April's Blog

To Market, to (Quilt) Market

2009-05-15T20:23:00.006-04:00

This weekend Donna Larrabee and I head to Pittsburgh for the International Quilt Market. The entire April Cornell team have been preparing for weeks. We are thrilled by the response to our fabrics that Moda offers as being “perfect for quilters” and we are ready to keep that momentum going.

Quilt making reminds me of the exuberant way nature blends colors. So many artful combinations of hue and texture—and everything may not “match,” but it sure goes together. Or as I put it in my book, Decorating with Color, “To enjoy color, you need to let go of the perfect match.” Quilts and quilters do that with joyful abandon, which is why I think I’m so excited about getting to the show. I want to see what’s out there, fabric pairings, quilts on the cutting edge, designs that take tradition and add a delightful twist. I want to feel the fabrics and drink in all the richness of the patterns. I want to meet the people who have a such a passion for this art. We are hoping that my very first Tweetup at the Moda booth on Saturday morning will result in great connections with fellow quilt and design Twitterers.

Donna is wearing a spring green top and I will wear an embellished silk tunic. Look for us wandering the aisles, at the Moda booth, or perhaps sneaking outside for a quick dose of sunshine.

Just when you think life and quilts can’t show you anything new…that’s about the time when you’re woefully, joyfully, wrong.

Flying Home Again

2009-05-10T12:06:00.002-04:00

The snow piles have dwindled and spring greenery is pushing up through the soil. Red breasted robins hop along fresh lawns and geese are heard honking overhead. This in between season is when a lot of people stop feeding birds – but actually there is still very little food around up north [I saw an earthworm on the road in Montreal though] so it is an important time to put out food – as birds can die of hunger in this interim period. Here are a few suggestions for our feathered friends (and you!). Refill those feeders: Putting out seed now will guarantee you birds all summer long, as the returning birds find your feeders and make them their home.

Hang your hummingbird feeders: Even hummingbirds will soon be spotted – and we are definitely still missing flowers in Vermont – so the nectar feeders can really help.

Put out bird houses: If you put out new homes for birds now, returning birds will have a place to start their spring family.

Add color to your yard: A new array of freshly painted bird houses and feeders will dress up your garden and yard even before your tulips, lilacs, peonies and azaleas bloom.

Keep a “birding” eye out: While out for walks and enjoying these first spring days, keep your eyes on the sky and in the branches. The early days of summer, before everyone is out playing in the sunshine, are when you might spot a rare species or catch a closer look at an old friend.

Brunch Party

2009-05-08T14:39:00.000-04:00

Evening plans can often be difficult to coordinate with friends’
busy schedules. Here is a fun idea for a late morning or early afternoon gathering.

Have a group of friends and family over on a Saturday or Sunday at noon.

Cover your table in a cheerful tablecloth and arrange vases of spring flowers (daffodils and tulips are perfect!) as centerpieces.

Set out a buffet of brunch foods with plates and utensils. It is more fun when people can graze the choices and eat when/where they wish.

A Few Suggestions:
Quiches – these are easy to prepare ahead of time and can be heated right before serving.
Fruit salad kabobs - You can place your kabobs in a wide vase to look like a floral arrangement.
Cheese and Italian meat platter – Prosciutto, salami, mozzarella,
cheddar, jarlsberg… the list goes on and on.
French toast – If you are feeling ambitious, making a platter of French toast with thick slices of bread is always a hit. Try an apple bread or a hearty wheat. Sprinkle with powdered sugar …
and don’t forget a little pitcher of maple syrup.
Carrot Cake and Lemon Meringue Pie – These two
desserts give a variety and boast a little spring cheer!
Mimosa and Bellinis (champagne with orange juice
or peach juice)
Coffee and Tea
Fresh Juice Punch with sparkling water

A Breath of Fresh Air - Line Drying Your Laundry

2009-05-02T14:19:00.001-04:00

With summer almost here, don’t forget to give your clothing and linens the vacation that they deserve too! Hang your laundry outside for mother nature to dry. Not only is it a great way to conserve energy, line drying gives freshness to your fabrics. The smell of your garden, crisp clean air, and a subtle summer breeze will all mingle with your threads as they dry. If you don’t have a foldable drying rack or portable clothing line, you can use two trees and cotton twine. Be sure to pull taut, as the clothing will weigh the line down.

Check your clothespins and line for any mildew, mold or dirt, as they will transfer to your freshly washed linens. A gentle soap in the wash and line drying will give a fresh softness that can’t be duplicated in the dryer. Press your clothing and linens with a warm iron to get out any wrinkles

Plentiful Plantings - Window Boxes and More

2009-04-26T10:15:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of year – get out there and garden! If you don’t have the space for a large landscaped front yard or a backyard garden – or just want a walkway or entrance dressed up – here are some suggestions for small container gardens:

The Pot: Go ahead and be adventurous here. You don’t need to go to the garden store and invest lots of dollars in a pre-fab pot. You
can simply scrounge around the house, an antique shop, or a yard sale. Old crates, ceramics, barrels, window boxes, and household
holders (an antique wash bin or even -- gasp! -- an old pottery
chamber pot) are quite cute to use.
The Flowers: Pick flowers that work for the amount of sun your container garden will be getting. You can get very creative in planting, as most flowers will grow just fine in containers. Suggestions are Petunias, Geraniums, Pansies, Impatiens, Begonias, and various vines and ground covers. Be sure to plant your flowers closer than you would in a garden as the lushness of the container garden is what will give it its artistic appeal.
The Care: Be sure to use a lightweight soil, water often since the smaller area will dry out fast, and be sure to use containers that have holes on the bottom (you can make holes in old ceramics). Since your garden is now portable, you can rearrange your
various pots to landscape for all your summer occasions.

Tea Towels

2009-04-17T11:28:00.001-04:00

Tea towels are a classic April Cornell item that we carry year after year. Originally used to dry and clean valuables in 18th-century England, there are multitudes of other uses for these favorite kitchen linens. I like to keep many around the house, but also have a few on hand for gifts.

