Little Lady Studio Takes Home National Award of Excellence

Little Lady Studio’s celebratory Be Bold 2011 Gift Set receives a National Award of Excellence in the Annual American Package Design Awards.

Little Lady Studio’s Be Bold Gift Set, launched in celebration of International Women’s Day 2011 at CARE National Conference, has received a National Award of Excellence from Graphic Design USA, the monthly news and business management magazine for graphic design professionals since 1963.

“It is a true honor to be recognized with such an esteemed award by industry professionals. We offer something very unique at Little Lady Studio – social art and design that celebrate and support creative empowerment projects – and this recognition gives us a dose of energy to keep creating!” – Jessey Jansen, Owner

Graphic Design USA looked at criteria including the following when selecting their winners:

• Excellence in package design
• Creativity
• Successfully forging an emotional connection with consumers

Shop our 2012 Special Edition here

Be Bold 2012

Launch of Be Bold 2012 Special Edition Gift Set for International Women’s Day

As International Women’s Day is approaching (Mar 8th) we received the exciting news that our Be Bold 2011 Gift Set, launched as a special collection in partner with CARE for IWD 2011, is a national design winner! This is the second award recognition that LLS has received for this item…:) In dual excitement, today we launch Be Bold 2012 Gift Set in celebration of International Women’s Day 2012! Check it out and get it while it lasts!

Can’t thank you enough…

I want to extend a huge thank you and congratulations to all my customers of SHINE, your purchases have helped make possible, Rock Your SHINE, the Massai Choir Recording Empowerment Initiative.

Little Lady Studio’s Rock Your SHINE project supports empowerment through creativity and music. We will be sponsoring the Massai Remiti Choir Recording in Tanzania. The objective is to provide seed money and to help facilitate planning for the recording of an album of the choir. The income generated from the album will help sustain future choir initiatives and help to establish further goals for the community. With the continued hardwork of WEECE, this project initiative is one more building block added to WEECE’s integrated approach in addressing the needs of the people of the Kilimanjaro region. The choir is a positive education and interaction model that provides an opportunity for the young women and men of the Massai tribe to be active participants in their community, self-confident and expressive which bridges communication for larger gender and social issues. LLS will be involved in coordinating the recording, assisting in the artwork for the album and continuing awareness initiatives.

Jessey’s Inspiration

Last August while I was volunteering at WEECE, Mama Mrema and I had numerous discussions exploring working with one another. There was no clear vision at that point but we were both confident that by putting our heads together we’d get a sense if our goals were parallel. One of the opportunities Mama provided me was a visit to the Massai tribe and to hear the choir, I was encouraged by the motivation and the collective creativity of the group, so the inspiration started flowing. After three weeks of absorbing the experience I said my farewells to Mama and assured her that I would follow up after I had some time to put my head around our meeting. The launch of Social SHINE jewelry was the first step in celebrating individual character and creativity and the next step is connecting it back to the goals at the studio which include the continued social involvement in awareness and empowerment initiatives. Rock Your SHINE is really an opportunity to bring us (ladies of the world) together…to work together, to celebrate together and to socially SHINE together.

As a proprietor of SHINE, you wear a bold message of the power and potential of our own two hands. This power when shared with others is how significant change occurs. I will be returning to Tanzania to assist and document the project, tentatively planned for July 2012. I look forward to keeping you updated with further announcements and for the launch of a Special Edition to celebrate the project and please see here for additional information about our empowerment initiatives.

Let OUR Socidividuality continue to SHINE!

Jessey

New! Love You to the Moon & Back

Love You to the Moon & Back handmade necklace embodies the boundless love shared between two. Kissed with SWAROVSKI® Pink and Silver, the shimmering necklace reflects genuine and true love.

New Year and forward!

Happy New Year! Can you feel the energy? I sure can! Energy to keep persisting and creating our best life possible.

I love the calendar rolling over because it reminds us to be reflective and passionate with our lives, to not waste a moment and most importantly to get off our butts and create the life we want with our own two hands.

For myself, 2011 marked a year of exploration, observation and discovery both personally and professionally. A whirlwind of a year including juggling our new life in Texas, trade shows, travels, new partnerships and new work…least to say the studio keeps evolving!

Back when I created the MyPOP collection, I began using art and design as an assessment tool to help improve my life. As I continue to use my creative skills to shape my future I also find an incredible connection to celebrating others willingness to use their own two hands to make a better life for themselves and their families. Long gone are the days when elbow grease alone could make or break a future, instead, today we live in a world that requires partnerships of all types to create significant change. These partnerships, better said friendships, is where creativity will soar and lives improve.

Looking into the new year…I can’t thank you enough for your continued interest in Little Lady Studio. You are unique, dedicated, passionate and action-oriented individuals who stay committed to creating positive partnerships. With such exciting small steps already taken, imagine the strides that lie ahead – 2012 is going to be filled with growth, adventure, exceptional partnerships and most importantly CREATIVITY!

I’ll end with sharing a valuable lesson…one which continues to teach me everyday.

Friendship is to Meet
To Share is Progress
To Work Together is Success

Let your Socidividuality SHINE,

Jessey

Announcing SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Co-Branded Partnership

Announcing Little Lady Studio’s co-branded partnership with SWAROVSKI® ELEMENTS. Bringing a LLS creative vision to life, our Social SHINE Jewelry Collection distinguishes itself by incorporating embellishments of SWAROVSKI® premium crystals to serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration. Following an application and submission process with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS marketing team, LLS has been approved as a co-branded partner. The MADE WITH SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS label is a certificate of authenticity guaranteeing the premium quality and provenance of the crystals used in our design pieces. It is with glimmering excitement and persistence that we announce this new partnership.

