HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween Sale!
50% off our
Halloween merchandise.
(Excludes handmade items)

Don't miss out.
We will be packing this stuff up
and setting up Christmas.


Reminder: Zinnia will close at 3pm
on Saturday, October 31st.
Hey we want candy too.

This cat is crazy. She found a box full of what us humans call, 'trash' but in cat-lingo it's called 'toys'. I love how she can entertain herself with anything and yet is so friendly an cuddly. She surprises everyone when she actually plays fetch and like a good dog, brings the ball back. Alley has been quite mischievous lately, Tamara likes to say that she's a teenager so she is misbehaving. Yeah, misbehaving. Ha! Last week a REALLY good friend of Tamara's came to the store unfortunately wearing a long dress. Alley ' misbehaved and jumped on her dress... while she was wearing it. OUCH!! Sorry Jill. She's a teenager.
She has destroyed rolls of paper towels and toilet paper. She figured out that the register prints a receipt so she sit on the counter waiting for it so she can snag it. Little misbehaving thief... has stolen the hearts of many and we love her for that.

It's Halloween Already?

I think I am officially 'middle age'. Of course I don't believe it because middle age happens at 65. Right? So let me explain... I catch myself asking, "It's October already? Didn't the year just fly by?"

When I was a kid it seemed like birthdays and Santa took forever to come around. Now I can't get them to stop. All this to say; It's Halloween already? I keep myself pretty busy so perhaps that explains why my time goes by so fast.

I enjoy Halloween but I forgot to pay attention and now it's here and I didn't get my Halloween box out. I didn't display the giant spider decoration or any Halloween stuff. I have a theory; perhaps the people that don't decorate for Halloween and the holidays are just too busy and forget to, before it's too late. I did however, make Halloween cards and mailed them out in time.

Just a thought.

Happy Halloween. Zinnia will close at 3pm on Saturday.

Response to comment on blog:

The art pieces will be up for 10 days. After that if any pieces are not sold it can either picked-up by the artist or you can leave it at the store and we will hang it in the classroom.
Suki

Letter from one of the orgainzers at the 350 Project

This is a little long but I wanted to share it with you just in case you are not on the 350 mailing list. I received this email a few minutes ago.

Dear Friends,

Today in New York was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

As I stood in Times Square and watched images flood in from every corner of the world on the big screens, I finally saw what a climate movement looked like -- and it looked diverse and creative and beautiful.

Please head to www.350.org and spend a few minutes watching the pictures. We need you to feel the strength of this movement, and to see how creative and committed this movement is, all across the planet.

It was so sweet to watch the day move around the globe, with thousands upon thousands of pictures appearing, sometimes a dozen a minute! There were photos of climbers high on the glaciers of Switzerland holding 350 banners, of bicycle parades from Copenhagen to San Francisco, of organizers in Papua New Guinea beating their church gong 350 times while churches in Barcelona rang their bells 350 times. Photos of activists protesting coal plants and celebrating wind farms, of students in 350 shirts repairing their flooded homes in Manila, and of thousands of people marching in the streets of Bogota and Kathmandu. Photos of people from different races and classes, religions and nationalities, coming together around a simple and powerful number to save our planet. Thousands took to the streets in Addis Ababa and Mexico City; we had huge parades in places like Togo and Seattle.

You were by far the biggest news story on Google, on CNN, on the front pages of newspapers around the planet. And these pictures were seen around the world, in newspapers from Beijing to Boston, on TV stations from New Delhi to New York, and on blogs, social networks, and websites across the internet.

Together, we've shown the world that a global climate movement is possible and set a bold new agenda for the upcoming United Nations Climate Meetings in Copenhagen this December. The 350 target is the new bottom line for climate action and world leaders must now meet that target.

We thought we would be tired after many sleepless nights planning this day, but in fact we're more energized than ever. We're preparing to deliver the photos and messages from your events to every national delegation to the United Nations on Monday, and planning to hand the photos to high-level ministers at upcoming climate negotiations in Barcelona and Copenhagen. So if you haven't uploaded your best pictures from the event yet, please do so right away by sending us an e-mail to photos@350.org with your photos attached, with your City, Country as the subject and the body as the action description.

Thank you more than we can possibly say. We'll (of course) be asking you to do lots more in the weeks ahead -- but today, lean back, relax, look through pictures at 350.org, and savor your accomplishment. You were part of what many journalists called "the most widespread day of political action the world has ever seen."

Together with millions around the world, you made a real difference already -- get ready to make much more in the days, weeks and months to come.

With hope,

Bill McKibben and the whole 350.org Team

We Did It... We all Did It!!

