Our new cocktail napkins make their debut at UNLVino!
We ventured away from our computers and stopped designing and writing to participate in the UNLVino event on Saturday, April 20th. We sold many of our newly designed wine glasses, wine charms, keychains, cocktail napkins and greeting cards to raise money for Charity and what a great night it was! We enjoyed meeting so many of you and we appreciate you helping us to raise money for UNLV scholarships!! Southern Wine and Spirits, The Paris Hotel and UNLV did a wonderful job hosting the event! We even managed to take our picture with a local celebrity, "The General" from the Animal Planet's TV show "Tanked" was there. What a fun guy he was. Let's just say, if business keeps booming, you may soon see a Working Girls inspired fish tank on their television show. Thanks for making it such a fun and memorable night, and a special shout out to our rockstar crew, we couldn't have done it without you Carmel, Joe and Donna!
Our new glasses were sold at the event. They are now also available at Kohls.com
A few years ago, Jodi and I were talking about our childhood and our mothers and everything we put them through. And of course with Jodi having a couple teenagers of her own at that time, we started lamenting that it would be great if there was an actual gift book out there that truly covered the magnitude of what most mothers experience. Of course there is the joy, the excitement, the sweetness, but what about all those other moments. When your patience is running low, when tempers flare or a singular event causes you to doubt your own sanity. So with that idea in mind, we took to the streets (well Facebook and email anyway) and gathered and edited your stories and drew the artwork and wala, here it is. Our brand new Mother of the Year book. The book is hard cover, 72 pages long with colorful graphics on one page and a sane or not so sane pieces of true advice from real mom's telling it like it is. The book is available for purchase now at Barnes and Noble, Willow Creek Press and signed copies can be purchased at Working Girls Inc.
Now we know it's not likely going to win any pulitzer prize for literary accomplishments but that was never our intention. We just wanted to make mom's laugh. We wanted to capture the real moments of motherhood and hi-light that this whole experience is not a 100 yard dash but a long marathon and if you are getting tired, take heed. Thousands even millions have gone before you and survived and one day you'll back with bemusement, wonder and even pride that you not only survived motherhood,
This spring found the Working Girls and their favorite two men, taking a trip from Sunny Las Vegas to Sunny San Francisco. We decided to celebrate with the husbands, after all they are two of the biggest supporters of the Working Girls brand. It also inspired some new artwork, funny how wine can do that!
Our first stop was none other than Alcatraz, someone should have told us about the 5 story climb by foot that had us all winded. Whew, lucky for us we'd had our coffee. We stayed near the water at a wonderful Kimpton hotel called the Argonaut at the Fisherman's Wharf. You can see from the photos, we throughly enjoyed the free hot chocolate bar and complimentary hot totties! Joe was an excellent tour guide, a former San Francisco resident, he showed us the finer points of the city.
We had some delicious meals including a celebratory birthday dinner for Joe. That was an evening to remember. Next stop, we jumped in the rental car and took off for Napa Valley where we stopped at several winneries. We even made time to visit a few of Joe and Jodi's old friends from Atlanta who are now living on a small vineyard. Best of all, we tried some homemade wine, it was delicious.
Our last day in California found us eating a delicious meal on the water, we jumped on our afternoon flight via Virgin Atlantic and the rest they say is history. Overall, a fantastic trip and a much needed break from our computer monitors. We hope you find some time to carve out a trip or two of your own this year and we'd love to hear all about it. Just don't forget to tell us about the wine and the food, it's always one of the best parts of any trip we think! Best, Jodi and Tonja
The Argonaut Hotel - a lovely place to stay
The View of our Hotel and the Wharf.
There's about to be a prison break! Jodi and Tonja inside Alcatraz.
Our trip to Alcatraz, Joe, Jodi, Tonja and Doug
The Painted Ladies, even prettier in person.
Happy Birthday Joe!
At Brad's house and vineyard. So Fun.
Is there a vineyard in the Working Girls future? We say YES!
Jana wine? A tribute to one of Jodi's friends perhaps!
Joe and Jodi, at a beautiful vineyard.
Doug with Jodi, the official elevator operator.
Our last meal in California with our own bottle of Traverse!
Well usually when we roll into Atlanta for the gift show in January you can find us wearing hats, mittens and oversized parkas, not this trip! The weather was absolutely gorgeous. The market was quite busy and we had such a fun time visiting with our manufacturer's who always seem to leave us with a to do list and a fresh burst of creativity. We arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday, with the extra bonus of watching the Atlanta Falcons beat the Seattle Seahawks with a game that went down to the wire. We were inside the local bar surrounded by Falcon fans and let's just say the Working Girls are never surprised to see so many grown men yell, jump and scream at the tiny figures inside the flat screen televisions. It definitely made for an entertaining Sunday, and the perfect ending to our amazing trip.
