So the onslaught begins. Tomorrow marks one of my favorite days of the year, Halloween. After that, it’s you-know-what… the full-court press through the New Year. I know, many stores are already in that mode and I’m quite late by their standards.
But I do hope I’ve caught you before you’ve made your gift decisions because I’m going to throw out some shopping alternatives for you.
For many of us, regardless of the multitude of philosophies for the holiday season, we lament the consumerism and lack of unique options for giving gifts with meaning. BUT, the wonderful side of today’s digital age is that it makes the world smaller. We now have access to unique artists making great things all over the world. This is why I love sites like Etsy that provide a platform for these artists to gain a wider audience.
Specifically…
In particular I want to give a shout out to three Friends of Camp Granola:
- The first official inductee to the Friends of Camp Granola, Nancy Sathre-Vogel now sells her beadwork in the Family on Bikes Etsy store.
- My friend Holly is a fellow student in Tremont’s Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification program and all-around great gal. She also runs Moondog Medicials on Etsy.
- Darling Camille is the daughter of Gobbledygoon and she sells adorable knitted pouches over at Camboodle.
Shameless self-promotion…
I have yet to build my gallery at Artist Rising that I’ve been promising myself I’d get done this year. Looks like that will be a project for 2013.
I do have a little Instacanvas gallery though. I love the Instagram square format and playing with the filters. They have a groovy, retro feel and I’ve included nature scenes as well as quirkier, off-beat shots. Yes, including the Disapproving Beagle.
Special sauce…
So the big deal here is that, in order to up-the-ante on giving meaningful gifts, I’m offering a special sauce to go with any purchase from my Instacanvas gallery.
With any order through the end of the year, I will send the recipient a personal note with the backstory behind each photograph. I personally am always enthralled when I hear what a photographer went through to get a shot or what happened in the course of trying to capture a vision.
So when you place your order, simply drop me an email at val@valinreallife.com to get your personal note underway.
I’ll be adding many new images over the next few weeks so keep checking back. And as always, thank you for your support!
And now for your moment of green…
Make this year meaningful with unique gifts.
