change
Monday, January 28, 2008 at 07:01AM last night, in the throws of some insomnia, fueled by thoughts about the declining state of Russian civil liberties, my business dreams, Heath Ledger's passing, and my forthcoming wedding (among other things) i decided to quit laying in bed and get online for a bit, check the news, my email, etc. i was lucky to get a message from my cousin and fellow blogger, Linda. she passed on this site to me, The Story of Stuff. This is a wonderful site which should really be shared. (so go look!)
In particular, during the part about the work-tv,-shop cycle; that really hit home with me (although i've never been much of a tv watcher). It is one of the first things I noticed when I moved over to Ireland. I no longer felt consumed by the need to go buy something new to wear to work (granted I worked at an nyc fashion house so the pressure may have been somewhat stronger). I no longer felt like i was about in tears after almost each nine hour day, eleven counting commute, doing a job i didn't love for a company i felt didn't value me, and despite it's extraordinary marketing tactics, that i didn't feel was making much of a positive impact on the world.
back to the Story of Stuff, however. One of the things that I LOVE about this site, is that it not only lays out a problem in terms that people can understand, but it addresses courses of action that people can take to better the situation. One of my biggest pet peeves is complaint with out offering/attempting a solution, and this is something I know I do often and would like to change. I struggle almost daily with how to justify my passion for making beautiful things because i do want to sell those things; but not at the expense of people or the earth. I'd like to start doing more research about sustainable business practices and share those ideas through my blog. Writing about it on here is my first step in committing to it. So look forward to more related to this. Feel free to clue me into any ideas, sites, etc, that have helped you.
Reader Comments (4)
Love the blog sweat dear! I knew you would like the 'story of stuff' I've watched it so so many times and it never gets old ;)
Hope you're doing amazing and
p.s. I got to hang out with sweet baby Charlotte for 2 hours yesterday, haha! Seriously though, she told me she misses you and can't stop thinking about you!
Hey Laura!
I think it's a great idea that you started this blog. Blogging can be a great way to manage your thoughts and actions! We need more bloggers!
I wanted to comment about your concerns over the plight of russian civil liberties. Have you forgotten what's going on within the United States? OUR civil liberties are being attacked. I feel that we need to look at our own situation before we bother to chastise someone else about a similiar concern. Being a country that promotes itself as moraly superior over all other nations states, the United States must expect other nations to try and mimick its system..be it curbing civil rights...Also, lets not forget who created this 'new' russia during the crisis of the soviet colapse. The same people who have successfully performed coup d'états throughout the 90's of several easter european nations, most recently Georgia and Ukraine. What better way to rally a former super power into nationalistic furor, just surround it with pro-west cronies who see the russian frontier as the next economic grab. Aren't we easing our own rights to protect us from so called terrorists? Money and power are an evil manifesto which have blossomed into a new world order. Anyway, the point im trying to make is it upsets me that so many people from the United States and Wester Europe forget to look at themselves, yet find it easy to comment on someone else's situation.
your work looks great!
i will comment about this in a follow up post.
You wrote: "I struggle almost daily with how to justify my passion for making beautiful things because i do want to sell those things; but not at the expense of people or the earth."
This is a worthy struggle, and it is so amazing that you are thinking about this and working through it. I haven't had a chance yet to look at the Story of Stuff, but when I do, you'll hear from me.
As you learn more about sustainable business practices, I'm anxious to hear about them. I feel like if each of us did our part to change our own bad habits, it could make a world of difference.