How do you spell that sound you make when you wipe your forehead after a day of hard work? It's something like feeeeeew! However you spell it that's how we felt today. Holy Guacamole we cut it close, we got our last panel up at 12:30pm today. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of this cause and Zinnia. Whether you submitted a panel or you are an art lover, or both; your support and enthusiasm is greatly appreciated. With a little help of our friends we pulled it off. The buzz that we were able to create was at its peak at 3:50pm today. We have never hosted an event with this many pieces of art so we were a bit scattered as we got going but I think we pulled it off. And not only have made art available to our Zinnia friends but we will be able to make a monetary donation to the 350 Project in behalf of everyone involved.

Our ultimate goal was to bring awareness to the 350 Project and hopefully encourage us to be more conscience of how we leave this planet for our kids, grandkids and their kids. One by one we can all make a change to preserve the planet we share.

Count Baby-la

This little baby girl Tallulah came to the store today with her caregiver Angee. Tallulah was so cute and happy. I could not resist taking a picture of her and with Angee's permission I had to share with you all. So far, best Halloween costume I've seen this year. Isn't this hilarious?

The 350 Project has already started. Due to time zones it is already 10/24 in other places of the world. We just checked the 350project website and they are posting pictures of projects that are happening now. We submitted more pictures today so we have been added to the 350 Flicker page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/page7/ I googled zinnia 350 project and I was directed to the site. We are waiting for a few more blocks, 7 to be exact so we can photograph the project. I will try to add some pictures to the blog later in the evening when I get home.

The sale begins tomorrow at 3:50pm. We are selling the art off the wall on a first come first served bases. If you have already been here this week and have your eye on the ones you want you will want to be here at 3:50 pm to purchase them. Each art piece will be sold for $26.55

Hope to see you here!
Suki

Sneak Peek!

The panels of artwork are quite a beauty to see in person. They are hung one next to the other with no space in between, all together as one piece of art. It is impressive to see how the variety of techniques, colors and textures create what appears like a quilt...a very beautiful quilt.

The art work is going going up. Tamara has been working to get the panels on the wall as they arrive. The panels will not be for sale until Saturday 10/24 at 3:50pm however you can stop by the store and get a sneak peek and find the one or three or more that you love. Because of the number of panels and the opportunity for error we will be selling the art off the wall on Saturday after 3:50pm. This is a great opportunity to add to your art collection or perhaps a friends collection.

Thanks to everyone who brought in their panels this week... we cut it close but I think we will be fine. No artist cavalry needed after all. Yeah.

That's Clever!

Three years ago the HGTV show That's Cleaver! came to South Pasadena and taped a spot that features Tamara making a Halloween craft. The episode will finally air tomorrow 10/20 at 7:30am, yes AM. I had a link but it was not taking me to the episode so you can view it on line. I will post the link as soon as I work it out.

That's Cleaver!

That's Cleaver is a show on HGTV that does a quick spotlight on artists around the country. Three years ago they contacted Tamara. Yes, three years. Tamara made Halloween art project that was filmed at the old Zinnia store.
The show will finally be aired tomorrow on HGTV at 7:30am, yes 7:30 AM. If you miss it at that time you can go to the HGTV website.

350 Project

Reminder:
If you still have not returned your panels please do so as soon as possible. There are still quite a bit out and this cannot be a 350 Project without 350 panels, your participation is crucial. Please call us if you will not be able to return your panels by Friday, October 23rd so we can plan accordingly.

Annndddd she's back.....

Hello friends, I am back. I am still on vacation from work but I am back in town. I had a great time. I started by going to the bay area and hanging out with my sister, her husband Gordon and baby Eliana. During my stay up there I went to Berkeley and stopped at Castle In The Air. The store was beautiful and filled with a variety of writing tools and papers. It took me a while to look at everything and take it all in without spazzing out about all the cool merchandise. As you can see from the pictures below the store was quite lovely and unique.

While in San Carlos I went to the Art and Wine Festival. The festival featured artists from all over as art fairs do however it was nice to meet new artists and poke around.
I found a super cool store. Okay as you know I am a paper FREAK, I really am so when I popped into a little store called; Scrapbook Depot, I lost it. The selection of paper was ridiculous. There was so much paper there that it was like going through a catalog in person. They also have rub-ons, stickers, tools and everything an artist would need. I met Carina the owner who was really nice and she shared about the classes she offers. She has something called: Crop & Shop on Friday nights 6pm to 12am for $10, crazy huh? However this time is for hanging out with fellow scrapbookers, bring a friend or like my sister put it... leave the baby at home night. This time is for you get some pages done and have the use of their tools which includes a Cricket. I am not a scrapbooker but I can certainly appreciate all the cool tools, papers, rub-ons and embellishments that have become available since scrapbooking became so popular. The website is: www.myscrapbookdepot.com check it out and keep it in mind should you end up in San Carlos some day.

The rest of my vacation was about sightseeing and relaxing. We drove to Hoover Dam then to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon back home through Sedona and the middle of the middle of Nowhere, Arizona. Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time is breathtaking. The drive from the entrance to the park is through trees and meadows and is quite a drive after entering the park then suddenly... there it is. Wow!!

