Meet Donna Karan, American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.  Growing up in NY, Donna Karan was influenced by fashion from a young age by her step-father, a tailor and her mother who was a model.  After attending Parson’s School of Design for two years, she began designing for Anne Klein and eventually head of the Anne Klein design-team.  In 1985 she left to start her own company that quickly became known for her Essentials line, which offered 7 easy pieces every woman should own.  Three years later, in ‘88 the DKNY collection was introduced,  as a modern, moderately-priced young collection, drawing from the spirit of big city life.

Karan’s clothing is designed to enhance and look good on every woman, not just coming down the runway.  Donna Karan is known to support the needs of modern women with her clothing. The saying goes, that before the production of a piece of clothes is approved by Karan, it has to look good on her! 

Find Donna Karan’s fashions at Donna Karan New York.  This desinger’s information was acquired at Fashion Infomat. 

Designer: Jill Stuart

Designer Jill Stuart was deep into the fashino industry since birth, as her parents owned a popular ’60s Manhattan clothing store called Mister Pants, dressing stars including Natalie Wood and Lucille Ball.  Leveraging those connections, Stuart was able to  jump-start her own career.  At 15, this Manhattan native designer had jewelery and handbags displayed in the windows of high end stores including Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel and Neiman Marcus.  

The Jill Stuart label became well known for innovative ad campaigns with top fashion photographers.  While other designers were going grunge in the early 90’s Stuart turned to preppy and plaids, which became notoriously linked to the popular teen movie, Clueless.  Stuart’s feminine, sometimes frilly collections can be found in her Soho flagship, as well as in higher-end department stores, and has come to include handbags, shoes, and perfume. In 2007, Stuart launched a secondary line called Jill by Jill Stuart featuring ready-to-wear pieces at lower prices.

You can find Jill Stuarts beautiful collections at JillStuart.com.

All designer information was found from an article featured in New York Magazine. 

Designer: Tia Ciabani, Ports 1961

Designer: Rachel Roy

Originally from California, Rachel graduated from Washington DC then moved to New York to pursue her passion for design, working freelance – styling magazine shoots and music videos ultimately landing an internship at Rocawear where she was able to master her craft and build several influential relationships.  In Fall 2004, Roy introduced her own collection, RACHEL ROY, which debuted in department and specialty stores for Spring 2005. Using her sophisticated aesthetic to her own collection, incorporated with striking silhouettes, a sophisticated color palette and day-to-night pieces, Roy has attracted editorial acclaim in publications such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, W and Vanity Fair.

Dressing icons and starlettes including the likes of Michelle Obama, Kate Hudson, Lucy Liu and Penelope Cruz, also featured on The Oprah Winfrey show, RACHEL ROY is making a prominent and influential mark on fashion.  

RACHEL ROY NEW YORK has grown to include four full collections each year and recently created a joint venture with Jones Apparel Group Inc. in the hopes of expanding the wholesale business globally, introduce new product categories and open stand-alone stores in the United States and abroad.  To date, the RACHEL ROY collections are available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and top specialty stores worldwide.

Click HERE to find stunning RACHEL ROY collections.

All of this designer’s information was found at RachelRoy.com

City of Hope:

Hundreds of fundraising events are held for City of Hope across the nation each year. Every dollar raised advances our mission to transform innovative research into treatments that save lives here and around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people share your desire to make a difference by driving us to work even harder to conquer cancer and other serious diseases. On behalf of patients and their loved ones, we invite you to join the effort.

Such Events include: Walk For Hope, Eggleston Desert Gold Classic , Fight For Life and the Sierra Madre Wine and Jazz Walk.  

Breast Cancer Facts:

The seriousness of invasive breast cancer is strongly influenced by the stage of the disease; that is, the extent or spread of the cancer when it is first diagnosed. There are two main staging systems for cancer. The American Joint Committee on Cancer classification of tumors uses information on tumor size and how far it has spread within the breast and nearby organs (T), lymph node involvement (N), and the presence or absence of distant metastases (spread to distant organs) (M). II, III, or IV is assigned, with stage I being an early stage and stage IV being the most advanced. The AJCC staging system is commonly used in clinical settings.

