Anniversary of the beginning of BirdProject, one decision led to many life changes
This week, an email from Twitter congratulated me on my four year twitter anniversary of BirdProjectSoap. A nice reminder that four years ago this idea of Bird shaped soaps to help raise funding for BP cleanup started pecking around in my head! I was in New York at the time & drove down to some dear friends' wedding in Virginia. During the seven hour drive, the idea took better shape & sealed the deal for me wanting to pursue it. Many of my closest  friends were also at the wedding so we talked about it some between celebrating & I got some great feedback and a lot of excitement for the idea. I knew that I wanted the name to share the initials 'BP' so BirdProject became the name that night. I got the goosebumps as I bought the domain name & setup the twitter account that same night, the first step in making the idea real.
On my drive back to New York after the wedding, I decided that I should go to New Orleans to find some answers. To make I long story short, I'm so glad that I did! It's funny and amazing how one decision can change your life so much. So, in celebration & in thanks of the 4 year anniversary of the conception of BirdProject we are happy to offer free shipping on orders over $20 until July 31 - use code fouryears! at checkout! Thank you so much for your support, I'm so grateful and excited that the Birds continue to spread their wings! Fast forward to the present, last night was the grand opening party of West Elm in New Orleans & I'm thrilled that BirdProject and our Dreams Matter notebooks are part of their West Elm Local Makers & Designers selection! The party was packed & I'm honored to be in such amazing company, check out the full list here. PS - more here on our beginnings on the BirdProject blog, all about the process of our startup!
* Photo reposted from Juley of upperlyne.com
A little solace during some downright awful times around the globe.
Last week brought so much sad & awful news around the globe that I found myself pretty emotionally worn by the end thinking of everyone involved. Yesterday though, I found two bits of solace, so I'll share with you in case they'll help you too. The first is a little book by George Saunders that I bumped into at the library, 'Congratulations, by the way: Some thoughts on Kindness.' It's a short and quick read based on a commencement speech that he gave at Syracuse University. A great reminder that the acts of kinds that we either do or wish that we had done are the things that truly stick with us. Ironically, the things that we are usually focused on are not what we will remember later down the road. Also, a bonus of some lovely illustrations of the starry universe as you go along. The other is this article that was in Sunday's New York Times, 'Love People, not Pleasure.' Arthur C. Brooks speaks of the things that will truly make us happy on our search for happiness, ironically are not what many of us seek. The things that DO bring us happiness are the people in our lives, while the other, extrinsic things (fame, fortune, material possessions, etc.) actually make us sick & unhappy. Give it a read, a great discussion on happy and unhappy. Locally, New Orleans' rise in murders and crime seemingly right in line with rising temps, is also troubling to say the least, as well as a cyclist being brutally killed by an 18 wheeler at a heavily trafficked intersection last week. Personally, my dear great aunt, a second grandmother to me, also passed away a little over a week ago. Life is all about balance & it seems the hardest to keep in mind and to achieve. To remember that balance is actually achievable can be easily forgotten and these two bits of hope helped to remind me of that. I hope that they give you a boost too if you need it and here's a wish of hope for balance sooner than later around the globe & peace for the places now at war. I also try to remember something that a dear friend has said to me many times, 'That after the mountain, comes the valley.'  ps - for a lighter read, I also found this biography on Julia Child by Laura Shapiro, which is also off to an excellent start!