To be fashionable is to be uncompromising to the things you love. Carmen Webber of Sistahs of Harlem uses her collection as a platform to educate, by marrying education and fashion into a single medium, using clothing as the reference. Each collection draws on disparate aspects of culture and fuses them into a coherent whole.  Sistahs of Harlem most recent collection Fall/Spring 2011 focus is on wordsmiths, which feature artist such as Juliana Makuchi and Jhumpa Lahiri. With each collection Carmen Webber draws inspiration from business men and women, the street prophet, school girls, the lingering music from park concerts, the electricity from a dance club, the politics of our world and of course the constant movement of New York City.
Women want to invest in clothes that convey their intelligence, distinctiveness and beauty. Sistahs of Harlem meets this desire with avant-garde designs that have been referred to as “street couture.” The magic with the collections is the way Carmen has mastered the art of revamping vintage apparel into current, exciting styles that pay homage to fashions past while creating fashions future.
If you would like to create your own Sister of Harlem style you can check out the do it yourself books where Carmen shares some of her magic with you. Carmen has co authored 3 books T-Shirt Makeovers 20 transformations for fabulous fashion, Denim Mania 25 Ways to transform your jeans and her third book is Chic Sweats which was featured on the Martha Steward show.
Carmen Webber has been working feverishly to build her brand Sisters of Harlem and in 2011 she is making a international mark by having her latest collection tour Japan. For more information on Carmen and Sistahs of Harlem check out her site at www.sistahsofharlem.net

We just left Biloxi, Mississippi. We’re crossing over the border that says ‘Welcome to Alabama’ and as we drive on Karim spots a huge confederate flag swaying proudly in the wind. WOW 2010. We drove to the downtown area where I had a 5:30 pm interview with Bethany Kraft from the Alabama Coastal Foundation.

The Alabama Coastal Foundation is a wonderful non-profit organization that was established in 1993.  They are dedicated to finding common-sense solutions to environmental challenges. Their projects are primarily educational and produce measurable results.

When I arrived, Bethany came down to greet me and we went upstairs to their loft-style office. She informed me that they just had a training of over 300 volunteers that will be going to the shorelines at least twice a week to document their findings. This is to have a record of the condition the shore lines are in so that if they worsen, BP will have to restore them. Her words: “It was pretty cool” to see so many people enthusiastic about volunteering their time and effort for this cause.

Bethany was very prepared for the interview and provided so much information. This interview will be a special treat for people viewing the documentary. Bethany Kraft, executive director for the Alabama Coastal Foundation, originally hails from San Antonio, TX, but has lived in Mobile Alabama for 8 1/2 years. Mobile, Alabama depends on tourism,fishing and farming for the major part of their economy. One thing that connects all of these is the fact that they depend on the quality of their natural resources.  That means that this oil spill will impact their state’s economy terribly. When Bethany first heard of the BP oil spill she thought “it’s far away and it would be capped in no time.” But after a week passed, panic started to set in and she realized this would be VERY bad. Bethany considers herself a realistic idealist and if she was in charge when the spill first happened she would have involved the community with volunteer opportunities but also through providing access to reliable data so everyone can understand what’s safe and what level of threat they were facing. Providing this information to the public will help everyone understand how this will effect their environment and economy. Americans have an incredible ability to face a challenge head on and to deal with it to find a solution. This was exhibited after Katrina and Bethany hopes the government will trust the public enough to provide us with accurate data.  We’re smart enough to figure stuff out and come together to help or find solutions as the community did after Katrina.

BP is still using the dispersant Corexit at unprecedented levels in the Gulf, even though it is just now being tested for toxicity levels. Dispersants have been used in oil spills before, but not in this volume or for such a long period of time. Dispersants can be toxic within themselves, never mind the effects after mixing with crude oil. If you read about Corexit, it says ‘don’t use on surface water’. By continuing to use this even while it’s unproven makes the entire Gulf and the shores, marshes and sea beds a test lab.  This is not fair to the residents of the Gulf shore communities, and, ultimately it is not fair to the WORLD.

After researching to prepare for my trip, I was really taken aback at how this is going to effect EVERYONE. This Gulf spill that is still going 80 days now may affect Miami, Cuba, New Orleans, Mexico etc.  What are we going to do? I feel like I see the train coming.  Although I’m not tied to the tracks, in a way I feel like I’m just watching it come to roll me over because I can’t outrun it or get off the tracks. This is a nightmare for the American people, I hope we wake up from soon, because it’s scary beyond words.