 A simpler system used for staging of cancers is known as the SEER Summary Stage system and is more commonly used in reporting to cancer registries and for public health research and planning.  According to this system:

– Local-stage tumors are cancers confined to the breast.

– Regional-stage tumors have spread to surrounding tissue or nearby lymph nodes.

– Distant-stage cancers have metastasized (spread) to distant organs.

This information was provided by the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2009-2010.  Find the PDF version HERE.

Auction Details:

Visit www.sharpieuncapped.com to participate in the auction and bid on designers’ Sharpie art work  and be sure to read Works of Art From the Heart for more info on the auction and Know the Facts 1 & 2.

Sharpie, Uncap What’s Inside!

Designer: Prabal Gurung

This designer has made his mark on the world of fashion as an artistic designer and visionary.  Born in Singapore, raised in the kingdom of Nepal’s Katmandu, studying in New Delhi and working working all over the world, Gurung’s inspiring travels have helped him to develop impeccable taste and an eclectic style.   

Currently residing in NYC, fusing an old world-technique with cutting-edge modernity, Prabal Gurung creates beautiful pieces.  “He is an artist whose mission is to bring his unique vision to the force of the industry and lease an indelible mark on the work of fashion.”  Gurungs collections are found in select Bloomingdale’s stores in NY and CA as well as internationally.

 This information was acquired from the brand’s website.  For more info on this ground breaking designer and his line please visit www.prabalgurung.com

Designer: Rebecca Taylor

This well-known New Zealand native has grown to be one of the most well known designers in the US.  Coming fro ma humble background, Taylor got her start in her hometown of Wellington, New Zealand where her first job was making outfits for Viet Cong frog puppets for director Peter Jackson’s movie Meet the Feebles.  Taylor claims that this job “put her on the right road” — and lucky for us because today we get to buy her beautiful creations, ranging from accessories to dresses, tops to bottoms, even jackets and candy!  Shop Rebecca Taylor’s collections HERE!

This information was acquired from the brand’s website.  For more info on this designer and her beautiful line please visit www.rebeccataylor.com.

Designer: Michelle Smith, Milly 

Michelle Smith designer behind Milly is taking steps in defining the new young luxury niche with smart, sexy and feminine style.    her line consists of ready-to-wear and resort collections of sleek and timeless silhouettes that compliment her own wardrobe as well as her large customer base.

Milly is known for exquisite colors and prints, luxurious fabrics and beautiful details.  With shops all over the world, including London and Tokyo, Milly is building global recognition for its functionality, detail and high quality. Combining her creativy, love of fashion, couture techniques, and striking prints,  Michelle Smith continues to create beautiful, functional pieces that easily move from day to night.  Click HERE to view and shop Milly’s collections.

This information was acquired from the brand’s website.  For more info on this lovely designer and her line please visit www.millyny.com.

City of Hope Fact

City of Hope’s breast cancer services and technologies provide women with the best care available. Breast Cancer prevention, early detection and genetic counseling are a priority. City of Hope offers advanced imaging technologies for breast cancer detection , including digital mammography, breast MRI and more.

For women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, City of Hope provides state-of-the-art surgical, medical and radiation therapies, including many that are not yet available to the general public.

Many breast cancer services at City of Hope are provided at the Rita Cooper Finkel and J. William Finkel Women’s Health Center. Staff members at the center are committed to enhancing each patient’s well-being, both physically and emotionally.

Breast Cancer Fact

Doctors estimate that 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are linked to gene mutation passed through generations of a family. A number of inherited defective genes that can increase the likelihood of breast cancer have been identified. The most common are breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), both of which increase the risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.

If you have a strong family history of breast cancer or other cancers, blood tests may help identify defective BRCA or other genes that are being passed through your family. Consider asking your doctor for a referral to a genetic counselor who can review your family health history. A genetic counselor can also discuss the benefits, risks and limitations of genetic testing with you.

