By Nina Bondarook

Eastsider Tracy Strandness has just returned to Kirkland after an extended absense, and has opened an online store that specializes in eco-friendly athletic apparel and accessories. It’s called Barefoot Athletic Company and it offers mostly organic, recycled and sustainable products that “celebrate and support the athlete in everyone.”

Whether it’s a child learning to ride a bike, a senior doing a mall walk, or a seasoned athlete, Strandness is betting the company’s mission and quality products will have special appeal to people who enjoy the variety of easily accessible year-round Eastside indoor and outdoor activities: “To inspire and encourage the notion of personal health, fitness and confidence through products and practices that support the most basic elements of global health:  the Earth, its wildlife and our children.” And to that end, Strandness pledges a portion of profits from every sale will be donated to organizations that support humanitarian or environmental issues.

The words “Bold. Vibrant. Can’t Ignore It.” are emblazoned across the company’s home page. But they’re more than just marketing hype describing the company’s 100 percent organic cotton tees that come in splashy colors, hand-crafted vegan lip balms, sustainable water bottles, lead-free pewter sport-themed jewelry and other products. They’re the attitude that Strandness hopes visitors to the site will sense when shopping online and perusing everything from baseball caps to workout clothes, hair ties, towels and more.

The company’s goal is to add local content and inspirational stories — as well as a soon-to-be-launched photo Gallery of Champions — to attract users and create an online hub of activity that generates a sense of community. “Although we are primarily web-based at the moment,” Strandness says, “we have had a presence at a couple of local sporting events, and we hope to expand that and create associations within the local sports community.”

The product lineup is based on the notion that eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean boring. It can be comfortable, sustainable and dynamic at the same time. So if you’re looking for last-minute Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa gifts or simply want to buy athletic gear that is bright and sports positive messages that inspire confidence and joy, check out the website or contact Strandness for more information.

Molly Murrah offers classes and private watercolor painting instruction.

By Nina Bondarook

Many of us who live in Kirkland have seen the stunning watercolor work of local resident Molly Murrah, but now’s your chance to learn first-hand how she creates her colorful works of art — and to learn the basics of painting.  This week, Molly  kicks off her second workshop at Daniel Smith’s Bellevue art store for people who want to discover the magic of watercolor in a small group class setting.

Molly, who has spent the last 30 years as a graphic designer and branding expert, draws from her vast experience as a designer and world traveler, to create her works of art. But she still takes occasional painting classes herself to learn from others whose work she admires, and says she enjoys sharing her skills with students who she hopes will derive a lifetime of pleasure from painting.

Her goal for this four-session course, which takes place at Daniel Smith from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, is to provide enough of a foundation for beginning students to get them started and to provide them with encouragement to continue their studies.  The four-day course costs $150, and there is a $5 materials fee.

She also offers private painting classes in her personal studio.  Learn more by visiting Daniel Smith/Bellevue, or visit Molly’s personal website to learn more about her work, the exibitions she’s participating in,  and to see some of her paintings. www.mollymurrah.com.  Here are several of my personal favorites:

 Todi Wall, Italy; 28″ x 22″

 Asian Beauty, 20″ x 16″

Students in this year’s sessions are learning about colors, values ad paint characteristics, the types of papers available for watercolor, brush strokes and special effects, and some of the techniques that can make a painting special and truly one-of-a-kind.

Space is limited and if you’re interested in joining the class call 425.643.1781 to register.

By Nina Bondarook

If you’re like many people who have had a bad experience with someone in a multilevel marketing business, but could use some extra money for the holidays or even a career change, you won’t want to miss this.

Startup Sisters® YOUniversity, the educational-arm of Kirkland-based Startup Sisters, is presenting an Oct. 27 half-day workshop that covers what anyone thinking about joining a multilevel marketing (MLM) organization needs to know before taking the plunge.

It’s called “Is MLM just a dirty word or a potentially fulfilling home-based business opportunity?” and takes place from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Let’s Do Lunch Cafe, 1471-130th Ave. NE  in Bellevue. The cost is $25 per person, which includes the workshop, a panel discussion with local MLM experts, who will be talking about the pros and cons of the industry — not recruiting members to their networks, a lunch catered by Design Perfect Catering of Bellevue, networking opportunities and free parking. Registrations are being accepted online at EventBrite (http://tinyurl.com/SSMLM) Thursday, Oct. 25th.

PAWSITIVE ALLIANCE plans Oct. 13 Open House in shelters across the state. Photo taken at a recent past adoption event conducted by the nonprofit organization, by Nina Bondarook.

