AUD -v- USD

Oh my...with the fluctuating AUD against the USD it seems all things US Made is proving to be just a great idea!  

But without wanting to let this dream go...I changed the focus a little!  

I'd been liaising and getting samples made from a China source which have come back really awesome, but I find I have the same problems with the exchange rate.  All things are paid for in USD so while the items appears to be competitive, price wise, once all the conversions are made and I consider the current retail market, the problem remains the same!

MMmmmm, retail is a tough competitive business!  Especially a small business, buying power is everything in this trade!

So again, not wanting to let the dream go I find myself sitting here contemplating my next move!

With my babies back at school today, I now have the time to reflect and consider what it is exactly I do do next...

Countdown, to Christmas

Everything I have been doing lately still brings me closer to sharing with you my love of a style that is comfortable and high quality but just through circumstance my F--- Cancer tee's seem to have taken on a life of their own.

It has been the busiest couple of weeks, but in short I have 2 fabulous cancer tee's off to print and I couldn't be more excited.

Melanoma (Skin Cancer)

Photo from Printer

An excerpt from the Melanoma-Cancer Council NSW website:

Melanoma statistics

• Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of melanoma in the world.
• More than 10,000 people are diagnosed in Australia each year.
• It is the fourth most common cancer in both men and women (10% of all cancer diagnoses).
• It is the most common type of cancer in young Australians aged 15-44 (20% of all cases).
• One in 19 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma before age 85.

Not surprising considering the life style so many of us live here.

On the tee an image of a melanoma cell with a very subtle message around it. Subtle enough for the most sensitive of eyes!


Brain Cancer

Photo from Printer

An x-ray of a human brain, again with a very subtle message around it. 

An excerpt from the Brain Cancer-Cancer Council NSW website:

Worryingly little is known about this disease, other than some devastating statistics:

• Not only is brain cancer the leading cause of cancer death for young people under the age of 39 and children under 10, it carries the highest financial burden of all cancers
• In its malignant form it is almost 100% fatal
• It is one of the most under-studied of all cancers
• Around 1600 people a year will be diagnosed with brain cancer in Australia, approximately 1200 will pass away
• One person is diagnosed with brain cancer every 6 hours in Australia, every 8 hours one will pass away

There aren't many people you speak to these days who haven't been somehow touched by this insidious disease.

So my small contribution is this:

Buy a Cancer tee for $35.00 and I will donate $5.00 from every sale to the following charities:

http://www.melanoma.org.au

...if you purchase a Melanoma Cell Tee

http://www.curebraincancer.org.au

...if you purchase a Brain X-ray tee

The tee's are 95% cotton and 5% spandex V-neck and they come in sizes 10, 12, 14 and 16.  They are a ladies tee and I can vouch that they wash and wear very well (even if you use your drier for drying)!

A small $5.00 postage fee will be added to your order if you require the tee to be sent out or I am happy to arrange collection or drop off (if you are in the 2110/2111 post code area).

This Saturday 6 December, I'm heading off to the Shitbox Rally Christmas Party Cancer Fundraiser and I'll be wearing my tee with pride and happily "sticking it" to cancer!

If you help me to help these charities you can be sure you will be buying  a comfortable, quality, uniquely branded tee that will go a long way to helping 2 cancer's gain a little extra cash to help fund their research and bring awareness to cancer's that don't necessarily get the awareness they should!

Wear then well everyone!!!!!!!!!

I'm closer...

...to getting USAKit ready for launch.

I have the freight all but finalised, I'm working on the administrative element of the website, getting my packaging sorted, getting my postal processes in place...its a fresh new time for me and I couldn't more excited!

My Facebook page has had numerous references to cancer lately and it has touched me and my family and friends more than I care to think about which is why I am passionate about having a philanthropic arm to my business with the main focus being on cancer. 

I know there are lots of cancer research and awareness groups available for people to support, my angle is little different.

I want to be able to give cancer warriors, those directly being afflicted by this offensive condition the chance to say..."F&CK Cancer...you won't beat me", to find their inner "William Wallace" to face the battle with as much positivity as they can, then mix that with some kick arse attitude...F&CK Cancer!

I am also completely aware of the sensitivities people have to the "F" word however to give an example from the extensive interpretation of the word, I am not using the word to offend, it is like this:

Once, on a misty Scottish airfield, an airman was changing the magneto on the engine of a Wellington bomber. Suddenly his wrench slipped and he flung it on the grass and snarled, "Fuck! The fucking fucker's fucked." The bystanders were all quite well aware that he had stripped a bolt and skinned his knuckles.

So please "bystanders", please understand the word F&CK in this instance isn't meant to offend anyone, it's a strong way for those suffering to wave their hands about and tell cancer and the treatment they have to endure, what they really think of it...

Look after yourselves...kisses and love and thanks for your support!

A week of...

Meetings, listening, learning...

The freight element is slowly coming together, I need some more info from my suppliers but its a work in progress and while its a lot to do, its also very exciting!

From the desk of USAKit

My new favourite saying...

The devil is in the detail.

Tasmanian Devil Courtesy Google

As for the quandary...

Its time to stick it to cancer...and the best way I know how, which is perhaps crude and a little unsophisticated, is to say F&CK CANCER...it's for those who have suffered, their family and friends who have suffered and watched as cancer takes over their loved ones and also just as importantly for those who are suffering now.  Its a means by which to say...F&CK you CANCER! you will not beat me, you may have my body but you don't have my mind, or my soul...so again F&*K YOU CANCER!  

The joint venture I have on order with Badcock Jones is only a delivery away and I can't wait to get it out there...

On another issue I feel close to, this week is Mental Health Week.  I've been watching ABC's Mental As...programs and last night I watched Josh Thomas' "Please like Me" comedy, which touches on depression and suicide.  Bipolar is something his mother lived with and on Q&A on Monday night he talked about how it affected him as a young man.  Really interesting stuff and I am happy to start the conversation about that too...

So not only should we look after our physical selves we should also be looking after our mental selves...

Look after yourselves, your friends and your family - community and what that brings seems to be a massive hole in society and also thought to be a huge contributor to poor mental health so please engage and nurture the "village" and work towards living a long, happy, healthy life.

Quote courtesy Yoda via Google

xxx

www.sane.org
www.beyondblue.org.au
www.lifeline.org.au

Q&A Time

OK everyone I have a question for you...if you were going to promote a charity, several charities in fact, that rotated around all facets of a particular illness, with the primary focus being prevention via early detection and in order to do this there was a "swear" word...specifically the "F" word:

a: would you be offended?
b: would you be worried your kids were exposed to the "F" word?
c: would you prefer the "F" word be doctored to be less offensive e.g.: F&CK?
d: would you wear a tee with the new version of the "F"&CK word on it?

...all the while knowing that wearing such a tee would hopefully be bringing awareness to prevention via early detection????

It is bothering me because I have the devil in my ear warning me of offending the masses, yet I am so inspired and motived by the opportunity to be a vessel of awareness that the offensiveness of the "F" word is lost on me!

Please share your thoughts, CONSTRUCTIVE intellect and help me to make this accessible to every1.

Today while I was wiping the dishes at Susanne's wake, there was a conversation about why are so many more young women not recovering from cancer???  An excellent question and something I feel all young women need to be aware of.  So tonight I'll do some readying about the "WHY" and again if anyone knows something about it please share and enlighten, because lets face it, if this is the case, we need our young women to be AWARE and to PREVENT it from happening to them.....early detection is key!

Look after yourself...love yourself !!!