Auction Details

Visit www.sharpieuncapped.com to participate in the auction and bid on designers’ Sharpie art work  and be sure to read Works of Art From the Heart for more info on the auction and Know the Facts featuring Tory Burch and Tracy Reese.

The Total Body Boot Camp and Nostalgic Catering took group fitness a step (a lunge and a push-up) further with the 1st Annual Total Body Pumpkin Bootcamp on October 18th at OZ Park in Chicago, IL.  Ten challengers were asked to bring one pumpkin weighing between 3 and 10 lbs. to assist them during the morning workout and were put through an hour of intense cardio, strength and core excercises.

Wait.. What is this, a fitness blog? Show me the Sharpie!

Ah ha, well my Sharpie loving friends, here is the cherry on top of the non-fat, zero cal. sundae!   Sharpie markers were provided to all the participants to uncap their Fall festive mark onto their pumpkins.  The bootcamp not only pushed physically but also creatively, encouraging the challengers to write down favorite excercises and give each pumpkin a personality of it’s own!

Not only were creative minds at work making Sharpie Pumpkin art, but after the workout Nostalgic Catering provided Homemade Chili and Fresh Apple Pie, putting those taste buds to work as well!  (OMG,where can I sign up?)  Now this is what I call a total body workout! :)

For more information on The Total Body Boot Camp, visit www.thetotalbodybootcamp.com. 

Be sure to also check out the delicious food and great service Nostalgic Catering has to offer at www.nostalgiccatering.net

Sharpie! Uncap What’s Inside

On a spedial edition of The View, Sharpie Retractable Markers were chosen as an audience must-have product!  A product that people

Love and Can’t Live Without! 

Check out the clip from The View’s October 9th, special edition “Must-Have” episode feauturing Sharpie!

Click HERE to get the full list of Must-Have products!

Check out all the Sharpie Retractable Markers at Sharpie.com !  

 Here at Sharpie, we too are playing an active role in supporting the cause.  With our friends at City of Hope Breast Cancer Research Center, these are a few ways we are showing our support this month: 

JEANS WEEK FOR HOPE: Employees donated $10 (or more) to  City of Hope, a breast cancer research, treatment and education center and may wear jeans to work beginning September 28th through October 9th! 

BAKE SALE: Friday, October 2nd we had a HUGE Bake Sale, giving all proceeds to City of Hope.  People offered their culinary expertise by bringing in all sorts of delicious pink treats including cookies, cupcakes, and muffins.  (*Note: Thank you to the one health concious person who brought in apples, carrots and celery sticks.  Nice try, but no dice..) Though I am not sure how much was raised at our Bake Sale I can tell you this much, there was nearly nothing to chose from once 3 o’ clock rolled around!

BREAST CANCER-INSPIRED ART: After NY Fashion Week wrapped up, I sent out small 5×7 canvases and a box of Sharpie markers to a host of top designers.  In the packages was a note inviting the designers to participate in a charity initiative with Sharpie and City of Hope Cancer Research Center.  We asked for a sketch, doodle, design anything to inspire and empower women.  Each sketch will later be donated to City of Hope and auctioned online during Ocotober. All proceeds will benefit City of Hope. I’ve already received a few canvases and am very excited to see more as they come in!  Please join us for the auction and  bid on these one-of-a-kind canvases on City of Hope’s auction site: www.auctionsforhopes.org.

WALK FOR HOPE: Sunday, Ocotober 4th employees participated in Walk for Hope, a national breast cancer walk series that raises millions of dollars in support of breast cancer research, treatment and education programs at City of Hope.   Click Here for more info.

PINK INK: Sharpie will donate ten cents from the sale of each Pink Ribbon Sharpie marker and Pink Ribbon Sharpie Accent Highlighter to City of Hope for breast cancer research, treatment and education.  Don’t you just love these:

While October is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness month, we should not limit oursleves to this one month out of the entire year.   Although many great strides have been made in breast cancer awareness and treatment, there remains much to be accomplished.  Women need to be educated and empowered year round to take charge of their own health by practicing regular exams, scheduling regular visits with their healthcare provider, and knowing the facts about breast cancer.  For more information , please visit www.cityofhope.org.

