Houston, We Have Lift Off!

"Birds flying high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel. It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me. And I'm feeling good."

 ~ Anthony Newely

I'm just gonna be completely honest here, I've been sitting at my desk in front of a computer screen for about thirty minutes trying to figure out how to start this off. What better way than saying how I'm feeling? I feel good, man. I feel good, and I'm so excited for Heart Heart Smile. You see, the idea of Heart Heart Smile was laid mid-summer of this year. I wore one of my up-cycled tees to a birthday/ photo booth party and my good friend Wendy encouraged me to make them for other people. She invited me to teach a workshop in the free time space at the Maccabi Games. 

I did just that. My booth was such a hit and I had so much fun teaching others how to cut, weave, and tie their plain tees into a wearable master piece. A few weeks later, I sold some of my shredded tees at an event at the Amala Foundation to raise money to attend the Global Youth Peace Summit. In just a few hours I sold six of my shirts and, along with the help of donations, reached my goal of $350. That's when I realized that Mr. Opportunity had been banging on my door this whole time.

In October, I opened the door to him. He offered to let me sell my shirts at Art Outside, and that's when the eggs hatched.  With business cards on hand and fifteen shirts, I was ready. Business didn't start out so well, but it got better towards the end. I ended up selling three shirts and in return got a lot of experience that was well needed.

Now it's time for this bird to spread it's wings and soar, and time for this mama give her a little push. I have a team now, my beautiful mother Tammy and our dear friend Veronica.

And I'm feeling good.

~Amber Sadie