New Addition We have a brand new addition to our store. It's not a new line or designer but a shop dog! Meet Zeke, he's two years old, part rat terrier, part basenji and very sweet. He is a rescue that we adopted through the Pixie Project who finds homes for both dogs and cats. If you haven't seen their cattery on NE MLK boulevard in Portland you have to stop by and check out the kitties playing. Zeke would love to meet you so the next time your in the neighborhood stop by. Oh, Zeke says to bring treats! All in the Family New to the store and sure to be hot for the holidays are handmade wooden pendants by Ashlee Rising of Merlin, Oregon. Ashlee's designs blow me away not only because she has an amazing eye for graphics and placement, but she is also only 16 years old! Her love for arts and crafts has turned into a quite a business for her and she just hired her first two employees, her mom and dad. Each pendant is made of maple with a design chosen and transferred by Ashlee. She applies several coats of sealant to the front and back making the pendant water-resistant. Each piece comes with a 16" multi-strand cotton wax cord with a silver-plated hook-and-eye clasp.
Along with our first order Ashlee included a handmade glass pendant made by her 10 year old sister, Gillian. It's simply gorgeous and well done so we are definitely placing an order for her pieces as well.
Man, does this family have some special genes or what? Wednesdays are Wonderful It’s been a truly amazing week. On Wednesday the Portland City Council unanimously passed the Sweat free Policy and Leanne Marshall won Project Runway! Leanne, we are so proud of you and wish you the best of luck to wherever this takes you. We’ve known all along that before you lies a very bright future. Her win proves to the world that Portland should not be ignored when it comes to innovative designers who craft their lines not only with an eye for success, but do so with high environmental and ethical standards. How fitting that she should win on the same day that Portland takes a historic first step in the cause to end sweat shop labor. Portland, we are proud to call you home. Sweatfree Policy goes to Hearing! On August 29, 2007 Portland's City Council passed a resolution to form a policy committee to develop an enforceable policy to make Portland's city purchasing sweatshop-free. For over a year now I've been working on that committee. We've hammered out a strong code of conduct, a clear and enforceable policy and affirmed commitment to a Sweatfree Consortium to ensure enforcement along side a local Sweatfree Oversight Committee. This Wednesday, October 15 at 9:30 am the City Council will vote on the policy! If you can, we'd love to have as many people as possible show up to Council Chambers to show their support for its passage. Come celebrate this cornerstone victory as Portland leads the way for a groundswell of sweatfree movement in the Northwest! Fashion by Flashlight III It's time again for the annual BOA event, Fashion by Flashlight. This year we have a few new stores participating, Suite 6, Swoon and Pie Footwear as well as the usual suspects. The big night is Thursday, October 9th from 6:00-9:00 pm. Each store will be lit up by a spotlight and will feature specials, sales, trunk shows and of course treats. We will be dragging out the labware again to concoct a special cocktail for your enjoyment. You can sip and shop and take 15% off on all new fall merchandise. You come, you like, you see! Leanne has returned & brought things! We were shocked yesterday when the phone rang and the caller ID said, "Leanne Marshall". We were certain that with all of her recent success our little shop would never see her fabulous frocks again. We were wrong!! Leanne personally delivered two one-of-a-kind dresses to us and is working on more. We just added them to the site and they are certain not to last long.