Let me introduce you to Peter Mullin, the mastermind behind the creativity, the art, and of course, the cool factor of OPC Kicks.  Since sixth grade, Mullins has been using sneakers as his canvas- transforming them, with paint and Sharpie markers, into virtually new shoes!  Soon after rockin’ his custom kicks around school, his friends wanted in on the action!

“Ever since I did my first pair, I started getting used shoes from my friends and customizing their shoes.”   

Realizing his potential and that of his product, Mullins began selling OPC Kicks on Ebay.  Wanting to spread the brand further, he created an OPC Kicks page on Facebook where he could promote and show off his shoes.  After receiving so much positive feedback, this sneaker savant is now designing and selling both new and used custom designed shoes to people all over the internet! 

What DREW (pun-intended) you to painting shoes?  I always have had a love for shoes; my favorite thing to do was to find the craziest shoes on the market.  Then I wanted cooler and more colorful shoes that were exclusive - that no one else could have.

Be honest…how many pairs of shoes do you own? And Does the shoe have to match the outfit?  Haha!  This is probably one of my favorite questions to be asked…My mom and Dad think I’m crazy, but I have 31 pairs of shoes.  I have my favorites, including my customs, some very rare Nike Dunks and, of course Jordans.  There is nothing better then waking up and looking at which pair to pick, and especially putting a new pair on!   But NO… my shoes don’t always match the outfit.  Sometimes though, because the girls like it…and I like to match too.  But sometimes I just like wearing whatever shorts I have clean so that people can see the full image of the shoes I am wearing. I also like when they POP out more than my clothes.

Why did you choose Facebook.com to be a main outlet to spread the word about your business?  When more and more people started asking to see my work and not having a way to show them, I made a profile for OPC KICKS.  It was easy to create and easy for friends to get to.  Once I created the page I was getting crazy friend requests and getting awesome messages from people supporting the shoes and my business. That got me more and more pumped up to work harder and keep on putting up more pictures.  It just seemed like people were using Facebook a lot more then other sites.

Well, now that our friendship is OFFICIAL seeing as we are FaceBook friends and all… I read on your profile that you only paint Air Force Ones.  Why is that?  Where do you get them? I have [worked on] other types of shoes before and they never ended up looking as good as the Air Force Ones. I like the Nike Air Force Ones because they are so simple and everyone (especially me) loves Nike. It seems like they were made to be customized because they have good sized proportions to be painted. To me, Nike Air Force Ones seem to be the most clean and original shoes to ever hit the shoe market.  I have an awesome shoe connect too, who I met on Ebay.  I bought my first case of 16 shoes from him, one of the biggest purchases at that time, and was nervous of a scam but then two days later; sure enough a huge box was waiting on my front porch when I got home from school.  Ever since that first case, I would just call and tell him when I needed more and he would ship them out.   Now he ships me 3-4 cases of shoes at a time, at an amazing price!

Do you know every word to Air Force Ones by Nelly? Haha No. I do not.  I like the song a lot but I’m more of a Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne fan.

What kind of Sharpie markers do you use on OPC Kicks? Favorite Sharpie? I use the original fine point Sharpie.  My favorite Sharpie color is RED, but I defiantly use BLACK the most.   Each pair I do has Sharpie on it somewhere, whether it is outlining, detailed designs, or putting someone’s name or a number on the shoe.

Why Sharpies? Why do you like them? Sharpie markers are the bomb, they never come of the shoes, and I can add more detail that can’t really be done with a paint brush!

What goes into designing a shoe? How long does it take? Usually I like to free hand my shoes, especially the ones sold on Ebay. But I also get a lot of orders from people wanting specific designs or colors.  On an order like that, I draw it up to show what the shoe will look like and make sure it is exactly what the person wants.  After that I have to rub down the shoes with a special chemical to take of the factory gloss finish from the leather.   After mixing paint with the right chemicals, [making his own paint cuts costs by 10-15 dollars] I GO TO WORK! 

