Jewelry Designer Etienne Perret: An Active Member Of The Mid-Coast Maine Community

 
Can you believe that Etienne doesn't spend every waking moment thinking about jewelry?! Actually, he's an extremely active member of his Mid-coast Maine community.

As a long time member of the Chamber of Commerce, retired volunteer firefighter, and member (past president) of the local Rotary club, Etienne finds the time to be part of so many community organizations that really make a difference...

This week he was busy selling Christmas trees to locals during West Bay Rotary of Camden's 23rd annual Christmas Tree Sale! All profits are donated to Camden area charities and local town assistance funds. Rotary is truly a wonderful organization. If you're not already familiar, please take the time to learn more about the Rotary clubs in your area and the generous projects they are involved in. You may well find something you think is worth supporting!

Thanks to VillageSoup.com for covering this story and their great content, day in and day out! Have a happy holiday, and if you're still without a Christmas tree, now you now where to get one!
 

Etienne Perret's Colored Diamond & Gem Ceramic Designs Hit New York City

 

While Etienne spends much of his time time on the road, sharing his stunning jewelry designs with fine folks from all around the country and the world, somehow it's rare that we end up doing events in the Big Apple.

All the more reason that Etienne is delighted to be sharing his exciting new Gem Ceramic collection and colored diamond designs at the 9th annual Jewelry Sample Sale Extravaganza in NYC!

Set up by Susan Michel, this great sale features nine talented jewelry designers as well as designer leather products and gourmet candies!

Taking place at Divine Studio, the atmosphere of this event is quite wonderful and situated in the heart of trendy lower Manhattan. If you're in the area, don't miss your chance to meet Etienne and check out his beautiful designs!

Many products will be on sale and a portion of all proceeds will go to "Guiding Eyes for the Blind," a great cause, that is especially relevant on the hectic streets of NYC.

Divine Studio, 21 E. 4th Street (corner Lafayette), suite 605, New York, NY.

December 10-11, 11am-7pm both days.

Blind jewelry designer and friends host sample sale extravaganza

Event to benefit Guiding Eyes for the Blind

Jewelry designer Susan Michel is producing her ninth annual sample sale, to be held on Friday December 10^th and Saturday, December 11^th, from 11:00am – 7:00pm.  Because Michel is waiting to receive a guide dog, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the non-profit organization Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

Michel has been a jewelry designer for the past 25 years.  She began losing her vision five years ago due to a degenerative disease of the retina.  With only 10% of her vision remaining, Michel is now legally blind.  This hasn’t held her back from her passion for jewelry design; a talented staff member sketches ideas and projects them onto a large screen where Michel is able to view them.  

Michel currently makes her way around the city with the use of a white cane, but has been struggling since her additional vision loss. She’s a lifelong dog lover, and will be receiving a guide dog early next year.  She hopes a dog will improve her quality of life and her ability to travel independently. 

Eight other award-winning jewelry designers - each with a full showcase of fabulous items offered at reduced prices – will be in attendance: Catherine Iskiw, Etienne Perret, Jane Gordon, Jessica Fields, JKG and Associates, Murano Di Susanne and Natalie Frigo. Also exhibiting will be a leather accessories company, and JJ Sweets - a gourmet candy company.

What: Jewelry show and sample sale

Where: Divine Studio. 21 East Fourth Street, Suite 6. New York, N.Y.
When: Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

About Guiding Eyes for the Blind

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school, was founded in 1954 to enrich the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity and expanded horizons of opportunity. Since that time, Guiding Eyes has become one of the foremost guide dog schools in the world, graduating more than 7,000 guide dog teams. It provides superbly bred Guiding Eyes dogs, professional training and follow-up support services to students at no cost to them and depends on contributions to fulfill its mission. The comprehensive cost of breeding, raising, preparing, training, and supporting a Guiding Eyes team is $45,000. Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Headquarters and Training Center is located in Yorktown Heights, NY and the Canine Development Center is in Patterson, NY.

