We had a small group this morning at PEERS. With vacations, family-visiting, kids home from school, and all kinds of activities summers can be difficult to get EVERYONE together. Today we were missing Ilene, Karen S, Joni, Bonnie, Kate, and Shelley. Our group president was absent today, so Nadine took the lead and kept us on schedule for our commercials and referrals.
We had two guests today, Kate Lindburg of Animal Crackers Pet Supply and president of CIBA {Corvallis Independent Business Alliance} and Elaine Forrest of Simply Home LLC. Animal Crackers is a local and independent pet supply store specializing in nutrition for dogs and cats. The have a wide assortment of food for other animals, toys, collars, and more. They are located on Kings Blvd. between Woodstock’s Pizza and Buchanan Ave. Simply Home Professionals LLC is a local general construction company. They started in business 4 yrs ago specializing in wallpaper removal, interior painting, redesign, and especially enjoy preparing homes for sale.
After our commercials and referrals Kate also talked a little bit about CIBA and what’s coming up for “Independents Week” July 1-7. {Read more here.}CIBA is hosting a “Buy Local Brunch” on Saturday July 7 from 10a-1p at the Community Hall behind the Methodist Church on Monroe Ave. They’re also hosting local business members at a Corvallis Knights {against the Kitsap Bluejackets} game on Monday July 2 at Goss Stadium …this is also the fireworks night and it’s quite the display. On the first they’ll kick off their new “Business of the Week” program followed by the Corvallis Downtown Assoc. Red, White, and Blues Festival on the Corvallis Waterfront July 3 + 4. Wow it’s going to be a busy week here in Corvallis. On top of ALL that CIBA and PEERS are teaming up to have the first Corvallis CASH MOB…
“What is a CASH MOB?” We’re glad you asked. A Cash Mob is similar in many ways to a flash mob in that a group of people meet at a set location all at once for a specific purpose. In this case the mob’s purpose is to give a single local business a concentrated amount of positive recognition, exposure, and of course business. Cash Mobs benefit the community by marketing “Buy Local” to the public, giving a monetary boost to a local establishment, and creating community and consumer awareness about new business areas. Only the organizers and the target business are aware of the location in advance. This helps generate excitement and mystery around the community and participants. Mobsters are organized about one week prior and told to meet in a designated location within walking distance to the target business; preferably in a place that is visible to the public and car-traffic. Once the group is gathered the location is revealed and everyone walks together to mob the business for about one hour. After, remaining mobsters typically gather for coffee near by. There are only three rules for a Cash Mob: 1. Bring $20 to spend. 2. Have fun. 3. Meet new people. Watch here, on the CIBA website, and on facebook for a Cash Mob gathering for “Independents Week”. You can read more here {scroll about half way down to Upcoming Events}.
Our speaker today was Amanda Long from Amanda Photographic {link to blog}. We were scheduled to do a new group portrait today, but with so many people missing we decided to wait until the fall when things settle down. …Plus maybe by then we’ll have welcomed some new members.
Amanda talked about the importance of prints during her speaking time. It seems like everyone has a digital camera or smart phone in their pocket or purse. And with pictures so easily accessible with the touch of a button or click of a mouse we’ve become detached and forgotten the importance and of printed images. Think about the pictures of yourself when you were little; think about how they’re different from the pictures you take today or the pictures of your parents and grandparents when they were young. Prints come in many shapes, sizes, formats, and have changed dramatically over the years. The colors, lack of color, feel and texture, smell, and quality of these prints help tell part of the story from when they were taken.
When it comes to new photography many couples and families spend time planning and preparing for an annual session or special event with a Professional Photographer. Does it make sense to have spent that time …and money just to have the beautiful photography stored on your computer? Or would you want to share them with guests and family when they visit you at home? Remember when you used to get prints in the mail from friends and family? It’s a special way to connect with the people we care about. Plus there are so many new ways to display your beloved prints. Whether it’s on high quality archival canvas, metal prints, bamboo standouts, the list goes on and on.
Yet another reason to have your favorite photographs printed is simply that the odds of something happening to your phone or computer is high. In the event of a computer virus, dropping your phone or camera in the toilet, pool, river, down the stairs, out the window, on a carnival ride, or even something as simple as a system upgrade that your old gadgets are no longer compatible with… Your odds are good that at some point you’ll lose months or years worth of photographs. It’s true that prints can be damaged by the sun, water, and fire; but the odds of losing the same quantity of print photographs in a single event are much smaller.
Some tips for preserving old prints: Have them restored and copied. Shadowsmith Studios {behind the Old World Deli on 2nd St} does an amazing job. Even if you don’t want the image restored get it copied so that you can put the original in an ACID-FREE folder. Keep it in a cool DRY place where it will be safe from moisture and sun damage. If you have old film there are archival shops in the Portland area that can help you preserve the film as well as copy images to a digital format for you to view {Pro Photo Supply is awesome}.
Amanda reminded us to put acid-free matte board between our prints and the glass/plexiglass {UV coated of course} in a frame. This is to prevent the print from sticking to the glass due to humidity. Also to use acid-free papers in albums, folders, and storage. If prints just aren’t your style {and she’s not sure how that’s possible} she encourages you to get a collection of digital picture frames and load them up with images. More important than anything is the connection and emotion that comes with looking at photographs.
The End.
PEERS | Corvallis Women in Business 