Our Card line with Leanin' Tree
Excited for our three new Calendars with Graphique
Inside the Sunset Vista Showroom
New Totes - Perfect for the Beach!
Accessories for our young fans.
We just love these new designs!
Love the quality of these angels from Sunset Vista!
It's hard to believe the holidays have come and gone but we did enjoy sending many packages out around the country. Many of you shopped at our store, or bought our products at your favorite local retailers and we appreciate that! We loved the designs ourselves so much, we even set up our own houses with our version of Working Girl bling. Thanks for making 2012 our best holiday ever!
Thank you making our holidays so bright!
Happy Holidays from the Working Girls - artist Jodi and writer Tonja
We know it’s late November and Holiday Christmas crafts may not be high on your priority list, but it’s probably safe to say you’ll have limited time to even shower in December, so November is actually a great month for crafting! We recently took a day in early November to create these darling holiday canvases. It was a fun afternoon filled with glitter, ink jet transfers, glue and yes wine!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
a few sheets of image transfer ink jet paper
ink jet printer
small canvases (we used 6 x 6)
paper cutters
paper towels
shallow dish filled with water.
waterbase sealer, glue & finish
paint brush
glitter
optional: glue gun, boa, rhinestones for decorating
STEP 1: Select your design and print onto the image transfer Inkjet paper. If your canvas is 6 by 6 you can make the design slightly larger to fold over the edges.
STEP 2: Print design onto paper, you may want to practice on a smaller canvas to begin with.
STEP 3: Cut the design using a paper cutter so that no white edges are showing.
STEP 4: Place the transfer sheet into a water tray. The paper may curl a bit, just make sure it’s nice and wet.
STEP 5: Remove the transfer sheet from the water and place onto the canvas. The backing will slide off, leaving your design. Pat dry with paper towel to remove any bubbles. Don’t move the transfer around too much, as it can tear or bleed if over manipulated.
STEP 6: Allow to dry completely. Then use a brush to waterbase sealer over the transfer. Let dry for several hours. This will ensure the durability of your canvas.
STEP 7: Decorate with glitter, ribbon, rhinestones, pearls, boa or anything you desire. Let your creativity be your guide.
STEP 8: Arrange with ornaments and greenery or add a hanger and give as a gift.
These canvases are inexpensive and a great way to decorate for the holidays or give as house warming presents for parties. In lieu of artwork, you can also use family photos or scan in kid’s artwork or their hand written messages to Santa. Kids love doing their own canvas projects, just make sure they help you clean up the mess! We’d love to hear your feedback and make sure in between all your projects, you make time to get yourself a pedicure, because we know all you really want for Christmas is off your two feet!
We did it! We hopped the pond and spent nearly a week in London and it was fabulous. It was our first time exhibiting at the International Licensing Show in London and we met lots of wonderful people who are going to help us spread the Working Girl love all over the world! It was our opportunity to debut our collection of new artwork - the One of A Kind Girls Global collection! We also caught up with some artist friends and met a few new ones too! We took all day Monday to site see and then it was off to work for three full days at the show. Here are a few of our favorite shots! P.S. We love you London, we hope to see you again real soon!
Amazing architecture everywhere!
Big Ben was on our stop.
We took a ferry down the river to see the Wheel.
Jodi just couldn't pass up this photo opp.
Tonja in front of one of the many outdoor parks and gardens in London.
We are hopping across the pond for the Brand Licensing Show in Europe, wish us luck. We hope to meet some wonderful manufacturers and reps to spread the Working Girl product love around the world.
We have a collection of wall art that is selling well on Overstock, here are just a few of the custom pieces. We are also looking to partner with a great manufacture to bring the Working Girls images to high end canvases, see sample mock ups below. Enjoy!
Sometimes things come full circle and it's certainly been a wonderful experience for us. When Jodi and I met a few years ago, one of the first products we co-created together was a gift book called Hair Today Gone Tomorrow. It's a sweet little poem about a woman keeping her confidence despite losing her hair. Both of our mothers are cancer survivors and we thought this little book would be uplifting to women, and it has been! Although it's never been on the NY Times best seller, we sell it on our website and every time it's bought, we know it's bringing comfort to the women giving and receiving the gift.
Flash forward three years and this month we find our images (those same ideas that graced our little book) appearing in COSTCO on our first Think Pink Calendar! In addition, we have a number of purse padsavailable through the Graphique de France website. Sometimes the smallest of dreams can expand beyond our wildest expectation. We are proud to partner with The Susan G. Komen Foundation, Graphique de France and Costco to help raise awareness and $$ for this wonderful cause.
Our book images are now available on purse pads, with the proceeds benefiting Susan G!
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