Press Contacts

Susan Michel: 888.738.3400 or smltd@hotmail.com

For Guiding Eyes: Michelle Brier at 914.243.2208 or mbrier@guidingeyes.org

   

November Jewelry for Charity Recap & December Kick-Off

Once again I am blown away by the support I've received from my amazing customers. November was a busy month and thanks to all of you who placed orders, today I'm able to cut a check to Farm Sanctuary for $1,040.00. This donation is especially meaningful to me because it is in honor of the passing of my sweet turkey, Blossom, and in celebration of the two turkeys we adopted from Farm Sanctuary this month, Constance and Marianne - which reminds me, I haven't shared photos of our new girls here on the blog yet, so without further ado -




Aren't they pretty?

This month's donation brings my total to date to $23,110.00. I hope you all aren't totally sick of me saying this, but I am just so completely overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to have a job that I enjoy so much, and that also allows me to direct a significant portion of my profits to charity.

For December, I'm featuring Doctors Without Borders, so as usual, 5% of anything you spend with me this month goes straight to them. Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.

Etienne Perret Designs For Charity

   
Every year Etienne donates a number of his designs for auctions to support a variety of causes. This stunning Gem Ceramic Philippine golden pearl fashion ring was donated for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show auction.

All proceeds will support the purchase works of art and craft for the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to fund conservation and publication projects, and to support exhibitions and education programs.



Cheers to the lucky auction winner who acquired this ring at only half of its retail value! We hope she cherishes it, wears it often, shares it with her friends and appreciates the cause to which the proceeds went!

Stay up to date with Etienne Perret's latest events on Facebook, to make sure you have the opportunity to participate in Etienne's next charity auction, for the chance to acquire one of his gorgeous designs at a discount price!
 

Jewelry For Charity Update

Hi all, just a quick note to let you know I'm back in the studio after a lovely week-long vacation, and to give you an update on my charity program...

With your generous support of my work, I was able to raise $709.00 for Ocean Conservancy during the month of October, bringing my total donations since this program's inception in May 2007 to $22,070.00!!!

For November, I've decided to feature Farm Sanctuary, in honor of my sweet Blossom who passed away recently, and who was adopted from Farm Sanctuary two years ago this month. 5% of any purchases made during the month of November will go directly to Farm Sanctuary's life saving work.

Etienne Perret Necklace To Be Auctioned For Charity

       
As an active member of Rotary International and the Chamber of Commerce, Etienne has always felt strongly about playing a part in his local community of Camden, Maine and beyond. When not busy working on International aid projects for Rotary, he often accept invitations to donate his jewelry to charity auctions for a variety of causes. Sometimes these are large-scale foundations, but more often than not, they are organizations targeting Maine's Mid-coast region, such as Broadreach Family & Community Services.

Below quoted from Knox County Village Soup:

The Fabulous Food of the Midcoast event will take place on October 7th at the Point Lookout Conference Center in Northport.  Twenty or more local restaurants, caterers and other purveyors of fine foods and wine will be offering samples of their specialties in support of a fundraising event for Broadreach Family & Community Services. A $25 ticket allows entrance and sampling of the food offerings...

Cultured pearls with 14 kt gold rings on a fine gold chain necklace, donated by jeweler Etienne Perret of Camden

All proceeds from the event will be used in support of programs serving residents from Winterport to Waldoboro. Broadreach Family & Community Services is a 501 (c) (3) agency that has been providing mental health and educational services to meet the needs of the children and families of mid-coast Maine since 1983.  Broadreach delivers programs through the following five service areas: Mental and Behavioral Services; Early Education and Intervention Services; Prevention Services; Youth Services and; Adult and Family Literacy Services. More information can be found on the Broadreach website at  www.brmaine.org or call 338-2200 ext 109 for ticket information.

        

October Jewelry For Charity

I have been pretty lax lately about posting updates on my Jewelry for Charity project. For those who care to keep track though, I have been updating the recipients and donation totals in the sidebar here on my blog. And for those who haven't heard about it already, basically it's just me donating 5% of my gross sales each month to a different charity. I'm not sure how much interest there is from my readership in this topic - if you miss it, I can start posting monthly updates again - let me know in the comments if that's the case.

I did want to post a quick note this month because there's a special reason for my charity selection. October is my son's birthday month (he's turning five), and in honor of my little water- and sea-life-loving wild man, this month's donation is going to Sea Shepherd, a conservation group working to protect marine life and habitats all around the world.