10 uses for our incredible waffle-weave tea towels:

1) Hang in the kitchen for drying hands or dishes
2) Place on the counter to cool a batch of cookies on
3) Wrap a bottle of wine for a gift - just tie a ribbon around the
bottleneck to secure
4) Drape over the counter in the bathroom for hands
5) Use as a lining for a basket of chips, crackers
or other appetizers & snacks
6) Place under an indoor plant to absorb any excess water and protect your furniture
7) Wrap a loaf of nut bread and bring to a friend or neighbor as a gift
8) Cover warm dishes or rolls on the table until dinner is served
9) Mix and match in the kitchen for a splash of color and texture
10) Wrap a picnic lunch and use as the paper bag as well as a tablecloth or napkin at lunch time

Traditional Indian Handcraft

2009-04-10T20:41:00.002-04:00

When reflecting on what separates April Cornell from any other apparel and linens company, I have to think that our Indian influence and use of traditional handcraft has something to do with it. Instead of a typical home tip this week, I thought I would tell you a little bit about some of these wonderful techniques steeped in rich culture and tradition.

Handblock: Carved wooden blocks create the beautiful patterns in many of our silk scarves, tunics, and linens. Different blocks are used for each color, so the more colors and detail you see in a pattern, the greater the difficulty in creating the print. As you can imagine this makes placement of each hand block critical! Hand
block printing is traditionally done by men in artisan communities, a craft technique that is handed down from father to son for generations.

Zardozi: Zardozi in an extraordinary embroidery embellishment traditionally done with real gold and silver coils and thread. Today substitution of other metals allows
the same techniques to be applied to garments. Zardozi trimmings were originally saved for clothes of India’s Maharaja and Maharani (Indian royalty) and many of these exquisite antiques live on in today’s museums and fine
textile collections.

Happy Obama Day!

2009-01-20T11:17:00.005-05:00

Today is a great day for ALL Americans.

Republican, Democrat, Independent, Progressive, apathetic -- we can all be proud to have elected the first African-American President of the United States!

Barack Obama has united the country and has also reunited us with the rest of the world -- across the globe, countries are celebrating Obama Day.

In India, our friend Shiv has baked chocolate cake and is celebrating this momentous event in Delhi. Our designer Donna is there and is incredibly moved by the fact that this country, halfway around the world, has embraced our new president and has renewed hope for the US.

In Rome, our Manager's cousins are glued to the TV, waiting for the speech.

In England, our graphic artist's inlaws are impressed with the president-to-be, and are looking forward to looking forward!

Here in our office in Burlington, Vermont, we are anxiously awaiting the inauguration, and we will be eating cake!!!

Hurray for Obama! Hurray for America!

So Happy Together!

2009-01-09T11:00:00.003-05:00

Quilts and fabrics have been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I learned how to sew as a young girl and have had a life long love affair with fabric. It’s my young girl’s dream come true that I get to design fabrics for quilters as a grown-up. Several years ago, Moda licensed my fabric designs for the quilt market, and I am in awe of the beautiful quilts I have seen so many creative people make using them. I am delighted with the quality of the Moda fabric, and they are happy with me because quilters like the designs. It’s so nice when you can be in a happy, creative partnership! I wish I had the time to quilt by hand, but I with the number of designs I have to develop each season, I have to be content to watch our wonderful sewing team bring my sketches to life. I will never tire of mixing, matching, and blending fabric colors and textures together into the newest bed quilt or quilted pillows, table covers, or clothing. Working with what I love is what keeps fueling my creative fires. I hope the quilters who work with our fabrics feel the same way about their work. I think we all share a love of tactile textiles. Here are some simple shots of a couple of my latest projects: a small bed quilt, a table mat, and a craft bag.

I invite you to explore some quilting websites that feature my designs and inspiration!

http://www.unitednotions.com/un_main.nsf/april-cornell

http://handquilting.blogspot.com/2009/01/fabric-designer-interview-april-cornell.html

Count our Blessings

2008-12-22T11:08:00.001-05:00

By the time this column is published Hanukah will be finishing up, and Christmas will be on its heels.
Before the National Vacation – Christmas – I’d like to reflect a little on the meaning of Hanukah for me.
The lighting of the eight candled Menorah is symbolic of the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil.
The lighting of the Menorah represents the eight days a small amount of oil burned and gave the Maccabees, victorious in preserving their holy place and moral beliefs, a miraculous eight days of holy light – it was a triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.
I think this is the right time of year to count some of our Jewish Blessings!
And I can think of some big ones -
Where would the western world be without Jewish Philanthropy?
Where would our institutions be without the charitable contributions of the Jewish culture?
How many libraries would not have been built?
How many hospitals would not exist?
How many studies would not have been undertaken?
How many elder care facilities would never have been started?
How many patients not served?
When there is need the Jewish Community is the fore front – anticipating and responding with institutions that form the very core of our lives.
How many theatres, cultural centers, museums and art programs would never have breathed?
Where would we be without Jewish Creativity?
What no Bob Dylan? What no Barbara Streisand?
How many first nights would never have opened?
How many plays would never have been written?
Where would we be without Arthur Miller, and Neil Simon and Carl Reiner?
How many movies would not have been made?
How many galleries never supported?
What No Guggenheim?
How many books unwritten?
What -no Leon Uris, or JD Salinger or Elie Wiesel?
How many actors not seen?
When there is art – the Jewish community is in attendance – enjoying, participating and giving.
Where would we be without Jewish Business?
No Leslie Wexner?
No Levi Strauss?
No Barbie Doll?
And Jewish Design – especially in the garment industry?
What no Marc Jacobs, no Ralph Lauren, no Calvin Klein, no Hinda Miller?
It’s almost no clothes!
Where would we be without Jews in Academia ?
How many colleges would never have been built?

How much research not pursued?
How many scholarships denied?
And most importantly -How many questions not asked?
And how many doctors and scientists we would be missing!
When we experience academia the intellectual and questioning mind nurtured by the Jewish culture is integral to our experience.

And what about laughter?
Where would we be without Jewish Wit?
Where would we be without the slapstick fun of the Three Stooges, gone more sophisticated with Mel Brooks, or the story telling humor of Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld?
What about the simultaneously raucous and sensitive Bette Midler, the hilarious Gilda Radnor and irritatingly funny intellectual Woody Allen?

Our TV shows would lose essential crazy humor,
Our comedy nights would pale, our ability to laugh at our selves, fall over ourselves and see the absurd and carry on would be less.