Time really depends on how complex the paint job is.  I can finish some, complete and ready to wear, in 3 hours.  Others, I could spend up to 10 hours on.   I try to work on 3 to 4 shoes at a time which saves time while paint is drying.

How do you cover up/correct a mistake? If you ever do you ever mess up, that is! Not perfect yet…but if I mess up I can rub it right off before the paint dries. I try to keep the steadiest hand I possible.  Messing up with Sharpie isn’t too noticeable but if it is either I try to make it into a whole new free hand design or start all over on a new pair!  And that big of a mess has only ever happened twice!

Do you have any funny stories using Sharpie markers that you could share? The really funny ones are just drawing on somebody with Sharpie when they fall asleep!  One time, my friend fell asleep really early at a family graduation party and the parents were not too happy about that.  He had his shirt off already so, four friends and I got as many Sharpies together as we could find and went crazy on him!   Drawing full-body Sharpie art all over him – including drawing a TUXEDO and whatever else we could think of, all over him.

*Note*  Sharpie does not support or promote the drawing/writing on your own or others’ skin with Sharpie permanent ink.

Who are your main buyers? A lot are from school, as well as people who have heard about me and have personal orders.  I’ve been getting a lot of calls from moms wanting custom shoes to give to their sons or daughters as birthday or graduation presents.  The bulk of my shoes, I would say, are definately sold through Ebay.

If you could design a shoe for any one person (athlete, celebrity, musician, politician, singer, etc.) who would it be? That’s a pretty hard question…but if I were to choose one it would probably be Kanye West.  He is always wearing some of the craziest shoes, plus I really like his older music.

Does every shoe have a different design or do you make several of each? A lot of my shoes are one-of-a-kind, especially personal orders.  If they’re just a certain color scheme that sold high, I’ll make more.  BUT if the listing says “One-of-a-Kind,” there will never be another pair made like it.

Aside from painting some really cool sneakers, what else do you enjoying doing on your down time? I really enjoy hanging out with my friends. I spend a good amount of time with my friends, but when I’m not with them, I love playing lacrosse, the original Halo 2 every once in a while, playing roller hockey, and just chilling and enjoying the free time.

Look into your crystal-Air Force One OPC Kicks- ball, now, what do you see for the future OPC Kicks?  I love the creative questions!   I would really like to start designing more and more shoes.  After a couple vacations this summer, I am going do be working on shoes like none other.  Once I start planning more time to work, I think OPC Kicks is going to start blowing up a lot more!   If things go really well during the school year, I would love to open up my own boutique, or maybe start a website throughout college then open the store…  I’d love to just do shoes all day but I like keeping my good grades and am getting very excited to go to college

Where can we find OPC Kicks? You can find me on Ebay!  I have 3 accounts right now and in about a week, I’m going to have a ton of new customs shoes up! 

Most Used:  opckicks

Second Used: opc_kicks

Third Used: opc_kicks09

Anything else you’d like to add?  Staying in contact with you [Sharpie] has made me want to work harder and harder!  So I would just like to thank you for keeping in touch!   [what a nice guy! Sharpie loves OPC Kicks!]

***Be sure to satisfy your OPC Kicks craving by checking out Peter’s custom designed sneakers on Ebay and ‘Friend’ OPC Kicks on Facebook!  

UNCAP WHAT’S INSIDE!