Happy early birthday Carlitos!!!

Updated 10/7/10:
There's been quite a bit of controversy in the news these past few days about Sea Shepherd, and it's hard to know what's true and what isn't, but in light of the yuckiness I've been reading, I've decided instead to support Ocean Conservancy this month - same general cause but without the drama.

July Jewelry For Charity Recap & August Kick-off

I have been slacking on posting my jewelry for charity updates - I used to do it every month but it's been a while. I'm in a bit of a rush because I should be packing right now, but thought I would share the good news that in July, with your support, I raised $1,200 for PATH, bringing my total donations to-date to a whopping $20,391!!! I am so grateful to everyone who ordered jewelry from me in July, thereby adding to the help I am able to offer to oiled birds on the gulf coast.

August's featured charity is As Green As It Gets, a group focusing on economic development and environmentally sustainable agriculture in Guatemala. You can read about my personal experiences with this group here and here. They are an amazing group of people who are truly making a difference for a lot of families in Guatemala, and they need our support more than ever in the wake of several natural disasters that have befallen Guatemala in the past few months.

Here are some photos of Alberto, a Guatemalan coffee farmer we met on our trip in April - he took us on a tour of the fair trade coffee farm operated by his co-op, which is under the umbrella of As Green As It Gets. (By the way, his coffee converted me from a coffee hater to a once-or-twice-a-week-coffee-drinker.) :-)

With the coffee plants.

Showing us his bicycle-powered coffee bean de-husker.

Minor Change in Charitiy Schedule

Just a quick note, for those of you who like to keep up with which charity I'm currently donating 5% of my sales to -

In light of the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti and the resulting urgent need for immediate help, I'm pushing back the charities I had scheduled for January, February, and March by one month, and sending January's donation to Food For Life's Haitian relief fund. Food For Life is currently working on setting up a base in Haiti, where they will distribute vegan food to those in need.

I was amazed to read that Food For Life can provide over 100 meals in a crisis like this for just $25. I went ahead and sent a donation just now representing the first half of the month, rather than waiting until the end of the month, in an effort to provide help when it is needed most. Thanks to my wonderful customers, January is off to a great start, and I was able to send $350. (That's over 1,400 meals!)

Thanks to all of you who patronize my little jewelry business; please know that together we are making a difference!

Please Help!

I'm sure by now you have all heard about the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. Please, take a moment to donate whatever you can towards the relief efforts. I chose to donate through Doctors Without Borders, but there are many ways to help.


When terrible disasters like this one manage to jolt me out of my usual self-centered daily life, I feel ashamed of the wasteful affluence that most of us experience here in the US while so many others around the world suffer deplorable conditions as part of their daily lives. How can such imbalance be tolerated? I don't know the answers, I just know that I have to do something, no matter how small, to try to help. I hope you will too.

September Jewelry for Charity Recap & October Kick-Off

It's that time again... time for a Jewelry for Charity update! Every month, I donate 5% of my gross sales to charity, and with your incredible support, I've donated $12,756 to various worthy causes over the last two and a half years.

During the month of September, I raised $540 for one of my favorite causes, Animal Place. I've been making a big effort to donate often to Animal Place in order to support the construction of their brand new shelter in Grass Valley. A big thank you goes out to everyone who made a purchase during the month of September, both from me and from all the critters at Animal Place!

For October, I'm featuring a charity that I just learned about recently; it's called No More Deaths. Their mission statement is as follows:

No More Deaths is an organization whose mission is to end death and suffering on the U.S./Mexico border through civil initiative: the conviction that people of conscience must work openly and in community to uphold fundamental human rights. Our work embraces the Faith-Based Principles for Immigration Reform and focuses on the following themes:

• Direct aid that extends the right to provide humanitarian assistance
• Witnessing and responding
• Consciousness raising
• Global movement building
• Encouraging humane immigration policy.

I became aware of No More Deaths' work in August upon reading about the sentencing of No More Deaths volunteer Walt Staton, who has been ordered to complete 300 hours of trash pickup on public lands as punishment littering after U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted him putting out unopened gallon containers of water, which Staton said were meant to prevent illegal immigrants crossing through the desert from dying of dehydration.

