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www.the-IDEA-store.org
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Add your face to the Earth Day mosaic
Help us show the world what we're doing here!
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They may have paved paradise, but thanks to FOMEs (Friends of Mother Earth) like you, we're doing our best to make sure pristine areas like this do not become landfills! Show your love for your Mother on April 12 at 6:30 p.m. by gathering behind The I.D.E.A. Store with other FOMEs for a special pre-Earth Day photo shoot!
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Hard to believe, but it's been more than four decades since the first Earth Day was declared on April 22, 1970. A pivotal day in world history, that single event spawned to an entire movement aimed at preserving our planet.
So, what are you doing to embrace the spirit of Earth Day this year?
Consider joining us on Friday, April 12 for a special opportunity to show the world that the citizens of Central Illinois mean business when it comes to conservation of our precious resources. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., anyone who wants to participate -
shoppers, volunteers and other friends of
The I.D.E.A. Store - will assemble in the store's parking lot for a massive group photo shoot scheduled at 7 p.m. The resulting photo will be uploaded to the Earth Day Network's website as our entry in "The Face of Climate Change." (Rain date for photo shoot is Friday, April 19).
Our photo will be among the many from around the globe that the Earth Day Network will publish on its website and include in interactive digital displays at events taking place throughout the world on Earth Day 2013 (April 22). Some of the images will bring attention to humans and animals immediately affected by climate change - from polar bears to farmers coping with ongoing droughts. Others, like ours, will feature the faces of Central Illinois residents who are doing their small part to have a BIG IMPACT on the local environment by reusing materials that would otherwise be landfill-bound.
Find more information on the Earth Day Network and the "Face of Climate Change" here.
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Put a bird on it
Rise with the sun and get tips from Carol Jo!
 Speaking of Earth Day ... that's exactly what the The I.D.E.A. Store's Environmental Outreach Specialist Carol Jo Morgon will be doing during her next early-morning, on-air appearance on WICD-TV's "Sunrise" program on Wednesday, April 17. Because birds are such a popular, inspirational art motif these these days, Carol Jo plans to demonstrate creative possibilities for making birds and bird nests. She'll also be taping two additional segments, which will air sometime during Earth Day week (April 22-27). Check out the next newsletter for more details regarding the content of those broadcasts. Meanwhile if you're unable to catch the early-morning show, just go to the WICD-TV website and type "IDEA Store" in the search box, then scroll down to see the list archived broadcasts. |
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Live artists at the store!
Meet our own 'Boneyard' Artists April 12-13
The I.D.E.A. Store will be a host site for this year's "Boneyard Arts Festival" Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. The festival is sponsored by 40 North|88 West, the Champaign County Arts Council.
Featured artists will be The I.D.E.A. Store volunteers John McMullen, Sarah Meadows and Rachel Witt-Callahan. All three will be showing and selling their work made from repurposed materials, and will be set up in the hallway near the entry to the store.
John, of "Upcycled Adornments," and Sarah, of "Saturday Sequins," will be featured from noon-7 p.m. on April 12. They will offer their artisan-made jewelry, accessories, and home décor items, including quilts, bags, earrings, necklaces, and scarves, all made from materials purchased at The I.D.E.A. Store.
Rachel, the Boneyard featured artist on April 13, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m, will bring jewelry, lamps and lampshades made from repurposed items, including photographic slides.
Editor's note: The image at the top, left side of the newsletter is a detail from an art quilt by John McMullen, made from repurposed fabric.
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Mr. Green Jeans would be proud!
New date set for denim workshop: April 23
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Assistant Manager Ning Zulauf sports a super-sized bag made from repurposed blue jeans.
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The workshop "ReDesigning Denim," originally scheduled for March 26, had to be postponed. The new date is Tuesday, April 23, from 6-9 p.m. So, if were thinking of signing up by didn't, you have a second chance!
Those who registered for the March workshop should have been contacted by store staff by now about the new date; if not, please call the store during business hours, 352-7878.
Workshop participants will learn how to use denim jeans to make three beginning-level projects in three hours: a purse or tote bag, work apron, and a double oven mitt. The workshop will be taught by Amy Robison. Skilled volunteers will assist.