By the way, we want to congratulate Leanne on the success of her Bryant Park show and for enduring the grueling schedule of Project Runway with class. No matter where she ends up at the end of this season, we have always known that she is a winner. Smartest Designers Ever Every once in a while I like to mix things up. I’ve been spending weeks and weeks researching jewelry designers looking for new and unexpected designs to revamp our case. Hitting the shelves this Monday is the crème de la crème, Nervous System. Jessica Rosenkrantz, a graduate of MIT, and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, a consultant for Gehry Technologies, explore complex and unconventional geometries in their designs. Their inspirations are grounded in natural forms and corresponding processes which construct the world around us. My favorite piece from the collection is the Radiolara necklace available in black or white. Lace-like structures are cut from silicone rubber and etched out of stainless steel. The pattern displays shifts in direction and scale, creating a sense of movement and tension. These complex forms recall those of radiolarians, plant cells and even the familiar honey comb. A Star is Born We just received the most exciting news! One of our designers, Leanne Marshall, is a contestant on the 5th Season of Project Runway! I will try to abstain from using too many exclamation points but, damnit, I'm just so happy and excited for her. We've known all along how crazy talented she is and now the rest of the world can see for themselves. The premiere is tomorrow at 9:00 on Bravo. Check out her bio and all other pertinent info here. Her line, "Leanimal", has been popular in the store from day one. I imagine it's going to get a bit harder to stock up our racks with her wondrous creations. Congratulations Leanne! lights, camera, action Foundation Garments is making it's web TV debut! Local show, "The Bicyclist", filmed scenes for their upcoming webisode to premiere on July, 10th. The store stars as the boutique owned by the character Ariel Flores. The actress who plays Ariel, Tricia Ferguson, chose to wear a dress made by our homegirl, Chelsea Erhart. Tricia loved the dress so much she had to take it home with her! We want to thank all of our patient customers who stopped by that day and were willing to try on clothes at the store next door while the crew was filming, (Thanks Jambo!). Vintage Appeal A new and exciting addition to our jewelry case arrived today! Fresh from Crystal Springs, IL come these quirky and slightly spooky pendants from mixed media artist, Sarah Ogren. Taking inspiration from vintage images, dreams, and life experiences Sarah uses a variety of materials to create these handmade necklaces. We've brought in a series of Victorianesque human/animal hybrids. Each image is protected with a matte medium and a matte varnish. Web Master Introduced to the world of crochet by her mother and grandmother at the age of seven, Tania Nova of Miami Beach, Florida has made everything from sweaters, scarves and socks, to Barbie outfits. Today, she’s making these incredible hoop earrings all by hand in a multitude of colors and patterns. Available in sizes up to 2 ¾” we are stocking the modest 1 ¾” size. If bigger is better in your book we’d be happy to order in other sizes. These beauties are bound to make your neighborhood spider seriously jealous. Hot Weekend So the temperature is suppose to be around 92 degress this Saturday, perfect for strollin' around the neighborhood. Saturday is the annual Art Hop hosted by Art on Alberta. Along with all the usual craziness we are having are very first art opening with local artist Marissa Czerniejewski. Ok, so she is Nate's girlfriend but she is also incredibly talented. She is a graduate from the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York City and will be showcasing works of papel picado. This is the traditional Mexican art of paper cutting into elaborate designs. Marissa has taken the traditional themes of this medium, birds, floral patterns, skeletons, and transformed them into modern and sensual designs. Marissa is also extremely charming and she will be here from 11:00 to 6:00 on Saturday. Stop in to get a true appreciation of her beautiful and delicate work. Just in Time Paper Doll's spring '08 line by Heather Treadway has arrived just in time for the weekend. A mix of men's, women's, and unisex pieces all made of stretchy jersey material. This season Heather plays with weaving and ribbing techniques to adorn her tops and jackets that, to my delight, typically feature pockets of some sort. Kelly green, heather blue, brown, and white are her colors of choice. She has also just launched her very own website which you can check out here. ParySalePartySale This Friday, April 18th come join us and several other Alberta boutiques for a spring preview party. We are also celebrating our 2nd anniversary with yummy sweets from Voodoo Doughnut and 15% off storewide! Spend $25 and we'll give you a tote bag screened with an updated version of our cement truck logo. Festivities are from 5-8 pm. Oh Canada! Our phone has been ringing off the hook recently. Seems we've been generating a little excitement to the north and some people really need to get their FG on. Well, to make things a bit easier for our friends and fans in Canada the website shopping cart is now set up to except Canadian Addresses. Shipping is the same rate for US orders, $6.00. Orders will be shipped first class through the US Post Office. If you need it faster just give us a ring and we'll get you a quote for UPS or Fedex. Since this feature is all new and stuff please call or email us if you encounter any problems.
