Doing Good!

Jose and I will be running the Chicago Marathon again this year.  This will be our fourth year, and we are both running to raise money for charity.  If you have followed our blog in the past, you may recall that health and fitness play an important role in our organization.  In addition to Jose and me, we have other runners on staff.  Many are dedicated to their sports, yoga and fitness routines.  Numerous people bike to work, and we support each other in eating and living healthy!  Now we are expanding that commitment to make a difference to those around us.

We Appreciate Your support

Please consider supporting us as we work to enhance our community.
I am participating in "Run for AIDS Chicago"  This is a grass roots fundraising effort.  100% of all donations go directly to AIDS education, counseling, testing and outreach.  Their mission is to empower everyone living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS to live open, healthy and productive lives.

To learn more about the services we are supporting, or to make a donation, please follow the link below: http://runforaids.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=1014938&u=1014938-361526320

 
Click Here to Donate

Jose is running in support of the Chicago Area Runners Road Scholars.  The Road Scholars use running to teach at risk youth important lessons in commitment, dedication and discipline. To make a donation to the Road Scholars, please follow the link below:

http://www.razoo.com/story/Jose-Perez-Fundraising-For-Cara-Road-Scholars-2012-Bank-Of-America-Chicago-Marathon-Team

We appreciate your support and encouragement!

Thanks Very Much,

Darren

Gold Leaf Blog

My last day at Gold Leaf, and after eating deep dish pizza and more cupcakes than I care to count, I must focus and finish up my last quote, and one last blog post. For those of you reading the blog, this will be one of the last posts for a while. The blog has sort of been tasked to me this summer and I am leaving to go back to school (as this was a summer internship). I hope that someone takes over the blog, but I do fear a little for the post consistency. This fear though probably does not warrant staying here and not finishing up school - it is my last semester after all and then I will have earned my masters in architecture! This is something that I am really excited about too. While working here is different than working on building design, it has made me think a lot about architecture and the final product - and how so many people go into creating the feel of a space.

Just remember though, Gold Leaf does have a Facebook, and readers, this is probably a sound way to pester them to share their many stories.

Memories of the cape, with a twist...

I will always associate outdoor showers with Cape Cod. There is nothing like coming back from the beach and hopping into one made from wood that has weathered over time. In HouseLogic's  Outdoor Shower Ideas they feature several takes on this, and they include ours, which is simple design decorated with Wall Play 'Seed' in blue and lime. Follow the link and find us under slide 8, the title Form Follows Fungi, a suiting play on the famous quote by Sullivan, "form ever follows function". Our Wall Play is a form that allows for multiple functions, and in this scenario, it serves as a beautiful solution as to how to hang towels, bathrobes and loofahs.

Summer with our Imperial Wood Lanterns

Look for us in the summer addition of Chicago, Home + Garden. Our Imperial Wood Lanterns are a perfect decoration for the summer, but we think that these pieces can transition into any fall scheme rather nicely.

At Gold Leaf we love cupcakes

Keiana Gooden, our Inventory Operations Specialist,  makes amazing cupcakes, that is a fact here at Gold Leaf that we love, but our waist lines may resent. With a passion for baking she is always looking to try a new recipe. She does not eat the cupcakes herself, so we become the ever-so-willing taste testers.

This morning I sit here having a stare-down with my cupcake which I hope to save until after lunch. Molly, who has more restraint than me, is currently making sure everyone who passes by tries a cupcake (this is a hard task).

Today's Flavor, Cookies n' Cream:

And here are some past ones:

And because cupcakes are more than just delicious, but aesthetically pleasing, these arrangements were inspired by their small stature and whimsical qualities.

We are in Atlanta Soon!

Darren, Allan and Michael are in Atlanta for the AmericasMart trade show this coming week. We have some amazing products to share! If you are in town you should stop by!!

Visit us in High Design, booth # 2W - 1 - 115, July 13th through the 17th.

"Spring in the Desert"

According to Flowers& our Manzanita is a perfect contrast for spring flowers. The texture adds depth to the arrangement. Something to keep in mind when conceptualizing your next custom floral arrangement!