Rob’s art runs the gamut.  He’s into all kinds of stuff like “lowbrow art, comic books, Fleischer cartoons, nose art, pickelhaubes, pin-up girls, vinyl art toys, cyanotypes, acrylics, oils, hot rods, kustom kulture, pinstripes, tattoos, tiki stuff, chicago gangsters, vintage metal signs, screen printing.”   Rob says he likes fabricating stuff with his hands, listening to old school punk rock (the classic stuff, late 70’s early 80’s), making rock posters, ‘zines, digital painting, etc…

But  I’ll let him tell it in his own words:

So how did you get started in art?  Like most kids, I spent too much time watching cartoons and doodling.  After being introduced to Punk Rock in the early 80’s, I started designing album covers, t-shirts and flyers for various punk bands I was friends with in Chicago.  This led to abundant work as a silkscreen* concert poster artist, supplying hand crafted promotional posters to bands and venues across the country.  I eventually fulfilled a childhood dream and became an artist working on mainstream comic books.  I’ve spent the last 20 years working on such classic icons as Spiderman, Superman, Batman, and the X-Men. My work has helped shape comic book pop-culture as we know it today. I’ve often been credited as being a well-respected rising force in the art of color for the comic book industry. Most recently, I’ve been featured in the best selling book, The Art of Modern Rock, as well as, Kustom Graphics: Hot Rods, Burlesque and Rock ‘n’ Roll, from Korero Books.

*FYI: Silk Screening (or screen printing), is a printing method where ink is forced through areas of a silk screen that aren’t blocked out with an impermeable (water resistant) substance.  A roller, squeegee or sponge is moved across the screen stencil, forcing ink into the open areas of the fabric (there’s a little bit of my Warhol knowledge for ya ).

What sets you apart from other artists? What makes you stand out in a room of artists?!  My determination and desire to do the best job possible, under any circumstances.

I see that you liked to read comics as a kid?  Favorite comic book? Would you ever start your own?  Yep, I loved comics when I was a kid!  I learned to read by reading Spider-man comics – That’s always been my favorite.  I do have some ideas for a comic series of my own.  Maybe someday, but for now, I’m quite content having built a nice career spanning 20 years working in the comic book industry as a digital colorist.

So you like old school punk rock, huh?!  Favorite band?  Have you made posters for any of your favorite groups?  I grew up on the music of old school punk rock.  A lot of Chicago stuff Naked Raygun, Effigies, etc…  Also other bands like Social Distortion, Cro-mags, UK Subs, the Damned and Bad Brains…  And yes, I’ve been fortunate enough to make posters for some of my favorite bands and meet them!   I kinda geeked a bit when I met the Go-Go’s.  Jane (Wiedlin) was such a sweetie when I asked her to sign my poster. I shot pool for a while with Mike Ness from Social D.  I’ve hung with the DGeneration guys too!  My favorite was that I had a series of long rambling messages on my answering machine from Joey Ramone when I did a poster for him. I wish I would’ve saved that.

Just out of curiosity…seriously, is SCHWAGER really your last name (I’m slightly jealous & want a cool last name too) ?   Yep!  It’s my real name.  First generation American and damn proud of it too!

How do you incorporate Sharpie markers into your work?  I started using Sharpie mostly for accent work on my paintings.  A little line here or there….  But Sharpie water-based paint markers are my favorite!  I started using them to paint custom toys for gallery shows.  Sharpies are easy to use; there is a nice array of colors to choose from and variations in line weight.  I just wish you guys made a flesh tone color (editor’s note:  we make an almond color which is perfect for pale skin tones).  It would work wonders for me with my pin-up nose-art work.

What does the creation process involve? 

1)Planning out my graphic

2)Transferring the design to the substrate

3)Busting out the Sharpies and going to town!

You’ve done a lot of different types of work, poster art, designing apparel, cyanotypes..you name it, you’ve done it!  What are your personal favorites?  I really enjoy doing my faux nose-art inspired bomber panels.  From the fabrication, to the painting to the distressing, an all-around good time.  I just wish there were more hours in the day, because I’d love to make them non-stop if I could!

What has been your most well-received art?  It’s a tie between my bomber panels and my cyanotypes.  The cyanotypes are more affordable to most folks, but the bomber panels really leave most folks awestruck when they walk into a room and see them hanging on the wall.

What are you currently working on?  Well, I’m in the process of setting up a print shop so I can start running my own art prints.  It’s been over a decade since I pulled a screen printing squeegee, but I’m really looking forward to it!

What do you see for the future of your work?  To be hanging on the walls in galleries and in people’s homes worldwide. 

