If I were to believe all the "business" and marketing people out there that tell me on an ongoing basis that they are producing and selling what our parents and our girls "want" I would not have quit my job to invest all my time and resources in making this project come true. Fortunately, I connect directly with the people that matter, YOU! and you are kind enough to encourage me and tell me everyday what you and your girls REALLY want. As of yesterday we have 211 producers that expressed interest and signed up to our marketplace. More than 200 creatives ready to change the way toys, apparel, games and media portray and market to our girls! Please ensure you continue to let us all know what you want. Most corporations out there are not be listening but WE ARE!We are on track to launch our online marketplace in a couple of months, if you have not yet signed up, do it now by entering your details in the form on the top right corner of this page. Muah! PS. Yesterday on our facebook page and also via email we were all longing for rocket ships items for girls. Today I received an email from one of our partners in crime who will be part of our marketplace: "You inspired me to draw a rocket ship for girls!" -- Pin Curl Girl:) Please let us know what YOU want and who knows, items might just start to appear sooner than you think. You ideas will continue to be added to the slides above.
Who Are You?
Independent producers and businesses of any size, located anywhere on the planet.
What Are We Looking For?
Products such as:
that inspire our girls to Reach For The Stars.
What Products Are Encouraged?
Products that portray Girls that are:
Products that portray Girls of all:
Products that portray Girls in non-stereotypical roles such as:
Products that encourage girls to:
You get extra Kudos if...
your products is Eco-Friendly
or if part of the product earnings goes to the Support of Girls in Need:
we also accept gender Neutral Products such as apparel, building blocks, science kits and puzzles.
What Products Are Not Welcome?
Any Other Rules?
Use All the Colors of the Rainbow not just Pink! Pink is ok in non-stereotypical products. We will accept pink science kits, pink roller blades, pink super hero capes, pink pirate outfits etc but will edit hard any stereotypical pink products.
External Beauty related products are only accepted when they have a clear non-stereotypical twist. We accept a necklace with a super hero S pendant or a science kit that allows her to create her own perfume but we will filter aggressively in this area.
There is nothing wrong with a pink bow or a cute tutu or sparkly necklace but there are millions of other stores and online markets that focus on these products already, that is just not our focus.
Passive Princesses are an absolute No No but we are happy to showcase Bold, Daring, Adventurous, Self-Rescuing Princesses. Think Leia, Merida the Brave or the Paper Bag Princess.
Avoid Stereotypical Products, any toy shop is flooded with doll houses, dress ups, fairies and kitchens in the girl section.
Would You Like A Sneak Preview?
Are You Up To The Challenge?
We will be Launching very soon…
Put your creative juices to work and please do join our mailing list, there will be benefits for the businesses that join us for our launch.
Today I had the best day! I spoke to a huge number of not-for-profit organisations and communities of artisans from all over the world and contacted many others. What a pleasure to speak with people that are boldly driving change in the world.
As you know, our marketplace will focus on products that match four specific criteria:
Today I focused on connecting with people that through their work are supporting a community in need, specifically people that focus on the health, well-being and education of girls.
Not-for-profit organisations or communities that market products for girls with the intent of reinvesting the earnings to support girls in need will be able to setup a shop in our marketplace for free, we will only take a small percentage of the sales to continue to support this platform.
I spoke to a number of artisans from India, Nepal, Mongolia, Congo, Ghana, Peru, Bolivia and many other locations in the world that through their entrepreneurial efforts are taking their local communities out of poverty. Artisans that create great toys, games and apparel for children. These are communities that are taking their destiny into their own hands, they don't need the "1st world savior industrial complex". I just want to put a magnifying glass in front of the great work that they do and create another channel to allow them to sell to like-minded consumers.
I also spoke to a number of not-for-profit organisations in North America, Australia and England that support their causes through the sales of girl empowerment gear such as t-shirts for example.
I am delighted to welcome all these partners in crime to our values-drive marketplace. It is so wonderful to see the support for this project prior to its launch. No pressure... yikes ;)
Together We Will Go Toward The Stars,
Muahh!
Inês
PS. I am receiving a large a amount of emails asking for more details, please know that if you have signed up on our website you will receive the information as it is made available. All be unveiled in the next few months. I apologize for not being able to answer all your emails. Please do sign up at the top right corner of this page.
For every woman who is tired of acting weak when she knows she is strong, there is a man who is tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.For every woman who is tired of acting dumb, there is a man who is burdened with the constant expectation of "knowing everything."For every woman who is tired of being called "an emotional female," there is a man who is denied the right to weep and to be gentle.For every woman who is called unfeminine when she competes, there is a man for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity.For every woman who is tired of being a sex object, there is a man who must worry about his potency.For every woman who feels "tied down" by her children, there is a man who is denied the full pleasures of shared parenthood.For every woman who is denied meaningful employment or equal pay, there is a man who must bear full financial responsibility for another human being.For every woman who was not taught the intricacies of an automobile, there is a man who was not taught the satisfactions of cooking.For every woman who takes a step toward her own liberation, there is a man who finds the way to freedom has been made a little easier. --Nancy R. Smith (Copyright © 1973 Nancy R. Smith)
This Is It!