Karim and I were so impressed by this organization that Le Haute Bags, Inc donated bags for the volunteers and we decided to donate images that Karim Harrington collected over our visit to this non-profit for them to use as they wish. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Bethany Kirk and the Alabama Coastal Foundation for allowing me to interview you as well as your organization for actually helping get the community involved.

www.joinacf.org

My third day in New  Orleans. After a long ,emotional day in Grand Isle Louisiana,  it took some effort to convince Karim to join me in Mississippi and Alabama for Day 3.  He said he was emotionally drained, as was I, but I felt it was my duty to go to Alabama and Mississippi to represent those people as well. So I drove to Biloxi Mississipi first and I was taken aback. The place was BEAUTIFUL and very modern.  This was not a sleepy southern town; there were sophisticated casinos alongside the beautiful beaches. This place reminded me of Atlantic City and seemed very RICH. This made me wonder if that was the reason guns were drawn on the poor people of New Orleans who tried to cross the bridge to enter Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina. I don’t want to sound stereotypical, but I will admit when I thought of Biloxi I pictured country - confederate flags - just really stepping back into time: it was nothing like that.

When we arrived at the beach, a  Biloxi local news reporter was interviewing Connie Rockco, the president of the Harrison County Board of Supervisors. I asked her if I could interview her afterwards and she graciously accepted. I was ecstatic because I was very impressed by her after listening to her during her first interview.  She was very knowledgeable and had so much pride in Mississippi that it was refreshing. Connie informed me that the beach where I was conducting the interview had tar balls washing ashore almost daily.  Ironically, the day we came found the beach clear of spill pollution as we arrived after a storm which shifted them to another near-by island. I was SHOCKED to see people actually swimming in the water; I guess they haven’t been following the side effects that the combination of oil and dispersant can have on a person.  ”The dispersant Corexit was used in the Valdez oil spill and workers have reported blood in urine and kidney issues,”  You can’t see the dispersant in the water. I can’t imagine the effects they can have on a person that is immersed in it unknowingly. When I expressed to a local my shock at seeing people swimming in the water she said “well they never said the beaches were closed so people continue to live normally.”

Once I started the interview with Connie, she informed me that she has been living in Mississippi for 40 years. When she first heard of the oil spill, she thought it would be capped in a short period and have a minimal effect.  She stated that with tourism being what fuels their economy, there was some cause for concern at the beginning of the spill. On day 15, everyone realized it was a huge problem and there was great cause for concern. The people of Mississippi were not prepared at all for this type of catastrophe and felt that they weren’t prepared due to bureaucracy and greed. BP has spent $50,000 for booms but won’t spend money for things that have been proven to work, ie; waste reduction. BP has chosen to take the oil that they have dumped in the water and transport it to landfills, a process equalling ‘double-dumping’. They are dumping in a landfill in Harrison County, against the will of the people who live and work there, seemingly without considering the long-term effects the oily waste (plastic bags with tar balls from beaches, oily booms, worker’s shovels, tools and soiled uniforms, basically, anything that touched oil from the spill is dumped there) will have on the land and water tables. They claim that it is “safe”, but how can it be if it was treated as toxic when it was collected?

Connie is concerned with how far behind we are as a country with fuel alternatives, waste energy and recycling. She feels that we are behind due to greed issues. We concluded our interview with the question “If you could say anything to the people in charge or even our President what would you say”? Her answer: “Before you drill please be prepared in case you do have an accident.” Connie is pro domestic oil drilling, but feels that you must care about the economy and the ecology because it is so important to each and everyone. BP says: Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. That’s what BP says, but we haven’t seen that preparation yet and it’s day 80.After we wrapped the interview we exchanged info and Connie was actually on CNN the next day. It was very sad to see this beautiful place that still had not fully recovered from Katrina get hit again - this time by a man-made disaster. I walked the beach and Karim took photos but I didn’t want to be too close to the water for long periods of time because I know how airborne toxins can effect you, also. So we got in the car, jumped on Hwy I-10 and headed to Mobile Alabama.

