A Hat for Honeybees
Before we move on from the recent blogs I’ve written on marketing and get back to creating art, I want to shamelessly promote our newest product – “a hat for honeybees” that’s now available through our web store.
Our intent is to spotlight the fact that honeybees (as well as many native pollinators) are struggling and deserve our serious attention, which I think counts as a good deed. I hope so anyway because the Dalai Lama says intent is everything in our dealings with fellow humans, and we can all use a few brownie points.
But I digress.
We were, of course, aware of the campaign hat message “Make America Great Again,” and it occurred to us that the very deserving honeybee should be made great again, too.
I’ll admit that I discussed this long and hard with team members BJ and Soo, as we didn’t want our hat message to be seen as a political statement in support of, or disrespectful to, the recent presidential campaign. We just want to stay true to our business mission, which is to bring attention to the value of insects – and especially pollinators.
And, we reasoned, with America’s history of helping the underdog, we in the U.S. should be taking the lead in making pollinators great again.
So, we hoped this hat would draw attention to the need for restoration of bees and other pollinators that were once Great, Healthy, and Thriving.
If you agree with the message and want a hat to wear, or to give as a gift for someone who loves bees, or just to hang in your office or bee barn for fun, the cost is $10 until September 15th, 2017 and the hat is structured twill with the text screen-printed in white – see details on Amazon store.
If you aren’t interested in the hat, take a look at our T-shirts on the website! Oh, wait a minute, crap! I’ve become a pushy salesman … so sorry. It’s really easy to get caught up in this ecommerce stuff.
Regardless, please read the Postscript below about a dedicated and interesting nonprofit that’s taking a long-term approach to making all pollinators great again.
And, as always, stay tuned for more adventures from the Karen’s Absurd Art Team as we take one step forward and three steps back on the road to mixing art and commerce.
- Postscript:
Are you interested in learning about stabilizing the future of endangered pollinators versus the need of agriculture to feed the world?
Visit the website of the Pollinator Stewardship Council, a group based at Akron, Ohio, and learn why the Karen’s Absurd Art team was impressed by this nonprofit at the recent Heartland Apicultural Society Conference.
Created in 2012 by members of the American Honey Producers Association, the Pollinator Stewardship Council (formerly the National Pollinator Defense Fund) is “dedicated to defending managed and native pollinators vital to a sustainable and affordable food supply from the adverse impacts of pesticides.”
The PSC believes that “farmers should be able to protect their crops from pests, just as beekeepers must be able to protect their livestock, their bees, from harm caused by pesticides.”
During the July bee conference at Evansville, Ind., we had the opportunity to talk with PSC Program Director, Michele Colopy, about the plight of pollinators. We were impressed by her enthusiasm and her ability to explain issues to the layman.
We felt their dedication was sincere, so we have just taken out a membership online to support this group, which relies on memberships, donations, and grants to help keep the lights on and the show on the road.
The PSC works with a range of interested parties and issues – from beekeepers to industry to the homeowner who wants a green lawn and big red tomatoes. You can also check them out on their new Facebook page.
The PSC is a group that we plan to watch, with good intentions that, once our own light bill is paid, we can do more than a membership.
We encourage you to also take a look …