Not in the US or Canada? We are happy to ship anywhere in the world. Email or call us with the items your interested in including sizes and colors and we will get you a quote for shipping. If it all sounds hunky-dory we will email you a Paypal invoice to process your credit card. As always, let us know if you have any questions.
Happy shopping! New Designer Alert We've just received a couple of incredible 100% bamboo dresses from Vancouver, BC designer, Leanne McElroy.
Leanne's appreciation for fashion and design began at an early age, choosing to create most of her own garments from age 13 onwards. The drive behind her sewing passion lay in the idea that she was able to experiment with styles that she could not find to buy herself. She ended up creating one-of-a-kind looks envied by her peers.
The career choice was an easy one. After graduation, McElroy enrolled into the Fashion Design program at Helen Lefeaux on a small scholarship, where she was awarded Designer of the Year. She spent time after graduating traveling the world and experimenting with styles sold in local boutiques.
The word organic began spreading into apparel, which seems the natural choice since our skin is the most absorbent organ in our body. However, the organic apparel market seemed to be missing something. Yoga and loungewear basics were widely available but fashion forward, style driven designs in organic fabrics were almost non existent. Consumers want to be able to support their health and wellness by wearing organic fibers throughout the day – at work, play, night and day. This is where Elroy steps in.
Leanne designs sophisticated street wear for a contemporary health conscious woman, who cares not only what she looks like, but what story her clothing carries. Boutiques Unleashed Thursday, March 13th we will be participating in a fashion show to benefit DoveLewis animal hospital. Our superwoman/model Jen will be sauntering down the runway in a custom Leanimal dress made specifically for the event. She will be accompanied by an adorable pooch wearing the latest in canine fashions. To find out all the details click here.
From Friday, March 14th - Sunday, March 16th we will be donating 10% of all in-store sales to DoveLewis as well. We invite you to bring along your four legged friends and shop for the love of Dove! We Heart Kombat We Heart Kombat.
Sure, its all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then its reeeaaally fun.
Free of gore and guts, Angel Gehm heads Kombat Clothing based in Seattle, and the resulting carnage is prettier than a bucket of blood. Mixing virgin and...experienced materials into something new with a distinctly modern finesse. Bold colors and friendly cuts make our new tops easy to like, wear and stuff. Think Jackie O vs. Willie Wonka's Chocolate Room. Add a dash of casual and...
Ready?
Fight!! Bargain Hunting 101 On Sunday afternoon, February 3rd, 2008 from 12-4pm, BOA(Boutiques on Alberta) and others from all around PDX bring clearance to a new level by hosting Bargain Hunting 101, an indie clearance sale of shopping mall proportions at Mcmenamin's Kennedy School at 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.
With restaurants and bars available on site, come drink, nosh and see discounts otherwise unheard of from your favorite boutiques and some of which you’ve also never heard.
Bring large bags, a little dough and a thirst for the thrifty. as fitting rooms will be difficult to provide, please also wear try-on clothes. Let BOA teach you how saving is done with the first ever Bargain Hunting 101.
For those of you not in PDX take part with free shipping until February 3rd! Got any Change? Change, like many a gaseous emission, comes from within. With political candidates throwing the word around like confetti, we thought maybe it was time to make some of our own happen.
Dedicated to merging the height of style with the not-so-masses, we also practice a sort of
catch-and-release program. We love small ponds, and we love to keep our fish small too.
With some of our brands growing and growing, we couldn’t be more pleased to have played a part. Every brand that increases its size to a point that makes Nordstrom’s sad makes us very happy. But once that’s happened, we feel it necessary to help smaller brands do the same.
