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.