Lindsay Ross Blog

Weavesleeves and Kickstarter

If there’s one thing I can get behind, it’s a company whose intent is to help people. And that’s exactly what the founder, Andy, of Weavesleeve is trying to do. To help the artisans in Guatemala preserve their culture. And help consumers by giving them a minimalist product that is functional and has personality.

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The story behind the Weavesleeve is what I love. And the heart of why the company started.

In Andy’s words:

“During one of my visits about two years ago, I was spending time with some Guatemalan families I’ve grown close to and we began talking about weaving. All the women in these families know how to weave, but when I asked if they were teaching their children none of them replied in the affirmative. They simply said that it wasn’t profitable to weave and their time was dedicated to doing other things that could provide a living, so they hadn’t passed on the tradition to their children by teaching them.

When I left from that visit I thought long and hard about that conversation. It was troubling to know that the Guatemala that I knew and grew to love over a decade ago was changing, and that a country so culturally rich was in danger of losing that uniqueness.The wheels in my head started turning, trying to come up with something to help preserve their culture.

Over the last two years, I have made several trips to Guatemala specifically working on a way to help these people sustain themselves by weaving. I realized that selling unaltered pieces of handwoven textiles or table runners wasn’t going to be the answer. I needed to reach a larger demographic, and that’s where WeaveSleeve stemmed from. We take their handwoven art and transform it into handwoven sleeves to carry around everyday things.

Not only do WeaveSleeves help preserve a culture, they also help to show off each person’s own uniqueness. By offering over 50 color choices, you can finally carry something with you every single day that more closely fits your own style.”

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You can watch a short video about Weavesleeve here.

Weavesleeve is currently ONLY found on Kickstarter. Haven’t heard of Kickstarter? Another thing I LOVE. Kickstarter is a space where entrepreneurs can bring their ideas to life. They launch a campaign on Kickstarter with a product they want to provide to the public. And they can give it a “test drive” on Kickstarter. To see if people like it. If it’s a company/dream/goal/product worth pursuing. They start by choosing a funding goal–how much money they want to raise. And then people can “back” the product by pledging to donate a certain amount of money. But you don’t get the product and your card is never charged if the funding goal isn’t met in the designated time. If you love the product, it motivates you to get other people to back the product as well.

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The great news about Weavesleeve is the funding goal has ALREADY been met. Which means a.) people want it! and b.) now everyone who “backs” the product will get the reward! (on whatever level you “back”).

Devin Graham, also known as Devin Supertramp, is a video-making ninja (seriously, check out his videos on Youtube–they’re insane). He sent a few of his team members with Andy to document Guatemala and some of the artisans making the Weavelseeve. You can watch those videos below:

A behind the scenes video. I love behind the scenes stuff.

Devin’s main Guatemala video. That place is beautiful. I should probably travel there someday.

And this one is just fun. Andy takes some of the Guatemalan artisans to their first amusement park.

I read a quote by Donald Miller that I think of every time I see a good guy trying to sale stuff.

“I don’t want to be a salesman, but I also don’t want to forfeit the public square to snake-oil salesmen. I honestly think more good creators should sell more of their stuff as a way of helping the good team take more ground.”

This, my friends, is good stuff and it helps the good team take more ground. You can read all about it and get yours on the Kickstarter website today!

Are YOU living an energy efficient life?

I like to think that I have some pretty awesome friends who dream big and who take action to make those dreams come true. And things like this just confirm my belief. My friend did a TED talk. A TED talk. If you don’t know what TED talks are, they’re a big deal. The best of the best speakers do TED talks. And talk about “ideas worth spreading”. And their talks change people’s lives. And make the world a better place to live in.

Jenna and I managed a restaurant together. Which were some incredibly fun, yet super challenging years of my life. We’ve been through a lot together. A whole lot. We also played (play) soccer together. And we laugh. A lot. She’s funny, smart, kind-hearted, and incredibly generous.

I knew it was a goal of hers to do a TED talk. And then a few days ago I got the text. The one that linked to her dream. Her TED talk. To say I’m proud of her would be an understatement. And even better than fulfilling her dream, she gave a killer talk that applies to most humans I know. And definitely applies to me. And I’m determined to make some changes to live a more energy efficient life!

Well done, my friend. Well done.