So please help yourselves to what may be the very last of our Kitchen Orange, Bodybag by Jude, and Greenbaum as we set them loose in the wild to roam free and conquer Forever 21 and the like. Be on the lookout also as Foundation Garments does an about face and begins anew scouring the continent for all new jewelry, women’s and menswear that make the not-so-masses bill and coo. And ah and ooh.
As we’ve already begun, do check online and in-store for the recent arrival of Suburban Riot, an LA-based, stylistically progressive purveyor of hoodies and t’s for the guys and dolls. AND arriving next week is uber-modern and brand new line from Brooklyn, NY, Rhombus, some of the neatest and cleverest men’s shirts and trousers we ever did see.
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The Abortion Argument, The Fertile Egg, And The Bible If one is going to weigh in on the abortion argument, a decision is required about one tiny cell - the fertile egg. What is it? Even though a pro life advocate for years, I had never really stopped to contemplate much about this cell. In fact, as I began an ebook on the abortion argument, the fertile egg was a detour from what I really wanted to do. After all, from all my life science classes I already knew what the fertile egg was. But as I came eyeball to eyeball with it this time, I realized - I didn't really know what it was. So, what is it?
For starters, the fertile egg is the result of a successful merging of an egg and sperm cell. But, there is something quite astounding about this union. A sperm cell, if left to itself, cannot grow ... into anything. So also, the egg cell. As solitary cells, they soon expire. But, once merged, they burst into a phenomenally complex life form. And that complex life form is already genetically complete inside that single fertile egg. With nourishment and time, each fertile egg will become a unique adult - 100% of the time. It seems more than the sum of its parts.
Some have called the human fertile egg, "potential human life." Scientifically, this statement is nonsense. It is not "potential human life" - it is human life. It is nothing else and it cannot become anything else. The fertile human egg is simply, and only, the earliest stage of human life.
But there is something even more basic about a fertile egg. It is living matter. This may sound like a stupid observation, but it is actually quite significant. Many things are not alive. Most of the matter on our planet is not alive. Indeed, the rest of the universe may have no living matter. If the weight of all living matter was added to all nonliving matter - it would not equal a speck of dust on the scales. In a universe ruled by inorganic material, the fertile egg is an extremely rare piece of living matter.
The "Life Element"
The human body is composed of twenty-eight elements. None are alive. None of them even hint at being alive. Carbon is not alive. Iron is not alive. Lead is not alive. Calcium is not alive. Arsenic is not alive. None of the other twenty-three elements that make up our body are alive either. But, it is error to say these elements are dead - as that injects the thought that life is in some way connected with them. In fact, all the elements of Organic Chemistry are themselves - inorganic. Life, whatever it is, is alien to every element. How any combination of non-living elements is alive ... is a total mystery. When present, the "life element" is obviously there - but, it continues to elude the scientist's grasp.
If some of these twenty-eight elements are missing from the fertile egg, then this "life element" is all the more astonishing. It collects the missing elements in the right quantities - at the right time - and constructs the body. It is "feeding" on the inorganics around it. But, too much lead, iron or arsenic will result in the "life element" vacating the matter in which it resides - as will too little of these elements. This is all beyond comprehension.
But, is it "a person?"
With that question, we have now entered ... the abortion argument. Is the fertile egg, "a person?" There are three perspectives from which to examine this question - Naturalism, Theism and Humanism. But, actually there is a fourth perspective. Let's start there ... with you. I want you to put yourself in the shoes ... of a fertile egg. You are now a fertile egg.