When I looked on a map, it showed that the road cut through water on both sides but I was not prepared for the sights. Going to Grand Isle was like stepping back into time. That’s not a negative comment. It was just very simple: nothing fancy – no McDonalds, Mariotts or ANY hotels that most are familiar with. While riding I saw some beautiful sights. There were houses that were literally built in the middle of the water and were on stillts. I wondered how the people could get to their house since it was in the middle of the water and I didn’t see an area for a boat. The ride was magnificient with water hugging the road on both sides of the highway. The view is beautiful, but it appeared that if there is a bad storm these people would definitely be stuck on the island because it’s very low land and the water was already pretty high in some places. I can understand how these people got hit pretty bad with Katrina.  There were off and on again storms while we were driving and roads were flooded. The road that used to take you to Grand Isle is now underwater and there is a new bridge that was built to take you there.  During the ride, I thought: “I wish someone would’ve told our Tom Tom (GPS) that the road was under water.”  No matter; we literally drove to the end of the road just to see the rest of the road disappear underwater.

Our first stop was the Welcome Center where I was to meet with Josey. Grand Isle Welcome Center was a pretty cool set up. The actual welcome center is a trailer and there were some local reporters and photographers utilizing the WIFI and a couple of local residents were stopping in to use the restroom. On offer were are all kinds of information about Grand Isle which really reflected the residents pride in where they live. Josey was not in as she got called into an unexpected meeting but one of the reporters suggested some locations for us to check out. Before I left, I had to go check out their library. Grand Isle library was so cool: the library was actually an old, re-styled RV fitted out with computers, books and a lot of information. The entire set up was so eco-friendly I couldn’t stop smilling. FYI: there was also a pretty cool terrarium next to the Welcome Center.

During our visit, Kareem and I captured some great video and still images. I will label them accordingly so you can see everything I’m describing in this blog.

Once we left the visitor’s center, we walked across the street to the beach. The beach was barricaded with orange plastic fences so that you could not get too close to the water.  We were informed that if you went past the orange fence, you would have to be decontaminated and you would be subject to arrest. This area is Area 6 when you look at the images. It was just dead nothing — no one was on the beach. We decided to go to an area where BP actually built a bridge. You can walk over it and it gets you pretty close to the water. We were allowed to take pictures from this vantage point. I spoke with one of the BP workers who was in charge of workers’ safety. He was from Seattle and was actually very nice and apologetic about the situation. I wasn’t there to judge him because he works for BP; I was just there to get the word back for the people. I must say that everyone that I encountered from BP was really nice and seemed as concerned about this as you and I are.  He informed me about what was happening on this particular Gulf-shore beach.  I saw big dumpster-like units all over the place; he informed me that these dumpsters house the oil balls that are washing ashore. The oil balls are put in plastic bags and these plastic bags were all along the shore line as far as I could see. The dumpsters looked pretty full already. There was also a machine being built by workers and what the machine will do is clean the sand so it can be put back on the beach. I asked him if he understood the devastation this is going to have on the WORLD and expressed how sad this situation is. He looked at me and said yes, but he’s here to make sure that workers and people like myself don’t get hurt, then he drove off.

Once we left the beach, we walked across the street to Sarah’s Restaurant where I interviewed a resident who is a cook there. What he told me really broke my heart. He lost everything he had in Katrina and bought an RV to live in. He has been renting a spot in a RV park but now that BP has come to town they were told that if they didn’t work for BP, they can’t stay there. This park is right by the water. It was him and his dog and life was nice for him until the oil spill. When BP came down, they were told unless you work for BP you had to leave the park. They had no place to park it/live so now he lives in his RV in the back yard of Sarah’s restaurant. He expressed how this not only affects the people of Grand Isle but also the animals. His dog used to enjoy going into the beach water and now she can’t; this also hurts him because he really loves his dog and myself being a pet lover I can understand. Now that he doesn’t have a permanent place to park his RV, he is unsure what the future holds or where he will end up. Grand Isle is his home and he doesn’t want to leave, but isn’t sure what he can do. Currently BP is giving them supplementary checks. Once the checks stop, what will the restaurant workers/owners/fisherman do to survive?

I ran into a few local fisherman; they declined to be recorded but they did express much concern with their future.

It appears that oil and fishing is what runs this island. All you see is oil company after oil company on this tiny island.  Apparently, it is small, but rich in resources. It seems the rich and powerful have come down and used this island for its resources and profited mightily, but at the end of the day, it’s the poor who have actually built the relationship with the water and the shore and actually respected nature.  Now they are the ones who are suffering.

