Kharma is working to give people a better way to consume.  They are designers, bloggers, creators, foodies, urbanites, and consumers who love uniqueness.  They are trying to make consumption beautiful, by giving to organizations they believe in, every time their products are purchased.  They work with organizations that inspire them.  And in the same way that they love uniqueness, they love people who are changing the world in a unique way. So they make pieces that will support them and help spread their message.

It’s a wonderful way for them to give to organizations they believe in, and provide ways for others to give to them as well.  Not to mention the fact that they have incredibly talented designers creating the products they sell.  They give 40% of each purchase to organizations they support, so the cost of their products is higher than you might pay elsewhere, but you’re buying a product with an incredible story.

One of our friends, Word Made Flesh is being featured as part of the project right now. Check out their t-shirt below and the other t-shirts in Project 9 that are for sale.

Solidarités International: Water talks from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.

Plywood People-Russell Shaw:  What are some of your sources of artistic inspiration? Where do you go or what do you do to tap into creativity?

Promise Tangeman: I love flipping through fashion/creative magazines, browsing blogs online,  and lately I have been getting creative epiphanies in my sleep. It’s that moment right before I am fully awake. It’s that half and half place. Weird, I know.  I am really inspired by the passion of the people i work with. I love hearing and listening to dreams of my friends and clients and then running with ideas.

Plywood People:  Who are some of your favorite artists and designers?

Promise: Honestly, my favorite artists are my peers and friends. I love their techniques and even business models. There are so many great artists doing amazing things, but here are a few: Elsie Flannigan, Kelli Murray, Barton Damer, Jasmine Star, Michelle Moore and many others.

Plywood People:  You are set apart from many other designers in that your work includes a lot of handmade, fine art qualities. What influenced you to start blending graphic design with fine art?

Promise: Ahh I love this question because naturally I love making arts and crafts. I started out painting, and making old things into new things. When it was time to choose a college my eyes were opened to the fact that everything in the world needs to be created or designed, even the food at the grocery store, or the house that you live in. In my mind this opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Graphic design seemed like a practical and business-y way to make art as a living. And now I can blend the two mediums, and the options and ideas are endless. Its funny to think that I never wanted to get near computers and now I am kind of a computer and program geek that way. Haha. I love that i can dream it and make it.

Plywood People:  Tell us a little bit about the collaboration project, “Art for Huruma,” that you were involved in several months ago, and do you have any new cause-related projects coming up that you could discuss?

Promise: Art for Huruma was AWESOME!! It blended my fine art passion with the my graphic design ability.  Art for Huruma was a collaboration between me and the talented Barton Damer  During the month of July last year, we passed the artwork back and forth and came up with one artistic collaboration of the minds. Barton began the artwork and within a couple days I updated it with my touches, etc. The cycle continued back and forth until each artist had developed the artwork 3 times each with a final meeting of the minds to complete it.  We then had it printed on t-shirts and posters and sold it to raise money and awareness for an orphanage in Africa, called Huruma Children’s Home. We posted the process on our blogs and people felt really connected to it in the end after watching the progress and collaboration. It was a lot of work, but it was an amazing opportunity and a fun project to help Africa.

The newest one I was apart of was called “Art for the Greater Good“. It was a design challenge where I had people create and submit a small piece of digital art following the instructions and guidelines of the challenge. At the end of the challenge I collected all submissions and created a collaborative collage containing all submitted pieces. Every artist received a link to download the digital version of the final collage to professionally print, (OR slice up, recreate, etc) and sell in their Etsy shop as A Beautiful Idea project (An organization where all the proceeds that were sold went to the Haiti relief fund). It was amazing to see people’s submissions as well as what they created with the final designs. It really blew my mind. People LOVE giving, helping, and doing things for others.

Plywood People:  Why do you feel it’s important for artists to use their craft for projects that impact the world for the greater good?

Promise: Art and the ability to think outside of the norm inspires people. Creativity and artful images can pull emotion, thought, and ideas out of people that words sometimes can not do.  In my opinion the world will eventually look to creative people and art to inspire change. We can begin to start that now. By our passion and knack for beautiful presentation we can make old ideas into new ideas and begin to change the world. I am so excited to see what our future holds when humble and giving artists start to move and work together for the greater good.

photos by Sarah Rhoads

We have shared with you before about the wonderful women who create the bags and wallets we sell.  They do masterful work, and are changing the lives of their families and communities through their commitment to hard work.  The women are paid fair wages, and with every bag and wallet that is bought, we are helping to build homes for widows in Guatemala.

