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A wee bit of catch up to do here I’m afraid. First off, in my own defence, I’ve worked on average 75 hours per week since my last blog post. To put it in perspective, that’s more than twice what the average person works in a week. When I work an eight hour day, I feel like I’m getting off at lunch time. So, think about it… what does that leave time for? Well, I have to sit down and pay bills, make invoices, go to the bank, and get groceries. I have to make meals for my daughter and I, clean up after, feed my cat, do laundry, and vacuum. I have to shower, dress, sleep and do pilates. I have to fill Buggy Bag orders, tweet and post to the Buggy Bag fb page. Yeah… you get the idea…there’s not been a whole lot of time left to blog! I’ve been off now for 2 weeks. Some of that time was spent recuperating from the last 5 months. Some of it was spent blowing off steam with my friends. I went to the Cloverdale Rodeo, several parties and over to the island for a night.
I’ve sold out of Large size Black Lap Blankets! I’ve put in a new PO with the factory and should be receiving the new shipment by September, just in time for the cold weather. Toys ‘R’ Us (.ca) has increased their re-oder amount steadily since they took on the stroller and jogger blankets, so that’s good news for me, however, I still can’t for the life of me find the product through any search on their site!!! I wonder how they’re selling them.
I missed the Abilities Expo at the Roundhouse this year because I was working on a movie, which upset me, because I really enjoy that event. I did get to go to the Recreational Resource Fair at GF Strong
though, which was really fun. The pic above is of David from Vivify. It was nice to see his big smile from where I was sitting this year. I also, had a great chat with the author of a blog called Priority Seating. Check it out.
I have done more than that, obviously, but, it’s past my bedtime, so, that’ll be for another day.
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Really, it wasn’t one of those “wow.. that was quite the Gong Show” sort of events. It was a fundraiser for Interfit Integrated Fitness Society. It’s an event that I not only attended last year, but will likely become known as a ‘regular’ at in the future. This years’ event was themed as a ‘Gong Show’, with lots of entertainers attempting to upstage one another in front of a panel of judges, with mallet ready to strike the gong. There were the good, the bad and the ugly, and the utterly breathtaking, rocking and hypnotizing. It was sheer entertainment.
Silent Auction Table
My friend Rina from LiddleWorks came with me, and we bought a glass of wine and began making our way along the super long table sporting all of the donated items that were up for silent auction. There were a huge variety of items ranging from vacation get-a-ways, original art, jewelry, sports accessories, and of course there was my very own contribution, Cairns Technical Gear (aka. buggy bag, story to follow) Wheelchair Blanket,… oh, and not to forget the huge beanbag cushion. Lots of cool stuff. We bid on many items and then staked out a seat on the groovy low white leather ottomans in the centre of the room. All the couch seats were already gone, or we would have been there.
Rina and me
Looks like I’m making some wise-crack out of the corner of my mouth….
All the volunteers at the event were dressed in 70’s outfits, some of which were just stellar.
Gong Show MC
We were also entertained by a very handsome man who kept bringing little yummy bits over for us to sample.
Yummy.... um... hors d'œuvres...
One of the entertainers that really stick out in my mind was a very young guitar player that played so beautifully, in the realm of Steve Vai… wow… he’s going to be even more amazing when he gets older. And the best part of his act was the fact that he was sporting the long, free-flowing hair of the 80’s rocker… totally fit into the gong-show theme.
Here’s a picture I took of Interfit founder Brian Bell.
Brian Bell
Last year I promised myself that I would take my good camera with me, but, I forgot, so you get my iPhone pics instead. Maybe next year I’ll remember.
I was running late. Had to drop off a costume to Sanctuary first and then whip over to Costco for some chocolates. I thought it would be nice to be able to offer visitors a treat when they stopped in to chat. I had put together a little slide show loop of pics from photo shoots, and had that on the end of my table playing on my laptop. The other end of the tabel had a list I had made up of all the retail locations where you could buy Cairns Technical Gear, some brochures and business cards. In the centre was a sample of the Cairns Full Protection Lap Blanket for wheelchair users and the Cairns Rain Protection Apron for scooter users.
I was a little disappointed by the location of my table. It was in the middle of the east side of the room, and because there was a projection screen in that corner, the lights were off. This wasn’t an issue for any of the tables around the outside of the room because they had spot lights aimed at their tables. In between presentations they would turn on the ceiling lights and cast some light onto my table… this is where the bowl of chocolates come in….
...all that glitters... and smells like chocolate...
I had some past customers come by to visit me and see the new product, which was a real pleasure for me. One of the customers who dropped by already owns two of the Cairns Full Protection Lap Blankets, one in each colour. It was the first time that I met her and it was such a treat. She was using her red one that day.
See how dark it is?