Jessey’s Motivation behind SHINE
My motivation to incorporate the crystals is to eloquently express the hope and optimism that our brand works to represent. SHINE’s campaign, Let your Socidividuality SHINE, is about quality character, sharing talents and owning your actions. Reflecting personalities of discreet elegance to trailblazing persistence, proprietors of SHINE are making a clear and passionate statement, “I am an individual who cares about others.” The shimmering reflection of the crystal light combined with the strength of our aluminum chains provides the medium that reinforces this bold message.

In our world of often superficial concerns, instead of worrying about VIP status, let’s focus on VIS status (Very Important Socidividual)! – Jessey

What’s New at the Studio

Power of Color Queens Necklace Reflect your Personality From discreet elegance to trailblazing persistence, proprietors of SHINE are making a clear and passionate statement, “I am an individual who really cares about others.”

Rock N Roll Necklace Make a Star Studded Appearance with these harmonic chords of chains. The draping feminine necklace will rock your style! FREE Earrings included!

Special Edition: Icey Necklace & Earrings You’ll be a Winter Goddess as you seduce the senses with SWAROVSKI® Icey Blue and Gun-Metal. FREE Earrings included!

SHINE our New Signature Jewelry Collection

SHINE, my new signature jewelry collection clusters complimentary chains, shapes and materials to create a smart urban design. The urban chic cut combined with passion of purpose gives edge on style. Our tag campaign, Let your Socidividuality Shine, now reaches Eastern and Western hemispheres. If you are new to LLS or have been with me since the start, welcome to our tribe of action-orientated socidividuals. If you haven’t already, join us…where creativity has no bounds…to explore our studio happenings, social network and bold products.

Product Info

Through our products and partnerships, we work to promote awareness and empowerment for Ladies of the World. Ten percent of proceeds from the SHINE collection are allocated to support WEECE programs and initiatives – Women’s Education and Economic Center in Moshi Tanzania.

Our strong but lightweight aluminum chains are the ideal material used to represent the Bold Urban Socidividual. Genuine Swarovski Crystallized elements are incorporated for their reflection of light, a beacon of hope and inspiration.

Tanzania Translations: Everything happens for a reason…

….Everything…happens for a reason.

This post is written from the depths of my heart…I do sincerely believe that everything happens for a reason…my friends/family here at home and in Tanzania are part of a larger picture that I plan to immerse myself to make the very best of what can emerge. I now share with you the journey of Tanzania…

First I will share my admiration and respect for Mama Mrema, an individual who is making such a significant social impact in the world, whom I was fortunate to cross paths with at this time of life. Mama, Director of WEECE (Women Education and Economic Center) is a fiery women with a heart of gold (just as my mom was in her life). Mama’s spirituality was sobering and helped me to personally gain clarity and a better understanding of the contradictions in the cycles of dysfunction and helped to affirm the actions to building true self-empowerment, the core of MyPOP’s work. I did my best to serve her needs for the past three weeks and to offer my insights when asked for. What we accomplished was a friendship and understanding, which we can now formulate into a plan of action.

What we were able to achieve:

• Village visits, tours and introductions
• Interviews with women business owners supported by WEECE
• MyPOP print workshop
• Assisted in set-up of new kitchen sponsored by a group of supporters
• Drafted/painted kitchen mural
• Proposal preparation for urgent need
• Assisted with administration
• Assisted with conversational English

Volunteering was intimidating and frightening at times as I was overwhelmed by what I felt I couldn’t do before convincing myself to focus on what I could offer. The humbling experience allowed me to prioritize and I understand how I can best use my skills to be of service.Cross Cultural Solutions, my host organization, was a very successful experience and provided the bridge to my connection with WEECE. I recommend CCS as a credible and well-established organizer for a first-time volunteer experience and encourage future volunteers to scout out sponsorships to help assist with the fees.

My advice to those considering volunteering is this:

• If you haven’t already, adopt a mentality of listening and learning – golden rule: LISTEN MORE – TALK LESS. Remember you are there to share, not direct.
• Spend time observing and engaging in discussions about those you are working with.
• Be selfless in your actions and be there to serve where it is needed.
• Politeness, creativity and enthusiasm will go along way.
• Outline your goals before your departure as this will provide a framework for both you and the individuals you are there to serve.
• Be natural…you may feel the obligation to try and be something that you are not…remain patient and deliberate as time will help get you into your groove.

Remarks about moving forward:

I want to extend a thank-you to those of you who have followed the journey, as I feel we are on this together. In the next few days and months my objectives and follow-through will be revealed, including a select variety of initiatives and projects. I will say again that I have tremendous admiration for Mama Mrema. She is a visionary and has made tremendous strides in helping her sisters and brothers of Tanzania. I believe in her and her initiatives have helped to sustain dramatic improvements for the lives of some of those who need it most.

As a sensual person, I have already missed and will continue to miss the sounds, smells and sites of my recent experiences the most. The sounds of Mama’s belly laugh and her insightful tone in the words she shared. I will miss the bumpy roads while piled into a small truck sharing stories and jokes with friends. I will miss hearing the dogs barking and the early morning call to prayer. I have missed the dust and the foreign words of Swahili. I will miss most, the hugs of those that I have already come to love.

Until next time, amani,

Jessey

Photo documentation of journey and initiatives posted on FB