Friday, November 12, 2010

The Origin of the Logo Lady - part 1

The excitement is building as we near 2011.  New Year.  New Name.  Although it has been a tremendous amount of work to switch everything over, the journey has been a really fun one.

You may have noticed that I decided to keep the infamous 'Lady Logo' for the new company name and there is a good reason for this.  No, not because she is the icon behind LifeLines Bracelets and it would therefore make sense to keep her as the symbol people know and trust.  Well, that was one reason.  The other reason is her 'origin'.  I believe a big part of who we are or our purpose presents itself when we are children.  As adults we sometimes go in a different direction because things that were important to us as children seem silly now or unrealistic.  It was a trip down memory lane that dramatically changed my life and the reason LifeLines Bracelets and Astraea & Co. exist today.

THE ORIGIN OF THE LADY LOGO

Most girls dream of getting married and having children.  I dreamt of high heels and briefcases.  While other girls were playing 'house', I wanted to play 'news anchor'.  Seriously.  When I was a little girl, I could not get enough pairs of those plastic fake heels they make for children.  Some had (to my absolute delight) fake jewels on them and some had fuzzy feather things and others had glitter.  They were just the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Walking in them took a little practice but luckily I was a stubborn child.  Yet it wasn't only the beauty of them that hooked me.  The very best part was the sound they made when you walked in them.  Click Click.  Click Click.  Click Click.  That sound .... it said, I am lovely and graceful and grownup.  It was the sound of being a Woman.  I LOVED it!  So I click clicked all over my small suburban neighborhood with pride.

(These days they even light up.  Lucky girls!)

Here I was, a small skinny girl with long, thick blonde hair in my glamorous plastic high heeled shoes.  And I was absolutely CERTAIN that this is what I looked like.

                

Do you see the shirt that is cute and flirty and ever so gracefully slipping from her shoulder?  The golden hair that is (always) flowing softly in the wind?  The mysterious sideways glance?  How about the beautiful flower in her hair (I settled for dandelions)? Oh, and the bracelet on her wrist!  Once I mastered the art of walking in heels, it occurred to me; you certainly need accessories to match the sparkly fake jewels in your shoes.  Yes?!  So this was me - circa age 5.  My entire life was ahead of me.  Imagine my horror, then, when the newest fashion craze hit America.  The Dorothy Hamill haircut.


And just like that, this was me - circa age 6.  No, this haircut does not 'flow softly in the wind' quite the same way.  My mother was ecstatic (no more combing knots and tangles from long golden hair).  I was beyond mortified!  To add insult to injury, my feet no longer fit into my beloved heels.  My entire life was over before it had even gotten started.

The Secret Life of a Dreamer

Well just about the time I started to add 'goodies' to LifeLines Bracelets (i.e. Blog, Twitter, Facebook), I began dreaming of a Brick and Mortar store.  That led me to contemplate a new, more glamorous name to grace the front of the new dream store.  Which led to a total redesign of the company.  Boy do I have some great ideas!

Funny how in dreams you can never accurately calculate the time involved to accomplish said 'great ideas'.  Hence the huge gap in time between this Blog post and the previous one.

It is a good thing God both graced and cursed me with a severe case of being stubborn.  When I put my mind to something, there really is no stopping me.  In this particular case, a grace.

Beginning January 1st, 2010, LifeLines Bracelets will become Astraea & Co., LLC.  Everything you know and love about LifeLines Bracelets is the same, only our name is changing.  Actually there are some changes but they are all in addition to what we already offer.
  • New Clasp Styles
  • New Charm Choices
  • New Bracelet Styles
  • New Chain Choices for the Mommy Necklace
  • New Custom Engraved Products
Here is a sneak peek at the new logo.  See, we even kept the lovely lady.  This will be a painless and very pleasant change - I promise.


During the next few months, I will post all Blog entries on both the LifeLines Bracelets Blog and the new Astraea & Co. Blog.  You can check out the new look and feel of LifeLines Bracelets by visiting the Astraea & Co. Blog right now.  Just click the link below.