So I say we should count our blessings today – our Jewish blessings.
And I will start my counting with a bagel and cream cheese!
As my friend says

Om Shalom
April Cornell
Montreal

Delhi notes

2008-12-19T16:29:00.001-05:00

November in Delhi is one of my favorite times of the year.
The days are sunny and bright and the nights are beautifully cool. In the morning crows and mynahs and red vented bul buls along with the occasional tailor bird come to my balcony. Between my potted plants and the bread I leave out for them, they find something to eat.
Below my second floor apartment I see the newspaper man riding by on his bicycle, he tosses the Hindustan Times into my driveway and pedals on; New Delhiites are eager for the morning news.
Just breathing the air on a November morning feels me with happiness. The charcoal fires in braziers have started up, they will fend off the morning cold, and this stirs memories, my more than thirty years of travelling in India is full of many falls and the evocative smells of the season. I look down the road and see a steady trail of people walking to the nearby park, getting their exercise and enjoying the cool weather. Seeing everybody wrapped in shawls and caps reminds me how much Delhiites enjoy the change of weather.
In a short while I will have my breakfast and go to my office and factory in nearby Okhla.
Okhla is where my factory is. Since 1991 I have been a manufacturer in India. I have a wonderful factory and a wonderful team of dedicated and talented individuals. Bougainvillea great me at the door and a lobby with big comfy couches sets an embracing and welcoming tone. Currently I have about 250 employees in India. This is down from a high of 750 several years ago, but it is still a significant number of people, and the work that the factory creates and controls extends to more than 5000 families. To say I am proud to have a factory in India, and that I feel personal pride in the product it turns out would be an understatement. Delhi and Cornell Overseas are the heart and soul of my company. They produce the prints, the table and bed linens, the childrens dresses and a huge collection of clothing for women that I have worked on for years. And in so many ways the culture and traditions of India have influenced my design. The textile history here is so strong, the tailoring skills so sophisticated that I have had the opportunity to expand and push my own personal style to so many different and interesting directions.
One of the best parts of my day is the first hour or so, spent walking the factory floors and visiting all the departments and seeing what production is going on. I usually start with the sampling room, which is always exciting; any number of things might be under way. A small team of women do hand embroidery, and I will stop by their table to see what new designs they are working on. They may be trying a new stitch or a new pattern. They work out all of the kinks in a design before the first sample is made. They are skilled in embroidery, beading, appliqué, and any handwork that make our product special.
I then check to see what is on the machines with the sample tailors, looking at the sketch and checking it against their item. I will likely see a style that Deepak has put on a mannequin, waiting for fit approval by the masters. I will pop my head in the embroidery room, to see the embroidery tracings under way, and watch the hand guided machine embroidery samples being made.
A quick hello to the pattern Masters who are working on new patterns, and figuring out the new styles.
These guys have been with me for years, and all of them ran with me last year in the Delhi Half Marathon for Concern India.
A head poke into the spec room lets me know if there are any pending issues there. If there are we discuss them and sort them out. I walk over to the linen sampling area where we are working on some patchwork pieces for my quilt book. I see what is on the sample cutting table, inquire as to who it is for and move on to our production tailoring unit. The place is humming as tailors use their juki sewing machines to good effect. I speak with the head of production and learn about the day’s targets and goals. And then move up the back stair case passing the button holing and button room. And an important room it is - it represents just one of the many steps a garment needs before it is completed.
What is a blouse without its buttons? What is a button without its buttonhole?
A stroll through a second production floor, a talk with the head of quality control, a trip to the roof to see the washing area, and the bolts of fabric hung on lines drying in the cool air. The wash tubs are filled with soaking items – we wash everything at least once and sometimes two or three times before the fabric meets the soft hand feel that we need for our garments. I can’t help swishing my hands through the water and feeling pleased with the amount of care that goes into each piece produced in my factory.
By the time I make my way back downstairs to the basement and into the cutting room, I am feeling a deep satisfaction with my life in India, the creativity it has allowed to bloom, the product that it has produced and the proud fact that I have been able to offer good jobs for many years.
Manufacturing is magic. The long stretch of printed fabric layered on the cutting table, the familiar face of the cutting master, the stacks of fabrics, neatly piled in my fabric stores, the transformation of an idea into an item of beauty, to a thing of desire, repleat with quality and style, the commitment of many hands behind it all, these are the riches of a career in textiles.
I was working on design when I was in Delhi, putting together a collection for fall 2009, sourcing fabrics, developing prints, working out the intricacies of new styles, coordinating pieces and colors in the hope of making women happy in the future. I work with a team of merchandisers and my head of Indian operations, Harpreet Sindhu when I do this – the days are long and interesting. Work spills into Saturdays and Sundays as we race the perpetual deadline for sample completion.
Harpreet and I spend many hours talking about business, about our customer, about design, about the economy, about employees, about fabric supplies, and production issues, orders and how to deliver them. Every Hour is full of thoughts and strategies to keep this amazing business vibrant.
At lunch we sit and talk about our lives, about our children, about movies, about politics and about shopping. Sometime during the trip we will shop together and dine together.
It has been such an honor and such a rich life to have worked in India and had the exposure to such a tremendous culture.
Trip to Sai Kripa
Another amazing day.
On November 25, on a sunny morning I piled into our company truck with Nidhi Singh from Concern India and Anita Sharma from my office and headed off to one of my favorite Giving World Projects – Sai Kripa.
Sai Kripa is a school for first generation learners outside of New Delhi.
It has 350 students from pre kindergarten to grade 10. These children are receiving an excellent education, challenging and stimulating in a respectful and loving environment. The woman who started this extraordinary school is herself the extraordinary Anjina Rajgopal. Anjina has adopted or fostered more than 80 children, currently she has 33 at home with her, the youngest being five. The woman’s face glows in a way that seems saint like. But she is as down to earth and practical as only a mother of 80 has to be!
Her love for these children and her highly educated background led her to starting this school. Together with the collaboration of villagers she has successfully changed a mainly illiterate town into a literate one where young people now have opportunities beyond farming or menial labor. Where graduates have come back to teach at the school!
When we were visiting the classrooms, Anjina got an amazing phone call. A vagrant boy, lost, incoherent, beaten and ill had arrived on her doorstep several months earlier. His early prognosis was not good, it was even suggested that he be institutionalized. Anjina decided to nurture him first, tend his wounds and his spirit and see how he did. Within a couple of months he regained his health and was able to remember the name of the town he was from and that his mother sold vegetables under a tree.
The town was in another state. With a lot of networking and sleuthing, the mom was found. And Anjina received the call in our presence. A truly miraculous day. To say nothing of the many children all around us, adding and subtracting, reading and writing, questioning and playing. Thirty of these children also participated in the Delhi Half Marathon this year. Anjina makes sure her kids are involved and take advantage of every opportunity.
When I think of India and my life working with the Giving World and Sai Kripa is such a rewarding part of it. How lucky to be able to give. How lucky to see positive change, and be an agent of change.
Bad day.
The night of November 26th was a bad day for India. At 940pm the city of Mumbai was attacked.
I went to bed unawares, as did most of us.
A call from my son at 430 in the morning alerted me to the horror that was going on in Mumbai, with attacks in the city’s most famous hotels, at the train station ,in a Jewish Center, at a hospital, we sat glued to the television, tied to the telephone, our computers open and our minds darting, anxious and afraid. I immediately called my friends in Mumbai. Living in the Colaba district surrounding the besieged Taj Hotel, they were also locked in their apartments listening to gunshots and sirens, watching billowing smoking clouds and praying. Everything felt minute to minute, tense and unreal. It dawned on Thanksgiving Day. We all still went to work, we all still worked we all still worried and kept The Times of India on the Internet all day long.
At noon we shared a Thanksgiving lunch of butter chicken and daal and two chocolate cakes in heart shaped pans. We were thankful to be together. Thankful to be working, thankful we had not been in Mumbai and anxious for those still trapped at the Taj and Oberoi Hotels.
India has been a home for me, albeit one of several, for more than thirty years. I never felt more at home in India, than on November 26 when my Indian friends and their proud city were under siege. I felt anxious, and scared, as did they, but I also felt solidarity and a pride in the strength of the average Indian to care for one another, to combat fear and to root out ignorance and violence. To discuss intellectually and passionately the challenges of the country, and of the world.
We breathed a sigh of relief when the very long occupation in Mumbai ended. We got back to our work with gusto. India is an important place for me, and for the planet.
-April

