AndrePope.com

What I Now Know (WINK) is that it is hard working trying to help someone get a small up start business off the ground. For almost a year I have been helping a friend of mine set-up a small new company. They specialize in "Alternative Greeting Cards." The main trick was to stay away form the cliches that are commonly associated with the gay lifestyle. From a marketing point of view we wanted to go high-end arty. Well last week WINK saw life.

My friend debuted the WINK Greeting Card line at the Capital Pride Fest in Washington D.C. To co-inside with the release of the actual product I also helped her release the website. It was a lot of last minuet work, but I think it came together nicely.

To say the least it was a big hit. Lots of great comments about how this (the card line) is so needed within the lifestyle.

My partner and I were your first customers at the Pride Festival in Washington, DC and I wanted to thank you so much for developing this line of greeting cards! For so long I have had the same challenge you express on your website of finding appropriate cards for myself, friends and family that speak to our experiences as queer identified people. Thank you again for taking this on and know that I will give you as much publicity as I can to support your business! I can't wait to see your cards in mainstream stores across the country!

-- Heather Arnold-Renicker
This to me says that there is a big market out there for these cards. However I need your help. There maybe a market out there, but nobody will know that they exist if I can't help get the word out. So I am asking all of you out there to help me spread the word. Tell your friends, post on your blog, link to the site - do what ever you can do to help get the word out. If you are feeling generous you can even buy a few.

Take a look and let me know what you think. I am proud of the work I have put into and I know my friend is as well.

Posted by Andre at 10:50 PM | Permalink

Next weekended there is a show for one sixth miniatures here in Myrtle Beach. The show/convention features military miniatures and battle fields. While I am not into these sorts of things, I think it is interesting that other people are (hell I am into PEZ). 803 Labs is a sponsor for the show and we printed all of the program booklets on our new printer. The show is June 14-15th at the Holiday Inn next to the waterway. If you don't have anything else going on try and stop and check it out. For more info about the show check out there website at: www.mbonesixth.com. All of the proceeds go to the future Diorama Museum.

Here goes the ad I did for the program.

Posted by Andre at 02:54 PM | Permalink

I need some help on naming the canoe. I am thinking of something that has to do with monsters or mythological creatures. But I am getting stumped. I want it to be cool and somewhat smart. It is just a canoe but that means I can go off in some other directions (such as swamps, canals, rivers etc). Here goes a few that I have come up with, but what are some of your ideas. Email them on over. Thanks.

The Mermaid Of The Swamp
River Rat
Calypso's Keep / Kalypsó Keep
Charon's Secret
The Ferrymen Of Hades
Njord Watch
Seas the Day

Posted by Andre at 11:12 PM | Permalink

Today started my attempt to become what some call a "Localvore." While I do not like calling myself this and that this is the best way to describe what I am trying to accomplish. A little research about localvores lead me to the conclusion that I actually hate labels. Basically what I am trying to do is eat locally. This includes, but is not limited to, eating out and cooking at home. I have searched out local (SC and NC) companies that I can buy at the grocery store.

Today started my first day of trying this. For lunch I went up to Piggly Wiggly and found some Radd Dews BBQ! Ohh how lucky. I bought a pint and decided to make this my main meal for the week at work. When I got home form work Heidi and I went to both Food Lion (a NC based company) and Piggly Wiggly to scout out some food for dinner. Since we did not have that much money I only bought a few products. I am not going to waste any of the food that I have at the house at present. I figure that I can just combine the new local based products whit what I already have and gradually progress to an all local diet.

Some would say that living in the South has both its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to being a localvore. For instance there is an abundance of pork products made locally. From BBQ and sauces to pork skins and sausage. This makes me a little concerned for my general health but I sure do love me some pork. The south also has a good number of farmers markets and even at my front door there is a sea of possibilities. All of these things make me very excited.

So why am I doing this? Is it to save the world, to make a statement? These may both be a byproduct but the real reason is that I want to try and get back to simpler times. Not even 50 years ago the people of Horry County ate what they grew, produced or traded. There were not so many choices. The choices you had were direct result of knowing and supporting your neighbor. You worked together as a community, you shared and you prospered. I think that today we have to many choices, we are too greedy and have no sense of community. While I know that what I am doing will have not real affect on or even get me close to simpler times it will give me a sense of what it was like. How far off I will never do but I do enjoy the fact that I am supporting my neighbor, my local butcher, farmer, or restaurant. If It does have some impact on the environment or it makes a statement about society than even better.

Please be forewarned that I am not in it to save animals or some shit like that. I don't really care if I fall off the wagon in some sort of fashion. I am not in it to listen to you bitch at me if I am not doing it right. These are my rules and I am making them up as I go along. Its my experiment that is able to go awry at anytime. But I am open to new information that you may know about local products, so please pass them along.

Here goes my grocery list:
Margaret Holmes
• Hoppin Johns
• Season Butter Beans
• Tomatoes
• Red Beans & Rice
• Cabbage
• Greer Peaches

Blenheim Ginger Ale

Carolina Pride
• Pork Sausage
• Beef Wieners
• Turkey Breast
• Smoke Sausage
• Kielbasa Sausage
• Bacon

Charleston Favorites
• White Stone Ground Grits

The Egg & I Farm - Lemar, SC
• Dozen Eggs

I look forward to finding more and more products and how they will take over in place of national brands. We will have to wait and see.

Posted by Andre at 11:31 PM | Permalink