last week i received an email with the title i used for this post. intrigued, i opened the email and found the story of sarah berkovich, who was writing about a project very close to her heart:
“two years ago in an environmental science class, i was given a creative assignment that started me on the journey to producing a film. i told the story of my grandfather, victor kaufmann, who in his eighties, has been planting seedlings by hand all over his otherwise barren land in lyle, washington. despite the physical hurdles of age, his goal is to reach 10,000 trees.
the reaction i received from my documentary film class upon sharing his story surprised me: “you have to make this a film!”
i realized that my classmates are right. not only is this story inspiring to me and my family, but it can inspire everyone with the message that it’s never too late to accomplish your dreams.”
sarah and her friend sarah ginsburg, who is helping her produce the film, have created a page on kickstarter where you can watch a video about the project and make a donation to support the documentary:
stories like this are so inspiring to me- a real girl with a dream and a passion who is doing whatever she can to accomplish her goal. thanks so much for sharing, sarah!
one of our fp girls out on the west coast sent me these adorable photos that i had to share…
our so-cal DVM had a day at her daughter’s school called “occupation celebration” where she talked to the kids about her awesome job at FP – she dressed up the girls like mannequins and chatted all about being a district visual manager – how cute?!
and this is claude, a new pup belonging to our visual manager on the west coast! above is claude as an itty bitty pup, and here is is on his first fp store visit, in santa monica:
this is just too much…i need a puppy!!!
margaux-Feb 09, 2011, 1:10AM
oh my god, i just died
kim @ fptorrance-Jan 29, 2011, 5:50PM
this post melts my heart! i love the mini fp models- so cute!!! claude just makes me swoon!
one of our designers celebrated a birthday yesterday and how lovely is this spread some of our fp grils put together for her? fresh fruit, yogurt with honey, oats, cute cookies, cake and flowers…perfect! (raspberries…mmmmmm…my fave).
Eva-Jan 27, 2011, 8:37PM
Yummy! And what an awesome birthday! It looks as though working for FP is an absolute blast!
Tiffany-Jan 27, 2011, 2:14PM
everything looks so yummy
XOXO,
http://outfitidentifier.com/
lizzy janssen is an amazing artist, has great style, and is just an awesome person- so its no surprise that her home (in fishtown, philadelphia) is a reflection of all those things. lizzy describes it as somewhere in the early american, meets 1950′s housewife, meets mid-century modern neighborhood :) another fun fact – it was designed by our creative director, who lives here!
i’m completely in love with her place…the exposed brick, the spiral staircase, the amazing bathroom and her adorable cat arlo in the above picture (named after arlo guthrie).
most of the stuff lizzy has decorated her place with – the furniture, paintings and figurines – was found at thrift stores, garage sales, and sometimes even on the curb! her favorite thrift stores in philly are germantown thrift and three potato four, in manayunk.
here’s a quick little interview with lizzy, and check out more photos of her sweet place in the slideshow below!
you can check out another tour of lizzy’s home here!
Lindsey Nichols-Feb 24, 2011, 3:35AM
Being a graphic designer myself, and Loving ALL things old and vintage.. this post is not only inspiring but just a breathe of fresh air to see :). Sometimes I think that all people forget about the good things in life, like s local thrift store or estate sale... its where all the real treasures are found :)! Great post free people, i love you blog and only could dream to work for you some day.
Your Graphic Designer has a sick place ps!!!!
xoxo,
Lindsey Nichols
http://be.net/lindseykaynichols
today’s fan story is from sheila from portland OR, a student and artist who sent in some of her recent work. she wrote that she loves fiber art and is always inspired by the materials that free people uses, and has incorporated some tears from fp catalogs into her work.
i love how personal her work is, some of it containing little sentences or phrases that are like a peek into her diary. awesome stuff, thanks for sharing shiela! you can check out more of her work here.
and don’t forget to keep the stories coming to blog@freepeople.com!