As a general rule, I prefer not to support charities with a religious component, and it appears that this is a part of No More Deaths' philosophy. I decided to make an exception because I believe it to be such an incredibly worthy cause.

If you feel inspired to join me in supporting their work, please consider making a direct donation, and/or make a purchase from my shop this month. 5% of my gross sales will go directly to No More Deaths.

As always, thank you so much for your support!

August Jewelry for Charity Recap & September Kick-Off

September already - can you believe it?!? Time flies...

Anyways, great news for August - with your support, I've raised $590.00 for WINGS-Guatemala, an amazing group working to provide education and quality reproductive health care for men and women in Guatemala. This brings my total donations to $12,216.00 since I began this program in May 2007.

Coming up this month, I'll be featuring Animal Place again. In case you're wondering why I keep featuring AP over and over, it's because I'm making an extra effort to support them in their upcoming move to a much larger and more temperate sanctuary. So remember, 5% of anything you buy from me during the month of September will go straight to Animal Place, supporting their incredible work protecting and sheltering animals.

July Jewelry For Charity Update & August Kick-Off

Once again, here I am to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought jewelry from me during the month of July. Your kind patronage helped me have a very successful month, and you know what that means - more money to donate to Animal Place! I just wrote a check for $550 in support of Animal Place's brand new property purchase. Few things make me as happy as being able to help such a worthy organization, and I truly can't do it without your help. So seriously, thank you.


July's donation brings me to a total of $11,626 in donations since I began my Jewelry for Charity program in May 2007.

Up for August, we have one of my perennial favorites, WINGS Guatemala. WINGS creates opportunities for Guatemalan families to improve their lives by providing them with family planning education and access to reproductive health services. 5% of any purchases that you make, either through my Etsy shop or elsewhere, will be donated to this awesome organization.


Here's one of many success stories from the WINGS website -

Wilfredo is 38 years old and lives in a small city in the southern Guatemalan province of Escuintla.

He works as a volunteer nurse, and also runs a pharmacy and a barbershop. Last year, Wilfredo participated in the men’s workshops that WINGS provided in his community. He felt that the information covered in the workshops was so important that when the workshops ended he volunteered to become a WINGS for Men peer educator.

Wilfredo was trained by WINGS as an educator in January 2009. He is now working in his community to distribute information about reproductive health, family planning methods, and sexually-transmitted infections, while also selling condoms at a reduced rate.

Last month he helped a young man with a sexually-transmitted infection find a clinic where he could receive treatment and provided him with information about prevention so that he would be protected in the future.

Throughout 2009, WINGS for Men will be training additional peer educators like Wilfredo who are committed to helping their communities through reproductive health education.

My Final Plea

Those of you who are faithful readers may remember my post a while back detailing my fundraising efforts with Team Vegan. For those of you who don't hang on my every word (for shame!), here's the quick version -

Team Vegan is made up of a group of animal advocates (including me!) working to raise money for Vegan Outreach by training for either a 10k run, half marathon, or full marathon, and soliciting sponsorships from friends and family members (and total strangers).

Prior to joining this effort, my thrice-weekly runs averaged 2-3 miles each. During the height of my training, I was able to reach my goal of 10k (~6 miles), which for me was pretty huge. Since then, I've settled on 3-4 mile runs three times a week. The program helped me kick my workouts up a notch, which feels great, but the main goal is really to support Vegan Outreach and the incredible work they do to fight animal cruelty and exploitation.

To that end, I'd like to ask you one last time to please consider sponsoring me. The fundraising deadline is approaching quickly, but there's still time to hop on over and do your part to reduce suffering in this crazy world of ours. The goal for the entire team is $75,o00, and some extremely generous donors, John and Fany, have pledged to match all donations up to that $75,000 goal. I just checked the website and it looks like we are pretty darn close to that goal, but if you get over there quickly enough, you can still donate in time for your donation to be doubled by the fabulous John and Fany.