She was the second customer, that I had not met before, who approached my table for a chat. I just love that part of the Abilities Expo. I get to meet the people after they’ve been using the product for a winter and find out what they think, get their views and talk about new ideas.
I even had someone I’d been chatting with on Twitter come by and introduce himself. He writes a cool blog ‘Priority Seating’ about accessibility on transit in Vancouver. His Twitter handle is @nextstoporbust, if you’d like to join him. It’s so nice to be able to put a face to a name.
I had Rina Liddle and Prophecy Sun stop by from LiddleWorks to chat… we would be meeting up again later in the week to do a photo shoot.
Me and Rina
Me and Prophecy Sun
The afternoon was a whir of visitors and lots of people that came by 3 and 4 times to grab one of the chocolates. It was fun to watch as some people would saunter by for the 2nd time and act like they didn’t notice the bowl, only to turn back and grab a few more for later.
The entertainment was really good. The CanDance Team performed to a number by the Black Eyed Peas. And there was also a singer/guitar player that I really liked, Glenn David Loft. I’ve looked all over for the info and can’t seem to find it. Here’s a picture of him. If anyone knows his name, let me know in the comments.
For the last month I’ve been trying to find an active, younger guy who would like to assist me in my design process. I’m designing a pair of adapted street-wear pants that would be appealing to younger hip guys, that don’t want to look like they’re wearing adapted pants. Then, from across the room I spotted the best looking man I’ve seen in years. I started having one of those moments where I was thinking…”I can’t approach him… he’s WAY too good looking”. I’m glad I did because he was not only interested in helping me, but, he was full of ideas and enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to having the time to work on this new project.
Our friends Ken and June showed up for a chat as well. They have modeled for us in the past and are much fun to chat with. They have both been so supportive of what I’m doing.
Ken and June
The afternoon was a whir of visitors and lots of people that came by 3 and 4 times to grab one of the chocolates. It was fun to watch as some people would saunter by for the 2nd time and act like they didn’t notice the bowl, only to turn back and grab a few more for later. Can’t wait til next year. It’s a great event that ConnecTra Society puts on at the Roundhouse in Vancouver.
I promised in my last post that I would let you know how I enjoyed the games. The first couple of Wheelchair Rugby games that I saw were while I was volunteering the day after my last post. I saw four games that day. There are two games being played simultaneously, so you can watch both at the same time. CAN v GBR, USA v GER, SWE v FIN and NSL v ARG, were the four games I got to see that day.
All of the games were action packed and crazy and just a whole lot of fun to watch. It was fun volunteering. That day the stands were absolutely packed with schools from the lower mainland. A lot of the kids had made banners and were making lots of noise, so the air was vibrant surrounding those games. I enjoyed watching some of the guys I had met in the athletes lounge the day before, out there playing so hard. It was so much that I rushed back to the ticket desk and bought 4 tickets for Friday night. CAN v USA game.
Not sure if they call this the "Tip Off" or not....
I took my daughter and 2 of her friends to the game. Girls night was off to a good start. The Richmond Oval is such a beautiful building… unfortunately, we were a bit late getting going and by the time we got there, all the seats were taken in front of the CAN v USA game. We were able to sit just between the two games closer to the side of the GER v FIN game. Canada and the US were 1 point apart throughout the entire game… it was super close for all 4 periods, with Canada leading.
Canada leads....
The girls enjoyed the games just as much as I did and between the four of us, I think we figured out the basic rules of the game.
Nabilah, Emma, Devi and I... self portrait
I felt a bit sorry for the Germany and Finland teams because everybody was watching the Canada v USA game and kind of ignoring their game…. that part didn’t feel right, but, I guess that’s par for the course when there are two games being played at the same time….
This shot shows the German team watching the Canada USA game along side with some of the other athletes. In the end USA overtook Canada and won by one point….and we headed home, all of us now, Murder Ball fans.
Last Friday I start a 3-day stint as a volunteer for the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships. It was a slow start of putting promotional packages together and poking holes in the credential holders and attaching the lanyards to them. It was still fun because the company was good…
Me, two other volunteers and a mountain of lanyards...
This morning started out at the Sheraton Hotel, with me merchandising some swag in the athletes lounge… that was fun. I was to keep the shirts, posters, pins, etc. in order and make sure that any visitors to the lounge had what they needed. I had lots of people come in to buy games shirts and I bought one of the delicious chocolates.
Games shirts and stuff
A few guys from team Sweden came in for a rousing game of foosball.
Foosball
Then, later in the afternoon, they were seen playing doubles tennis…
Doubles Tennis Match
Then there were the guys from the UK that were Rocking out on Rock Band…
Rock Band Team GBR
Manni and Ash shot a great game of pool, although it turned out that Ash was a bit of a “shark”… it was a fun game to watch.