Kenmore-based Pawsitive Alliance, a nonprofit that organizes and manages adoption events, spay and neuter programs, and other educational activities, is coordinating an Oct. 13 open house at community animal shelters across the state to draw attention to the good work they are doing and the hundreds of adoptable animals awaiting adoption.

According to Denise Melton, Pawsitive Alliance’s programs and administrative manager, some 40,000 to 60,000 puppies, dogs, kittens and cats are euthanized statewide each year due to lack of space in shelters across the state.

“The Open House event is a way to help many animals and organizations in one day by raising awareness through a unique and unified campaign,” Melton says, and to hopefully “inspire community members to get more involved through adoption, volunteering, and other support.”

It’s well known that the number of pets in Seattle-area homes outnumber children, thanks in large part to the awareness generated by the alliance’s successful media- and business-related marketing and PR activities. That’s not necessarily the case statewide, however.

So far, the organizations that have agreed to participate in the event include:

• Everett Animal Shelter
• Grant County Animal Outreach
• Homeward Pet Adoption Center
• Humane Society of Central Washington
• Northwest Organization for Animal Help
• Progressive Animal Welfare Society
• Regional Animal Services of King County

In addition to animal adoptions at the Open House, there will be a variety of special activities,  including prize giveaways, throughout the day.

The organization also is trying to raise funding for spay and neuter programs.  If it can raise $1,875 by Oct. 15, an anonymous donor has agreed to provide a matching grant. So far, $790 has been donated.

According to the AngelDogs Foundation, one female dog and her offspring can give birth to up to 67,000 puppies in just six years.

To make a contribution to the program, click here, or to volunteer with Pawsitive Alliance, e-mail volunteer@pawsitivealliance.org.

SHAMIANA also competed in last year's Eastside Taste of the Town.

The Eastside Business Association announced  the names of the 10 restaurants, Saturday, which will be competing for the title of Taste of the Town during the 6^th annual Eastside Taste of the Town gala, Friday, Oct. 26 at the Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE in Bellevue.

According to EBA Executive Director Mario Morales, this is the second year in a row that the gala will raise funds for the Children’s Country Home for medically fragile children in Woodinville. The biggest change will be the venue.  In the past, Columbia Winery in Woodinville hosted the event but with its recent acquisition by Modesto-based E. & J. Gallo of California, the event had to be moved.

Fortunately, Morales says, good often comes from adversity. With the Bellevue Arts Museum’s sponsorship of the event, the Taste will now be in a more central, easily accessible location to all Children’s Country Home supporters and guests will be able to enjoy its inspiring architecture and fascinating exhibits, he added.

“The Bellevue Arts Museum is a place that ignites the mind and fuels creativity, and our guests will  enjoy exploring the many nooks, crannies and galleries featuring the work of renowned regional and national artists,” Morales said. “Where else can you both be educated and entertained in such a unique setting while supporting a worthy local charity?”

CHILDREN'S COUNTRY HOME is focus of this year's gala.

The Taste of the Town takes place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and will include dining, dancing to the Killerbees, a silent auction and awards ceremony. Tickets purchased before Oct. 18 are $58 for EBA members, and $68 for non-members.

Children’s Country Home was founded in 1997. The nonprofit is licensed as a home health agency and provides 24-hour skilled nursing care to children up to 17 years of age. Last year, the EBA donated more than $20,000 to the Children’s Country Home, according to Morales.

Guests at the Taste of the Town will be sampling and voting on delicacies from  Eastside restaurants, which were nominated earlier this year by public vote, for the chance to earn recognition for the Eastside’s Best Appetizer, Best Main Course, Best Dessert, Best Presentation and the top prize: The Taste of the Town.

This year’s competitors are:

Café Veloce, 12514 120^th Ave. NE, Kirkland, WA 98034:  This Italian food eatery was established in 1993 and offers diners more than great food — it’s also the place to go to see vintage racing motorcycles.

Hector’s Restaurant, 112 Lake Street South, Kirkland, WA 98033:  A local favorite known for its fabulous hometown breakfasts, lunches and dinner, Hector’s is located a block from Lake Washington in the heart of the city’s charming, walkable downtown district.

Lynn’s Bistro, 214 Central Way, Kirland, WA 98033:  Diners here appreciate Lynn’s unique menu, which features a delicious blen of Asian-accented French cuisine.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, 700 Bellevue Way, Bellevue, WA 98004: With locations nationwide, McCormick & Schmick’s has earned a stellar reputation for fresh seafood and the finest of steaks in a refined setting that melds the best of both casual and refined dining.

Milagro Cantina, 148 Lake Street South, Kirkland, WA 98033: This is the place in Kirkland to go to indulge your senses and escape with friends. It’s one of Kirkland’s newest dining spots and offers both indoor and patio dining.