And, I had the opportunity to read the book “Living Well Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life” before it gets released (you can preorder the book by clicking here: Living Well, Spending Less It’s a good one! You also get a pre-order bonus. And I have decided reading books and offering feedback before they’re published is a job I’d totally be okay with.). I’ll talk more about the book in a later post, but I found some similarities between this TEDx talk and Ruth’s book. The biggest similarity being the idea of WRITING DOWN and establishing daily routines and habits so we can live a more energy efficient life. If we dream big enough, our dreams are going to take some serious energy. So if we want to make our dreams come true, we must find ways to increase our energy. Being the mom of four young, energy stealing kids, I could most definitely use ways to find more energy. Especially ones that don’t involve toxic doses of caffeine.

The first step in doing that is writing down our routines, our goals, and the habits we want to form. And then taking action on what we wrote down.

A few quotes from “Living Well Spending Less” by Ruth Soukup that support living the lives we dream of:

“I lacked a clear direction and focus, and as a result I was wasting far too much time on the things that didn’t matter at all, and not finding any time for the things that did.”

“What would happen if we took the time to actually write down our current priorities? How would our perspective change if we took just a few moments to determine what it is we want most out of life?”

Writing down our goals and focusing on doing those first makes all the difference “living life to the fullest and just getting by.”

“The happiest, most successful, and most fulfilled people I know DO have a secret road map for their lives. They’ve taken the time to visualize what their lives would look like if nothing stood in their way. They’ve given themselves enough freedom to dream about the future, and that dream gives them enough confidence to figure out a way to get there.”

“It is not enough to have a vision in your head of what you wish your life could be. It’s not enough to have some vague semblance or hazy daydream of what you’d like to accomplish someday. You have to actually take the time–whether it be five minutes or five hours–to write it down. Taking the time to write down your vision of the future not only forces you to self-evaluate and to decide what is most important, but it also motivates you to act on those dreams. Writing them down makes them real. And once they are real, you can’t ignore them.”

“You have to know where you want to go before you can know how to get there.”

“What if self-discipline and time management skills are something that can be strengthened over time? What if self-control is not an innate character trait bestowed on a select few, but something we all need to develop? What if willpower is actually a finite quality, one that runs out over the course of the day? Wouldn’t that change the game? Wouldn’t we want to be sure we used our energies well?”

“How would your life be different one year from now if you were willing to take the first thirty minutes of your day to work only on long-term goals?”

“I realized that creating good habits was the key to being able to get things done. The more good habits I could create for myself, the more willpower and mental energy I would have left over to pursue my dreams.”

“What would happen if someone else were to observe how you use your time? Would your long-term vision be immediately apparent? Does the way you use your time clearly reflect what is most important to you?”

I’ve read my fair share of self-help books. And books about business. And books about success. And books about living your dreams. And books about creating a better life. And one thing nearly every one of the authors from those books talks about is the importance of writing down our goals, visions, and ambitions to live a better life. And then taking action on what we write down. We have to dream. We have to write it down. And then we have to act.

Here’s to living a more energy efficient life. I feel so “green” just typing that.

A morning with a homeless man, and thoughts on food banks.

A woman named Kelli, who I do not know, but follow on Instagram, recently launched a campaign called TIME=LOVE. It encourages us to just give people our TIME which in turn shows them our LOVE. Isn’t that so true? In conjunction with this campaign, she posted a story about a man she met. His name is Al. This story shook me. To the core. Because I still have so far to go.

She said:

“A few months ago, I noticed a man sitting outside of church–on the same bench–week after week. You know that feeling you get deep down inside….that prompts you to do something that you’re not always comfortable doing?! Yea, well that happened.

So, I walked up to this man who was sitting on the bench, with what seemed to be all of his personal belongings stuffed tightly in plastic crates, wrapped with bungee cord. I introduced myself and conversation grew effortlessly. His name was Al. And Al was awesome. His laugh was infectious and his love for people and Jesus was so inspiring. I walked away thinking he is the epitome of “Even though……I will” Whatever those dots represent between those words [I have no money, Lost my job, Living on the streets]….I WILL get back up. And getting back up meant small steps like getting to Church every single weekend. That was inspiring to me.”

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(photo credit: Kelli from kelliandvanessa.com)

My favorite line: “You know that feeling you get deep down inside….that prompts you to do something that you’re not always comfortable doing?!” I’m pretty sure it’s following those feelings that always leads to things we could never imagine. Things that change us.

It’s one thing to raise money for the homeless, visit the places they live, say hello to them on the street, and give them money or food or in-kind donations. It’s an entirely different thing to stop, have a conversation with them, and give them our TIME and complete attention. To show we really care about who they are and what story they have to tell.

