Only Time Will Tell

The NFL Draft is almost over. . .and a couple of my guys went.

Ben Tate went in the second round as the 26th pick to the Houston Texans. I am very happy for Ben, but I unfortunately cannot cheer for the Texans. . .a little bit of a rivalry.

Walter McFadden went in the 5th round as the 7th pick to the Oakland Raiders. Perhaps not ideal for being the 5th round, but still. . .he was drafted, right?

I guess only time will tell about how they will potentially do in the NFL. I wish them the best of luck!

I have a little update on my TOMS auction winners. . . Both very pleased with their shoes, I must say :D

I haven't received permission (actually I haven't asked) to use their names, so I will not post them. But the person who won the Jonathan Singleton & The Grove TOMS sent me a pic of him wearing his shoes to class!!!
LOOKIN' GOOD!!!

I am still waiting on a pic from The Features TOMS winner. ;) He got me his pic!!! Check it out!

I am happy to say that doing something like this and helping out such a wonderful cause really can bring people together. I have met some incredible folks and made some friends along the way.

Speaking of The Features, I have some pics from them from One Day Without Shoes!!!!






Rog with his Chocolate Stitchout Corduroy TOMS on and the guys with their logo and the TOMS logo bag!!!

I can't thank them enough for all of their support for TOMS and myself! You all truly ROCK and deserve all the best!!!

We had our spring cocktail at school a while back, HUGE success. . .have some pics to share. Enjoy.
















If the pictures don't say enough. . .WE HAD A BLAST!!!

These are some pretty amazing people in these pictures and if you ever get a chance at meeting them in life, they will blow you away!!!

Finals are almost over and I couldn't be happier. I have been working on some outside projects that I have been having a lot more fun with and makes me really want to do more but I should just be focusing on the now and worry about all of that later.

Guess that's all for now. Need to get back to work.

Toodles!!

Some pretty happenin' kicks! Follow-up bloggini

Well. . .The final pair of designed TOMS from the band Jonathan Singleton & The Grove are FINISHED!!! So happy with the completion as well as the way they look!! I almost wish that I had won the auction for these as well. :) Enjoy!!

Don't forget
One Day Without Shoes
is tomorrow!!!!

Some pretty happenin' kicks!

If you have been following along with me, you would know that we had an auction for some one-of-a-kind pair of signed TOMS from the bands The Features and Jonathan Singleton & The Grove.

I learned from this process that designing shoes isn't easy and that people are really caring and understanding about the process, especially when it helps such an amazing cause!

FACT/SUGGESTION/DISCLAIMER: The use of the bands and their logos were granted to us by the band members and I do not suggest doing this without permission. All proceeds went to the cost of the shoes and charity. I also ask that you don't do as I did (because at the time I did not know) and put TOMS on eBay. The resale of TOMS on eBay is not recommended and I ask that you please not ever do it and support this decision by asking others not to do it.

I had auctioned three pairs of shoes. Two for The Features and one for JS & The Grove. I got all the shoes in and boy did I mess up!!

I thought I had checked and double checked and even triple checked, but because the shoes for two of the auctions were almost identical, i got them switched by accident. DOUGH! I accidentally gave a size 12 to the band that was suppose to be a 13 and vice-versa. There wasn't a whole lot I could do now since the 13s were already autographed :( Luckily, the guy that won that auction said that "I have 12 in TOMS now & they aren't big so 13s should work and you've already gone through so much for these things I say let em rip!" I can't tell you how relieved I was! This guy has been super amazing, friendly, and wonderful throughout this entire ordeal!! More people should be like him :)

As for the other pair of shoes, I felt so horrible because I know this guy has been so uber excited about getting them, even before he won the auction! I called around trying to find another pair of 13s in the Nashville area. . .none of them had them in the Natural Canvas, although Whole Foods said they had olive, white, black, or ash gray. I was broken. . . almost in tears. I just didn't want to let this guy down. He has been so patient so I called him to tell him what had happened. He was so kind to say that he would be willing to do them in gray and that he was going to be near where I am going this weekend for Easter that I could drop them by. HUZZAH! This is going to work out after all!!

I called Whole Foods back and asked them to put the 13 gray TOMS on hold for me. . .she said "we don't have them in a size 13". I almost lost it.

I did the only thing I could do and ordered them from the website and paid for two day shipping. Yes, I might have not raised any money and probably lost a little in this process, but there are a couple of pros because of this incident: 1. another child will receive a pair of shoes because of this purchase; and, 2. we were able to use these as testers for all of the designs :D

I hope to get this new pair of TOMS in by Monday so that I may ship them to the auction winner by Monday afternoon or Tuesday. I will post pictures of those when they are made. . . but I already know they are going to look FANTASTIC!