A clock turned on the instant you became a fertile egg. With time and nourishment, you will turn into a unique adult - 100% of the time. Come to think of it ... that is exactly what you did. Now, at some point in your development, some adults decided to bestow upon you the title of "person" or "being." Of course, the instant you were crowned as such, nothing physically changed. And, had this apposition been withheld, well, that would not have changed anything either. Actually, this title has no physical impact - one way or the other. So, what is this title? Well, it is ... a word. It is a metaphysical, subjective concept based upon nothing but the thin air between the ears of the adult humans bestowing it. One evidence this "designation" lacks lies here: credentialing adults disagree on "being's" meaning, its essence ... or when it starts. It is bestowed at all kinds of arbitrary points along the life-line. Some wait until a few weeks in, some a few months, and some do not grant this magical designation until air can be breathed. "Being" is synonymous with another
word - "opinion." O fertile egg, this opinion has no effect on the physical reality of your one-way march into unique adulthood.
The Naturalist ... and "Being"
For the Naturalist (atheistic evolutionist), the question of "being" is as ridiculous as it is irrelevant. It is a vain attempt to make humans - more than an animal. No one ever wonders when cows or dogs reach "cow-hood" or "dog-hood." Naturalists summarily dismiss this "being" query as dribble.
Also, from the Naturalist's viewpoint, deliberate interference in the progress of a fertile egg is the activity of fools. All life forms are in a continuous, ferocious struggle for survival. Since profitable mutations arise randomly, each fertile egg is Evolution's jewel until it proves itself otherwise. Any one may contain the needed adaptation(s) for that life line to continue. Each fertile egg is the future of any species.
The Biblical Theist ... and "Being"
For the Biblical Theist, this personhood concept is also irrelevant. Since God "Himself gives to all life" (Acts 17:25), if the "being" designation is one He concerns Himself with, well, that is a transaction between Himself and that life. Everyone else is outside the loop.
Also, from a Biblical viewpoint, assaulting a fertile egg is beyond being a fool. It is insanity. "The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives" (Eccl 9:3). God, "the Lord ... makes alive" (1Sam 2:6), and the stronger among us are given a special charge for protecting the weaker. To attack "innocent" human life at any point on its life-line ... well, you do the math.
The Humanist ... and "Being"
For the Humanist, this personhood issue is of great importance. By withholding this designation, the "non-being" is relegated to a blob of protoplasm. It depends on which Humanist you are talking with as to when "being" arrives. Some believe a severed umbilical cord ushers it in. For others, being "wanted" by one or more of the parents, earns "personhood" - while still in the womb. Other Humanists talk trimesters. The point? The "being" issue has about as many opinions as there are Humanists. But all Humanists do agree on one point. Before the moment when "being" is reached, anyone can do anything he/she wants with this subhuman blob of protoplasm.
A Word To - "Mom"
Mom, if you search every mountaintop, every ocean bottom, every cave on earth - and even scour the nest of every living thing - in all of nature, you will not find even one human egg. If you gaze into the night sky, that immense expanse (of which you are seeing almost nothing) does not contain ... one human egg. If humanity is valuable, there is only one place it originates - in you. Through you comes the world's leaders, artists, inventors, doctors, teachers, thinkers ... and no one knows who will come from any particular womb. Many of the world's greatest citizens have arisen from the most humble of circumstances. Your womb, and man's future, are inextricably intertwined. You are humanity's gatekeeper.
Conclusion
Each fertile egg is a one-of-a-kind entity in all of past reality, present reality, and future reality. Each is genetically complete, astoundingly unique and beyond replication. Also, it is an exceedingly rare piece of living matter. It contains genetic "triggers" that engage at the proper times so the correct elements, in proper proportions, are corralled for the construction that unique adult. The fertile egg of the human - is the most sophisticated physical entity in the known universe. No matter rivals it. Scientifically, I have only scratched the surface in describing the physical reality of one fertile egg. The abortion debate begins here. I now stand in awe of the fertile egg ... and its Creator.
This Article is an excerpt from an extraordinary Ebook on the abortion argument and abortion in the Bible . Robin has other Ebooks on capital punishment, death, love, and no tithe for the Christian. Each Free Christian Ebook and free online article is at freelygive-n.com ! Robin: BA, Bus Admin (Milligan Collge '90) and M-Div (Emmanuel School of Relign '92). Mental adventurers - welcome!
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