it's a draw!

calling all speesees kids!

pull out your pens, pencils, and paintbrushes, cause speesees is looking for the next picasso! between now & august 1^st, children from 1-8 years old can send us drawings & paintings of their favorite animal, plant or human species. the winning artwork will appear on a limited edition speesees organic cotton t-shirt for our fall collection. the winner will receive 10 (count 'em, 10!) speesees t-shirts featuring his/her design and will appear on the speesees website and blog. 3 runners-up will also have their artwork appear on the speesees website. enter now, little artists!

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rules:

*open to all kids far and wide, ages 1 to 8.

*entries must be postmarked or e-mailed by august 1, 2007.

*one entry per child.

*winner will be announced in september & limited edition tees will be released for the holidays.

to enter:

*children should submit artwork of the species of their choice.

*children should write an accompanying explanation of why they chose their species & any information about the species that they would like to share (little tykes who cannot yet write may narrate in their own words & have a parent transcribe).

*include child’s name, age, & address, with a phone number or e-mail address for winner notification. information will not be shared with third parties.

scan and e-mail entries to:
speesees@gmail.com

OR

snail-mail to:
speesees drawing contest
2325 3rd st. suite #342
san francisco ca 94107

go draw!

respeesees

reuse...recycle... respeesees!

we’re very excited with our “respeesees” program! take advantage of it now!

the scoop: when your baby outgrows his/her speesees, if you return the clothing to us, we will donate it on your behalf to one of several organizations in the area, to be used by the children of disadvantaged women. please contribute items that are in wearable condition!

what you get in return: in exchange for recycling your outgrown speesees, you will not only get warm fuzzies from helping children in need, but you'll also receive generous discounts towards future purchases of speesees. The more you recycle, the more you save!

“respeesees” 1-3 items, get 10% off one future order!
“respeesees” 4-6 items, get 15% off one future order!
“respeesees” 7 or more items, get 20% off one future order!

so, how do you “respeesees”? just mail your outgrown speesees to:

attn: respeesees program
speesees
2475 3rd st. suite #252
san francisco ca 94107

please include your name, address, and phone # or e-mail address, so we can confirm receipt of your items and send you your discount coupon! easy peasy!

fyi: the organizations that will benefit from your “respeeseesing" include…

The Homeless Prenatal Program
Homeless Children’s Network
Building Futures With Women & Children
La Casa de las Madres

aye-aye, captain!

this month's speesees endangered species is the aye-aye. the aye-aye is a primate found in madagascar (an island off the coast of africa). it has rodent-like teeth, a squirrel-like tail, and a unique long middle-finger. it uses this long finger to tap on tree trunks and locate grubs inside the tree. it then gnaws a hole in the tree and pulls the grubs out with its long finger. yum!

the aye-aye is on the endangered species list. at one time, it was thought to be extinct, but a few remaining animals were rediscovered in 1961, and there are several aye-ayes being bred at zoos to increase their numbers. aye-ayes are threatened by two things, both caused by humans. firstly, its habitat is being destroyed as human-beings log forests to create sugar cane and coconut plantations, leaving the aye-aye without any food or home. when it tries to eat the sugar cane or coconuts, humans treat it as a pest. secondly, the natives in madagascar also have superstitions about the aye-aye. they believe it is a symbol of death and falsely believe that the aye-aye comes into houses to harm people while they sleep. unfortunately, these superstitions lead uneducated villagers to kill endangered aye-ayes when they see them.

how can we, as humans, help save the aye-aye from extinction? there are several organizations that are involved with preserving habitat in madagascar, including conservation international and the world wildlife federation. you can help the lil' aye-aye by supporting either of these two organizations. speesees works in partnership with the wwf, and we have donated our product to auctions supporting the wwf in the past.