It's here...finally. 


Thanks to the wonderful contribution of animal advocate and good friend, Katie Foley, The Storia Project now has a brand-new Good Cause.  This time around it's about awareness.  Katie and I started talking about collaborating on a good cause last December and at some point it came out that it would be a great idea, seeing as it is the Chinese Year of the Tiger, to feature a blog post Katie originally wrote for the New England Primate Sanctuary on tiger conservation.  I couldn't agree more.

When I read Katie's piece I was shocked to read that there are more tigers in American zoos than there are wild in the world-- a measly 3200.  3200!  I'm sure there are more than 3200 people living within a mile's radius of my apartment in Rome.  Feeling sad yet? Feeling mad yet?  I think the common impulsive reaction to learning these things is that of "we need to do something!"... and then you get distracted with life and you never really do anything.  Kind of like when a bad hurricane or earthquake hits and all of a sudden you want to join the Red Cross, but in the end you have leave the relief work to the trained professionals.  


Unfortunately we can't all jump on a plane and go save the tigers-- that we will leave for Katie who is currently working in Malaysia.  Instead, the Tiger Conservation Good Cause is pushing awareness.  Knowing makes a big difference.  Read about it, learn about it, and talk about it.  Know about it, talk about it. Know about it talk about it.  THIS is how we can help.

It is here, it is real, it is now.  It is diverse, it is powerful, and yes my friends, it is truly Roman.  It is Buona Pace from the Italian hip hop icons, Cor Veleno. 

Released this week on May 25 from RCA/Sony Music, Buona Pace is the newest addition to Cor Veleno's long line of discography and makes a grand entrance into today's capricious music industry in a terrific way.  It is true that rap can and almost must be direct to a confrontational level and stirring to an abrasive level, and in fact this is a rap album, but anyone with even a basal appreciation of any music genre would be silly (for lack of better words) to pass these twelve tracks by.  

Cor Veleno: Buona Pace (Sony Music)

• Dentro te
• Buona Pace
• L’odore Del Mare
• Pensami Forte
• Falso
• La Pelle E’ La Mia
• Anche Piu’ Facile
• Spezzami L’Anima
• Sto Cor Veleno
• Quello Che Verrà Domani
• Bam Bam (Bonus)
• Nessuna Bandiera Bianca (Bonus)

The trio that is Cor Veleno- Primo, Grandi Numeri & Squarta- has successfully, artfully created an album that embodies not just a hybrid music genre theory, but an evolved hip hop music theory. Buona Pace is comparable to a well-curated art exhibition in which each track would need its own room with blank walls to fully express its distinctive personality.  With reggae, rock and classical undertones just to name a few Buona Pace proposes a new sound without compromising the intelligent, charismatic attributes so characteristic of Cor Veleno's previous work.  If anything, the new sound is indicative of a talent only shared amongst the most passionate musicians at work these days.  

Following the heavy rotation single "L'Odore del Mare", Buona Pace is now available on iTunes as well as in music stores across Italy.  If you are American (like me) and have to fight with iTunes to get this album save yourself from banging your head against the wall (like I did) and go straight to 7digital.com where you can even pay with PayPal. 


We hope everyone in the Storia world will check out Buona Pace- not just because the Cor Veleno guys are good friends of ours and die-hard Storia supporters, but because they are legit.  And nobody knows legit like we know legit.  


Give it a look, then give it a go, but more than anything... ENJOY.


COR VELENO OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Let's face it. Working from home has all of it's pluses, but every once in a while you have to get out!  Actually, more than every once in a while, more like daily, is ideal.  Anyone who has ever worked from a home office knows what I mean; more than X amount of hours in front of the computer/sewing machine/etc and your productivity level goes down very quickly.  This entry shares a little bit about my playground, my brainstorming zone, my nap time spot, my place of escape.  And, when you really need some fresh air is there really any better place to go than an old villa once known to Romans as Bel Respiro?  I think not.

I have the great fortune of living next to the largest public park in Rome: Villa Doria Pamphili.  Villa Pamphili is the old property of the Papal Pamphili family as well as the inherited property of the royal Doria family.  If you look at an aerial view of Rome you will see two huge splotches of green interrupting the urban layout- one is the also famous Villa Borghese and the other one is my backyard...

It is a well known fact that exercise does 'ya good.  It's also a well known fact (here in Rome at least) that if you want to get away from the city and go jogging, Villa Pamphili is one of the best places to go.  But, as I only really like running on poorly groomed trails in thick forests with the possibility of running into large, dangerous wildlife (you can take the girl out of Alaska, but you can't take...)- let's just say that I don't come to Villa Pamphili to jog.

I'm more likely to be found plopped down under a tree, face to the sun, thinking up a storm, possibly with my iPod in hand.  I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world for several reasons and one definitely has to do with this place.  I can't think of a better way to "get out of the house", revive creativity, pass the siesta hour, get a tan and dream up new "impossible" plans than basking in the front lawn of one of the most powerful families that made Rome.  

Plus, the statues are big Storia fans.

"Art has been veritably invaded by life, if life means flux, change, chance, time unpredictability... Sometimes the difference between the two is sheer consciousness, the awareness that what seemed to be a stain on the wall is in fact a work of art."-Michael Kimmelman

...which means sewing and leatherwork have to make room for eating, passeggiate, and sunshine!  We are back in Rome and back in business- hopefully also with energy to blog more often too!  A month in Thailand will do many things to you including clear your mind of the daily grind and free up space to see new possibilities, new ideas, new designs, new solutions...

So, it is with all these new things that we are starting "anew" in the Eternal City which is bella Roma.  Some of these new designs simply helped me to get back on track and have some creative time for myself.  Some of these designs you may see on Storia gear later on this year.  They're exciting- that's all I will say for now.

We are also looking for fun boutique and street wear shops here in Rome to sell Storia gear.  Of course, we're always open to wholesaling internationally as well.  If anyone has any ideas I am all ears. :)

A quick post to update everyone on the shipping status of orders placed between today, February 23, and March 25.  The news is that these orders will be sent out between March 26th and April 1st; the reason is because I will be in Thailand for the next month doing some sun-soaking, ocean-swimming and much needed design development.  All orders received between now and March 25th will go out with a small gift, however, to thank y'all for your patience!  

This is probably also a good time to thank all of our wonderful friends and clientele in Alaska for being so good to us over the past few months.  Yes, it is true, The Storia Project is again based out of Rome. So, though our Alaskan adventure was far more brief than anticipated we were overwhelmed with the hospitality and warmth we received while we were there and we will be back soon enough.  THANK YOU ALL, YOU ARE TRULY THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!