Power of the Purse Donation - The Winding Road of Inspiration
Another event in Marshalltown is Power of the Purse. It is a United Way fundraiser held in the fall and targets ladies to enjoy an evening of fun with a focus on purses.
I'm not much of a purse person myself... let me be honest, I'm not much of a fashion person. It's a good thing I had an older sister who loved Vogue, that's been my only fashion education. I love the concept of the Power of the Purse event and since I've owned the shop I've donated. Of course, I donate in my own way.
2014. The first year I waited a little too long to get started. I had a great concept but thought the event was in November. Whoops it's an October event. So we hurried the donation out the door. Hat, gloves, purse and the quote, "It's hard to be a woman. You must think like a man, act like a lady, look like a young girl and work like a horse." Amen.
2015. The second year was much easier and we came up with this gem 'cause c'mon, who doesn't love Marilyn?
2016. I found a Manolo Blahnik picture book of his shoe sketches and then went searching for an appropriate purse. I found it at the Headliners Salon right here in Marshalltown. (Thanks Marla for helping with this one!) Again, a little bit last minute but we got it done with a few days to spare. Good thing because family issues came up and I had to go home and missed the event.
2017. I am down right proud. When I first started donating I knew there was a power of the purse quote, but when I went looking for it, I couldn't find it. I fell into Wikiepedia land with Congressional powers. Not exactly what I was looking for. So I dropped the idea, but that just means it's simmering in the background. An idea never goes away.
I found the purse around Christmas time. It was a perfect size - not too big and not too small and the BLING. The Power of the Purse quote came roaring back. Don't ask me why. I found the quote this time!
"(S)he who holds the purse strings controls a nation, an industry or a household regardless of laws or rules." M. A. Rathschild. So I had the purse and the quote, but my corners were a little bare. Ahhh money, money money or $, $, $. Of course Amazon has everything, so a quick search and rhinestone crystal dollar sign brooch is available! Thank goodness - I can complete the project.
So here is this year's donation and completed months ahead of time. It will hang in the shop till October's event.
As for inspiration, it comes and goes, but ideas never really go away and that's a good thing. Creativity is messy, non-linear and pretty much inexplicable. It can be frustrating. Inspiration comes when you aren't looking for it and sometimes when you don't want it. When you seek inspiration, it hides under a couch and won't come out. It doesn't care about us as much as we care about it, but we would all be lost without it... and life would be way to simple without it.
