along with anyone else who can do it. He is a very down to earth, well-meaning person. Already, he has inspired me to keep going with Attapinya and all the beautiful things I believe in strongly.
Global Warming Bangle is just a hit. We are already proud of this wonderfully original design, but knowing its potential to serve as a reminder for sustainable, responsible living makes us ecstatic!
The PFW was a four day event. Attapinya participated in the trunk show on Tuesday night, November 6. On the night of Thursday, November 8, we were featured in the runway show along with Sir Alister Rai. Sir Alister Rai www.siralistairrai.com features a beautiful line of clothes that carry a spiritual motif. I highly recommend that you look at their products for yourself. Kiran, the president of Sir Alister Rai, is a beautiful and amazing woman, I am thrilled that I got to partner up with her.
There were two reasons for Attapinya to get involved in the fashion event.
First, we sought to inform people in the Phoenix valley about fair trade business and why it is so meaningful. It is too unusual to meet somebody in the area that understands the depth behind the act of purchasing. With a simple, informative wake up call, we hope that people will look further than price to discover that a well-informed purchase can make a positive impact on laborers and the environment compared to an irresponsible purchase.
Secondly, we set out to ask people to live and act in consideration of the consequences of global warming and an exploding world population. Great change is afoot and it is our present lifestyle that will determine the lifestyle for so many down the road. Modern industrial life has blessed us with incredible convenience, but not without a cost. It is time for a pause in productivity, time to account for the side-effects and to ask ourselves, “how long can this last?” We believe that investing money and effort for cleaner living now is monumentally wiser than reacting to a predictable calamity.
Considering all the work that Attapinya did in preparation for and during the Phoenix Fashion Week, we are encouraged to see that the local media is listening to the voice of our action. We have tremendous hope that they will further publicize our responsible line of products and help create responsible shoppers for a happy humanity and a clean planet.
And finally, we hope you will enjoy to look at our latest video clip online www.youtube.com/attapinyadesigns. It provides an intimate view of the teamwork, the desire to learn, and the love for what we do, all the things that make Attapinya special.
Happy Turkey Day everyone!!
The useful sources from Co-op America to make our life easier in finding home for our unwanted objects. Hopefully, we all will do a little of our own effort to safe the earth and our own backyard before it turns into a landfill.
1. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer them up at your local Freecycle.org listsev or on Craigslist.org. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more boxes each month.
2. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to Aural Tech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888.454.3223, www.auraltech.com. (For recycling see “Technotrash”)
3. Computers and electronics: Find responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html
4. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com (See “Technotrash”)
5. Eyeglasses: your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.
6. Foam packing peanuts: your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept these for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800.828.2214. For places to drop off form blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recycles, 410.451.8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html
7. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202.682.800, www.recycleoil.org
8. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to people in developing countries: 770.856.9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814.386.2927, www.reclamere.com
9. Tennis Shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring: www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin, America, and Haiti: www.oneworldrunning.com
Technotrash program with GreenDisk is an easily program to recycle all of your CDs, jewelry cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges. For a small fee, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to70 pounds of any of the above. The fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800.305.GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com
