Peace, Love, Vegan for the Win

I was playing around with a new product grid generator that's default is set to pull the most popular products from a Zazzle shop. Without setting any additional parameters, I put the tool in motion and was surprised by the results.  Out of my top five products, three of them have the same design. Wow.

My Vegan Strong shop has over 500 products. That's a small number compared to many of the designers and shop owners I know but it's a relatively young project. Anyway, in the interest of getting my numbers right, I just counted how many vegan-related designs I've created over the life of the Vegan Strong shop. 57. Yep, that's the number. I've created 57 designs in total and the same one is on three out of my top five products. I don't know what to think of that. On the one hand, it must be a design with universal appeal (among us compassion-types). On the other hand, I have designs I think are far more 1) creative, 2) appealing, 3) striking, etc. This is a simple Peace, Love, Vegan design.

So, whattayathink? Do you like my Peace, Love, Vegan design? Yeah, but do you think it deserves three out of the top five spots? Honestly, I don't. But what do I know. The customer has voted with their wallets and for that, I'm grateful.        

A Selection of Popular Vegan-Themed Products

These are the top five items from my VeganStrong Zazzle Shop.

Vegan (in an elephant design) tee shirt

Vegan (in an elephant design) tee shirt

$22.95 USD

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Simple and to the point, this design features an elephant silhouette with the word "V...more

Peace Love Vegan Shirt

Peace Love Vegan Shirt

$25.95 USD

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This is a perfect shirt for vegans. It features the caption Peace, Love, Vegan in thr...more

Peace Love Vegan Mugs

Peace Love Vegan Mugs

$17.95 USD

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It's all about Peace, Love and Veganism. This bold graphic features the caption "Peac...more

Google this: Factory Farming Bumper Sticker

Google this: Factory Farming Bumper Sticker

$4.45 USD

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Let's help educate people about what "factory farming" actually means to animals with...more

Peace Love Vegan Canvas Bags

Peace Love Vegan Canvas Bags

$23.95 USD

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It's all about Peace, Love and Veganism. This bold graphic features the caption "Peac...more

I hope you like them. Thanks for looking. Peace.

Ringling Brothers Circus Eliminates Elephant Acts

Make note, today is a momentous day. It's March 5, 2015 and it's the day Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced they will eliminate elephants from their shows.

This is huge. Elephants have been part of Ringling Bros. since P.T. Barnum brought Jumbo, "a massive 12-foot African elephant," to America in 1882. If my math is correct, that means man has been abusing elephants and forcing them into unnatural circumstances and lifestyles for 136 years, after it's all said and done.

Feld Entertainment, the parent company for The Greatest Show on Earth, told the AP it would phase out elephants by 2018, citing animal welfare concerns. I'm delighted about this but wish they would act a little faster. The good news is that the herd of 43 elephants will retire to a 200-acre animal sanctuary in Florida. It's still not the wilds of Africa but it's better than what they have endured.

Some of my favorite quotes

The Humane Society of the United States said: “This is a startling and tremendously exciting announcement. With consumers now so alert to animal welfare issues, no business involved in any overt form of animal exploitation can survive in the long run.”

ASPCA President and CEO Matt Bershadker said: “This is a tremendous victory for the elephants ... as well as for everyone who fought for this change. We continue to oppose using elephants or any wild or exotic animals in circuses, carnivals and other traveling animal shows." 

A while back I designed this shirt and I'm happy to say it's been an excellent seller.

Today, in  celebration of this announcement, I designed this shirt.

(Click on images for product details)

Remember this, we ARE making a difference for these animals! I'm happy for what we’ve done and excited for what’s to come.

Peace.

New "Friends, not Food" Design

Who doesn't love a cute cartoon pig, cow and chicken?