Reflections on Mumbai

2008-12-19T16:13:00.000-05:00

Mumbai

On November 26th the city of Mumbai was attacked by terrorists at the heart of its thriving core.
Unlike the attackers Mumbai is known for tolerance -for diversity, for sophistication, for business, for Bollywood. It is the cinematic home of all of Asia.
It is the home of many different religious and ethnic populations- this is where Hindus and Parsis, Christian and Muslims, Jews and Kolis, Sindhis and Buddhists, live shoulder to shoulder , tradition to tradition, language to language, heart to heart. Bombay, has a pulse.
It is tropical, humid, and fragrant, with salty air. It is crowded, bustling, densely populated, with more than twelve million people it is both extravagantly rich and desperately poor.
Its coastal location makes it home to shipping lines and passenger ships, the freight of all of the west coast flows through this harbor, and the fruit of the sea fills the markets and restaurants of the city. The Indian stock Exchange is in Mumbai as is the Headquarters of The Reserve Bank of India. This place hums.
Shopping is abundant in the Chic Colaba district, from high end designer goods to bargain priced trinkets; all levels of consumerism are catered to. Old Colonial buildings house cafes and shops, hotels and offices. Palm trees line Marine Drive, a two mile stretch of city beach. This is a city full of life and pride, beauty and ugliness.
At the postcard center of this city sits the iconic Taj Hotel, and not far away from that the Oberoi Hotel.
These two hotels represent the two great Hotel chains of India. Luxurious, sophisticated, they were the first of the five star hotels in India, before any of the foreign chains arrived, there was the Oberoi or the Taj, to meet for drinks, to have dinner, to do business, to impress a buyer, to host a party or attend charity functions, these two hotels were the pride of the city, setting a standard of sophistication and style that reflected the east/ west style that Mumbai glories in.
I, like many in our trade, have been affected by the unconscionable acts of violence in Bombay. Train Station, Hospital, Jewish Center and two iconic hotels were brutally attacked. From kitchen help to the hotel manager’s wife and children, to people having a simple drink, to entire families alighting at the train station, to a Rabbi and his wife, there was cruelty without mercy. Anger without object. The Heart of many in our business community goes out to the people of Mumbai, to the citizens of India. We share their pain and their shame. Their hurt and their anger. And we want the city of Mumbai to hold onto its diversity to hold fast to its cosmopolitan self, its vibrant heart.
Sitting in my flat in New Delhi on November 26, listening to the television, reading the newspapers, following the minute by minute coverage of this 62 hour siege and slaughter, I remember another night, on Sept 11, 2001, when I sat at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi and watched in horror as the twin towers collapsed over and over again in New York. My Indian friends and I held hands and prayed for America. On November 26 2008, I prayed with them for India.
So many of us are involved in imports, in travel and in trade. We are the true ambassadors of democracy and change. More than any of our politicians we know the value of respecting differences and understanding commonalities. We understand we are all more alike than we are different.
Whatever we can do to keep trade and understanding flowing, to stand by our associates and friends, at home and abroad, we must do it.
April Cornell

Inspired Nighties

2008-10-03T14:10:00.000-04:00

Nighties

There is just something about a cotton nighty, washed and washed and softened with sleep, that actually is not only comfortable, it is also a comfort.

Customers and friends have told me stories of how nighties have literally helped them feel better during lengthy hospital stays, made them feel pretty and feminine after some very tough days that were not at all pretty or feminine, and just became a ritual, like yoga, or music or using a favorite face cream to help unwind at the end of a day. They tell me there is nothing like hanging out in their nighty on a Sunday, reading, writing, having a cup of coffee and feeling old fashioned cozy on a quiet day. A sleep therapist I met in Philadelphia told me that she uses our soft voile nighties to help her clients with sleep. My sister wears a fresh nighty every night. Always feminine and fresh, It is just part of who she is.

The delicate embroideries, many inspired from antique nightwear and bed jackets are what I love most. They bring the past to my present, the lives of other women, the sleeps of other sisters to my night. They comfort me, and I remember them.

April

An Occasion For Tea - Photos to Share

2008-10-03T13:33:00.003-04:00

The Empress Hotel in Victoria British Columbia, nestled in Victoria’s downtown harbor, was the perfect setting for Victoria Magazine’s “Occasion for Tea.”

Hundreds of women from both the United States and Canada spent several days at the Hotel and around the city, listening to talks and getting to know each other and the city of Victoria.

I was delighted to show some of my decorating ideas on three different tables with three different color palettes, to the Sunday morning group.

I introduced personal ideas of having missing family at the table with framed photos and keepsake items. There were both summer and fall palettes, and live flowers to match.

Nicest of all was having my Mother, father and store manager Kate there to participate.