Plywood People is always seeking to find people creating unique products in the midst of difficult circumstances that we can partner with to make a difference in each other’s lives.  We are learning to be more conscientious consumers.  We are learning to do research to find out where the things we buy are made, and how the workers are treated.  When we can look at the women who are creating the products we sell, and see that they are healthy, well treated, and able to provide for their families, we know that what we’re doing is truly making a difference.

We’d love to share about our most recent trip to Guatemala, introduce you to the women creating the bags and wallets, and show you what your purchases have done for one woman and her family.  This is a story that we hope to tell again and again.  Thanks for your help!

Loveyourflawz.com is a place to share all your amazing flaws.  It was started by musician Caitlin Crosby and Brie Larson.  They say that their mission is to help people to learn to love and embrace their flaws.  They created their website after coming to the strong conviction that the media has inundated our culture with false messages of body image that have reinforced feelings of insecurity, especially for women and girls. They want to help people begin to “recondition their brains” to think positively about themselves.

The website is set up as a community blog where people can share their stories.  People can upload pictures sharing their lovely flaws and write blog posts, poems, songs, do artwork, etc. on their experiences of their journeys to see imperfections as perfect. Each image uploaded is of a person holding a sign explaining something about the flaws that they have. They are hoping that people can feel the freedom to be their truest selves, and not be ashamed.

Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art. There are 82 active machines in various locations throughout the country.  We found one here in Atlanta, and took a field trip to check it out.  Sure enough, it’s just how it sounds.  It contains little miniature pieces of artwork, poetry, songs, etc.  You pay $5, get a token to use in the machine, and pull the trigger, and get yourself a new piece of art.

The inspiration for Art-o-mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of cellophane. When Whittington’s friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too.

The year was 1997, the town was Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Whittington was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe, Penny Universitie (now Mary’s Of Course Cafe). This is when Whittington used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Art-o-mat. In June 1997, it was installed, along with 12 of his paintings. The machine sold Whittington’s black & white photographs for $1.00 each.

This art show was scheduled to be dismantled in July 1997. However, Cynthia Giles (owner of the Penny Universitie) loved the machine and asked that it stay permanently and machine remains unaltered in its original location to this day. At that point, it was clear that involvement of other artists was needed if the project was going to continue. Giles introduced Whittington to a handful of other local artists and Artists in Cellophane was formed.

Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art*o*mat® is based on the concept of taking art and “repackaging” it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable. What better way to do this, than with a heavy cold steel machine?

For an NGO, non-profit, or corporation desiring to aid those in difficulty, photography plays an essential role in communicating those needs to those willing to help. I have worked in more than 60 countries during the past 15 years helping groups communicate their mission through photography. My wife, Vivian, has collaborated with me in many of these projects as writer and producer. We can help you communicate your message in a way that deeply connects your donors to the mission you want to accomplish together.

Plywood People: Will you tell us a little bit about how you got started in Photography?

Gary Chapman: Sweeping floors in a commercial studio, retouching B&W prints, carrying lights, accidentally knocking over a set with 100 lipsticks and fogging a box of 8×10 film by turning on the lights, were my first experiences with photography in a studio in Atlanta. Since those early days, I moved into the photojournalism realm for 15 years with stints at several newspapers and freelance for many magazines. Currently I, along with my wife Vivian, shoot conceptual stock photography for Getty Images. We also work both nationally and internationally for various NGO’s and non-profits.

Plywood People:  What is Visitors: First 100, and what made it happen?

Gary: Because Vivian and I work out of our home, we tend to get away to visit friends and don’t have as many visitors as we used to when our kids were growing up. So, earlier this year, we stumbled upon a way that we thought might change that.

Plywood People:  Will you share about how these partnerships have impacted how you live your life?

Gary: How has it affected us? Wow…in ways big and small. Vivian composts! We bought a gas-saving Prius (I must admit I wanted a truck)! We continually analyze purchasing decisions with questions of, “Is this a need or want.” But most importantly, working with people, in often desperate conditions, has only strengthened our resolve to be part of solutions. We often work with faith-based groups that are trying to help people in both physical and spiritual ways. Doing more than just handing out food is a specific concern of ours.