Recently, this old vegan adage scrolled through my feed: "A non-vegan sees a photograph of a pig and thinks bacon. A vegan sees a photo of bacon and thinks that's a pig." It's so true, and the message resonates with me every time I see it. In fact, it prompted me to create a new design in my Vegan Strong Zazzle shop that includes the cutest cartoon faces of a pig, a cow and a chicken accompanied by the words "Friends, not Food."

What's that? You'd like to see a few products with the design on it? Well okay then. Here you go...     

Friends, not Food Dinner Plate

A dinner plate is a provocative way to communicate the idea that farm animals should be free to live; that they are not a commodity to be inhumanely raised for your consumption. Adding this to your dining table is about as in your face as you can get. 

Friends, not Food Jigsaw Puzzle

 This colorful jigsaw puzzle would make a wonderful gift for a young, budding vegetarian or vegan. The cute, friendly animal faces are easy for young people opting for a plant-based diet. I chose green for the background but you change the color to whatever you like.

The ubiquitous t-shirt

You know I couldn't do a new design without putting it on a t-shirt. Here it is on a simple black tee but there are loads of t-shirt colors and styles for you to choose from.

Friends, not Food iPhone Case

The design is available on all types of cellphone cases; I'm showing it on an iPhone 6 + here.

In all cases (if I've done this correctly), the links below the product should take you right to them. If you'd like to check out my other cruelty-free designs then please pop over to the Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop.


And if you have a special cause or need for a design, I'd be honored to help you with it. Let's do everything we can to speak for those who cannot.

Peace.

End Circus Cruelty T-Shirts and Hoodies

The circus recently came to the town where I live and my heart hurt the entire time they were here. Life is brutal for circus animals, they live in barren conditions, spend over 95% of their time in confinement and suffer unimaginable torture and deprivation.  Do yourself a favor and never Google images of the methods used to train these splendid wild animals. Once you see the photos, you can't unsee them and they will haunt you.  Education by way of leafleting, protesting, etc helps spread the word but I wanted to do more so I designed a small line of "End Circus Cruelty" products. Here is an example of a hoodie, and if your interested you can pick from a variety of colors.  As compassionate beings, let's do what we can to shine a light on circus animals' lives of misery. Wearing "End Circus Cruelty" apparel will, hopefully, open a dialogue so we can educate people on the atrocities. Go vegan! End Circus Cruelty by VeganStrong Order This Product Share this product!

Stop Animal Experimentation

Do yourself a favor and NEVER Google animal experimentation. And God forbid, if you accidentally hit the images tab, click off as quickly as possible. Or don't. If you've got a strong will and staunch conviction, let the images compel you to take action. 

I'll save you from the images on this blog; I'm doing that for you as well as for me. Instead, I'll leave you with some thought-provoking thoughts on animal experimentation.  

"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction." ~Charles R. Magel

 "The cruel experimenter cannot be allowed to have it both ways. He cannot, in the same breath, defend the scientific validity of vivisection on the grounds of the physical similarities between man and the other animals, and then defend the morality of vivisection on the grounds that men and animals are physically different. The only logical alternatives for him are to admit he is either pre-Darwinian or immoral." ~Richard Ryder

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham

Peace.

"Compassionate" Vegan T-Shirt Designs

Hello Folks. I've spent a lot of time on animal advocacy lately and the work inspired a few new women's t-shirt designs with a compassionate flavor. Now if I've done this right, you can click each image to learn more or purchase a shirt. As always, you may easily change the color or style to suit your personal style. Check them out and let me know what you think. 

Compassionate Warrior

Peace begins on your plate

I am a proud animal advocate

True fashion is compassion

Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop

In an ongoing effort to spread the word about living a compassionate life, I've opened a shop on Zazzle. All of the products are designed with words and graphics meant to promote veganism. If you're in the market for a gift you'd like to give a fellow vegan, I hope you'll browse around and see if there's something appropriate.

Likewise, if you want any special words or phrases designed for apparel, home decor or gifts, let me know. I'm always looking for inspiration.

This is my shameless self promotion.
This is my Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop:

Click the logo

Help me spread the good word!

Peace.