Noppakao Thai Restaurant, 9745 Northeast 117^th Lane, Kirkland, WA 98034: Located in the heart of Kirkland’s Juanita neighborhood just steps away from the newly revitalized Juanita Beach park, this eatery offers traditional Thai cuisine and has a second location in Mill Creek.

Palomino Restaurant & Bar, 610 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004: Locals love this “urban Italian” restaurant, bar and rotisserie and its rustic European menus. It features hardwood fired Mediterranean cooking and an imaginative menus that satisfy all cravings.

Purple Café  and Wine Bar, three Eastside locations and one in Seattle: This  local dining and wine tasting sensation has been describe as “the People’s Wine Bar” for its casual and “snob-free” elegance and adventurous menus.

Shamiana Restaurant, Kirkland: This legendary local restaurant’s roots lie with founders, who as American children growing up in East Pakistan,  learned to love tandoor ovens and fragrant breads. For more than 20 years, Shamiana has been expanding diners’ horizons with foods from the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

Volterra Restaurant, Kirkland:  Find what’s haute and happening on the Eastside at this contemporary Italian dining establishment. This is the second location for this award-winning restaurant, which also has a location in Ballard. It provides Eastsiders with Tuscan-inspired cuisine and is a bit more modern and sophisticated than the Seattle original.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, e-mail Morales or visit the EBA’s website.

Little did Sarah Love know that when she started taking Nia classes in 1999, she would become one of the movement’s most dedicated instructors and eventually teach college students about the role that movement, visual art, music, writing and media can play in problem-solving.

Love, who holds a blue belt in Nia, lives in Woodinville and is a member of Startup Sisters of Kirkland. She recently finished teaching her fifth “Movement & Creativity” workshop at The Evergreen State College Tacoma campus, and says each workshop is even more invigorating than the last.

It’s a three-section program designed to show the correlation between physical and mental agility, and creativity: Section I focuses on Movement & Writing, the second one explores Movement & Drawing; and the final section is an experiential mini-Nia class.

Nia is a “fitness-fusion” program that was developed by Debbie Rosas Stewart and Carlos Aya Rosas in 1983. It incorporates nine movement forms from the martial arts, dance arts and healing arts, which Love combines into 60-minute cardiovascular workouts she teaches weekly at the Circle P Barn, 18711 152^nd Avenue NE in Woodinville. During the Evergreen College workshops, she says students who familiarize themselves with the 52 basic Nia movements fall in love with it, because of its ability to stimulate creativity.

An added benefit, is what Nia does for physical health, she says. According to the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, an estimated 1.9 million people die each year as a result of illness brought on from lack of physical activity — a statistic Love shares with students in an exercise called “Why Move?”

“Nia is playful, integrates body, mind and spirit, has been taught around the world and promotes physical and mental fitness,” Love says.  “Each workshop has been a joy to present and students definitely remember it.”

That’s because Love teaches them how to use Nia movements to work through mental blocks and the stress they feel when they have papers due or  presentations to prepare: “They find that Nia’s simple, every day movements and the hands-on activities we deliver help them overcome fears and find new ways of coping with their stress, which leads to enhanced creativity and energy levels.”

Love’s full-time job is as a marketing writer and editor, and she says teaching the workshop and weekly Nia classes helps keep her centered, as well.  Her classes are from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., Wednesdays,  and 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.,  Saturdays.  This Saturday, Sept. 15, she will be teaching a special class: The Base Moves of Nia’s 52 Basic Moves. It will explore feet, stances, steps and kicks with a goal of fully knowing and understanding moves that provide stability during movement. The 45-minute learning session will precede Love’s regular Nia class.  The charge is $15 for both. Click here for more information or contact Love at sarah@niaseattle.com, or by calling 425.985.8653.

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Please send tips for future stories about area businesses to nina@startupsisters.com.

Only a handful of women in Washington state are selling Ultimate Sparkle’s necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings and    pendants, said Aznoff, who believes getting in on the ground floor of Ultimate Sparkle is the key to financial independence.

Aznoff recently met with Kirkland-based Startup Sisters, an organization that helps women launch and grow their own businesses, to share her business plans and gather feedback. She told the group’s members that an added benefit of direct selling with the new company, is having the satisfaction of knowing she’s offering a reasonably priced product that helps lift the spirits of women of all income levels, who appreciate nice jewelry.

That’s when Aznoff recruited her own daughter to Ultimate Sparkle. Both women are independent contractors, and receive commissions from their direct sales and those of others who they recruit into the program. They conduct jewelry parties in their own homes, take their products on the road to events, and participate in private sales parties at the homes of others, who get hostess gifts and share in the profits.