I was lucky I sat at a table with Phyllis Hoffman, of Hoffman Publishing [Victoria Magazine] and Dorothea Johnson, etiquette expert as well as the very talented floral artist, Susan Woodard, who had done matching arrangements with my containers for my tables.

The breakfast tables had beautiful silver vases absolutely laden with flowers, at the end of the event these were auctioned off and the crowd of women walking away with their beautiful arrangements made a pretty sight.

What a nice occasion!

Thinking outside the "bun tray"

2008-10-03T13:24:00.001-04:00

Being an artist and designer means being creative and thinking of multiple uses for home accents. Our online Marketing Manager sent this photo along of her parent's kitty, Ella. Ella decided the Bun Tray is the perfect size for a nap! What a creative cat!

A Pretty Blouse and Business

2008-07-30T14:50:00.002-04:00

First Published in the Burlington Free Press - July 2008

A Pretty Blouse and Business:

I was at a business conference recently and at the end of this rather inconclusive symposium somebody said ‘business needs to do a better job of telling its story’

I had to agree we have a story and it is time to tell it.

I am in the clothing business, the textile business and the design business.

And the story I want to tell is the story of a blouse. A blouse that sells for forty nine dollars. At full price.

A pretty blouse that makes the wearer feel good about herself and brings a smile to her face when she looks in the mirror and when somebody offers her a compliment about how great she looks.

This is the story of that blouse, that blouse and its journey to her hands, that blouse and its circle of employment, that blouse and its industry of creativity, that blouse and its unseen values.

That blouse is born on the sketch sheet of a designer, that designer has done her research, buying trade publications, attending industry fairs, shopping the market, in my case using vintage and antique references, she has conducted surveys with her staff and customers, run reports and drawn on her own vision to make that first sketch. The details of the fabrics and trims, tailoring and accessories, embroidery and print are all on that sketch, this sketch holds all of the information that the blouse will need to start its journey. The designer’s counterpart today is half a world away, let’s call her Anita, she’s a merchandiser; she has the skills that will take that sketch and breakdown its ingredients and deliver them to each of the trades needed to make it. She will use experts to source the fabric, a cotton voile. This soft and fine cotton comes from Southern India, in Southern India it is grown and in Southern India it is woven. A tradition as old as cloth continues in the weaving mills of the south. That first yard of cotton, the unrefined greige goods already comes with its own record of employment.

I think of the labor that goes into picking that cotton. I think of the families living from those wages. I think of the cotton popping out of its pod, warmed by the sun, and then carded and woven to make a cloth that cannot be mimicked by man made fibers, a cloth that is both strong and durable, and light and breathable. A cloth that can be dyed and printed be embroidered or left plain. I think – ‘now that is a cloth that deserves respect’- that is a cloth whose provenance is known by its’ unique touch and is immeasurably fine.

Then that cotton is dyed, color is its’ essence, its hue matched with a combination of science and a trained eye, after dying comes processing, a vital step- to remove stiffness and shrinkage- I will have my fabric washed in large tubs and hang it to dry, letting the natural air and climate enter its fiber, letting the fabric rest so the cutting of it will be straight. I think of the families supported by the washing of this blouse. The work its own specialty of know how and skill.

Before the fabric is ready, the pattern is in process. The expert in the spec department has lined up the measurements with the design; a combination of grading rules and computer programs assures that the fit is fine. The pattern master with sketch and specs in hand, cuts the first pattern, marking all of the pleats and tucks and darts that both the cutting master and tailor will need to guide them. And so it is to that cutting master next, and then the skilled tailor, there’s tucks and the tailoring, and many fine lines of stitches to complete the style.

We must add the hand- work, the embroidery is perfected, an accomplished craftswoman re - worked the pattern, and reworked it again, until it was perfect. And the yarns, those embroidery yarns, each color dyed just for this motif: each matching perfectly to spec and design. These experts are called masters and that’s what they do they master their craft and take pride in their work.

I think of the families that live from these jobs.

And buttons, small buttons a leitmotif of mine, they are made from shells, they are mother of pearl, they glisten like ivory, they carry the sea, those tiny buttons, like a vintage find, are something special, sewable only by hand they put the smile on the blouse the delicate closure, they are both grace and design yet something so seemingly simple and fine. Those buttons too are manufactured just for you.

And there is a label and a hangtag – more work for designers, and the label manufacturer too, and printing the hangtag, and attaching it now, and pressing the blouses, and removing all stains, and thread cutting, and button hole making, that’s an entire specialization with its own operators too, and quality checking that delicate blouse, and packing it carefully and folding it well. Anita, the merchandiser, gives her last final test. The blouse now takes a journey that involves boats or planes, freight forwarding companies, and employment at ports, it takes a journey that engages another world of endeavor, that kowtows to customs and pays its dues, that moves to delivery and receiving of goods, that arrives at a warehouse that houses systems created by IT, the recording and accounting of every sale, it works with a budget, a financial plan, that has its own merchandisers, not Anita now but Amanda creates the map, that encompasses statistics and models and photo shoots, and marketing and locations and travels to trade shows and builds websites to sell it. It employs copywriters and call centers and product managers too. This pretty voile blouse, keeps working hard.

It links sales reps and customers, retailers and consumers, analysts and accountants and window dressers with promotions and store managers and supervisors and part timers and landlords and advertisers too, needing graphics and printed brochures, and store design and carpentry and electricians and floorers and painters and builders - this little blouse has pulled on its journey hundreds of people and a multiplicity of skills, from fabric to finish its employment circle is large, it ripples and contributes and creates ladders for success, this blouse in its industry, its accessible industry where talent is welcomed, where women and men can reach for the top, this industry that employs so many, this industry rides on the back of that pretty blouse.

And that pretty blouse in the soft color of a rose, with the delicate embroidery that captures the breathe of a flower, that pretty blouse in the softest of cottons, with fine lines of pintucks, that pretty blouse whose neckline flatters the face, that pretty blouse that today gave your life a little more grace, that pretty blouse that made you smile, that pretty blouse is business my friend.

That pretty blouse has a story to tell. For forty nine dollars. That little blouse should be treated well.

Tea in Victoria

2008-07-30T12:25:00.002-04:00

An occasion for tea - August 8th through the 10th a luxurious tea event will be held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. The event will be hosted by Victoria and TeaTime magazines and will include guest speakers, delicious dining, and of course tea. I will be attending the event and am honored to be a speaker at the breakfast Sunday morning. I welcome you all and look forward to seeing you. For more information on the event you can visit www.victoriamag.com.

a hot day in VT

2008-06-13T12:57:00.002-04:00

Only here in Vermont do we have friends that spend a 90 degree day chasing sheep! Here is a delightful (and funny) story from our good friend Tara.