I will post footage ASAP and look forward to your feedback at info@lehautebags.com

The day has finally arrived. After weeks of preparation, I am actually in Louisiana doing something that is so dear to my heart: using my voice to make a difference.

I was reading an article about the people in an area of Nigeria who have been plagued with 50 years of oil spills and they feel as if they have no voice and no one cares. This truly saddened me. It makes me want to be that voice for our brothers and sisters in the Gulf and everywhere that has been affected by this crisis. I’ve always been the cheerleader for the underdog and feel that New Orleans has been hit with two blows below the waist less than a decade apart: first Hurricane Katrina and now this horrible oil spill. The sea is how many of these people make their honest living. They don’t sit behind a fancy desk or wear suits daily, but they have learned something so much more valuable than any school could teach and that is how to coexist with nature in a give and take relationship and to respect her. It saddens me to think of how our brothers and sisters will pay their mortgage, children’s school tuition or simply buy the weekly groceries.

In a perfect world, I’d wish the big VIP’s would meet at a round table with all of the people who their oil drilling has affected and just LISTEN to them. Just because a person may not wear a suit to work doesn’t mean there isn’t something you can learn from them. These people have been working with these waters, marshes and headways for years and may actually have solutions to parts of this problem that are so simple that you wish you had thought of them first. I know my wish is far-fetched, but maybe the President will read this and order a few kegs of beer and invite all the fisherman and Gulf community leaders to come to the White House to talk.

Please forward feed back to info@lehautebags.com

What an amazing day. I met with great friends to discuss my video diary and interviews with the residents near the BP Oil spill. Everyone is so supportive of my plans for my fact-finding trip.  It reassures me that I am doing the right thing, instead of sitting home thinking THEY should do something. My first thought is: who is THEY? And if THEY can do something, so can I.

I’ve been receiving a plethora of valuable information from all of my friends in regards to not only the Louisiana oil spill but also a series of oil spills that have been polluting a once vital area of Nigeria’s landscape for 50 yrs with nothing being done about it. My friend, Johanne Brierre, travels to Africa at least twice a year and has invited me to accompany her in November. I’m interested in visiting the area where the spill in Nigeria is, but she doesn’t advise me to do so because the area is very dangerous. I will, of course, keep you all informed when I prepare for my visit. I will work on going safely to the spill location to once again inform the people what’s going on in the world in a voice the people can understand. I don’t own stock in any oil companies so I have no reason to be biased when reporting my findings; that is my pledge to the people.

I’m wrapping this blog up for tonight but would like to extend a huge hug and thank you to: Zulema Morin, my partner: thanks for believing in me; Johanne Brierre for connecting me to the right people; Joshua Kennedy of Bellicoise Mien – best PR advisor ever.

For those interested in the Nigeria oil spill http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html

Comments are always welcomed info@lehautebags.com

I have seven days left before I embark on this new experience. I’m currently working on what geographical areas I will cover. My initial thoughts were to go to Grand Isle LA, but after researching, I also would like to cover Mississippi, Alabama and Pensecola Fl. I’m going to cover as much land as possible so that I can accurately report my findings for the people to fully understand the magnitude of this catastrophe.

As I’ve been preparing, I’ve listened in on online webinars and some very interesting facts have been brought up in regards to the route BP has chosen to take in regards to oil dispersants. BP has chosen to use a dispersant chemical named Corexit, even though there are reports that this chemical is more toxic and less effective than other dispersants available.

The definition of a dispersant is “Chemical that breaks up oil spilled on water into minute particles which can be dispersed by the wave action and/or wind action over a wider area, thus avoiding severe damage to the coastal areas, marine life, and watercraft.”

I’ve discovered that BP may have a vested interest in continuing to use this brand because this company was once part of Exxon Mobile Corp. There is also a member who sits on the Nalco board. This member served as an executive at the company for 43 years.

What this chemical does when used in the ocean is to break up the oil into globules that are absorbed by bacteria or transferred to the water column where it will be lethal when consumed by shrimp and other bottom feeders. This will keep the oil from washing ashore but at the sacrifice of our deep sea.

