Keeping up with Manuel, the Rhinestone Rembrandt

Thursday, October 14, 2010

New York to Mississippi




Lalie and Manuel traveled to the big Apple at the end of September to see our dear friend, Cambridge Jones, opening at the Lincoln Center. Cambridge is an accomplished photographer and is shooting for our book of friends and clients, to be released in the future. While there, we met up with friends from all over, including the Goodbuy Girls of Nashville and Mike Mills of R.E.M. and more. Eating, shopping, museums, and drinking - you know...New York City.

Also in our travels was another trip to Philadelphia, Mississippi- the hometown of Marty Stuart. We were there to support our friend as he received the second marker ever issued for the Country Music Trail, right at the location where he bought his first guitar. At the ceremony, Marty's parents were present along with SIStar Jennifer, his wife Connie Smith, many government officials and lots of family and friends.


The commencement wrapped up witha dance from the Choctaw tribe and a performance from Billy Hardy and friends (with tons of special appearances) at the historic Ellis Theater. All proceeds benefited the preservation of the building. After the event, we played a little roulette with our Mississippi friends and family then hit it back home.

We are pleased to announce that we are collaborating with Soles4Souls, an awesome non-for-profit. We are reconstructing boots donated by Ariat and heels from Jessica Simpson and Vince Camuto. Please check out their website and also the link to the video below. We can't wait to show you what we come up with and are honored to be a part of this project. We'll be turning them over at the end of November. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 10 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 7 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner's World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.

Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate footwear (both new and used).

The idea behind gifts of shoes is nothing new to the Soles4Souls team, as they coordinated relief efforts for the Asian Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 million pairs donated for these disasters. The team originally operated as www.katrinashoes.org with several churches partnering in the collection and distribution of footwear.

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