On Sunday, it was 95 degrees in the shade. The sheep shearers came at noon to shear our sheep. After they were done, one of the sheep got out of the fence. When we were trying to herd her back in, two other sheep escaped. While we were chasing them, the last two hopped out, and then we were chasing 5 sheep all around 5 or 6 acres, trying to get them to get in the fence under the apple tree, so they could get some shade. They were starting to turn RED from the heat.

After half an hour, I managed to grab one of the smaller ones, who hadn't been sheared so she had some wool on her, and picked her up and carried her to the fence. Then one of the shearers and I wrestled one of the bigger sheep and we both managed to get her in. After another 10 minutes, we rounded up the last three and got them all in the fence. All told, we were running and wrestling around for 40 minutes.

Bear in mind that it was noon, 95 degrees and sunny and HUMID. And I was wearing my new April Cornell Emmi dress. And it was the best thing I could have had on -- it was incredibly breathable, I was able to move easily and quickly, and I cooled down right away (once I was done running!).

I washed it and all the dirt came out just fine, and I can't wait to wear it on the next hot day. (My mother, who -- not very helpfully -- was watching the whole thing, said she wants one of those dresses too!

-Tara

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-05T10:40:00.001-04:00

My Mother

If you know my mother,

And maybe you do,

Because maybe your mother

Is like my mother too.

Then you know a mother

As strong as a trap,

As soft as a pillow,

As warm as a lap.

You know a mother

Who grandmothers

Your children,

And mothers your friends,

She is open to life and all of its people,

She can talk to the men

About politics.

The boys about sports

The girls about love

And issues of all sorts.

The hairdresser loves her, the café owner too;

The bridge group demands her,

Her grandchildren know she’s the best.

She’s exceedingly self effacing,

Denying her brainier cogitation,

She’s particular about cleaning yet

She loves impressionist art

Decorating is her hobby,

She likes to keep her home fresh.

She loves to go places,

To be with her family is the best.

She honors the past

But mostly embraces the present

She’s an undeclared artist,

A shy watercolor painter,

Her children love her art, from her talented heart.

She’s loyal, she’s kind and fierce when need be,

She’s forgiving; she’s friendly and cheers others constantly.

Most of all she’s my dear mother, my telephone end, my model, my acceptance, my goodness, my friend.

Mother, dear mother,

Thank you, for you.

Happy Mothers Day Mom,

I hope there’s more out there like you! xx

April Cornell Designs Featured at High Point Show

2008-05-02T12:59:00.003-04:00

Here are some photos of an exhibition April Cornell rug designs were featured in recently. We were part of only four exhibits selected for the show at High Point. (The High Point Market is the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world.) April Cornell received lots of praise and no attendants could miss it!

A Recent Article

2008-05-02T12:52:00.003-04:00

Greetings. This is a recent article I wrote for the local paper here in Vermont. I received lots of great feedback so I thought I would pass it along to you. Let me know what you think.

Printed in the Burlington Free Press - March 2008 - Burlington, Vermont

A Checklist for Funerals

Spring is hesitatingly in the air.

In Vermont we are yet to smell the earthy smell of spring, but we have seen robins, we have yet to feel a spring rain, but geese have honked their way into the state. In the fierceness of this bitter winter we hear the hope of spring.

And I reflect upon losses even as I look to new life.

For a life begun can be a life well lived.

And a life ended can still feed the future with memories and love, ideas and inspiration. This past year I was involved in two family deaths – my two brothers in law both passed away. I was the sister unaffected, but rocked to the core. In a very hard time I saw my sisters, and their communities shining bright. I felt so proud for them. They were doing the last thing right, they were ushering out sorrow, years of companionship, honoring their husband’s lives, and they were doing so with care and dignity and love and showing those around them how to do the last thing right.

As my sisters – sometimes blank faced with shock, sometimes sorrowing with comprehension, moved through their grief, I saw that not only the dead husband was honored and received lifetime accolades, but the family and the friends showed that the living spouse was so respected so loved so much a part of her community that all wanted to be there to help her, support her in her grief. And though eulogies were given and good lives recognized the still standing felt a sweep of love and care and good will towards them too. It was not only about the one who died but so much about the concern towards those that still live.

I learned so much at seeing death up close, of how to handle dying and loss to eek dignity out of a painful passing. I saw one sister holding her husband in her arms, and her soothing voice telling him it is OK to just let go.

I saw my mother and brother comforting my younger sister, cocooned in her bed, paralyzed with fear. They were surrounding her with love, absorbing her grief.

I watched and helped and learned and found that even a funeral has a check list. Here is one we made over two funerals for two very loved brothers in law.

First – try not to rush- take the days you need to prepare the funeral you want. Everyday spent together as a family helps with healing and reveals important insights into the help that may be needed in the months ahead. Give yourself a week.

A Website – creating a website is a wonderful way to pay respects to the family, to share stories of the loved one’s life, to see pictures and for friends and family to post their condolences. A tech savvy friend or family member can be the editor to make sure nothing inappropriate is posted. This can stay up for a number of months and people can post thoughts over time. It can be a consolation to the bereaved to go back and read when the shock of loss starts to wear off.

The obituary – the family – or a writer in the family or close friend can create the obituary – interviewing gently different family members to give a full and complete story of life. With a website to post it on – you do not need to worry about the number of words. A smaller obituary can be prepared for the newspaper. One of my sisters chose to put a poem in the newspaper and the obituary on her website.

Cremation or burial. A box is required for both – and funeral directors are very helpful with arrangements, burying and burning, but are not yet stocking suitable boxes for cremation. Both of my sisters wanted something special and appropriate – for one we had a handmade First Nation’s box, and for the other a handmade brass trimmed box made by a jewelry box maker. Both required some fast thinking, phone calls and running around. And that can be a blessing in a time of grief – feeling useful.

[And by the way 8x8x8 is the minimum size Box that you will need.]

Pictures – my family likes crafts and a way for us to be busy was the cutting and pasting of photos of my brother in laws lives – we grouped them by themes, by family and by chronology, and mounted them on poster board for others to see. We also did some quick frame shopping to reframe awards and special pictures to place at the service.

