If you live in the Boston area I will be speaking at the “85 Broads Boston University Spring Conference 2010″ on March 27th. The intercollegiate conference aims to empower women in all areas of their lives. It will feature diverse speakers and panelists from a variety of fields including: Marketing, Advertising, Finance, Fashion, Government, Advocacy & Politics, Non-Profit, Consulting, and Entrepreneurship!

Details about the event including registration can be found here:
http://bubroadssc2010.eventbrite.com/

I’ll be talking about how I started my company wanart along with some of the risks, challenges and rewards associated with having your own design business. The emphasis is going to be about finding and following your passion. Hopefully, you will leave the event feeling inspired!

Congratulations to the three winners of our Book and Button Giveaway!

The three winners are:

rachel
Submitted on 2010/02/08 at 11:18am
how fun!!! I love those pins!!! so exciting!!Im sure all my boys will love hearing me read thebook!

jullee
Submitted on 2010/02/09 at 1:18pm
This is super cute..my daughter would just love it!

catherine s.
Submitted on 2010/02/09 at 7:13pm
Kawaii cuteness! Me likes a lot!!! Just adorable.

You’ll each receive a signed copy of “Greetings from Kiwi and Pear” and and a set of 12 Kiwi and Pear buttons.

I’d like to thank everyone who entered – it was so nice to hear from all of you! More giveaways to come soon!

I am excited to share with you all a nice review of my book “Greetings from Kiwi and Pear” by onelittleroom.com and an interview I did with gadling.com about the Lunar New Year. I provided excerpts below but you can click on the links for the full articles.

onelittleroom.com:
“The book is cute as can be. It comes with a poster and stamps that you can use to track Kiwi and Pear’s adventure as they travel the globe and onward into space. Tornado Boy loves it and so do I.”
Read the full review here: http://bit.ly/bobdhT

gadling.com:
“For the Year of the Tiger, Wan has also created infant bodysuits cleverly packaged in a clear Chinese take-out container (from $24). Can you say adorable?”
Read the full review here: http://bit.ly/bkqsLC

Thanks onelittleroom.com and Amy at gadling.com!

The Wanart booth at NY Gift Show 2010. It was nice meeting everybody who stopped by!

To celebrate the release of our new kiwi and pear buttons I am having a drawing to give away one signed copy of the book Greetings from Kiwi and Pear along with a set of 12 little buttons featuring kiwi and pear and their friends including sweet treats, fig, a birdy buddy, lychee, coco, flight, ruby, kokeshi, a fruity friend, and a babushka sister! Buttons are 1″ in diameter and are great for adding just a little cuteness to your life by pinning to your clothing and accessories! Just leave a comment below to enter. I will randomly select one winner a week from now and announce the winner on the 12th. Good luck!

UPDATE: Since I received SO many nice comments – I’m going to extend the deadline for the giveaway until Monday, February 15th and select not one but THREE winners!! Happy Valentine’s and Chinese New Years! Wishing you all a year of love, luck and prosperity!

UPDATE: Winners announced here: http://kiwiandpear.com/wp/?p=648

xo ~Joyce

Gearing up for the New York International Gift Fair at the end of the month. I will be debuting new Kiwi and Pear designs among other items! Please stop by and see us in the Wanart booth #1848 if you will be attending. Take a sneak peek at our new gift enclosure collection!

Just added! Click image below to meet some of Kiwi and Pear’s many friends:

Hope everyone had a nice, peaceful holiday full of smiles and good times! As you can see we launched a new website as we have some big things planned for Kiwi and Pear for 2010. Please sign up for our newsletter so that we can keep you up-to-date on the latest Kiwi and Pear news and give-aways.

Here’s a cool commercial I saw that shows how cute little faces can appear in everyday objects in the world around us! ENJOY!

It snowed here in New York City tonight – it snowed a ton (by New York City standards anyway). It was like Mother Nature’s last hurrah before the end of the year. I couldnt wait until the next morning and went outside to experience and enjoy the spectacle first hand. There’s something about the first snowfall of the season that always churns up feelings of childlike wonderment and excitement. What is it that’s so magical? Maybe it’s the way the snow blankets the world in white and everything seems so fresh and new. Or perhaps it’s the warm childhood memories of unexpected days off from school and all the hijinks that would ensue – sledding, snowmen, snow angels and snowball fights galore. In the back of my mind I know this feeling won’t last long. Soon enough I’ll be yearning for the warm breezes and long, sunny days of summer. But let’s not think about that right now. We should all just enjoy the moment, welcome the first snowfall of the season and seize the opportunity to get back in touch with the child that is in all of us. Happy holidays everybody! – Joyce

I was excited to find that Greetings from Kiwi and Pear was mentioned in National Geographic’s mywonderfulworld.org December newsletter and was touted as  “A great gift for budding geographers!”

My Wonderful World is a National Geographic-led campaign—backed by a coalition of national business and non-profit organizations—to expand geographic learning in school, at home, and in communities. Their desire is to give kids the power of global knowledge. Since the campaign launched, more than 80,000 people have signed up to show their support.

Click here to view the newsletter.

Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays!