One of our current interns, Dawn Bjork, is a lover of all things green and fashion related. We wanted her to write about her recent experience designing ecofashion clothing for the ReVamped show in Chicago. We think her work and ideas are quite amazing; please read about her participation and insight below!

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Just recently I was involved in a green fashion show called ReVamped. EarthShare of Illinois sponsored the event, and it was an amazing night! For those of you that do not know about EarthShare of Illinois, it is a non-profit organization that participates in public and private sector workplace giving campaigns on behalf of its member organizations. I was pretty amazed that I had never known until a few months ago about ESIL, seeing that they contribute to places that I visit and read about all the time, like Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, National Wildlife Association, and more than 60 other organizations….they are pretty amazing.

The night was about celebrating and promoting the beauty of eco-conscious lifestyle practices. What was super amazing about the event was that it didn’t only promote some really cool fashion designers, it also awakened the guests to all sorts of green “things.” Read the rest of the entry >

Do you need to take an umbrella today? Sometimes here at Rule29 all we care about in the weather report is if we need to take an umbrella with us in the morning. Luckily this site was made just for folks like us (iPhone app available too). Just type in your zip code, and Umbrella Today? will tell you if you will require one. You can even sign up get text message alerts for you on the days that you do need an umbrella!

So, do you need an umbrella today? Are rainy days even that bad? Do you like to sing or dance in the rain? Let us know in the comment section.

2002 was a challenging and exciting year. Challenging in the sense that the economy was shaky, and as a young firm we were going after it and trying to establish ourselves. We had added to our team and were exploring new types of work. We really dove into Flash and worked with several partners on creating Flash-based sites, instructional DVDs and games to promote products and services. (This was also the time everyone was trying to do those business card CDs…remember those?) We had a heavy book/publishing niche and worked on a lot of brand and identity projects. Between those two “specialties” we strove to create better and better work. Justin also became a board member of AIGA Chicago to help us be more engaged in the community. We continued to support Alice Cooper’s charities as our pro bono work, and Rule29 was looking forward to a great 2003, where big changes were just on the horizon.

Check out the 2002 samples here!

What were you doing in 2002?

You might be, without even knowing it…

Can apathy toward injustice hold a person as a captive, unable to make a difference? Or maybe it’s not the apathy, but the lack of information of how to truly help those facing harsh realities of poverty-stricken lands. Well, we’re about to find out.

Our good pal, author Kelsey Timmerman, has been taken hostage by his publisher, because of his indifference to injustice in Kenya. Since being “detained” to raise money to go serve in Africa, Kelsey has learned about Kibera, the largest slum south of the Sahara. Over 1 million people live on the outskirts of Nairobi in a slum where the average person lives without clean drinking water (read: mixed with sewage as there is only one latrine for every 100 people), without education (especially girls), and subject to gang tyranny, among other sad factors.

It’s time to do something.

Kelsey is hoping to raise enough money to partner with LIA, MacDonald Photography, and yours truly, to film a documentary about what can really change the situation: holistic community development through micro-enterprise. By giving people at the grass-roots level not only the dignity but also the practical necessity of having a stable, respected occupation, communities can change tremendously for the good of all. Together, we are hoping that this documentary will make the everyday American not only aware of the situation in African slums, but also of how to realistically help that situation change.

Want to escape apathy and help now? You can donate to the cause, learn more, help decide Kelsey’s fate by voting, or tweet this:
“Don’t be Held Hostage by Apathy! http://bit.ly/ae2XCA #apathyhostage”

Plus, all donors’ names will appear in the film credits. If you can’t wait for the release this fall, check out This is My Home, our first documentary about the street children of Ethiopia, and how LIA is working to bring hope into a desperate situation there.

Oh, and big props to our friends at Wiley and Relevant for helping us get the word out!

It’s that time of year once again…when we take a moment to reflect upon the most newsworthy events of the past 12 months. If you really want to go back down memory lane you can take a peek at our lists for 2007 and 2008 as well. So, in no particular order, here our top 29 of 2009:

1. Michael Jackson dies at 51. We’ll miss you, King of Pop

2. Tiger Woods wins another Major, coming within four of Jack. Later in the year, he loses sponsors and goes on hiatus when affairs are made public.

3. Facebook and Twitter continue their rise in popularity.

4. Notable people including Farah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Ed Kennedy, Danny Gans, Patrick Swaze, Walter Cronkite and Brittany Murphy pass away… just to name a few.

5. H1N1 (originally known as Swine Flu) breaks out worldwide

6. Balloon boy fools the nation

7. Somali Pirates terrorize the seas

8. Rule29 is published in four books including: The Graphic Eye and Caffeine for the Creative Team

9. Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States

10. The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro

11. Rule29 believes that Books Matter

12. Bernie Madoff orchestrates the biggest Ponzi Scheme in history

13. Kanye West upstages Taylor Swift

14. Sarah Palin announced resignation as governor of Alaska

15. Oprah announced resignation from her syndicated talk show

16. Miracle on the Hudson

17. Steelers win the Superbowl and Yankees win the World Series (again)

18. Jon and Kate Gosselin file for divorce

19. Rampage at Fort Hood.

20. Salmonella outbreak from peanut butter

21. Octomom delivers eight babies in California

22. General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy

23. According to Jim, Deal or No Deal, King of the Hill, Prison Break and ER series finales

24. Conan O’Brien takes over for Leno on The Tonight Show

25. Healthcare overhaul introduced and debated, and debated…

26. Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in as the first Hispanic Chief Justice

27. Twilight New Moon fever sweeps the nation

28. Lady Gaga is weird

29. Rule29, MacDonald Productions and LIA debut their first documentary, This is My Home

What were your top moments of 2009?