After reading about Al, I realized my heart still needs a lot of changing. And my willingness to be uncomfortable needs some definite work. I found myself wondering if I would have done the same in that situation. First of all, would I have even noticed Al? And, would I have stopped to talk to him? Like, really talk to him? And ask about his story? Unfortunately my answer was “probably not”. I need to change that.

You can read the entire article here. It’s worth it.

And on a sort of related note, I read an article about making donations to food banks that totally changed my perspective. Because I am completely guilty of being the person who donates whatever I just want to get rid of. Things we never got around to eating. Not putting much thought into the fact that there are people whose lives literally depend on the food donated to food banks.

Take a look at this article before you make a donation to your local food bank. It may change your mind about thoughtlessly throwing things in a bag or bin to make you feel like you’re making a difference. And it has great ideas on things they actually need.

Perfect Gift for kids of all ages

I’m having an internal struggle this year with Christmas gifts. I’ve been reading a lot of books about consumerism and living with less and de-cluttering and buying things of real value and on and on and on. And I’d really like to tone it down a little for Christmas. Which is hard because I LOVE Christmas shopping and buying meaningful gifts for people. But I’m also super sick of picking up crap everywhere. And my kids definitely do NOT need more toys.

A few years ago I gave each of my kids a photo album for Christmas filled with pictures of just them. Each kid got their own album full of pictures I had taken of them throughout the past few years. Many of those pictures they’d never seen before. That was before I started the picture display movement. I felt like I could start my own movement. So I did. Now they see many of the photos I take of them.

They loved those albums. And still look at them often. And each of them at different times have let me know they need more photos for another album.

So this year I decided to do something similar, but better. Each of my four kids will get an album, some Project Life cards to “jazz” it up a little, Project Life journaling cards so they can write about the photos, their own pen, and a stack of pictures they are in. The album won’t be assembled. They’ll be able to assemble it themselves, put the photos where they want, add whatever filler cards they want, journal as much or as little as they want and end up with their own finished album full of their personality. My 4 year old can’t write much yet, but it will be fun to have at least a few journaling cards with his handwriting even if it’s just his name. I will probably assemble the album for my 3 year old this year.

You can get a full 12×12 size album or a mini 6×8 album along with some sheet protectors.

If you buy one full Core kit, several kids can use the same kit. I’m planning to let them have access to several of the kits I already have. But if you don’t have any, you can probably just buy one (with a 40% off coupon to Michaels or Hobby Lobby) and spread it out for several kids to use.

Each kid gets a stack of their own photos. The amount will vary depending on the size of album you plan to use. I print them all as 4×6’s and then you can cut them down to fit some of the 3×4 spots (I lay one of the journaling cards over the photo so I know where to cut to make it the right size). I print these either at Costco or York photo online. Or just google 4×6 prints and find somewhere running a sale. (For more info on where to print your photos click here).

Then each kid will end up with their own completed album!

Besides the obvious benefit of them having a book full of pictures of themselves, this gift has other perks. It will take them some time to get it assembled and completed. Which hopefully means they’ll take better care of it and appreciate it more. And keep them busy.

I also hope it will teach them the value of documenting life at an early age and appreciating the value of the stories we can tell through photographs.

This will obviously take a little effort on my part (and your part if you decide to do it). And it’s a lot easier if your photos are already organized (which you can do in less time than you probably fear). But I think it’s definitely worth the time and effort.

Steps to get it done:

Sort through all my photos and “flag” photos of a specific kid using iPhoto. Then I put those photos in a folder to print. And do the same for each kid.

Print photos

Buy an album for each kid and a core kit (if you don’t already have one). When buying Project Life stuff, I use 40% off coupons at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Amazon also does sales as well as Becky Higgins direct site.

A gift that matters, has value, and I don’t have to pick up off the floor 8 million times….hopefully.

Do YOU have any gifts you give your kids that have value and meaning? I’d love to hear about them in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for better more meaningful gifts.

Videos to lift the soul

I hear people bag on Facebook a lot. Which I understand. But my usual response when people say Facebook makes them feel bad is “You’re following the wrong people”. That and “don’t ever read the comments”. Why do people think the comment sections in Facebook are a space they can say whatever they want without regards to the human people they’re hurting on the other end? Facebook comments are usually a breeding ground for Satan’s army. Just don’t read them.

The truth is, there are (and can be) a LOT of good things on Facebook. Like these videos I’m sharing below. All things friends of mine shared on Facebook. We can and MUST use the Internet for good!

These are sure to lift the soul and inspire us to create a better day!! Definitely worth watching.

For more inspiration, check out these TED talks definitely worth listening to!