EMBRACING OUR WORLD

Guardians of the Sea Project
Peace Prayer Project
Peace Prayer Recipients
Gaia Project
Charitable Giving
Upcoming Events

Guardians of the Sea Project

On Sale For 15% Off


The magnificent leatherback turtles start nesting in Florida in April. These turtles, the largest in the world, are sadly on the endangered species list.

Find out more.

Our newest initiative is to bring awareness to the importance of safeguarding our natural and man-made systems that support 'clean' water for all life on our planet. We will be featuring one of K's designs each month with a special sale.

We have also created a Blog (http://wwwkrobinsdesignscom.blogspot.com) with a page dedicated to discussions about how each of us can participate in heightening our own awareness as well as that of others on the importance of protecting our water. We hope that you will participate in our blog and consider wearing or giving one of these water protectors as an important reminder.

Gaia Project 777

Mother of all
from whom all things come
and all things return

K has always felt a close connection with Mother Earth as seen in her art and lifestyle. K Robins Designs celebrates each season's changes and gifts and encourages all inhabitants of our beautiful planet to do the same.

Earth Day - April 22



Earth Week 2012 is celebrated between April 16 and April 22. We hope you will visit Earth Day Network to read all about Earth Day and the many inspiring earthkeeping projects. In particular, we encourage you to check out and participate in Earth Day Network's A Billion Acts of Green®.

We think that Earth Day can be 'celebrated' anytime one takes a moment or two to appreciate/care for our beautiful planet. And click on the image to the left to see a short video collaboration between K and her son Jamil Nelson. We hope you will enjoy it.



Garden Sculpture Project

A few years ago, K had the idea for a hands-on, in-the-studio community art project to create images of Mother Earth for placement in gardens, meditation spaces and gathering places. These images would serve as gentle reminders to take care of our beautiful planet. Our Gaia Project 777 was born and its name became the Garden Sculpture Project.

Five sculptures have been made thus far and have found homes between Vermont and Florida. The one installed at Sugarloaf Women's Village in Florida survived being underwater during Katrina.

As part of our Gaia 777 project, we are networking with people in Nelson County, Virginia who are creating, inspiring, teaching and demonstrating sustainable lifestyles. We are not exactly sure what will come of this and how we fit in, but we are convinced it is the right thing to do. We will be sharing some of our efforts (and links to more information) with you in hopes that you will be inspired to create your own Gaia Project - be it small or large.

Find the Locally Grown site closest to you!
The one closest to us is: www.nelson.locallygrown.net-Nelson County Online Farmers Market

Find the Gaia Festival closest to you!
Ours is - Annual Gaia Gathering for Women - Charlottesville Va. - www.sacredplanttraditions.com

Find out more about K's projects and Nelson County.

I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy.
What a source of power!
I hope we don't have to wait 'til oil and coal run out before we tackle that."

          - Thomas Edison






Japanese Tea Lantern by K Robins

Peaceful Revolution

For us at K Robins Designs, this means:

• Putting into place new technology and initiatives that promote peace, sustainability, and personal empowerment both, locally, nationally and globally.
• Connecting and building bridges - K's life work is about discovering and creating symbols and archetypal images that cross cultures, nationalities and spiritual belief systems.
• Thinking globally - acting locally, or in other words, thinking locally - acting neighborly. We will be hosting a few shows this year at our studio, encouraging folks in our and the surrounding communities to buy locally (art, produce and other staples).

Potlatch and Our Give-A-Way

The Pacific Northwest indigenous people's tradition of Potlatch or Give-Away is a gathering in which a family or tribal leader hosts a ceremonial festival. A primary purpose of the potlatch is the re-distribution of wealth and, in my opionion, the teaching of the concept of giving. As author Hyemeyohsts Storm puts it "we give because the Great Spirit gives us so much." Traditionally the Potlatch ceremony included speeches, singing, dancing, feasting and gift giving and allowed a host to extend his/her ancestral privileges to the guests. We Americans have much to learn from this ancient American practice.

In 1885 potlatching was made illegal to practice in America and Canada. Largely this was due to the urging of missionaries and government agents who considered it "a worse than useless custom" and contrary to "civilized" values. The ban was repealed in 1951. Sustaining the customs and ways of their ancestors, indigenous people now openly hold Potlatch to commit to the restoring of their ancestors' ways.

In these Pacific Northwest Native cultures, 'the most valuable' is saved to give away and 'hording things' is not understood. There is a high value placed on giving and sharing. Once something is given away, all strings to that gift are cut. The gift is given without expectations. Native people believe that what is given always comes back to the user in one good way or another. It is the giver who receives the greatest blessing.

The introduction of this wise tradition into non-indigenous American culture could possibly be just what our country needs. In honor of the spirit of Potlatch, K Robins Designs occasionally gives away a few of our silver pendants. Some of the designs are very old and are unlikely to be reproduced again, and some of them we just have in abundance. Our Give-A-Way does not pretend to be a Potlatch/Give-Away in the traditional sense only a recognition of the value of practicing re-distribution of wealth.

Our Give-A-Ways are posted on our business Facebook page.

Note About Charitable Contributions

K Robins Designs is committed to supporting worthy causes that encourage others to learn and care for each other. Even though we are a small business, we believe that every voice counts and every contribution is meaningful. Some of the causes and organizations we have supported include Susan G. Komen, Breast Cancer Fund, Tsunami relief , V-Day and the Vagina Monologues, Shelter for Battered Women, Code Pink, Ovarian Cancer research, AIDS/HIV services, Women's History Month and others.

Thanks to your help during the month of October 2007, K Robins Designs was able to donate $106.85 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

To date, Save the Children has been sent donations from K Robins Designs totaling $661.29 in honor of Leila and Pete Gunning and the Friendship Knot, inspired by their love and work with children. $300 of the amount has been targeted for work in Haiti. This is an ongoing project fund.

In 2008, K Robins Designs donated $437 to the Bellur Trust Fund in honor of our dear friend Sandra Pleasants and with thanks to you for purchasing the yoga designs that she has inspired.

In July, 2009, we introduced a new design Journey - Adventure Day One - a collaborative effort by K and PJ and Rickey Jackson. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will be given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To date, K Robins Designs has contributed $422.83. The design is inspired by Rickey and his family's courageous and uplifting story of his battle with AML Leukemia.

In January, 2010, a check for $61.63 was sent to the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information in honor of Elissa Tivona.

In addition, K Robins Designs continues to be committed to the Rockfish Valley community through donations to local fundraisers and special events.

Our Link List

Please check out our Links page. We think you will find these sites worth your while to visit and support.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

K Robins symbolic jewelry will be available at the following upcoming events:

We missed The Virginia Women's Music Festival in 2012, but plan to be back in 2013.

At Our Studio in the Rockfish Valley Community Center

The K Robins Designs Studio is located at the Rockfish Valley Community Center in Nellys Ford, Virginia. Occasionally, we will be having Open Houses and Shows. If you are in the area, please call us and stop by - 1-434-361-2128. We are now on the Artisans Studio Tour, November 10 and 11. We participated for the first time in 2011 and really enjoyed having the studio open for two days of fun, community and sales. Find out more.

We will also be publishing this show and others in our studio on our Facebook Page so we hope you will 'Like' us to get the latest information.

Around Virginia

Staff enjoying the
Richmond Vegetarian Festival
June, 2009


Alyssa, Kelsey, Kathryn, Betsy

Hope to see you - 2013

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