I will post pictures on Facebook but here are a few for now.

Back to Zinnia... Have you returned your panels for the 350 Project yet. Come on it's crunch time and they need to get in now to be included in the show. I look forward to seeing all the awesome work that will be exhibited.

Suki

We have started to hang the 350.org show, our grand idea of having it not being viewed till 3:50 on the 24th was a fun idea but we realized that was not going to work out so well. So we have decided that it will start going up now and then be complete and on display from the morning of Oct 21st but the panels will not be for sale until 3:50pm Saturday the 24th giving everyone 3 1/2 days to be viewed as a complete piece. We also thought it was a good idea to let any parents who want to purchase their child's panels will be able to reserve it ahead of time. It is an amazing statement so far and going up easier than we thought it would. For those of you that are still working on your panels (and David you know who you are) please get them in soon :-)

A day of email marketing, a new facebook site, trying to update the blog but got sidelined by just writing and listing to the "The Tipping Point" on my itunes.
It is amazing how much time each of these projects takes and then grows into another project and another and another... so Hey Suki, I hope you are having a great time.

I'm Outta here!

I am finally going on vacation. From my 'other job' and from Zinnia where I hang out and play on Fridays and Saturdays. I will be gone from October 9th to the 21st. Sounds like a long time but it's not. No, it's not. Okay maybe a little.

I am flying to San Francisco (and my arms sure are going to be tired... Tee Hee Hee) Is it me or do you say the arms being tired joke in your head? Yes you do. Anyway, I will be up in San Carlos for a few days. Hanging out with my sister and family. My sister has a few cool things planned. I am going up there to visit and play with my baby niece, Eliana. The real treat will be tomorrow. Right from the airport we will be driving to Berkeley.

Ever since I saw this store featured in the premier issue of Where Women Create, I have wanted to go to Castle in the Air in Berkeley www.castleinntheair.biz . Karima, the owner describes it as, "A studio for the Imagination". I drooled over everything. The space looks crazy amazing and I know I will get lost in there for a while. I have a stack of Zinnia brochures and business cards that I plan to exchange for some of hers. At Zinnia we have heard so much about this store that the anticipation is killing me. I wonder if she's heard of us? If she lets me, I'll take pictures and share.

After staying with my sister for the weekend, my boyfriend Ross and I will be driving, what is it something like 13 hours down highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, whatever, the drive will take us along the coast. I've done it before and it's so beautiful that once was not enough. OMG, I can't wait. Then we make a pit stop at home in Los Angeles to check on stuff and repack and off to the main part of our vacation. Road Trip to the Grand Canyon. A dream trip of mine for sure. No schedule. No time constraints. No nothing.

All of this to say... Adios amigos. If you happen to see a Colombian girl with her hair blowing in the air and the radio blasting and of course, taking pictures; well that's me so make sure you wave. HaHa.

Catch later!

These are a few pictures I was able to snap. Tamara's daughter Storey was our photographer, I can't wait to see the pictures she captured.

Tamara worked like crazy. Joey, Paul and I have 'other jobs', Tamara spent all her spare time working on the store. Saturday night was for her to enjoy and socialize with her friends and fans of the store. There she is catching up with friends from Hortus.

There were times that the store was packed. The ArtFest was a success, so many came out to check out all the cool art in the area. It was nice to see the art lovers that surround us.

Joey's paintings. If you haven't seen them in person, don't let this pass you up. Joey's work is extraordinary. I couldn't decide which was my favorite.

The guy with the white shirt on the left side of the picture is Mike. He is the super cool guy who cut all the panels of wood we are using for the 350 Project. He is a school teacher and his class will be participating in the project.

Tam and Super-Jav. Have you seen the new store brochure? Jav did it. He has the patience of a really patient person. :)

And, Alli-Alley. We weren't sure what we were going to do with her for the evening. We left the front door open all night and she was cool and didn't take off. I guess she likes us, she really likes us. We kept a close eye on her and she freaked us a couple times when she got to close to the door. But when the night was done, she found a spot and waited for us to close-up and let her get her 20th nap of the day.

Thanks to everyone who have been so supportive of this move and new chapter in the story of Zinnia. We hope that the new space continues to inspire you and offer you an opportunity to explore your creative energy. Thank you again from the Zinnia gang, your support means the world to us and we are grateful to have you in our lives.

Now, let's create!

Grand Re-Opening

Our Grand Re-Opening on Saturday was great. So many of you stopped by and it meant so much to all of us that worked on the move. From the feedback it's clear that the new space works for everyone. I will post the pictures I have later today.

Our first class is this Thursday, October 8th. Joey will be teaching the Sock Creature class in the evening (6pm to 8:30). This is a fun class where you will learn how to make fun creatures that perhaps can be great stocking stuffers. Thursday nights (4pm-ish to 8pm-ish) are also the South Pasadena Farmers Market come make an evening of it.