Hallgren, who owns “Styles by Lynz” salon in Bellevue, said she’s found another way to make money with Ultimate Sparkle. “It’s a natural fit,” she said. “When my customers are here at the salon getting beautiful, they can select a piece or two of jewelry that matches their new look and  makes them feel great – and they can take it home immediately.”

So far, the pair have recruited five representatives in Washington.

Ultimate Sparkle jewelry is on-trend but not trendy, Hallgren added. “By that, we mean they are interesting pieces but won’t be out of date in six months.”

Jewelry-selling parties are also a great way to raise money for charitable causes. Aznoff and Hallgren recently raised $1,000 for Autism Day, Aug. 11th, at Jubilee Farm in Carnation, Wash., an event that provided free activities and resources for families touched by autism.

Ultimate Sparkle sales consultants earn 30 percent of their direct sales as commissions, and there are no quotas, Aznoff said. They also earn overrides as they build their own sales teams — if they choose to do so.  The up-front investment required to become a sales associate is approximately $200.

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Please send tips for future stories about area businesses to nina@startupsisters.com.

By Nina Bondarook

This morning, Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new logo — its first in 25 years — at the opening of its Boston, Mass. retail store. If you’re interested in having a look at how it’s being used, check out this video on Microsoft’s official blog on TechNet. It’s also rolling out on microsoft.com, the 10th most-visited website in the world, according to the blog entry, written by Jeff Hansen, and appears today in the Bellevue and Seattle Microsoft Stores.

While I primarily write about startups, it’s a great example of the need for companies of all sizes to ensure that their visual identities keep up with the times, and match the brand promises they are making via their mission/vision statements and promising by way of written collateral materials and news releases.

It’s also a lesson in consistency. The last thing a small, growing company should do — or companies of any size need, for that matter –  is to constantly make changes in its logo and risk confusing or alienating existing customers who’ve grown accustomed to their branding.

As Hansen, General Manager of Microsoft Brand Strategy said today, the change was made in part to highlight the wave of innovative Microsoft product rollouts coming in the months ahead, as well as to add some interest and utility across today’s many digital communication channels. “Fully implementing a change like this takes time,” he said, “so there may be other instances where you will see the old logo being used for some time.”

The logo maintains the ‘Windows’-style boxes and traditional colors, but adopts Microsoft’s Segoe typeface, which gives its a sleeker, more modern look.

“It’s been 25 years since we’ve updated the Microsoft log, and now is the perfect time for a change,” Hansen said. “The Microsoft brand is about much more than logos or product names. We are lucky to play a role in the lives of more than a billion people every day. The ways people experience our products are our most important ‘brand impressions.’ That’s why the new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles, while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors.”

So, whether you’re ‘reimagining’ your company, as Microsoft has recently done, take time to evaluate your brand — your logo look and feel, your value proposition, your customer base and growth targets, the communication channels you use to sell your products and services – to ensure they’re in sync with the messages you’re pushing into the marketplace. While 25 years may have worked for Microsoft’s first logo — with periodic updates to the accompanying tag lines used in advertising — a startup that’s experiencing rapid growth, which includes expanded product lines or new target audiences, may need to retool it’s logo sooner.

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Please send tips for future stories about area businesses to nina@startupsisters.com.

By Nina Bondarook

The City of Kirkland’s Tourism Program knows the value of good, targeted public relations.

It’s giving away free tickets for for three public sailings on the tall ship Lady WAshington, on Thursday, Aug. 30, and is betting the offer will attract a great deal of attention for the city’s spectacular location on Lake Washington — and generate some real good will among local residents lucky enough to nab one of the available seats.

The Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will be visiting two Kirkland marinas during an eight-day visit beginning Aug. 27, where they will partner with the Woodmark Hotel at Carillon Point for a number of private charters and tours, and with Kirkland Tourism for the three public voyages on Aug. 30, according to the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority.

Two three-hour educational trips sail from Kirkland’s downtown marina from 9 a.m., and will provide a glimpse of life at sea plus basic navigation skills demonstrations. Anyone interested in the morning cruises can get in the ticket line, which opens at 8 a.m., on the Kirkland Avenue dock at Marina Park. Boarding passes will be distributed at 8:15 for available spaces.

The Lady Washington holds 45 passengers and space will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are strongly recommended, and will be taken until 5 p.m. Aug. 29. To reserve a spot, contact the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority at 800.200.5239 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free tickets also are available online for a processing fee of $1.50 per ticket.

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Please send tips for future stories about area businesses to nina@startupsisters.com.