Individuals age 16 years or older may participate; class size is limited to 16 (two per sewing machine). A $35 workshop fee includes all materials and take-home information, along with use of The I.D.E.A. Store tools. Preregistration by 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20 is required.
Need some more blue-to-green transformation inspiration?
Check out some of these links for design ideas for bags, repurposed fashions and other clever ways to reuse all those too-tight jeans in your drawers and closets:
* 25 things to do with old jeans.
* Map it!
* Stuff it!
* A bell-bottom-less pit of design ideas.
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Jewelry makers, artists and crafters all like to dip into the do-dad box at Jewelry Blowout Sales!
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All that glitters . . .
Another Jewelry Blowout Sale Around the corner, May 3-4
The next Jewelry Blowout Sale is planned for Friday, May 3 from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, May 4 from 10-3 p.m.
As always, all things jewelry related will be up for grabs: beads of all kinds, stringing supplies and findings, tools, books, storage options, cabachons. There also will be tables full of finished items, including pins, earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, tie tacks and bars and much more.
And no Jewelry Blowout Sale would be complete without a few unusual surprises! New items are added throughout both days, so come when you can. The early bird won't necessarily snag ALL the shiny, bright objects!
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Bead-dazzling pros behind the scenes
Team effort secret to success of jewelry sales
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Claire Billing tallies up a customer's treasures at the last Jewelry Blowout Sale, while Amy Meyer prepares to bag the bounty.
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One of the most popular regular blowout sales at The I.D.E.A. Store is all about jewelry - from materials and tools to make it and ready-to-wear pieces to storage units and instructional books. It's a labor-intensive process to get all of these special treats ready for you.
First, generous people donate all manner of jewelry and jewelry-making items to the store via the receiving area, where staff and volunteers cull it from the rest of the neat stuff that comes in. They pass them along to our jewelry-sale specialists, who have the experience to identify all the bits and pieces, research their values and prepare it all for interested shoppers.
The store's co-founder, Carol Jo Morgan, was owner of "The Bead Lady," and the sale of that business paid for her master's degree in natural resources and environmental sciences from the University of Illinois. The I.D.E.A. Store reflects her support of education, the arts and the environment. The I.D.E.A. Store's Volunteer Coordinator, Claire Billing, worked with Carol Jo at "The Bead Lady," where they became friends and she learned how to make and repair jewelry. A talented local jeweler donates his time and expertise with the extra-special items the store receives.
Each item you donate is carefully examined and pronounced intact or in need of repair or salvage. Items are spiffed up a bit, as needed, except some silver items are left as is because buyers may prefer the patina that also can be an indicator of a piece's age. Carol Jo and Claire salvage any parts of damaged jewelry that can be reused, sometimes to repair another incomplete piece of jewelry. Another friend, also a volunteer at The I.D.E.A. Store, helps by carding earrings and pins, and other excellent volunteers help with tagging and at the blowouts. It's truly a team effort from start to finish.
We depend on your donations to ensure successful jewelry events, so please keep the store in mind when you, your friends and family spring clean your jewelry boxes! Remember that items are accepted in any condition and that proceeds from their sale will ultimately benefit our community through support of our public schools.
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So, What's This All About?
The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation saw a need in the community to accomplish several things: 1. Support the arts and arts education, 2. Support environmental education in our communities, 3. Impact the environment by reducing the rate of waste disposal, 4. create a place for everyone to have access to quality materials and 5. Support itself in light of the difficult economic times. So donate your discards and shop re-use. Its about making a difference!
www.cuSchoolsFoundation.org
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INVEST. DEVELOP. ELEVATE. ACHIEVE.
The I.D.E.A. Store is an earned-income social enterprise
of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation,
a full 501c3 non-profit organization supporting K -12 education in
Illinois Community School Districts Unit 4 and Unit 116
Phone: 217-352-7878 Store hours: Tuesday - Friday, 2 pm - 7 pm and Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm
28 E. Springfield, Champaign, IL 61820
2nd Floor - handicapped access and loading dock available on north side of building
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