2010love Giveaway

I showed you the onesie I thought Jack should sport and the lovely ladies known as Design Sisters are now offering one lucky we chirper your choice of a 2010love look for yourself or your favorite grad, favorite new baby or just whomever you think should celebrate 2010.  Get ready for some good getting to know you.  Tiffany's answers are in green and Leslie's in blue.

1. The perfect night out goes like this...

Hmm, the setting could be hard to choose here... but it would definitely be a warm, breezy evening. Either a sidewalk cafe in NYC or the patio of my best friend or sister... twinkle lights, some bouncy jazz or Féla, candles and the company of sis, bf and their significant others and my hubby. Cocktails to start, and a three hour meal in courses doused with amazing, rich wines and conversation that spawns belly laughter. This is followed by a deep sleep, and waking up past 9am with my daughter staying over at Grandma's house. A fun night out is always more fun when you can sleep in a little.

A warm summer evening. Surroundings that stimulate inspiration. Fresh air filling our lungs. Great food filling our bellies. A new wine. Amazing music. And long hours of conversations with friends and family filling our souls. 

2. Best thing about working with my sister is...

She is amazingly creative and intuitive and can make anything... beautiful. She has a magic touch with creating an alluring environment.... whether it is a brand to experience or the interior of a home. So working with her, I like to think, allows me to learn by osmosis. I try to just suck it all in. It is also such a gift to be able to spend so much time with my sister... I feel that it has brought us closer, in a unique type of way, that allows us to see that 'working' side of each other many family members rarely get to experience. Honestly, its just so nice working with her... there isn't anyone else I'd rather work with.

Knowing that pretty much any idea we come up with will eventually come to fruition and better the lives of our families, and sometimes with very little work or expended effort. 

It's a little magical really... we may share an idea in a passing conversation then months will go by and without even realizing it the idea will have taken form. We'll notice it and say "hey look.. we talked about that months ago and now here it is!" That doesn't happen in other working arrangements I've been in. I think it has a lot to do with our connection. We plant seeds and the good energy makes them grow. 

3. What is the music that defines you?  One band?  Even better, what band could the world do without?

OH boy... this is a hard one. I love music, and have been quite enraptured with it since I was a youth. I love all types, from bluegrass to jazz, to punk, to hip hop and classical. There isn't one type of music defines me because my mood defines the type of music I feel like listening to. That is it's beauty, afterall. I find a good song or stretch of tunes can truly inspire any creation, be it a good meal or a design that was in a rut. Right now, since summer is approaching, I am very much into reggae, dub, rumba catalana, and afrobeat... particularly Féla Kuti. It just transports me to another time and somewhere tropical, which is nice if you can't get there very often. A band the world could do without? Kesha... although you couldn't technically call her a band.

Oh man, that's a tough one. Music is such an integral part of my being, and my musical tastes are so broad and varied that I doubt there is a single band that can really define who I am. I can start a day with Yo-Yo Ma, spend my lunch hour with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, late afternoon coffee with Flo Rida and evening wine with Zeppelin. I guess what really feeds my soul is great jazz though. 

I will say - I have a teenage daughter and I never thought I would be the one to complain about "the kids these days," but man... if I hear one more artist who is hiding behind auto tune and the same club beat I might lose it. That's what the world can do without. Auto tune. It's completely devoid of soul. Ick. It's time to the music industry to get creative again instead of churning stuff out of the marketing machine. If we're not careful we're going to raise a generation of musical robots.

4. You are being whisked away on the perfect vacation, where to?  And what 5 things are a must to have with you?

Ahh, vacation. It's been a long time. Again, this could change yearly depending on my mood, but right now I'd say Greece, when its hot, on the Mediterranean beach. Five things I must have: 1) my husband, 2) endless carafes of wine, 3) sunscreen, 4) my camera, 5) lip gloss

Doesn't really matter where as long as there are new, beautiful things to see and learn about. That can happen anywhere really. Beach or mountains. Large metropolis or rolling countryside. Even dives in small town USA. 

Must haves: 

1) A good pair of walking shoes. 

2) Enough cash to enjoy great food and a decent bed.

3) A camera

Must be without:

4) Work schedule

5) Email

5. 2010 may be the best year ever because...

We will be adding to our family... and possibly, starting over in a new location. Change is fun and keeps you young.

We are the masters of our fate for the first time.. well.. ever. We've experienced enough in our work and our lives now (yes, we're of a certain age) that we have the knowledge and connections to make pretty much ANYTHING happen. All it will take is the vision and the stubbornness to push them through. And yes.. we have plant of both. ;)

6. How did you guys come up with the concept and how did you get started?

 (Tiff) In all our dreaming and discussion of working together over the years, we have always expressed mutual interest in doing something 'good' with our business... giving back in some way. So, in January 2010, soon after we launched Handshoe Design Collaborative, I began a small promotional project for a close friend. While sketching out ideas, I developed the 2010love mark and immediately felt like I had something bigger... with potential for growth. I quickly sent it to Leslie asking her... "Hey, do you think people would wear this on a t-shirt?" Her response was, "YES." We saw an immediate campaign that could inspire people to do what we had just decided to do: make a positive change starting in 2010. So we printed some shirts, did a photoshoot, launched a blog, set up an Etsy shop, twitter account and facebook page all within two weeks... and began talking about 2010love... a lot.

(Leslie) Yes, we had been talking for years about how to create a working environment as designers that would allow us to create work that really mattered — to us, and to the world. We’d tossed around ideas for a long time, then when Tiff came up with the mark, it was as if everything magically coalesced. All of our ideas suddenly had a face, and the potential for growth started to identify itself. Sometimes the best ideas happen organically. Serendipity is a good thing.

Thank you Leslie and Tiffany!  One lucky we chirper will win your choice of 2010love wear from their etsy shop. I am especially loving the new pink line that sends 10% of proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

One entry?  Leave a comment telling me what you are loving in 2010.
Two entries?  Become a fan on Facebook - look over to the left and you will see the add button. Leave a separate comment letting me know.
Three entries?  Facebook (has that been made into a verb officially yet?) or blog about this giveaway, with a link to wechirp.blogspot.com and copy your post/link to your blog here in in a separate comment.

What am I loving in 2010?  Too much - a new babe, the color persimmon, being one year older, my three other babes and their daddy, glee, U2, the idea of sleep...  Gimme some of yours. Glee.

Giveaway runs until the 8th, I'll announce a winner on the 9th.