You don't have to be vegan to contribute. You just have to care about making the world a better place. :-)

Thank you!

xoxoxoxo

Tamara

June Jewelry for Charity Recap & July Kick-off

Just a quick post today to let you know how we did for charity last month... with your help, I raised $343.00 for Safe Passage (Camino Seguro) during the month of June, bringing my total fundraising since May 2007 to $11,076.00. Thanks so much to all of you who helped by making a purchase during the month of June!

July's charity, once again, is the fabulous Animal Place sanctuary. Always one of my favorite charities, my love for Animal Place was revived and intensified during a recent visit. There's just something about the vibe of the place that makes me feel very much at home. So don't forget, 5% of anything you spend with me (either through my Etsy shop or a direct custom order) will go to support this amazing group.

That's it for today - technically I'm 'on vacation', if you consider a day's worth of flying (yesterday) and another day (today) glued to the bed in the hotel tending to an extremely sick three-year-old (four days of high fever, diagnosed today as pneumonia and an ear infection) to be 'vacation'. Wah. He should be on the mend now though, thanks to high powered antibiotics (knock on wood).

May Jewelry For Charity Recap & June Kick-Off

Thanks so much to all of you who patronized my Etsy jewelry shop (or my ex-bead shop) :-) during the month of May! With your support, I have raised $402 in support of the Human Rights Campaign's efforts to bring equality to America. It's a cause I am proud to support, as it is a subject I feel strongly about. This brings my total donations to $10,773 - wow! Thanks again; I can't do it without you guys!

I'm featuring a new charity this month (new to me, I mean; they have been around for quite a while)... Safe Passage works with the poorest at-risk children of families working in the Guatemala City garbage dump. Within a safe and caring environment, they provide a comprehensive and integrated program that fosters hope, good health, educational achievement, self-sufficiency, self esteem and confidence. Their primary focus is on creating opportunities and dignity through the power of education.

I have heard really wonderful things about this organization, and I'm happy to be able to help with their important work. Someday when my kids are older, I'd love to be able to go volunteer for Safe Passage for a while...

April Jewelry for Charity Recap & May Kick-Off

Wow, guys. I continue to be grateful and amazed for the love you have shown for each of my two Etsy shops. April set a new sales record for me, and you know what that means - big bucks for one of my favorite nonprofits - Vegan Outreach! To everyone who helped make this month a success, both for me as an artist, and for the awesome folks pounding the pavement over at Vegan Outreach in support of animals, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This month we raised (drum roll, please)... a whopping $646 for charity!!! Not only is this my biggest monthly donation yet, it also marks what feels like a significant milestone for me in my fund raising work - this month, I surpassed $10,000 in donations since the beginning of my Jewelry for Charity project in May of 2007. Not bad for two years' work! I couldn't do it without all of you, so thanks again; it really means a lot to me.


For those who may not be familiar with the work Vegan Outreach does, they are basically a group that advocates for animals by spreading the word about the benefits of a vegan diet and exposing the cruelty that takes place on modern factory farms. They have done a lot of research to find out what ways of reaching out to people are most effective, and have determined that leafleting, especially at colleges, is the best way to encourage positive changes for farmed animals, so this is one of their main focus areas.


Since we're on the topic of Vegan Outreach, I have a little something else to share with you all - something I hope you'll consider supporting alongside me. I have decided to participate in the Team Vegan program organized by Vegan Outreach. It's a training team based in the San Francisco bay area with free professional running coaching leading up to participants competing in either a 5k, half marathon, or full marathon in July.

People like me who live too far away to participate in the actual race are encouraged to participate remotely, keeping in touch with team members online, following the same training schedule, and with virtual access to the professional coaches working with the team. The point of all of this, aside from better health, is to raise funds for Vegan Outreach through sponsorships (that's where you come in; more on that in a moment).

Now, for those of you who know me in real life, I know it's hard to believe that I have become a runner*, but it's really true! I've never been the athletic type; from my earliest school days, I have avoided competitive sports like the plague. And even now, I really have no desire to 'compete' per se; it's just fun to challenge myself to do more and go farther than I ever have before. Up until now, my usual running routine has been three miles, three times a week. This is my first week training with Team Vegan (I'm shooting for either a 10k (6.2 miles) or a half marathon; I haven't decided yet), and so far I've done two four-mile runs and am planning on completing my first ever five mile run this Sunday.

