Carolyn

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA -  I can’t, in all honesty, think of a Carolyn that I don’t love. I mean that with all sincerity; they are all just wonderful. Let me tell you about my ‘Carolyn’ experience this weekend.

I speak annually to an amazing group of people. They are independent studio owners – their stores are the ones you see all over the world that encourage you to paint your own pottery pieces – and part of the Contemporary Ceramic Studios Association. (You can find a studio near you at ccsaonline.com.) Movie stars, celebrities and politicians have all jumped on the fun bandwagon to try this art form and love it. I myself am hesitant but paint nonetheless. If I could ever just learn to use more than one color….

Carolyn has heard me speak before, and she has been a passionate supporter of the auctions that happen to benefit breast cancer research. Carolyn decided to create a fun, amazingly creative and colorful glass piece for this year’s auction. It is perfect, in my non-professional artist opinion. It is just such a lovely piece, it was an honor to see it. It is an even bigger honor to be a part of the Foundation she chose to benefit. Carolyn was most recently a Regional Account Manager for iLoveToCreate and attended a Bisque Imports’ event. Studio owner, Julya Myers (Amazing Art Studio in Gaithersburg, Maryland) also attended. They were sitting together in a class and Carolyn asked if Julya would teach her / help her do the project since she had never worked with the medium before. Julya gladly obliged.

Sounds like a pretty ordinary story, doesn’t it? Here’s the catch; Carolyn passed away before she could finish her piece. It was the last piece she ever created, and she was never able to see it to completion. She had asked her friend, Chris Denison from Bisque Imports,  to pick up where she left off. (He is the resident glass guru.) To finish this piece and get it ready for auction. This auction, for this Foundation. 

Hearing this and knowing the backstory, I see it as both a wonderful tale and an amazing metaphor for everyone I meet. I attend events constantly, but the purpose behind them is not for fun, or for play. It is because, to put it bluntly, people are dying. This mission of mine is to do what I can to have less of that. I have a list of people I’ve lost, people I will no longer get to see and be with, and the list is getting longer. Many of them have done just what sweet Carolyn did; start something great, then hand it off like a baton in a race. Thank you, Carolyn, for doing this for our Foundation. For considering us worthy of your incredible efforts. Thank you, Chris, for picking up her baton. For allowing us to be good stewards of those amazingly important dollars. We are raising funds as if our lives depend on it. Because they do.

Painting

RENO, NEVADA - I tell you all the time (well, those of you out on twitter and facebook, anyway...) to go find a local Contemporary Ceramics Studio Association (CCSA) studio and paint some pottery. These are the pottery studios located all over that allow you to come in and paint pottery and then THEY clean up the mess while you have a good time. It's really just a stellar time, as a matter of fact, our tiny staff here at the Foundation will be doing that for our Christmas party this year. We fully expect to leave covered in red and green paint.

I encourage people to go for fun, but there is a another really big reason - other than the fact that you should find a good creative outlet. This organization is absolutely passionate about cancer research. Passionate. They come to me individually and tell me their stories of hope, of survivorship, and in some cases, of loss. They sit at corporate headquarters and say things like 'lets do this' and then create entire programs around donating to the Vera Bradley Foundation. Mayco and their partners have created a campaign to align with our "Hope Grows" theme. Lilly Ollo has decided to send a portion of their proceeds from their silver jewelry sales to us. All of these people had never heard of us, but now know and love what we do. This photo is Richard, the King of CCSA (that's the title I have bestowed upon him, I'm not entirely sure of his actual title but I am sure it's just as impressive) doing his darnedest to get the auction prices juuuuuust a bit higher. And me. Looking like a dork in my 1980's prom dress. That was their theme this year, I don't ask questions, I just attend. Happily.

These are small business owners who are making a difference in spite of difficult economic times, in spite of the fact that philanthropic giving is down nationwide. These studios are people with hearts as big as their creative genius. I know you are thinking about what to do with the kids one weekend when the weather is not perfect. I know you are working to plan your own Holiday parties. I know you are thinking about doing a girls night out for ONCE and just have a little time alone. I know where you should go. Tell them Heidi says hi. :)