Rain Rain, You Can Stay

One of my favorite things about Carhartt as a brand is their realness. I don’t mean that in the fluffy sense of the word. If we know anything, it’s that this gear is rugged. It’ll take a beating and last a lifetime. It’s not meant to be worn lightly. It’s the kind of clothing you never tire of wearing. You’re not tossing it out the next season because of flippant fashion trends. You hold onto it for years because it’s reliable.

That brings me to the point. Maybe you’ve seen the most recent Rain Defender® commercial. If not, check it out. The photos above are behind the scenes from the making of that spot. None of those people are actors. They aren’t pretending to get dirty. That’s what a normal day is like for them. Carhartt is a brand of the people. Carhartt is dedicated to the folks who get their hands dirty and those who outwork them all.

Glass Artist Ona Magaro

In a time when men outnumber women in films 3 to 1 on screen, unequal pay based on gender still unfairly affects females on a day to day basis, and social media and advertising outlets are repeatedly beating women down with unrealistic and often times contradictory expectations about beauty, health, and happiness; it’s time we stand together and let out stories and experiences bring about an era of change. Let’s applaud the women who are out there defying stereotypes and pushing forward in careers and fields where they are outnumbered. From one woman’s triumph shared to another’s inspiration spurred, small changes will amount to larger ones that can eventually redefine what it means to be a working woman.

Ona Magaro’s glass creations and her life story are quite the achievements to admire. She has turned her passion into a thriving business. After years of fine-tuning her craft, her work is breathtaking and unlike any I’ve seen. Take a look at the glass sculpture Ona created for us, from start to finish. She envisions the body of a bird by utilizing the simplicity of a single color and an elongated curve, free flowing and elegant. But don’t let the airy nature of her art fool you. It’s hard work, requiring a tremendous amount of physical strength and a heaping load of creativity. Her advice to anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps is to study marketing, accounting, and writing to build a successful business around the artistic talent.

As Oscar Wilde would say, we live in a world where “life imitating art” is an everyday occurrence. May Ona’s art and experiences be something that young women can look up to and hope to emulate as they grow and discover what path they’ll pursue. When I asked Ona what she wanted to teach her children about the arts, and how she hoped her work will affect the way they interpret the world around them, her simple response is what I hope to share with you, “That anything is possible.”

Ona’s workwear: Carhartt Women’s Long-Sleeve Signature T-Shirt, Women’s Series 1889 Slim Double-Front Dungaree, & C-Grip Knuckler Glove

last photo above taken by Jessie Moore