* In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that while I use the term 'running,' in reality, what I actually do is much more like a slow jog. :-)

These feet were made for... running???

Anyways, I hope that you might be moved by the efforts of this extremely-unathletic vegan attempting to become healthier and more active, and consider supporting the awesome work that Vegan Outreach does by sponsoring me through the Team Vegan website. Any little bit helps; I know times are tough, but remember that the animals need our help now more than ever - they pay every day with their lives, so please do what you can to help them out!

Whew! Okay, enough about Vegan Outreach. I mean, they are amazing and all, but onwards and upwards... May has arrived, and my featured charity this month is the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group working for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equal rights. I am trying to channel my frustration over the passage of Prop 8 last November, as well as my outrage over the brutal attack earlier this year on Nathan Runkle, founder and director of animal rights group Mercy for Animals, who also happens to be gay, towards something more positive by beginning to feature equal rights charities from time to time along with my other favorite causes (animal rights, vegan education/outreach, and womens/childrens issues).


The Human Rights Campaign has an awesome website with tons of informative features, including a short daily video broadcast called 'Equally Speaking - your daily dose of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign', as well as an interactive state-by-state listing of local news and events. So check it out, get involved, and remember that 5% any money you spend in either my bead shop or my jewelry shop this month will go straight to supporting equal rights.

March Jewelry for Charity Recap & April Kick-Off

Just a quick post to report that, with your help, I raised $415.00 for United Poultry Concerns during the month of March. I sincerely thank you for your help (in the form of purchases from either of my shops), as do the chickens, turkeys, and other birds that benefit from UPC's important work.

This month, I'm featuring one of my perennial favorites, Vegan Outreach. Although I haven't managed to make much time for personally going out and leafleting over the past month or two, this is a cause that is near to my heart, and it makes me happy to support VO in any way I can. So remember, 5% of anything you spend in either my bead shop or my jewelry shop this month goes directly to Vegan Outreach!

March's donation brings my total donations to $9,685.00 since I began this program in May 2007. Hopefully I'll break the $10,000.00 mark after this month - wow! As always, thank you so much for helping me help others. It brings great meaning to my work.

February Jewelry For Charity Recap and March Kick-Off

I'm thrilled to report that February was my best sales month yet, which makes me extra happy because it means I get to send a whopping $630.00 to help the amazing creatures at Animal Place! Thanks to everyone who patronized my bead shop and my jewelry shop during the month of February - your purchases really do add up to help animals.


And continuing on a similar theme for the month of March, my featured charity is United Poultry Concerns, a wonderful group dedicated to promoting compassion towards domestic fowl. As you can probably tell if you've read my blog much before, chickens, turkeys, and ducks are some of my favorite animals. They have brought a lot of joy to our lives in the year since we've added them to our family.

It saddens me greatly to know that in the US alone, nine billion chickens are raised and killed for food each year - that's 90% of all land animals killed for food in this country. Nine billion! That's mind-boggling. These creatures are not inanimate objects - far from it! Each of our birds has her own personality, complete with likes and dislikes. They feel pain, and they know joy and sadness. If you eat chicken (or even eggs), you are essentially paying someone to imprison, torture, and kill these unique and lovely animals simply to please your own taste buds.

I have great respect for groups like UPC, whose members work tirelessly to educate people about the value of these birds' lives. I hope one day to be able to add on to my own little poultry haven so that I can rescue even more of these wonderful beings. In the meantime, please join me this month in supporting UPC by either donating directly or by making a purchase from my bead shop or my jewelry shop. As always, thank you for caring!

January Jewelry For Charity Recap & February Kick-Off

Thanks again everybody! I'm excited to announce that with your help, I raised a whopping $520 for Save The Chimps during the month of January. It makes me so happy to be able to send a nice big check to such an awesome organization.

For February, I'll once again be featuring one of my all-time favorite charities, the amazing Animal Place sanctuary. This is the last of four special donations to Animal Place that are going towards their new sanctuary. I'm so excited to attend the grand opening of their new facility on July 4th!