The Hall –for after the service or in place of a religious location, you will need a hall or a home to gather in. It is the job of the family to figure this out; the bereaved will not be up to it. We had both of our events in centers that were lacking in stained glass windows and wooden pulpits – we needed to pretty them up and make them more uplifting and respectful of the loss. We used pretty tablecloths to cover the tables, mounted our photos on walls, cut greenery to place in vases and created a special table for the ashes and personal mementos. Flowers received were placed on tables adding color and acknowledging the gift.

Sound system- Strangely enough – in the absence of a minister, priest or rabbi, a ‘master of ceremonies’ is required.

Line up somebody that is comfortable with the role, and close to the deceased to help organize the different people who want to speak. Arrange a mike, so the most soft spoken or elderly can also be heard. In the case of one of my sisters – one of the ‘speakers’ were musicians and they sang for everybody.

Audio visual. In our case the younger generation organized a repeating slide show that played throughout the service. It was a lot of work but the value in the doing was as important as the viewing. They also handled the website.

Food – Let people help! My sister’s small town community heard the call and knew the family was there and basically provided every meal required. I think that has to be incredibly unusual in these days- but food is certainly needed – so if your community is not so inclined to bring ‘love in a casserole’ somebody will either have to cook or be on the phone ordering food pretty much all of the time. Like the family techie – there may also be a family cook – let everybody share his own abilities.

Food at the Funeral – Again – if people offer – yes is the right word. Otherwise cater something and make sure there is enough to drink for everybody. [You can ask people to bring wine or beer if they ask how they can help. Funerals are expensive and provided food or beverage may be more helpful than flowers.]

Donations or cards – a basket or pretty bowl for cards.

Condolence Book – a good looking guest book for people to sign and leave a message in. This will be looked at later- the bereaved may not even be fully aware of who is at the funeral and will appreciate reading the names later.

What to Wear. With three sisters – this was definitely going to be taken care of – we all arrived with extra outfits – for some reason we wanted our bereaved sister to look smashing, and she wanted to too.

Laughter. The funny thing about death is the response by the human spirit to bubble up and find humor at the worst of times. In all of the grief new memories will be made, old friendships renewed and love replenished. And there will be laughter between tears.

April Cornell

Woman with a heart

2008-02-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

Woman with a heart

There’s romantic love of the heart celebrated on Valentine’s Day,

And then there’s heartfelt actions celebrated every day.

Today I want to think about my friend Chris Chen, a woman with a very big heart.

Like a lot of big hearted people she is very tiny. With long black hair and a gallows sense of humor she defies challenges with a ‘you can get on living or get on dying’ attitude.

And getting on living is her specialty.

I met Chris a few years ago in Atlanta, at a dinner with friends in the gift industry. We went to the home of Ed Chu, a handsome man with a collection of honey and a penchant for 15 year old cheeses. We went on to dinner in on of Atlanta’s more exclusive restaurants and we hit it off right away – both of us talking about our favorite charities.

Believe it or not – you do not meet people with common links like this very often! How delightful – and in Atlanta – one of my favorite cities too.

I invited her to visit me- should she ever make it to Burlington Vermont. I was surprised a couple of months later when I had a call – she was in the area – participating in an iron man competition in Lake Placid, on her way to a medical conference in Montréal. Could she pop over for dinner?

In Chris’s case – upstate New York, was ‘in the area’ and she happily drove the 2 hours for dinner, even though her competition was the next morning. We had a great meal together on the Marketplace in Vermont – Chris brought me a pair of earrings she bought at a local gift shop on the way [she always bring presents] and list of cool things to do in New York state. And then over wine and hours, she told me a little bit about her life. She is so young, only in her early thirties, but her life is already so big.

She came with her family from Taiwan as a girl, unhappily her mom passed away when she was a teenager. She went to Medical School, where she was a normal student having fun, drinking beer and leading the American college life; then she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and she started to get serious about her life. She had a steady boyfriend who died of leukemia, who was involved in charity work. She was inspired by him and her own brush with mortality, to lead a meaningful life that included service, in fact that evolved around giving back. Doctors without Borders became a focal point of her work. Chris started traveling to areas of need and performing voluntary work as a doctor, she went to China, to Thailand, to Africa and to South America. Some trips were just long lines of people in front of her, looking into one patient, one symptom at a time, and then moving on to the next one. When asked ‘how do you prioritize? She replied “I don’t’- I just take care of who is in front of me.” One trip had her and fellow doctors digging graves for victims of an epidemic, victims even the locals wouldn’t touch. There didn’t seem to be an area too dangerous or a job too unappealing for her.

At some point She started training for marathons- she was not previously an athlete, after marathons came Iron Man. She wanted to be stronger, healthier, and more alive. Now she works in the emergency room in an Atlanta hospital, sometimes 36 hour shifts – she happily covers for other doctors with families so they can be with them. She thinks parents are raising the future. Her pay goes to pay for her travel with Doctors without Borders.

I saw Chris in January in Atlanta; she came straight from an all- nighter in the Emergency Room, still in her scrubs with a big coat thrown over top. We met for breakfast; she gave me a 1972 American silver dollar as a Chinese New Years gift.

She was looking so thin, and she was now fighting a second bout of cancer - this time combining Chinese medicine with western treatments.

She left the following week for a lecture series in Hong Kong and Indonesia, she is now in Darfur. It’s not her first time in that area and she told me the non medical challenges – the bartering with rebels masquerading as soldiers for the food already donated, but not yet reached to the refugees. She told me she would be the lone doctor in a refugee camp of tens of thousands – She will likely perform brain surgery – you know that expression – is not brain surgery – well if you are a doctor in the field – it very well could be. When I said to her – you must look like an angel to all of those waiting people – she said they don’t actually know what to make of her – because they’ve never seen an Asian before. I think they now know the face of an angel is that of a pretty Asian woman with black hair, a quick smile and a great earthy laugh- a woman with a big heart – and a drill – a woman with a laugh, and a pill -Chris Chen, my friend.

Next stop the Congo.

February 10, 2008

Burlington Vermont

The Cayman Toss Up!

2008-01-04T15:34:00.001-05:00

I spent the holidays in the Cayman Islands

Warm tropical breezes, a turquoise sea breaking in white splashes on the reef, sun that fed my Vitamin D starved skin, all made me feel that I was in a surround sound spa ordered up just for me.

The best of course was my family and Cayman friends.