Plywood People:  You obviously have an amazing passion and talent for capturing on film people’s lives and telling their stories.  When you’re not taking pictures, what do you pursue?

Gary: When you love what you do for work, it is hard to separate work and play. I take my cameras everywhere. My children often felt they were growing up in a documentary since I just naturally photographed everything they did. I often told them jokingly, “If we don’t have photos, it (the event) never really happened.” But, it you must have specifics, my wife and I love running, kayaking and backpacking…and of course I take a camera with me, even if it is just an iPhone for the running.

Website

Blog

Visitor Project

Visitors-The First 100 from gary s chapman on Vimeo.

Brackenfield is the brainchild of Nashville musician Chris Jackson. He started it as a hobby, and has now released his first EP, with a full length album releasing at the end of May. You can download the EP for free at brackenfieldmusic.com. Enjoy.

Plywood People: When did you start writing music?

Chris Jackson: I started playing music when I was 12, started playing guitar when I was 13, and wrote my first song when I was 14. A buddy of mine and I recorded it into a cheap boombox, and gave it to our youth pastor who was moving away. It was pretty bad. Somewhere, there is one copy of that tape, and hopefully no one will ever hear it. I played in bands from age 15 to 24, and wrote a lot during that time. I discovered that I really enjoyed the musical writing and arrangement. My wife and I moved to Dallas in 2006, but I didn’t really know anyone, and didn’t really know where to start forming another band. I tried writing singer/songwriter music, but that lasted for about 4 days. That was when I started writing instrumental music, and have spent the last few years writing and developing it.

Plywood People: Who have been your greatest musical inspirations, and what about them have made you want to create?

Chris: Oh, where to start… When I first picked up a guitar, I was convinced that my friends and I were destined to become the next Nirvana. Listening to U2′s The Edge really taught me how to think differently about how a guitar could sound, how pieces could fit together, and how to use effects as something like a color palette. I have a background in video production, and whenever I was making a video, the music for me was always the foundation, and could change the outcome of that video. Listening to a lot of modern film composers like Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Howard Shore, James Newton Howard, and others really inspired me in how to tell, or help tell, a story with music and sound. Sigur Ros have been huge in inspiring me to attempt to create mood and atmosphere using multiple instruments and orchestration. Currently, a lot of what is inspiring me are singer/songwriters, especially ones that tend to use sparse instrumentation, like Damien Rice, Sondre Lerche, The Swell Season. Ingrid Michaelson, and many others. They have such strong use of melody, especially with so many times being just their voices and a guitar or piano, and that helps me in my own writing to remember melody and not just become noise.

Plywood People: When you’re not creating amazing music, what are you spending your time doing?

Chris: I read. A lot. I always have a stack of books sitting around to be read. Fiction, History, Biographies, Business, Essays…it doesn’t matter, I’ll read it. I love reading. I’m a huge movie fan, so I watch a lot of movies as well. I’ve recently been getting into cooking. I write a little, and draw a little. I tend to get bored quickly, so I like to try new things, especially things that push me creatively in some form.

I also currently work a lot with my wife, Anne (flowerdust.net). I do a lot of the business and financial side of her work, plus her media and some road managing. It’s great, because we both love to travel, so now we get to do that together.

Plywood People: What is one thing that you’re most looking forward to accomplishing through the sharing/performing of your music?

Chris: Really, I just hope that people will enjoy it, whether it is just background music while people work, or if they choose to really listen. I hope it can have a small part to play in helping people slow down, even just a little, and relax. I hope that maybe it can be used to help others tell their story. When I was doing video work, it was always hard to find good music to legally use, so I’m hoping to be able to partner with visual storytellers to help that happen.

Plywood People: What’s the best thing you have been able to do this year (2010)?

Chris: Being able to finish and release this music has been great. I have the free EP up now, and I’m currently working hard on finishing the full length album to release for downloading by the end of May. Being able to leave my day job to work and travel with my wife has been great. I haven’t actually done this yet, but I will be traveling across the country on the Ride:Well South bike tour in June and July to raise awareness for Blood:Water Mission, so that should be quite an adventure.

It’s not too late, friends!  For Mother’s Day, we’re offering one of our long strands of beads, a cuff bracelet and a handcrafted card all for $40.  The bracelet and necklace are made by women in Uganda who roll these beads into the wonderful creations you see, and the cards are made in Rwanda, out of banana leaves.  It’s such a unique gift, and we’re sure you’re mom will love it!