As ‘Gum For My Boat’ continues to be shown in various venues across the nation, here are some great articles that also contain screening information:

http://hotz.blogs.starnewsonline.com/10528/surf-film-gum-for-my-boat-has-mid-atlantic-premiere-at-kefi/

http://www.apparelnews.net/blog/detail?id=69

http://www.telegraph21.com/video/gum-for-my-boat

If you are interested in hosting a screening, please e-mail me at patrick@jedidiahusa.com.

From band representative, Jorge Hernandez:

On November 2nd, 2009, The Classic Crime traveled to Haiti with a camera in hand to meet a missionary named Tom Osbeck.  Apparently, the average time a missionary lasts in Haiti in less than 18 months as conditions on the ground are incredibly rough.  Tom has been there over ten years where his work has been nothing short of miraculous, as he has literally saved lives.  He has also started a school, an orphanage and has personally adopted over 20 children.

The Classic Crime self-produced a 3-part web-series based on their trip to Haiti.  As most of you know, Haiti was no paradise before the earthquake, but these videos do give a glimpse of what it was like a few short months before the quake as well as the hearts and resiliency of the Haitian people. Just as importantly, it shows how one committed person can truly make a difference.

The first video which is online now is a light introduction to the band’s trip.  The second, which will release on February 9, features Tom’s school and orphanage.  The third video, which features the band’s visit to a garbage dump where 100+ people call home, will being streaming on February 16.

The band has a new album hitting shelves on April 6 and has been able to do something to give back.  Tooth & Nail records agreed to sell the band’s new album at their cost and Zambooie.com agreed to sell the album from their site on the band’s behalf for free.  From now through the release date, 100% of the profits generated from the pre-sale will go to Tom’s mission, JiHM.  If you think Tom’s job was tough before, the current conditions in Haiti makes your support that much more important, and the Classic Crime is willing to be that avenue of support as they are using their platform to help Tom save lives.

Haiti Video Series: Part 1

The Classic Crime Facebook Cause Page

Pre-Order The Classic Crime’s new record “Vagabonds” (all profits go to JiHM)

Or connect with The Classic Crime at any of these links:

www.twitter.com/theclassiccrime

www.facebook.com/theclassiccrime

www.myspace.com/theclassiccrime

One of the things that continues to inspire me about working with Jedidiah is that I feel part of something much bigger than myself.

The most recent example of this is our Haiti tees for Compassion.

Hearing first hand about the tragedy there and having part of our team there just a few months before, we felt like all of you: compelled to do something.

But in a very real sense, we are still a small company; our resources only go so far.

So what could we do that would have the most impact?

In this disaster, money is what the non-profits need the most. So we set out to raise as much money as we could.

Jedidiah committed to invest in the cost of the tees and the labor to print and warehouse however many t-shirts people would buy, about $7,000 to date.

But by teaming with others, with people like you, who agreed to buy our relief shirts for $15.00, we have turned that $7,000 into over $21,000

And we will keep this going for as long as people want to buy them.

It is an honor for us to be living out the parable of the talents, today right now with all of you.

Increasing our money by 300%.

Truly, together we can make a bigger difference than what we can do alone.

I am sure a lot of you have similar stories, we would love for you to share them with us.

Kevin

(Photo by Austin Mann :: www.austinmann.com)

Last week at Jedidiah, we had former World Longboard Champ Schuyler McFerran visit the Compound.  I had the chance to chat with her a bit and here is what she had to say:

Patrick: For people that don’t know you, what are 3 things that you would tell them about yourself.
Schuyler: I like my coffee to be black, my conversations to be genuine, and my mornings to be early.

Patrick: What do you have going on as far as surfing in the next few months?  Non-surf related?
Schuyler: As far as surfing goes, I’m going to be trying to squeeze in as many sessions as I can in between school and work, and hopefully take a couple trips over the summer.  Non-surfing-wise, buckling down and finishing my college education tops the list, followed closely by trying to preserve my sanity and creativity amidst all my business/economics classes. Other priorities would be spending time with Greg and my friends as much as possible.

Patrick: How long have you been associated with Jedidiah?
Schuyler: I’m brand new to the Jedidiah family, very excited!!

Patrick: What are you listening to right now?  Is there a song stuck in your head?
Schuyler: I’m listening to Radiohead at the moment, but lately I’ve found myself listening to As Tall As Lions, Phoenix, Passion Pit, and The Flaming Lips.

Patrick: What is inspiring you right now?
Schuyler: New music, and a few design and fashion blogs that I’ve been following. Lately I haven’t had very much time to be creating stuff on my own, so it’s great to be able to see what other people are coming up with.

