Happy Fall!

HELLOOOOOooooo fellow Umbrellateers!! It has been a long while since I've updated everyone on Over Our Heads news. And a lot has happened.  It has been over a year now since the project was successfully funded and I've been hard at work and happy to say: Things are great!

      Backer rewards are out and the 'brellas are selling!  They are sold from the website Overourheads.com and etsy.com/shop/OverOurHeads.  The etsy site not only sells umbrellas, but also paintings, drawings, and wall art I've made between umbrella designs.  (The content changes frequently so check it out every now and then to see what is new.)
   
      Since you've last heard from me I've been shipping, painting, moving, and designing more and more!  I even brought Over Our Heads to the Shark Tank auditions in Los Angeles, my former stomping grounds, where we got through to the second round and made a fancy audition video! (It was an AWESOME experience and I did it thinking 'Why not?! It's exposure!'.  We never got a call back- I figure its because I'm not ridiculous enough for reality television ;) but I'm SO glad I gave it a shot! It was inspiring being around so many bright ideas) 

Right now,  I'm waiting to finish selling the first batch of umbrellas that were kickstarted- Once this first round is sold then more designs will come! I'm getting geared up for the holidays :)  (aka- wet weather season!) All sales will be shipped out within two days of purchase and include a free Over Our Heads decal!

I've also been plotting out ideas for a youtube video ad!  Just something quirky and fun to show off the umbrellas.  Maybe a little animation. Maybe a little live action.  I'll keep you guys posted on its progress!

For now- I'll leave you with the Thank You Cards that I hand 'doodled' for our $5 backers :) They ship out tomorrow! (so if your address has changed let me know noooow! The cards were enveloped at random so it'll be a surprise what you get.)

Talk to you guys again soon! The Facebook Page is updated way more frequently with silly umbrellas-isms, musings, and 'so this is happenings'.

High Fives!- Lauren

Hey all! so here's a quick update with whats going on: (this is particularly for those who are expecting umbrellas as their backer rewards)


The umbrellas FINALLY ARRIVED! They got held up in customs for a loooong time for reasons unknown to me (they're very secretive!) and finally showed up without warning on my doorstep. Could not be happier about this!  So: I've been invoicing people for shipping costs who are expecting umbrellas with PayPal. This was a mistake as it turns out- the paypal invoicing department has been glitching out of control the past couple of weeks.  I have spoken with a couple people from their staff and was left with "we're working on it". 

• SO: if you have received an invoice and you are having troubles with it- please contact me asap. I will send an alternative method of money request that evidently works.  

• If you are expecting an umbrella and have not received an invoice yet- its because I am going to send you that alternative request instead and am just working on them. And will get them out in groups this week.

and LET THE SHIPPING BEGIN! 

(ps they look AWESOME!)

All other rewards will also be going out very soon!


VERY EXCITED!


April is going to be a GREAT month!!

THEY APPROACH!

Hi Friends!!! Happy February!!  So since last month's update things have been barreling along.

The Scoop:

Like I said in my January post: 'the 'brellas will be ready in March!!' And I CANNOT FLIPPING WAIT!! The printing company that I am working with has given me, 'the beginning of week 3' as the ETA. Which means I'll be spending a whooole lot of time  (once I've organized them) at the post office, shipping your pre-orders! SO EXCITING! Just hang tight :) sooo close! Shipping invoices will be sent out soon. Thank you for your patience in this long process of printing on the interior of umbrellas. Since it is not a process that, all but a microscopic few, printers take on (due to the complexity) it has been quite the  roller coaster. And I am happy to say that the twisty part of the ride is over!  Don't puke!

heres a drawing i made for you

In other news I don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but the .net website domain is now a .com!  In case you weren't sure- .com domains can be super expensive and hard to come by- so I feel SUPER lucky in getting it.  I randomly met the owner to a domain selling company- and he just happened to have access to it. So he sold it to me for a very reasonable price after I charmed him with my mumbles and untied shoelaces.

The t-shirts are ordered and arriving soon as well!

The decals look awesome! and I'm putting them on things everywhere.

So, What's Next Lauren?! is the question i hear pretty much every day. Well folks- A LOT! With all the support I've been getting on this venture its been hard to lose sight of my goals and so far I've been SO lucky!  People have been asking about my marketing schemes, advertising methods, etc. Honestly- I've got a TON of ideas. Lots of them are underway!  Some ideas I have to keep under wraps because- well... they're too good to reveal just yet. Others are the obvious ones like the consideration of major retailers and/or selling from the website.  My ultimate dream is to have a store though- in the style of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory- BUT WITH UMBRELLAS instead of candy! And this will happen someday, once I complete the steps necessary to make it a realty.   In the meantime, I'm making plans, painting more custom designs, choosing future designs, and slowly but surely assembling the big picture.  

You all are the reason this is happening. Still cannot believe it! THIS IS HAPPENING! Thank you :)

ps- I've moved to Austin and it is wonderful! Now that I'm starting to settle in I'm going to be WAY more active on the Over Our Heads facebook and twitter! I'm feeling silly and energized lately so hopefully my updates will be quasi-amusing in between these mega kickstarter updates. 

hugs, kisses, and wedgies to you all!  Bring it on March!

February...and Oprah Magazine!

WOAH NOW!! Sooo much is going on this month! 