Manni and Ash
I met David Rountree, the inventor of the Floor-Board Wii Platform for wheelchairs. This is a really neat thing. The platform is designed to be seated right on top of the Wii Balance Board. It tips/rocks down at the back as the wheelchair pushes onto it and then it even back out when the chair is perfectly balanced on the platform….Game On!
Original Floor-Board
David demonstrated to me how it worked and showed me how easy it is to slalom…yet later when I tried it myself, it proved to be much more difficult!
Tight Slalom David!
Travis from Canada, Vancouver to be more precise, gave it a whirl too.
David and Travis
From what David was saying, he’s just about to get the 3rd prototype back from the factory, each one better and lighter than it’s predecessor. I can understand what he’s going through, trying to get this great product out and into the hands of people that will use and love it. I feel like we have a lot in common when it comes to moving our products ahead…I have a lot of the same issues when it comes to buggy bag… it’s a long road, but, certainly an enjoyable journey.
David and 2nd prototype
I had such a great day and met so many wonderful people… I can’t wait til tomorrow when I go and volunteer at the Richmond Oval. I’ve never been there before and hopefully I will get to glimpse a few minutes of these sold out games.
Court 1 Court 2
12:00 3 SWE v FIN 4 NZL v ARG
These are the games that will be on when I’m there tomorrow…. there will be others, but, not while I’m there. I’ve never seen the famous game of MurderBall played, but, I’m told it is very exciting…. anyway, I will let you know in my next post.
A whole week has gone by already since the shoot… I feel bad that I haven’t talked about it yet, I’ve been really busy this week… fittings for SGU, alterations, volunteering at the Wheelchair Rugby Games, getting fitted for contacts… many stories to come!
Last Friday, Rina from LiddleWorks, organized a photo shoot, so we would have some more shots for the new website. I don’t know how she did it, but, it all came together really fast and without a hitch. We had seven models, a dog, a photographer and Rina and me. Rina chose a wonderful park just to the east of Granville Island. It’s got a duck pond, a wooded area, and sea wall with city background. We got some really different looks without having to change locations.
Rina, Derek and Georgina at the duck pond
Georgina, and Duncan were the first to arrive. Duncan was fairly worried when Georgina was off with the photographer…. he stayed with me at our work table/bench and whimpered while keeping a close eye on her. Duncan is a working dog and he obviously takes his job seriously. Although, I have to say, I had a hard time taking him too seriously. I’ve never seen such “puppy dog eyes”… dark brown pools…sooo, cute!
Me and Duncan
Derek and Duncan
This was kinda funny… Derek was trying to get Duncan to go back over to to Georgina… Duncan had other ideas about how the day was going to go…
Sylvi was the second model. Now there is some talent, and I’m not referring to her modelling, although she was great at that! She is a multi-talented performer and composer of modern music. Sylvi has generously offered to let us use her music on our site, which we certainly will when we get to that point in its development.
Sylvi and Me in conversation
The next models were a team, my friend Samantha and her darling little Elizabeth, who is now about 10 months old. Elizabeth is just one very patient child. We had her in two different strollers and lots of pics were taken, she gave us smiles and was just a great model…. (so were you Sam)
Samantha and Elizabeth
June and Ken showed up next and went off with Derek while I hung around the table with our stuff.
June and Ken
Kent was the last one for the day and while Derek was shooting with him, Rina and I packed up all the things we had brought and folded up the table and started to move in the direction of the cars.
Rina, me and Kent
It was a good day. The light was flat, the rain held off, and there were lots of laughs. I feel so lucky to have such great people coming into my life…. Thanks to all of you…Rina, Derek, Georgina, Sylvi, Sam, Elizabeth, June, Ken and Kent… oh, and Duncan! …and of course Lydia from the British Columbia Paraplegic Association for helping us with the model search.
Last Saturday night, 3 of my girlfriends, my brother and I, went to the 2010 Spring Frolic. It’s a fundraiser for the InterFit Integrated Fitness Society in North Vancouver. If you’ve ever come to visit Vancouver, or you are lucky enough to live in this amazing place, you know, that there is nothing that takes you closer to the wonder of this planet than a walk in our great forests. That is what the Integrated Fitness society is all about.
We got all dressed up and headed out to the Delbrook rec Centre. I didn’t know what to expect, because I had never been to one of their events before. The event used two large rooms, one of which was decorated in a magical way with twinkle lights and tables of 6 or 10, each with white linens and the most lovely floral arrangements. The floral arrangements were mostly indigenous flowers, placed into a wide bamboo tube… really beautiful. Surrounding two sides of the dining room were about 10 gambling centres… if that’s what you would call them… there were Black Jack tables and Roulette and Craps and a few other games…. by now, you probably have guessed exactly how many times I’ve gambled… well, I did win 10 cents when I was in Vegas at a slot machine! Anyway, it turned out that I had some kind of magic touch with the dice that night and ended up winning $500! When we arrived at the event, we were given $300 worth of “funny money” to gamble with. It was so fun! There is something really great about gambling with pretend money…. I just loved it.
One end of the room had a stage where Adam Woodall entertained. I really enjoyed him. I had never heard him before and am pleased to say that he was really great… and, as a one man band, he had people up and dancing. Nice work.
The other room harboured the food, and the silent auction items. I had put a few Buggy Bag Lap Blankets in, so I was hoping they would get some action. Both of them sold and I got to meet both of the people that bought them, so that was really cool. It’s always exciting to get to talk to and meet the people that use the product.
There was also a live auction with a very good auctioneer. What makes a very good auctioneer you ask? Well, to me, if I can understand what they are saying… they’re good! MC Denny Williams also had my girlfriends and I chuckling numerous times…. oh, yes, and, did I mention the bar tenders? There’s something about a man in a Tux…. 🙂
My only regret about the evening, is the fact that I got so wrapped up in the fun, friends and food, that I forgot to take pics for my blog… I did put a plea out to people, for some shots, and, if any come, I will insert them later… sorry! Pics are always the best part, especially when you are weeding through the banter of my brain….
… come to the next event… I’ll be the one blowing on dice at the craps table!
Last year a friend asked if I wanted to volunteer for a Vancouver event that helps deserving secondary grads that can’t quite swing the “costuming” aspect of the event. It’s called the Cinderella Project, and yesterday was my second year volunteering as what I like to call a “bird”… although I’m probably the only one that thinks of us that way. You remember in the Cinderella cartoon, where all the little birds flit around her and sew her dress and fix her hair, etc….
I worked with a team of seasoned costume/fashion construction experts. There were about 8 or 9 of us there in the alterations department. The girls would come up one at a time, Deb would do the fitting of the dress and make notes. The dress would then be altered and hung up on a rack where the girl and her fairy godmother would pick it up.
Here I am... looks like I'm just standing around watching Mel work... I'm sure that wasn't what I was doing....
Maybe this was taken just after I melted a hole in that red dress hem with the incredibly hot iron…… I do look rather worried! That was last year. I didn’t burn any dresses this year!
This is a huge event and these kids literally get outfitted from head to toe…. hair cuts/styles, make-up, undergarments, dresses, tuxes, shoes, and accessories.
Then they get a professional picture taken. I don’t get to see many of the guys, because I’m doing the dress alterations, but, the girls are so happy, they glow.
It’s a really rewarding event for everyone that get’s involved. I will be doing it again next year.
Today, I took my laptop, 100 flyers and business cards and some Buggy Bag® Lap Blankets downtown to the Roundhouse Community Centre. I had a table a the Disability Foundation Expo. What a great afternoon it was. I met so many interesting people. Everyone was friendly and I think most people stopped by to see what I had on the table regardless of whether or not they could personally use it. There is such a sense of community in the way that everyone seems to be on the lookout to help someone else. I love that… it feels great to be involved with a group of people that are so selfless and caring.
There was live music, videos, and many presentations on the stage. The whole perimeter of the huge, high ceiling room was lined with tables with people that were showing products or services that could benefit or make a persons life easier. It was a nice atmosphere, and I came away from it feeling elated. I bought a CD, Straight Goods, put out by Vancouver Adapted Music Society.
One of the exhibitors I met is an artist by the name of A. J. Brown. I was looking at her work on her site and came across a piece by the name of “Puck“. I’m not sure why, but it really struck me in a strong way.
I met another really interesting person, who specializes in adaptive clothing. Her name was Amberin Bonnett and her business is A Dressing Needs/Disabled Services Clothing. I’m sure we have much in common, both working out fitting issues for a living.
All in all it was a really great day and a great Expo. I came home with no business cards and only 3 flyers left, many new friends and memories, and I sold 4 Lap blankets.
This is the outside of the Flyer
Flyer designed by Rina Liddle
On the morning that the Buggy Bag® Site Launched, I was honored by an invitation to come and show the new Lap Blanket at a ConnecTra Workshop at the Vancouver Public Library. As it turned out it was also the ConnecTra Societys 10th birthday. The event was fairly well attended despite the rainy Vancouver day and the “HandyDart” http://bit.ly/wTjCO strike. I had the opportunity to speak with most of the people in wheelchairs as I went around the room getting everybody to fill out the entry form for the draw. The winner of the draw for the free Buggy Bag® Lap Blanket was a woman by the name of Violeta.
Happy Birthday ConnecTra http://www.connectra.org/… and thanks for having me come and show the Lap Blanket!
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Did you know?….. Sam Sullivan served a term as Vancouver City Mayor. |