Two of my sons spent Christmas with me, we made a Cayman recipe for Roast Beef for Christmas day with garlic cloves and spices inserted into the meat- it was good.

I spent two weeks with my mother and father - two weeks! Such a long time for an adult child! It was wonderful, the chatting the cooking the story sharing, all pleasure and just what the doctor ordered.

I have to tell you about my best recipe - I love to bake and make desserts and I have a few classics that I like to share.

I volunteered for a desert on New Years Day - relying on my Canadian roots, I said I would make butter tarts - if you don't know butter tarts - then you still have new pleasures awaiting you in this world!

Well - baking went a little off.some how my pastry flopped and I couldn't make the tarts - I changed to a pie and just pushed the thick pastry in the bottom of the pie pan, a finger full at a time, and then poured the butter tart mix in. Adjusting the time to accommodate the now huge pie - I baked it and it looked pretty decent when I pulled it out of the oven.

of course the party wasn't at my house - it was down the road a piece.

I carried the pie, and about six other things to the parking lot.

as I was opening the car door - down came the pie - that is upside down. Ahhh - well butter tarts are so good - I could not bear to throw it away. I ran to the house got a spatula and quickly lifted the pie back into the pan. It was a little tossed to be sure, but it still looked good. and a quick taste showed it still had the power!

You know I made a few excuses when i presented my pie to the hostess - I told her about the spill and how it should still taste all right.As each person commented the pie tale expanded and pretty soon, the butter tart/ pie got renamed to Cayman Toss Up.

Let me tell you Cayman toss up was a hit - everyone wanted the recipe and Cayman Toss up is now the new thing to bring to parties in Cayman.

In case you want to make Cayman Toss Up the recipe is below.

Remember - we need to look for life's happy accidents!

Happy New Year

April

Cayman Toss Up

Mix in a heavy pot on low heat

1/2 cup butter

1cup brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 1/2 cup raisins [some use Thompson raisins - but I like all kinds - even a mix of golden and dark is nice]

1/2tsp salt

Mixture should get warm but not hot.

Stir until all is dissolved

Take pan off the burner

lightly beat two eggs and add one teaspoon of vanilla.

Now add the eggs and vanilla to the mixture.

Pour the mixture in a pie crust [I use a butter crust with a tablespoon of brown sugar added]

Bake at 450 for 10 mins and about another 20 -25 minutes at 350.

Check for a a setting of the mixture so that the top has a light skin on it. Surface should be a uniform gold to medium brown color - it will continue to darken after cooking.

Let cool - serve with a spoon after tossing once!

It is yummy delicious - enjoy!

The Big Run!

2007-10-31T15:02:00.002-04:00

Well – me and 27,000 other participants did it!

We participated in the Half Marathon in New Delhi on Sunday, and in true Indian style it was colorful loud and fun and very participatory!

The true athletes took off at 630 in the morning – long gone by the time the Dream Team dashed out amidst great fan fare at 945 – in fact a Rwandan had already taken first before we took off -advice from experienced dream teamers – a fashion model and Delhi socialite, a head of an NGO, an architect, - not an athlete among them -said run for the first kilometer wave at the cameras and stay to the side so you don’t get run over.

This proved to be good advice as the Indian Air force team was breathing down my neck at take off and these people ARE fit!

I ran with a great burst of enthusiasm out of the gate with backward looks for my own company team [some 10,000 souls or so behind me. Eventually ‘Shiv’ in his new running shoes flew by me with a cheerful ‘ hi Ma’am!’ and he was the leader of our pack from there on in, my son Lee, at 6 feet towering over most of the participants could not be spotted in the crush of people, eventually I saw three of my pattern masters in a bunch – we had a brief chat and jogged on, Tarun our in-house artist dashed by at a respectable pass, and Jai head of IT was kind enough to slow jog with me for a while, my head of finance Satish kindly walked with me a while and eventually with my face apparently glowing red , I found the finish line and the Cornell team hip hip hoorayed ourselves for completing the run!

To say that there were all levels of participation would be an understatement – there were wheelchair runners, a senior citizen contingent, many corporate groups, enthusiastic children -the Mary Kaye branch was wearing pink wigs, Vodafone runners [ the primary sponsor ] had smart red track suits, Tata – the national car manufacturer had people with cardboard cars around their necks and many runners just looked good in their new shoes and sponsors caps.

Thanks to all of you for helping me and the Cornell Overseas team contribute more than 6500.00 through the Giving World Foundation and Concern India. This money will support street schools for illiterate children, a mobile crèche for children on construction sites and a school for 300 first generation learners, to name only three of the worthy projects involved.

From my part it was a blast and I hope to do it again next year with an even higher goal – no not the time clocked – the money raised.

Thanks for your generosity – you are part of the circle of success, giving a hand up, not a hand out to people in need.

April

[the hobble]

Marathon

2007-10-11T10:45:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends!

April here, marathon-writing this letter for a fast upcoming fundraiser marathon. I’ll be running in a marathon in New Delhi! I’ll be participating as a Dream Team Runner, along with hundreds of others, in the Hutch Delhi Half Marathon on October 28^th. Please help me to contribute to a successful third year of this important fundraising event (I may not win the race, but at least I can provide a strong finish!).

As many of you know, I am President of the Giving World Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports projects to make a positive impact for the disadvantaged in India. Giving World works in collaboration with the Concern India Foundation – major participant fundraisers in the Hutch Delhi Half Marathon (organized by Give India, a donation platform). Together we provide shelter, food, education, employment opportunities, support groups, day care, and directions toward women’s empowerment, with the goal to help the individual and communities in India to become self-reliant. Give India has identified over 100 trustworthy non-profit organizations that our funds support. Would you please be a part of this goal? Your pledge, no matter the size, will be a gift of impact, and remember that it is tax deductible (your receipt will arrive in the mail).

For more information about the Giving World Foundation, visit www.givingworldfoundation.org. If you’d like to learn more about Concern India, visit www.concernindia.org, or for more information on Give India, go to www.giveindia.org.

Checks may be written to Giving World Foundation by October 17^th,and mailed to: The Giving World Foundation, PO Box 875, Williston, VT 05495. Please include your name, address, and email, and I will present your pledge amounts to Give India along with a lump sum check, dated October 20^th. This is such short notice but for such a wonderful cause! Please join me in improving the lives of our neighbors in India.

With sincere thanks (and with great anticipation for my upcoming run), from your friend, neighbor and colleague,

April

April Cornell,

President, Giving World Foundation