Leather & Lace-Feb 05, 2011, 2:38PM
her art work is truly magical.. what an inspiration!
thank you for sharing! loving your blog <3
xoxo
Steamboat Navetta-Jan 25, 2011, 10:00PM
I go to school with Sheila, have watched her create some of these works, and have critiqued them. The top right image is literally the most beautiful drawing ever created by a single person, you can't see from the picture, but it is large-scale and on transparent mylar. I am sad, because what you don't get with the images is the explanations of the driving concepts, and her thought process while working on the pieces. Sheila is too good, buy her art, all of it, now!go!
looking through our january catalog, i’m sure more than a few of you were wondering… who’s the handsome guy? his name is gauthier and he is a french model – our team found him on the street! we asked him to give us the insider scoop on his favorite places to eat and hang out in paris.
you may recognize this girl from some free people catalogs! she modeled in our december ’09 and january ’10 books, and i interviewed her back then for the blog. michele often works in paris – and hung out with our team while they were shooting there – so i asked her for a little rundown of her ideal day off in paris!
paris! such a fun, beautiful city. i love working there and no matter how many times i visit there is always something fabulous to discover! the city is set up in such a way that nearly every corner you turn, a gorgeous monument or bridge or statue or building is right in front of you. there is so much to take in! whenever i have some time to kill between castings i explore st. germain and le marais or pop into one of the many museums. my perfect day off would look something like this…
A friend and I are spending this July in Paris, any one have any tips on budget friendly spots to check out? Also, if any one knows of any beaches that are a day or less by train away, and not too terribly crowded in the summer months, we'd love to spend a few days some where we can swim our little hearts out!
ever wish you could take a peek inside the home of a fashion blogger? i always imagine what their homes look like, what they surround themselves with and what inspires them – the way people decorate their place is so indicative of their personality – i love checking out peoples’ music and book collections in particular :)
our stylists snapped some photos at louise ebel’s home in paris and isn’t it charming? i love the little knick knacks everywhere – you can tell she’s a sentimental person who holds on to gifts, treasured items and dried flowers, which i love! i’m the same way.
next up is some artwork our reader taylor sent in- a loyal free people fan who reads the blog and comments regularly! her work caught my eye a little while back when she posted a couple of drawings on our facebook page – i love the spirit that comes across in her drawings, she definitely seems like a free people girl!
(you may recall me posting this one once before… i love it!)
i also love these photos she sent in! beautiful :)
thanks for sharing, taylor!
and thank you again to all who have submitted stories, artwork and photos! i love hearing from you so please keep them coming to blog@freepeople.com :)
colleen-Jan 07, 2012, 9:16AM
Truly amazing, I adore them all :) ...Except I love kaleidoscope eye the most because of it's intricate detail.
Cheyenne-Jan 13, 2011, 5:43PM
These drawings are truly amazing, in every sense. You have such a vision and I love the shoes especially! So proud of you Taylor, can't wait to see more artwork, because it is so unique! And not to mention, you look gorgeous in those photos, you are one special girl!
-love <3
today i want to share a couple more fan stories that have been sent in!
the first comes from amy, who sent in some photos from her blog on the fresh coast, which is titled after living along the great lakes her whole life and weekending near the wisconson glacial lakes, a common activity among people who live in her area.
i really love the photo of her bedroom, which she decorated with some driftwood wrapped in string, inspired by this photo i posted a little while back:
here’s her take on it:
it looks so cool! i might have to do this :) here are a couple more pretty photos that she sent me from her blog:
beautiful! thanks for sharing amy!
How to build a boat-May 04, 2011, 5:17PM
Nice.. your article is very good. Not only was it helpful, it taught me some new things Just added this to my favorites Keep posting buddy :D
Abercrombie Coupons-Jan 23, 2011, 1:25PM
They remind me of my Chesapeake Setters, some sweet pups.
i first came across my breakfast blog when the author, maggie, posted a cute diy project using one of our catalogs. when i checked out her blog, i was immediately drawn to her unique style of writing and quirky, likeable personality. and she happens to post some really yummy recipes that are right up my alley – organic, vegetarian, healthy and still delicious.
here is one of the recipes i came across on her blog recently that i’m dying to try. i’m getting hungry just thinking about it:
toast the bread and spread with raw sun dried tomato garlic sauce. cook one large farm fresh egg sunny side up in an infused garlic olive oil and dress with black pepper. slice avocado and add on as desired. sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper, and voila! breakfast :)
I am bummed that I just read this, I just did my food shopping. Looks like I am heading back out! Can't wait to try it. I have been looking for good, meat-free meals.
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