Sometimes a book, or even just a line, chapter or passage within a book can stick with us long after we’ve read its final page. We asked some of our favorite community members to tell us about a book that’s had a meaningful impact on them
Adam Kobetich | Freelance Artist | Comics and Sequential Art Self-Publisher, llustrator
Making Silent Stones Speak by Kathy D Schick and Nicholas Toth. I am fascinated by human origins and the fact that one can look at the fossil record and see a progression of features and behaviors that lead to modern humans. Making Silent Stones Speak details the work in experimental archeology that allows scientist to understand what proto humans were doing 2 and a half million years ago. This book has so captivated my imagination that i started a sequential art project this year that will tell the story a group of proto humans. I’m still trying to dream my way back down the millions of years to see what these people were really up to. Alas, i have yet to time travel, so i can only read and imagine and ask questions. Making Silent Stones Speak deals primarily with Homo Habilis, a “species” thought to have been the first tool maker, a species that is still in dispute today as to whether or not it is a separate species from some of the other more well established groups of proto humans. Read more>>
Jen Lewis | Founder + Executive Director
This summer, I read Amanda Palmer’s book The Art of Asking & was inspired to reach out to the Purse & Clutch community. I took a deep breath & rather timidly shared in a newsletter how a few months prior I made a big donation to a national non-profit. In exchange we were allowed to sell our Embossed Leather Wristlets through their site for an upcoming event they were hosting. They promised lots of marketing & brand awareness and it seemed like a great opportunity. We ramped up production of our adorable wristlets just for them … and barely got any additional website traffic much less sales from the partnership. Then I said, “This feels really vulnerable, but I’m asking for your help” and I proceeded to ask our community to buy a Wristlet at a discount to help us offset the costs & keep our next round of production in Mexico on track. I was astounded at our community’s response. We hit our goal of selling 80 wristlets by the end of the week & the outflow of support and folks genuinely wanting to be more involved in the process of Purse & Clutch was pivotal for me. I’ve changed my whole marketing strategy to what my focus should have been in the first place : using social media as a way to truly connect with the amazing community that surrounds us. Read more>>
Natalia Gonzalez Hernandez | Zumba Instructor
“Ask and It Is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks. This book is EVERYTHING! Words cannot fully describe how much it impacted my life! It came to me as a Christmas gift from my dear cousin Sofia (which I know now was no coincidence) and has since then been the gift that keeps on giving! It reminded me that I chose to come into this world to experience love, beauty, passion, joy! That I would have the most sophisticated guiding system along the journey (my emotions). and that I would know if I was on the right path based on how I felt. It also reminded me that my only “obligation” in this life is to feel as good as possible as often as possible, and if you ask me, that does not sound like a bad obligation at all. Read more>>