The third pair, The Features (female), were auctioned off at The Features Exit/In show back in February. . .I love the head logo!!!

Here are some photos of The Features TOMS that I am so jealous of and want both pairs!!! I LOVE THEM! and YESSSSSS, they are handmade. I couldn't have done any of this without the help of my REALLY GOOD FRIEND Melinda! Whew girl! She is the only reason I have any hair left along with my sanity. She's really amazing!

DON'T FORGET! One Day Without Shoes is on April 8th! Sign up to join our walk, look for one near you, or start your own! Franklin, TN O'More Walk
Find a walk near you
Create your own

A pair for you, a pair for me, a pair for a child who is in need

Our Style Your Sole Party was such a HUGE SUCCESS!! I couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out!

I am in the final wrapping up stage of getting everything finalized and closed. We were able to give over 40 pairs of shoes to children in need! That is so incredible to think about! We have also raised over $500 to donate to Partners In Health, who TOMS teamed up with to help those in Haiti.

We are finishing up The Features designed TOMS as well as the Jonathan Singleton & The Grove TOMS this weekend. I know those that purchased those are getting anxious and I can't wait to get them their shoes!!

It's almost surreal that it is all over. I mean, this has been planning in the works since December and now it's over and successful. I just can't get TOMS off my mind. The good news is, I don't have to. :) April 8th is A Day Without Shoes! Whether you are in Franklin, TN, Santa Monica, California, or anywhere in the WORLD. . .join us and go without shoes for one minute, one hour, one lunch break, one day to experience firsthand what it is like to go without shoes and how we take for granted that we have something to protect our feet from day-to-day and how a simple pair of shoes impacts a child's life.

TOMS understands that it isn't practical for everyone to go barefoot, so there are other ways of supporting this amazing movement and keeping your feet covered. :D Check it out here!

If you are in Franklin, TN and you want to join us for our 1 mile walk through downtown Franklin on April 8th, be sure to RSVP to our event!! We would love to have you and the weather is looking FABULOUS! Bring anyone and everyone with you :)

ONE for ONE

As promised, here are some pictures from our event! We have 40min of video so that is currently being edited and will be posted soon!

here are links to more of the pictures :D

Pictures!!

More Pictures

I love pictures

YUP, there's more!

Get Your TOMS On

Thanks to some wonderful friends and their talented husbands, we are now officially auctioning some celebrity TOMS for our SYSP and to help raise money for Partners In Health!!

First up, we have the band that I always talk about. . .THE FEATURES!!!

Here are what the shoes will look like. You can't see the other shoe, but it will have the signature of all of the band members. Not only are you getting a fabulous, one-of-a-kind pair of signed TOMS but you are also helping a child in need who will also receive a pair of shoes.

If you are interested in this auction, you can go to this site where you may bid and there are more details regarding this auction. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL OF THE INFO!!!

The Features Signed TOMS Auction
Next, we have Jonathan Singleton & The Grove!!! These shoes will have The Grove symbol on one shoe with the signatures of all of the band members on the other.

Again, not only are you getting a fabulous, one-of-a-kind pair of signed TOMS but you are also helping a child in need who will also receive a pair of shoes and Partners In Health who have teamed up with TOMS to help the people of Haiti.

If you are interested in this auction, you can go to this site where you may bid and there are more details regarding this auction. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL OF THE INFO!!!

Jonathan Singleton & The Grove TOMS Shoes Auction
I can't thank these two amazing bands enough for all of their support and fabulous music!!!

Don't forget, if you are in the Franklin, TN area and you want to style your own TOMS, please come join us for O'More College of Design's first ever Style Your Sole Party on Saturday, March 27th from 1-4 on O'More's Campus located at 423 South Margin Street, Franklin, TN 37064.

The last day to order shoes for the event will be on Monday, March 8th. There will be shoes vended at the event by Nashville Clothing Company, but there will be a limited selection of colors and sizes so to make sure you get the ones you want, please order from this form TOMS ORDER FORM

If you have any further questions feel free to email Me (Merissa) at sys@merissatomlinson.com

I want to give a special thanks to the sponsors of our event:

Nashville Clothing Company
Chick-Fil-A South Franklin
Smoopy's Vintage Bikes
Stevierocks & The Blues Connection
O'More College of Design
O'More College of Design's SGA

Also, thanks again to The Features, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove, Jay Sheridan PR, and many more. . . you know who you are!!!