There is another alternative and it’s a dispersant that is named Dispersit, manufactured by the U.S. Polychemical Corporation. This chemical is 100% effective versus the Corexit that is only 54.7% effective at breaking down the crude oil. Corexit is also more lethal to shrimp and silverfish. I wonder why BP is still choosing to use Corexit when it’s only 54.7% effective and is proven more harmful to the marine life than Dispersit?

According to the Protect the Ocean blog, U.S. Polychemical executive Bruce Gebhardt said the government had used Corexit before, and was sticking with what it already knows. Hmmm….ok we know it’s only 54.7% effective; we know a Corexit product was used to clean up the Exxon Valdez spill and the workers suffered health problems ranging from blood in the urine to kidney and liver disorders. But we’re sticking with “what we know” even though we know it’s not the best option available? I’m confused! Does this make sense to anyone — because it doesn’t make sense to me!

I’m ending this Blog for now but in 7days  when I arrive I will make sure I include this information when I meet with people at the sites most affected by the oil spill.  We’ll see if choosing “54% effective” Corexit makes sense to them.

Your thoughts are welcomed at info@lehautebags.com

I’m actually feeling a little nervous about visiting the BP oil spill location. My concerns are: will I ask the right questions? I’ve been researching and listening in on webinars in regards to the clean-up and the effects it’s having BUT am I prepared enough? Also, I’m wondering if the locals will accept me or just think I’m just some nosey New Yorker . My goal is to inform people without speaking in senators’ fancy talk that most people (myself included – and I’m a college graduate) would not easily understand. I am a normal person and feel that I can inform everyone about what’s really going on with this spill in a language that you don’t have to go to a dictionary to look up the meaning. I can totally relate to feeling confused and embarrassed to ask a question because someone chooses to use unfamiliar words. I’m a real person; my goal is to inform everyone on what the long term effects are going to be in a way that ordinary people can understand.

Yesterday, my husband called to tell me there was already a sign up saying a local (NYC) restaurant had raised it’s prices on seafood due to the spill. I chuckled because – not to say that my husband didn’t care – but I will say that he was not as concerned as I am until I informed him of possible repercussions from the spill. Now, he’s actually observing things that I told him were coming from this situation. Some suppliers, restaurants and stores are going to use this as an opportunity to inflate their costs (panic pricing), even before the full impact from the closed fishing areas is felt.

I am feeling a little nervous, but I am going to end this blog knowing that I am prepared and the locals are going to embrace me with open arms. I’ll put this nervous feeling to rest when I press publish for this blog.

As always, your feedback is welcomed.

Please send any questions that you would like for me to ask the residents or volunteers to info@lehautebags.com

I’m planning a trip to Louisiana, to see for myself the effects the BP Oil Spill is having on the land, the Gulf, the animals and the residents of the area.

Last night I confirmed the car rental as well as the hotel.  This trip came about because I wanted to do something to help the animals and the people that are being directly affected by this crisis. So, one morning I got up and informed my husband that I’m going down to volunteer.  I can’t commit a huge investment in time, but if we all help a little, we can get alot done.  I think it’s much better than standing back and doing nothing

I emailed a gentleman I met that works with Senator Edward “David Johns” just to inform him that I was going.  I asked if he had any suggestions or people I should contact to please share.  His response was if I was willing to write about my findings, impact-dc.com would work on publishing and disseminating my work. WOW!  What a honor and privilege to have this type of opportunity. This really makes the first thing I said so true : “Everything I do is always BIG”  (not that I always plan that way, but it seems to always work out that way).

Today I’m just crunching numbers and researching the Flip Video Camera because I will use this for my daily video diaries. My team and I have designed lightweight, recyclable Le Haute Bags back packs to donate to the volunteers as well as the residents that I hope to speak with. My goal is to publish the images that Karim Harrington takes (he’s a professional photographer that will be accompanying me). I’m in talks with Modernage Photo Labs of NYC to create art-quality prints that I will donate to a local organization for sale or auction (all proceeds will go to the non-profit org).

My goal in life is to make a difference and really live life, not just exist as so many of us do. People are afraid of the unknown, but I choose to erase the word FEAR out of my vocabulary  because it’s only “False Evidence Appearing Real“.  If you live with fear, you’ll never take chances and follow your dreams.

I’ll end this blog for now, but if anyone has any questions, please email  info@lehautebags.com