We are building it! The best online marketplace in the world... yep we have a team of busy bees building TowardTheStars! I myself cannot believe it. Six weeks after I started this wonderful adventure we are finally moving forward full speed ahead.
We are creating a marketplace that will highlight and celebrate the people and businesses that create great products for girls, products that enable them to dream big and reach for the stars.
How Will It Work?
The marketplace will reward products that meet one or many of the following criteria: At the highest level these are the values we want to champion in this wonderful tribe. Let me explain what they mean in more detail: We have heard it all before:
"Girls can't do Math"
"You throw like a Girl"
"Princesses are quiet and polite"
Stereotypes are harmful and limit our girls potential and imagination. At a young age when children are developing their identity and sense of self, they look for clues that help them figure out who they are. This is the time when brains get wired and futures get shaped. In a world overwhelmed with messages that restrict the definition of girlhood, it is imperative to showcase girls that are courageous, strong, bold, determined, and athletic. Girls that are leaders, scientists, adventurers, politicians and, of course, superheroes.
We want to celebrate great products that counter stereotypes: Books, Media, Toys and Apparel that tell her that not even the sky is the limit, that she can be anything she wants to be regardless of her gender, her race, her body type, her location or her parents spiritual and religious beliefs. We love building blocks, science kits, sports gear and yet many of these products are currently being marketed mostly to boys. Have a look at the packaging, who is on the photos? Check out the ads, who are they targeting? Compare the pink roller blades with the normal ones, are they made of the same material? made to optimize performance and durability or is the pink version made of cheap plastic just focusing on "looking pretty"? Are the pink building blocks simplified and beautified to the point where building, engineering and spacial skills are no longer the main focus on the product?
What about apparel? Are clothes available in all colors of the rainbow? Do they allow children to move freely and explore the world?
We want to celebrate great businesses that don't use damaging labels to market their products. Businesses that understand that boys and girls can equally enjoy playing houses and building houses. Our focus is clearly on gender issues but unless we take care of planet earth, the legacy we will leave to our children is a world depleted of life, biodiversity and natural resources.
We want to celebrate great businesses that use earth friendly materials and manufacturing processes. We will celebrate local, organic, sustainable, handmade, non-toxic and recyclable. As unashamed superheroes wannabes we want to celebrate the efforts of our allies, the not-for-profit organizations that are making the world a better place for our girls. From cool t-shirts celebrating girlhood, to dolls that are handmade by indigenous communities in places like Nepal, Peru, India and so on. We want to bring to light ways in which our like-minded consumers can support the girls in their life and simultaneously help other girls that are less fortunate. Remember :) we want to create a chain of girl goodness. In summary, great products for Strong, Smart and Daring Girls! A Magnifying Glass To Healthy Girlhood On The Web!We are going to put a lot of time and effort to ensure these wonderful products have the highest level of exposure on the web, we will create apps and widgets to promote on social media and to reach like-minded consumers on mobile devices. The site will allow the community to interact, to discuss, share ideas and post articles. Our 7Wonderlicious.org friends will be the first to experience this exciting new place. Businesses that are part of our launch campaign will receive special discounts so do ensure you don't miss out!!! Don't Panic! We Are Just Rebranding!You may have noticed that we are slowly moving all our social media presence to our new brand " Toward the Stars". Don't worry 7wonderlicious.com will not go away, we will continue to sell our own products but will shift most of our social media presence to raise awareness to our new marketplace prior to its launch date. Nothing will really change apart from the name. Our mission is the same, and we will continue to share media literacy, drive activism and have lots of fun.
Thank You!
To all our friends that supported our crow-funding campaign and to all our allies that donated products and services a huge THANK YOU. We may not have had a chance to use all your kind offers but I am eternally grateful for your support.
When Is The Launch Date?
I don't know yet but if all goes according to plan we are just a few months away.
If phase one goes well we should be able to extend the focus and the product range to also focus on non stereotypical products for our boys by the end of this year.
As always, do feel free to leave your questions or feedback in the comments section. You are my partner in crime in this wonderful adventure.
Muahh!
