Green Cinderella: proof that shoes can change your life

Ode to Jod

Song of the day: Brave by Idina Menzel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDfHBxGPOs

 

Since Jodi was laid-off earlier this year, she has really been the driving force behind Charmoné.  We have some new product and design ideas and new sources, and Jodi has been leading the charge on all of these fronts while I’m keeping a full time job.  A few blog posts ago, Jodi commented on some of my finer attributes and now I’d like to comment on some of hers.  For those of us who know Jodi, we know it has been a difficult year for her on a number of fronts, but I am amazed at the way she faces any situation and deals with it and clears it out of her path.   There are things with our business that make me want to hide under the covers and not answer the phone, but Jodi marches on, full steam ahead.  Thank God one of us is like that! 

It struck me that Jodi and I started our relationship as co-workers.  In the “working for the man” world, there are those rare people who put their heads down, do great work and never “insist upon themselves.” Jodi is one of those people.   I respected her work and her lack of drama and neediness. In a world of drama queens in Silicon Valley, she was a real standout.

From there we became friends and four years ago we started this venture.  Over that time, my respect for Jodi professionally and personally has deepened considerably (and it was pretty high to start).  She makes me a better creative thinker and when we work together on design and the more “creative” aspects of Charmoné, we have a blast.  It doesn’t feel like work at all and I treasure that creative space.  When you work on developing something that is nascent and new and full of possibilities, you need to be open and optimistic and never shut down an idea.  Neither of us says “no” and I love that about working with Jodi.  We both consider all of the crazy possibilities before we rein in our ideas.

We’re a dynamic duo if ever there was one.   She’s the Beavis to my Butthead, the C3PO to my R2D2, and we consider ourselves to be as funny as Lucy and Ethel.  She’s like the younger sister I never had.  My kids adore her and so do I.

Even though the road has had some bumps, I respect that Jodi faces the future with optimism and a constant spirit of adventure.  She is brave and I feel honored to be traveling this path with her.

Today is Jodi’s birthday and I wanted to thank her for taking this crazy ride with me, and I know that this year will be an incredible one for an amazing person like her. 

Happy Birthday!

LC 

PS: She’s the smart one. 

Just Keep Swimming

Song of the Day: Funny the way it is by Dave Matthews

Ever since I was laid off in May I have been trying to figure “it” out. “It” being, where should I go now that I can go anywhere? Charmoné is mobile and so am I. I’m soooo free and so lucky, but with that freedom I feel a responsibility to use it as best as I can.

Initially I promised myself that I wouldn’t worry for at least 21 days. And I didn’t. In fact, I sort of extended that through the end of June without any problem whatsoever. I was a rock-star non-worrier. I visited Minnesota, New York, and Colombia, and just figured an obvious answer as to where I should move next would magically appear.

But so far, no magic. More questions than answers. The past week I was starting to feel a lot of pressure to make some big decisions. I’ve taken a lot of time to think and talked to a lot of people, but the best advice I got so far came from watching Finding Nemo with Lauren and her family: Just Keep Swimming. Lauren has been saying that for a long time now but I never really internalized it until I saw the movie. I didn’t even really expect to like the movie, let alone find a profound message in it. The point I took away was that even when you don’t know where you’re going, just keep going. Don’t overanalyze. Don’t worry. Just put one foot (or fin) in front of the other.

Some people would argue that you must have a destination or you’ll end up no where. In this case, I think the “destination” is just knowing the kind of life I want and the kind of people I want to be around, and trusting that I’ll land where I’m best suited. And that might not be one place. At this point in time I honestly do not know where I’ll be after August 2, but I have figured out a few things. I figured out that I can be happy anywhere. I can find both comfort and excitement anywhere. What I most want to find now is the place where I can make the most difference- where my skills, creativity, and spirit are most useful to the people around me. That perspective changes my entire view on things, so we’ll see where I end up next month. Until then, just keep swimming.

The Ugly Truth

Song of the day: Violet by Hole

I spend most of my time trying to radiate positive energy. And having a socially conscious business with very grateful customers often puts both Lauren and I in a peaceful, polly-ana-ish mood that is reflected in our designs. Our design esthetic is definitely ethereal and feminine. Part of this is driven by our personalities and part of this is in direct rejection of the masculine or sensible styles that many people expect to find in eco-friendly, vegan shoes. And in our marketing, we tend to keep it light and reject any kind of “angry activist” message that is sometimes associated with green or vegan causes. 

But despite all this goodness and light, sometimes I succumb to what can only be described as infantile rage. And although it’s historically made me uncomfortable (does not compute with Minnesota nice), I am starting to learn to channel it appropriately and see the value in anger… if it’s used to ignite change.

