We are excited to announce that several of our paintings have been selected to be on exhibit at the Art By Architects exhibit at the Center for Architecture in Philadelphia! The exhibit will be on display from October 24th – November 18th. This exhibit is held once a year to raise money to help fund the center’s public programs to educate the public on architecture, urban planning, and design. The paintings will be available for sale at the exhibit and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Center for Architecture and 50% go towards our adoption fund. More information on the exhibit will be posted as it becomes available.
My wife was interviewed on local television when she attended the Memorial Tribute to Steve Jobs at the Apple Store. She spoke about how his personal life resonated with us since he was adopted and we are future adoptive parents.
We are sad to hear about the death of Steve Jobs today, co-founder of Apple Computers. We have lost one of the most innovative minds of our lifetime.While reading his obituary we found out that he was adopted. His biological parents were Syrian and American and he was adopted by an American couple. This proves to us that adoption should not hold anyone back from achieving their maximum potential; every child deserves this chance in life.
Unfortunately we have a correction to make about our previous crib post. The Loom Crib is actually made in China. After publishing the blog we sent the link to the customer service representative we were speaking with at Nurseryworks and she informed us that the Loom Crib is not made in USA but in fact made in China. This was surprising to us since a few websites selling the crib listed it as Made in USA. So the lessen learned is don’t believe what online stores write about the products they are selling (peddling!) and make sure to ask the manufacturer.
However, now we have to decide if we can live with a crib made in China or find something else. A friend of ours found a good tip in the book “Baby Bargains” which basically said that 90% of baby furniture is made in China so if the furniture company is reputable then likely the furniture made in China will be fine. That being said there are companies that don’t use China to manufacture their furniture, for example Oeuf makes their cribs in Latvia. There are a few small percentage that still make their cribs in the USA and most of them are over $1000 price tag. El Greco cribs though, which are sold through Land of Nod, are made in the USA and definitely below the $1000 mark.
As for what we are going to do, we aren’t sure. We read through the safety data of Nurseryworks and they’ve never had any recalls on their products, they are doing their part for the environment, and the design is quite nice. We have not decided what we will do, so we thought we would put the question to you.
Designforadoption is pleased to announce that one of our paintings has been selected for an exhibit at Philadelphia City Hall featuring local artists.
The exhibit theme is “Follow the Line” and features work that explores the “Line” in art. One of the new pieces which we will soon make available for sale has been selected.
The new work is based on explorations featured in our book “Lines+Circles”.
The exhibit starts on October 10th and will be on display until December 2nd, at Philadelphia City Hall. There will be an opening reception on October 19th 5-7pm.
Image from Nurseryworks.net
Everyone knows, as soon as you have a baby, one of the major items to purchase is a crib, therefore it is one of the items you’ll probably spend the most time researching. This is typically a costly purchase, plus you have to make sure all the safety standards are met, so it makes sense to do your homework before you shop. When it comes to cribs we have heard all kinds of arguments for or against different kinds of cribs but for us this is an important issue, since this is where the baby will be spending a lot of time sleeping. We were struggling to decide if we wanted to invest in a more expensive crib or buy something less expensive from Ikea or Walmart. However, we soon found out that all the cribs at Ikea were recalled because of faulty mattress supports collapsing. This quickly eliminated Ikea cribs off our list. Our next option was Walmart but we were weary of similar quality issues and the cribs we liked, Baby Mod (sold at Walmart only, elsewhere it’s the exact same crib named Babyletto for $100 more) had nice modern lines but most of the reviews complained that the wood was too soft and was easily dented or worse could be chewed by the baby. Therefore one of our main goals was to try and find a good crib that was not made in China especially with all the safety issues for recalled products.
We set a few goals to help narrow our search: non-toxic crib, eco-friendly (if in the budget), made in the USA and if that wasn’t possible then simply not made in China, and finally a modern crib. We set a budget for $300-600, which made it pretty tough to find a crib that met our goals and is still within our budget, but we were convinced we could find a good deal online.
Oeuf cribs are marketed as eco-friendly cribs that are made in Europe and their most economical crib, the Robin crib, is within the upper tier of our price range. However, we were not entirely thrilled with the design of the crib, particularly the open slots on the side panels and the exposed hardware.
Nurseryworks cribs, a competitor to Oeuf, has the Loom Crib that meets our outlined goals and has a unique personal design. The Loom Crib is non-toxic, made of catalpa wood, which is a fast growing wood, is made in the US (after speaking to the manufacturer we were informed that we received misleading information from some of the online suppliers and the Loom crib is in fact made in China) just squeezes into our upper tier budget level. But, as architects, what really appealed to us was the design of the crib. With typical crib designs, we dislike the rigidity of the repetitive vertical slats that seem to recall prison bars. What we loved with the loom crib is how the designers took the government required minimum spacing of the vertical slats and had some fun with it! Instead of equally spaced slats, they are varied to create visual interest. If you select the natural or dark finish the slats and wrapping trim contrast with the white side panels and frame. The hardware is neatly hidden and it’s a convertible crib with 3 mattress positions. The best part we found was that you do not need to spend the hefty price for the toddler conversion kit since the crib does not require it (whereas most do to keep the crib stable) to remain functional if the front side remains open. You could then buy an inexpensive guard and put it under the mattress and once your toddler is ready for a twin bed, the crib could be used as a day bed and still look great. Additionally, Nurseryworks has been very responsive to any questions via email. We are excited for our find and wanted to share it with everyone.
We are excited to announce the sample prints have just arrived and they look fantastic! We have 8×10’s, 12×12’s, and 9×20’s. Available soon online! Please look back to see what is available within the next couple of days! There will also be some new work available!
Plus we also have the ability to print larger sizes on canvas. First one has already been sold!
After our heart break with not being matched with the twins, we decided to look through our parameters to see if there was anything we wanted to change to increase our options for adoption. One area that our adoption agency said would be worth considering was how stringent we wanted to be with Exposure During Pregnancy.
If you are going through a domestic adoption, a major factor you have to deal with is a birthmother’s exposure to drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Our agency told us that 70% of the birthmothers they work with have some sort of exposure during their pregnancy. We’ve researched other agencies around the country and we’ve found this to be fairly common. This does not necessarily mean the birthmothers are taking hard drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc), however, it is common for them to be smoking tobacco or marijuana, and/or drinking alcohol. Typically once the birthmothers realize they are pregnant, which is around 12 weeks into the pregnancy since they typically aren’t tracking their cycles, they will stop doing any kind of drugs. However, a majority will not stop smoking since it is so addictive and a few will continue doing marijuana as well. Some birthmothers will stop binge drinking but will have a few beers or wine coolers a week throughout the pregnancy.
Our agency has found that children who have been exposed tend to do well; however, it depends on the severity of the exposure and you can never be sure whether the birthmother is upfront with her addiction problems. There are birthmothers who are not exposed to drugs, alcohol and tobacco, however, they are not the majority.
We’ve found the March of Dimes website to be a great resource to understand the health risks associated with exposure during pregnancy.
Typically the lives of birthmothers aren’t perfect which is why they are considering to put their child up for adoption. They may have a few children already and cannot afford to keep another, they may be single mothers finding it hard to make ends meet or they may not find the time for prenatal care. These are the risks you have to understand and expect if you adopt. However, on the flip side, the birthmother could be a high school or college student who is healthy throughout the pregnancy to ensure a healthy baby and is giving their child up since they are not ready yet to be a parent. The agency will not force you into a situation you are not comfortable with, therefore, you must understand the risks and decide what is the best option for you.
Design For Adoption 