I am delighted to announce that I have secured enough funding to start building the first version of our new values-driven marketplace. My feet currently don't touch the ground and I have a smile on my face that goes from ear to ear. Happy Dance! Feedback on the Website DesignsThank you for all your feedback! You have been so so helpful. The feedback on the designs has been fantastic, I am so so glad you approve. I want to cover a few of your invaluable points and questions. I can not address them all but I want to cover the ones that have been raised by more people. What about the boys?Several of our supporters asked me to consider changing the name (A Chain Of Girl Goodness) to enable the marketplace to support both boys and girls in the future as I promised in the FAQ section of our website. You have a point, it is easier to have a brand name that does not need to change in the future. I am currently checking out alternatives. I have an awesome name that I hope I can secure but I need to ensure is available worldwide. A change in name now will be a little confusing, but better now than later when we are huge =) What about teens?As you can see in the design, you can select the age and if there is enough interest we can include products for teens too. What about amazon books?Our current website Books for Girls will be fully integrated in the new website and brand. The community site will also be integrated.NAVIGATION AND BANNER DETAILPRODUCT BROWSING PAGE PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE
Remember to continue to provide feedback:
Provide your feedback by the end of this weekend and you may win one of these fab t-shirts from Power Up:
Happy Happy Days!!
Love,
Resilience is a strong capability to bounce back after a traumatic event, this can be something catastrophic like a tsunami or death of a relative ,or something as mundane as a bad result on a math test. According to Ronald S. Palomares, PhD, resilience can be learned, you can teach your daughter resilience skills. It is important for your daughter to learn to be resilient because it will help her to become a stronger person, able to manage tough situations and cope better with traumatizing events. In simple words, she will develop a fighting spirit and positive outlook in life. Based on the research conducted by Psychologists Karen Reivich and Jane Gilham, approximately 2 million teenagers between 12-17 years old suffer from clinical depression per year. The psychologist also found that teaching resilience to young children prevents depression. According to Gilham it is important for parents to learn the key-resilience building skill; that is the ability to identify the link between self-talk---what is playing on your daughter’s “internal radio", her feelings and behaviors. She cited as an example a girl who did poorly on a math test, that result prompts her to think: “I can’t do math,” she develops a feeling of discouragement. Her thoughts demotivated her from studying and the result was another failure in the next math test. As parents, you must find the link what causes the first failure interrupt and challenge her negative self-talk and provide her with a positive perspective. Building resilience skills begins at home. Here is some advice for parents to promote resilience: - Create a strong bond with your daughter.
- Provide a caring and supportive relationship, show love and trust.
- Give encouragement and reassurance
- Be a resilient role model, your ability to cope failures will be emulated by your daughter.
- Encourage her to join competitions either in sports, arts, or literature.
- Cheer her when she wins; if she losses, cheer her more. Don’t provide her with excuses for her failure, let her understand sportsmanship, cope with the loss and move on positively.
- Constructive and gentle criticism helps your daughter to become more resilient. Review her performance and provide suggestion for her next performance
- Explain that no one is perfect but encourage her to do her best.
- Teach her to persevere and be flexible. Working hard and being persistent in achieving a certain goal is good but if things don’t work as expected, explain that it is okay to change direction. Changing direction doesn’t mean defeat.
- Remember to inject humor to relieve tension as it diverts failures and mistakes into a positive perspective.
Explain to your daughter that life is just like a turning wheel. Sometimes you are up… sometimes you are down. If she develops the ability to bounce back, she will be fine and will be able to face and cope with the different challenges ahead of her. Looking for more information and strategies? Our friend Collett Smart can support you:
Parenting Webinar: BUILDING RESILIENT KIDS Learn resilience building strategies. Raise kids that can create boundaries. Learn anti-bullying strategies that can be useful to your daughter. Learn what to do if your child is 'the bully'. Learn how to nurture social skills in your child. Global Webinar: - Sydney, Melbourne: 8:00 am, 26th Jun
- London: 22:00 pm, 25th Jun
- New York: 18:00, 25th Jun
- Chicago: 17:00 pm, 25th Jun
- San Fran: 15:00 pm, 25th Jun
Speaker: Collet Smart BEd, BPsych (Honours), Assoc MAPS Sign up today for this Webinar by selecting the Perk: Building Resilient Kids: Workshop For Parents at our Indiegogo Crowdfunding Page. Anyone in the world can sign up. Only 30 places available, so please sign up today.  Collett Smart is a mum of 3 children, she is both a psychologist and an educator recognised for her work as a keynote speaker, consultant and parenting advisor. She has been working with children and their parents for almost 20 years and has had the unique opportunity of working with children with a diversity of ages and cultures, in the areas of welfare and special needs on 3 different continents. Collett is sought as a consultant to schools and organisations, is in demand as a presenter, facilitator and trainer, and regularly sought for professional comment in the media. Collett has appeared on Channel 7 News, Sunrise, The Morning Show, Today Tonight and Channel 10 News, as well as all sections of print media and radio.
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