1st and craziest- OPRAH MAGAZINE's February edition finally came out! pg 124! Its featured in the "You, from A to Z" spread, which is about customizable things you'd want in your life.  The article is mixed with my work and other custom site that does a lot of weird stuff. Yay stuff!  The most important part of being in the magazine is that people can see the website and then see they can either get a customized umbrella OR a printed one (which is cheaper) in March. THANKS OPRAH! for featuring my work in your zine!

2nd and wicked awesome- The website, Overourheads.net ! Its up and running! Eric Wing, our glorified 'Webdude', did an amazing job putting it together! Now people can request and purchase custom hand painted umbrellas AND pre-order the printed designer 'brellas that Kickstarter.com backers funded (have I mentioned how much I flipping love you guys by the way?!?)


TELL YOUR MOM! FRIENDS! NEIGHBORS! pets? Do iiiiit :)


3rd and so cool- Went down to New York City last month and met with photographer, Brian Furbush (brianfurbush.com) who did a beautiful shoot of the designer 'brellas with models: Brandi Hamlin, Lex Bourke, and Marc Angelico.  It was a really cool experience! (and in actuality- it was freezing cold!) Marc was adorable to watch with two the gorgeous ladies on each arm and the girls remained smiley and cute despite the temperature being in the single digits.  Brian even got a nice shot of me (which is so rare! when I'm not caught with food in my mouth or looking slightly cross-eyed)


4th and oh wow- The designer 'brellas will be ready and deliverable at the beginning of March! Who's beyond excited? THIS KID!


5th and pretty great- I'm ditching my bi-coastal 'doing business as' title (Los Angeles & Boston) and re-establishing myself and the company in Austin, TX in just 2 weeks! Gonna drive down from Massachusetts with a car full o' 'brellas to paint and winter clothing that I'll probably never wear again.  Austin (the cute little blue dot that you are)- Hello! and here I come!... Does it rain a lot there? Abe, my giant black dog will join us soon too. 

  SEASONS GREETINGS!!! 

      Happy December everyone!! Are you all caught up on your favorite holiday movies?  I may or may not (have definitely) watched the Muppets Christmas Carol 3 times already.  So its a cold coooold day here in Massachusetts (although I'm sure its majorly brutal for our Canadian neighbors so I guess I can't complain too much) and I wanted to take a sec, reach out, and say hi!


- I've been super busy preparing things for the upcoming store site (due to be launched by January 1st! by our web guy, Eric Wing!).


-O Magazine is coming out in a couple weeks- keep an eye out for some familiar umbrellas in there ;)


-I've been painting up a storm with these amazing commissions you guys have requested! Really creative ideas! A lot more in progress :)

      So here's the scoop on the mass production of the designer 'brellas: The printing company has given me the ETA of March.  Way later than I had hoped but evidentially thats the nature of the printing beast. S'ok though! In the meantime, we're preparing everything that needs to be done for shipping to all that helped me on kickstarter.  T shirts, decals, and cards will go out with the pre-ordered umbrellas :)  *Those who are also getting custom 'brellas will hear from me waaay before then, don't worry ;)  One awesome thing that we're enabling on the website is: a Pre-Order link! Which means all your friends who are wicked jealous of you and those who were too late in pledging on K.S. can now get their 'brellas!  Another great thing that will be there is a "Custom Hand Painted Design" link. Not too shabby!

Here are the paper proofs that the printing company sent me last week! 

Gonna get the actual umbrella samples next week! So excited! 

Its the holidays and I'm super sentimental about stuff around these times- Just wanted to say: Thank you :)  I'm so so soooo grateful and excited for what I have and that this company (my dream!) is turning out to be even more amazing than I imagined!!  I'm a very lucky girl :)

Lots of love to everyone! Huge hugs all around!! and a high five for good luck ;)  

Hiiii and happy November guys!

So basically: a bunch of awesomeness has been happening!

1- A few weeks ago Good Day Sacramento took notice of the brellas and did a cute interview w/ me. I was super nervous but very happy I didn't giggle myself into submission.

2- A certain magazine, owned by a certain famous (and wealthy) female television host, will be featuring the brellas in an article after the holidays. *my head is still spinning! what?!?*

Sea Theme

French Cafe

3- I'm getting revved up for some serious commission paintings! The holidays are coming up and I've opened up the floodgates for brella and wall art requests!  If you would like a hand painted brella of your choosing for a holiday gift, contact me by December 1st.  I'm on a sea creature, stars and space, and robots, and silhouette kick lately so if you'e short on ideas :)

4- The site is still under construction, however, I've hired an excellent 'web dude' to expedite the process.  Very excited!

5- The printing of the brellas is underway!

6- Turned 27 recently- already a great year!

Hey everyone!! So sorry for the long wait in updates.  I've been crazy busy doing hand painted 'brella commissions and making the website. How've you all been? Happy Fall by the way!  Its been raining in Boston- so I'm obviously having a ball. As usual :)

Rain!

In other news I was contacted by a Mr. Cody Stark from Good Day Sacramento.  We're going to do a skype interview on TV, this Saturday morning around 6:40 west coast time about the umbrellas!!  If you're up and want some mild entertainment in my abilities as a mumbler, tune in and watch! (If you're in a different time zone you can watch here:  

gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/live-stream/