Misery, TOMS and Sitka join up for SpinningTop
http://vimeo.com/54319375
Tanja Jade aka Misery recently paired up with shoe charity TOMS and fashion label Sitka to create a one of a kind pair
of TOMS Artist Edition shoes which went to auction for New Zealand charity Spinning Top.
Sitka recently hosted New Zealand’s first TOMS Style Your Sole event at their flagship store on Osborne Street in
Newmarket, Auckland to bring awareness of the TOMS brand and their One For One programme. Along with the general public
painting their own shoes for the weekend, Sitka arranged for a number of New Zealand artists to create their own pair of
TOMS as part of the Artist Edition collection. The collection then went to auction post event with 100% of the sale of
the shoes being donated to the artists charity of choice.
In 2006, American traveller Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their
feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of
new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff
later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
It is inspiring individuals like Blake Mycoskie, which led Tanja in 2010, to embark on a trip to the Thai Burma border
to share her passion for art with refugee children living in extreme poverty.
A trip she named the Little Lotus Project with the belief that just like the Lotus Flower, these children deserve the
chance to flourish.
Tanja was joined by three other artists working with the children on creative projects such as toy making, masquerade
masks, art workshops and a mural across the front of an entire school. This school although on the edge of the rubbish
dump, is now commonly referred to by the locals as the best looking school in Thailand.
Two years later 16 artists from all over the world including, New York, LA, Hawaii, Cambodia, Australia, Singapore and
New Zealand self funded their way to the Thai Burma border as part of the SpinningTop Little Lotus Project 2.
Little Lotus Projects 1 & 2 culminated into an exhibition and EP launch in October this year raising over $40,000 and growing for the ongoing
welfare of the children SpinningTop support. These projects created a lasting relationship with an outstandingly
talented and passionate individual in Tanja Jade, aka Misery who continues to support SpinningTop and all that they do.
www.toms.com
www.sitka.co.nz
www.misery.com
www.spinningtop.org
www.littlelotusproject.org
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