Patrick: What is the next thing you are going to consume?
Schuyler: Probably another soy chai. Those puppies are addicting.

Check out Schuyler’s website at www.schuylermcferran.com and her blog at http://schuylermcferran.blogspot.com/!

Thanks Schuyler!

This post is dedicated to all the ladies out there…(and the boys who like to buy gifts for ladies). We’d like to welcome a new retail shop that started carrying Jedidiah this past Holiday season. That shop is Penelope T Boutique in Tampa, Florida. This adorable, chic ladies boutique is located near the stylish neighborhood of Hyde Park and has been a go-to place for unique fashion since 2005.

To give you a better idea about the shop, we had a little Q&A session with owners Nickie and Manne. Here’s what they had to say:

JEDIDIAH: How long have you been in business and what inspired your shop name?
PENELOPE T: We have been open for just over four years now… we named the store after Penelope Tree, a slightly obscure British model from the 60’s… at a young age she had a cult following due to her rebellious style and became the muse of famed photographer Richard Avedon- we liked that she wasn’t as well know as more popular super-models of the decade like Twiggy and slightly off-kilter and quirky. That is why we have the tree in our logo.
J: What products do you specialize in?
P: Unique, contemporary women’s clothing and accessories… we don’t sell any work clothes, just fun clothes!
J: Describe your customer?
P: She is a modern woman- She may be 20 or she may be 50 but she follows fashion and knows what she likes…she loves to look different than the rest of the people at the party while still being comfortable.
J: What is your favorite thing about your city?
P: (There are) tons of fun, energetic people who are always out and about. Tampa has a great vibe.
J: Is there something unique about your shop or anything else that you’d like people to know?
P: We always try to support up and coming talent and bring new lines into the store every season.

For everyone in Tampa this weekend for the big pirate festival, Gasparilla, go grab one of the Jedidiah AHOY pirate ship tees at Penelope T!

PENELOPE T
1413 S Howard Ave, Suite 104
Tampa, FL 33606
WEBSITE • FACEBOOK

Our friend Peter Viele over at Eastern Surf Magazine recently reviewed Gum For My Boat in their January issue, and we thought we’d share the love with you.

Check out the rest of the mag at http://www.easternsurf.com/ISSUES/ESM_ISSUE_142/index.html.

Thanks ESM!

Last Friday, Hawaii’s finest threw a charity event benefitting the ClintonBushHaiti Fund.  Money was raised through auctions, ticket sales and donations and at the end of the night, over $14,000 was raised for relief in Haiti!  Jedidiah was honored to sponsor the event and provide some goods for the silent auction.

For more pictures by John Hook from the evening (including this one of the event organizers), click here.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are anger and courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be.” -St. Augustine

This quote gives a face to what we are trying to accomplish with the organizations we partner with.  They see the need for how things should be and we want to help them as much as we can along the way.

I love the hope in the eyes shown in the picture above.  There is something about having that quality in people around you and being part of a hopeful community.

How are you fashioning hope?

(Photo by Austin Mann :: www.austinmann.com)

As the world continues to be exposed to the immense tragedy in Haiti, so many people are wondering what they can do to help.  With different ties that we at Jedidiah have to the surf community, I found this article by Jake Howard over at ESPN intriguing.

In response to that article:

Jake, although you make a valid point in regards to “surf-centric news outlets” not giving much attention to Haiti because of its less than desirable position on the list of surf destinations to then realize that there are people in the surfing community that do care about the atrocity in Haiti, I want to point you to a few retailers (listed below) that are doing just that.  In carrying our new Haiti tees, where proceeds are heading directly to Compassion International to aid their relief efforts in response to the earthquake, they are showing that the means of a sale take second place to the value of human life.

1.  Icons of Surf – San Clemente, CA
http://www.iconsofsurf.com/

2.   Katin Surf Shop – Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.katinsurf.com/

3.   Beachworks – (16 locations in California)
http://beachworksshops.com/homepage

4.  Maui Nix (8 locations)
http://www.mauinix.com

5.  Goldfinch Boutique – St. Augustine, FL
http://www.goldfinchboutique.com

6.  Locals Surf Shop – Juno Beach, FL
http://www.localssurfshop.com/

7.  Hoodie People – Online Only
https://www.hoodiepeople.com/brands/Jedidiah.html

8.  Billy’s Boardshop – Montrose, CA
http://www.billysboardshop.com/

We want to do just that: be the agent of change that speaks on behalf of the communities we are fortunate enough to be involved and that isn’t possible without the good hearts of the people running these shops.