In truth, I rarely get angry with another person. Usually my anger is directed at myself for either not having enough patience & faith (being in a hurry is not a good idea when it comes to any kind of fashion manufacturing) or not having enough discipline (like the 5,436 calories I ingested at Lauren’s 4^th of July party. UGH.). Fortunately a good workout dissolves most of it and I can quickly make peace with myself. 

The kind of anger I am learning to deal with now is that larger anger at “society.” The underlying frustration that comes from being a woman in America- incredibly, undeniably lucky and yet still unsatisfied with the status quo and disturbed at the images dished out by pop culture. And it switches into both rage and sometimes helplessness when I think about the conditions faced by women in other countries. But that’s not useful, so in hopes of channeling this appropriately, I’m providing a small list of things we women (and men!) can do to help make society better for all of us. These issues range drastically in terms of gravity, but all the actions are focused on bringing women UP and supporting one another… while hopefully eliminating some of the anger and helplessness that affects many of us:

1)      Stop putting unreasonable demands for youth and beauty for women. Not only do men get more of a free pass when it comes to aging, but they are also often easier on us than we are. Don’t spend your time tearing apart other women (people usually do it to famous women, but sometimes its stretches into people you actually know) and commenting on how they need to lose weight, get botox, get some sun, etc. Focus on what’s beautiful about every woman you come across- famous or not, young or old… including yourself.

2)      I know many people find it a light escape, but I’d love to see a mass movement where people stop watching reality shows that encourage women to behave... well drunk and slutty. It’s a horrible message to be sending to girls- “you too can become famous by selling yourself out on TV!” While I know most people don’t take it all that seriously, the ubiquity of the ‘girl-who’s-famous-for-no-reason’ has got to go away. (I have to admit it would be tough to stop watching Talk Soup though. We’re all human. And Joel McHale rocks.)

3)      On a much more serious note, get educated about what’s happening to girls in other countries and do what you can to help. If you haven’t heard about the “sex tours” that take place in Asia and parts of Central America… well it’s about as bad as you might imagine. Here’s a few sites to get you started- and we are just getting started in seeing what we can do to help as well.

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp

http://www.ecpat.net/EI/GetInvolve_speakout.asp

4)      Help another woman avoid above fate by donating to an organization such as:

a.       Women 4 Women

b.      The Girl Effect

 
And lastly, stop judging the women in your life for the choices they make. Whether it’s the choice to have kids or not, to stay home with them or work, to get married or not, whatever it is… stop judging… just support. We are way too hard on one another. Get angry, do something about it, and then go back to being your sweet/sassy/sexy self. Here’s some other songs to inspire you:

Right Through You

Don’t Let Me Get Me

Just a Girl

Finding Balance in 2 1/4 inch heels

Song of the day: Closer to Free*

I think one of the greatest challenges in life is finding your ideal balance of comfort and excitement. Too much excitement can bring a kind of over-stimulation that never allows you to relax - eventually leaving you stressed and burned out. On the other hand, too much comfort can leave you bored and passionless… without a pulse.

I’m feeling the extremes of this at the moment. Last week I went to Colombia for the first time and stayed just 4 days. The trip was exciting and packed with stimulation - from finalizing our upcoming winter collection to looking for Spring ’10 components, while also just getting a feel for a new country, new factory and new surroundings. I don’t think I slept more than 4 hours any night there, and when I came back to Lauren’s place in NY I just crashed. Now that I’m caught up on sleep, I’m already restless from 3 days straight of working at home. Don’t get me wrong, working at home is great, but it doesn’t take me long before I miss being on the move and having a reason to get dressed in the morning. Plus I’m really excited about this new collection and it’s a lot of waiting right now for materials and components to arrive.

It’s also extremely difficult to find the perfect balance of comfort and excitement in shoes. We all want something with some sex appeal and style while also being comfortable enough to walk in and get through the practical part of the day. (Not to mention being eco-friendly, vegan and sweatshop-free, but why complicate matters?) Most women feel unsexy in flats, and yet if you’ve got something to do besides stand around and look pretty, 4-inch heels can be a strain.
 
We found the solution in our 2 ¼ inch stacked summer heels! With enough “chunk” to keep you grounded and enough “curve” to remind you you’re a woman, the Lavender, Longwing and Peppermint will keep you both excited and comfortable all summer long. Play it safe with the Espresso Bean print or get a little crazy with the Warm Burgundy and Cool Blues Stripes. And just because we love to give a girl options, don’t forget the jeweled embellishment on the Longwing is removable- allowing you to move from streamlined to sparkley in just one clip.

There are just a few sizes left in each style, and at $79 (originally $299!), they won’t last, so get them while they’re hot! Here's just a few pics- many more options available at www.charmone.com.

       

*Does anyone else miss Party of 5? Whatever happened to Scott Wolf and Neve Campbell?