Where can I find Rob Schwager art?!  In the store, at robschwager.com

* * * * *

Need more SCHWAGER?  No problem!  A guy with this much talent needs to be seen and heard.  Click on the links  below to learn more about the artist, see more of his work, and then buy some art for yourself!

Rob’s Homepage is http://www.robschwager.com

Check out his blog too!! http://www.robschwager.blogspot.com

Take a look at Shwager’s photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/robschwager

Follow him on Twtter!  http://twitter.com/robschwager

And of course, hop on over to MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/robschwager

Rob Schwager knows how to Uncap What’s Inside!!

Want more Sharpie Artists?  Click HERE to see the creative things people are doing with their Sharpies!  

Whit with Sharpies

It’s raining interns over here at Sharpie and today it’s Whitney Kelly’s turn to show off her blogging skills.   Whitney graduated from the University of Kansas and is FOR HIRE.  Here’s my “job wanted” poster for her:

Super fashiony friendly fast-working firecracker fiercely dedicated to finding whatever it is and getting it done without fanfare force of nature.

How can you refuse THAT@?@?@  Heeeeeeeeeeere’s Whitney…

I’m sure you all have seen the commercial for TOMS Shoes, featuring an attractive young man (Blake, the Chief Shoe Giver) operating a successful business while giving back to deserving kids.  Well, ever since I saw that commercial, I wanted  to get me some TOMS!  Not only are these shoes pretty sweet, but for every pair sold, another pair is given to a child in need! Now, I don’t know about you, but with a program like that, I should just exclusively buy/wear these kicks!  OOH Wait, wait, wait..business casual is required at work…okay I’ll buy a couple other brands but outside of the office, TOMS it is!

Anyhoo, enough of me… A super cool event is coming up at the end of the month!  Zulu Creative, a Houston-based niche marketing and brand development agency, is celebrating their 3rd anniversary by teaming up with TOMS to host Style Your Sole, a TOMS shoe designing party!  The event will provide children in need with a new pair of shoes & give attendees the experience of being a shoe designer for a day!  Pretty Cool!!

How do you get an invite to this event?  WELL my Sharpie loving friends, not only do you have the option of adding “Shoe Designer” to your resume, it’s FREE, for all ages!  All you need to do is send a quick reply to RSVP@zulucreative.com. So GO!! Join the rest of the party goers at Zulu Creative’s 3rd Birthday Celebration & TOMS “Style Your Sole,” design some FLY KICKS and be a part of a great cause!  The partaay will be held at Spacetaker’s Artist Resource Center (ARC) at Winter Street Studios, 2101 Winter Street in Houston, July 26, 2009, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

If that isn’t enough excitement for you, guess who else is going to be there!?!  No, not Brad & Angie, even better, SHARPIES!! TONS AND TONS OF SHARPIES! I’ve been working with Tina Zulu, founder of Zulu creative, and have placed an order for literally hundreds of Sharpies – Paint Pens, Twin-Tips, Fine Point, Medium Point… and in aalll sorts of colors!  I’m pretty psyched to see what everyone is going to design with the STELLAR assortment of Sharpies and some hot pairs of TOMS shoes!

Get out there, Be Creative – Express your Individuality! <3

Beatrice’s music offers a unique blend of folk, rock, country, and Scandinavian influence. She has studied at the Stockholm Music Conservatory and for many years worked as a demo and back-up singer with some of Sweden’s top-ranking artists, including Carola, Tommy Nilsson, Bosson and Olsen Brothers. Since then Beatrice has expanded her career across the Atlantic.

Check out her sound here.  And when she hits the charts, remember you saw her here first!

Reminds me of the time football’s Terrell Owens pulled a Sharpie out of his sock during a touchdown celebration.  One (or two) key differences to note: There was no Twitter then, so I wasn’t up until midnight responding to all the Tweets asking me “did you see, did you see?!!”…and it wasn’t the President of the United States!!

Finally, thought you’d enjoy this other Sharpie-inspired Obama sighting: