Jeans Publishing: Did you know I wrote a book when I was a teenager?

I was a young entrepreneur. When I was 13, in grade 8, before I had internet, I started a publishing campany called Jeans Publishing with my friend Holly and the help of our Mums. We got funding to start our business and began taking on the DIY (do it yourself) circuit around Ontario attending conferences and seimnars on evenings and weekends.  We often set up a booth to talk about what we were doing and where we wanted to go. We though it was important for young people to have their work published, we were tired of people not taking us seriously just because we were youth. So, we did it ourselves. We started a quarterly newsletter called Jeans Material where we published young peoples work and sent it out to out to over 100 subscribers across Canada. Each subscriber paid $5 for a one year subscription and we printed them all ourselves. We were official with our ISSN which allowed the identification of our serial publication. We wrote an anthology of poetry and prose called JEANS and in 1996 I became a Published Canadian Author. Our book launch was at the Preston Library Branch on November 7, 1996 and we sold 81 books that night. One dollar from the sale of each book went to the local womens crisis shelter. This is me presenting the cheque. Don’t laugh at my bangs, there were horrible back then. Jeans was an acronym that stood for Junior Education & Achivement Network System (tongue twister?). I’ve hunted around the internet to find stuff about it but it was so long ago, there’s nothing. (I’m sure newspaper archives exist.) Here’s what I have kicking around the house, most our stuff back at Mum’s tucked away. We were in heaps of papers and it makes…

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talkin that blah blah blah

It was weird not tweeting at all this weekend. I feel funny. Interesting & funny post about Gaga’s style I read here. I’m stoked for this week. I need to go to bed, I know I’m tired but I just can’t sleep.  Hate that. The amazing thing (or creepy?) about Facebook is finding all the people you met at an event right away. I bet everyone came home and checked FB. Posted my bloggy on the Budweiser FB page when I got home. Let the creeping begin. haha Saved having biz cards! Need to get some before NZFW for sure. I miss my stickers. They were the best hit ever. I like when  people ask ‘what do you blog about?’ Got that a bunch this weekend. Left my pillow at the house we stayed at, gonna miss that baby. There was a rose quartz crystal in the pillow case, that’s the one for love. I had them for years, the crystal and the pillow. It’s just a thing though, I’m over it.  Sabrina cleaned the house up so nice while I was gone. Totally wonderful to come home to. I’ve kinda cleaned my room. Love life. Later. ♥ Nice shirt.

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mashable social media day :: toronto

I like social and media. And I like talking. Pix frm the event are here via Kevin Chung. Here’s my talk, I hope you enjoy it. Casie Stewart (@casiestewart) at #SMdayTO from Ron Wolf I like talking about how many awesome people I have met through twitter. How I got a job because I really loved the internet, being social and sharing creativity all over the place. I like landscape photos better than portrait. I like when the sun shines through the clouds and you can see it coming right at you. I like writing the stories as they happen and living out all kinda of adventures. I like being positive, it’s really the best medicine you can give yourself. I’ve always liked to write. In 1996 my friend Holly and I, with the help of our Mum’s publihed and anthology of poetry & prose called JEANS. It was all kinds of things we had written in Grade. 8. I wanna publish a new book. I have hundreds written verse and such just dying to have your eyes. Words all wanting attention. I’ve decided to hire and intern, I need some help with the casiestewart.com stuff. Looking for someone unique, someone kinda like me to be honest; loves internet, learning, sharing, twitter, hard work, fun. There’s always skill involved but the things that really matter most are not learned in class. What I think (1996) I’d like to do more public speaking. I like it and I’m just getting started. I won in a speech competition about a hundred years ago when I was younger. This one time, in drama class, I read my whole speech with my back facing the audience, it was the speech you tell youself before you go on stage. The two minute “you can do…

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sorry i forgot, i was thinking about that oil spill

Gawd o’ lordy. It’s already half way through the day and I’m feelin’ energetic and ready to get lots done. This is what I’m thinking… Hungry and need to grab something to eat. I wish I made my damn lunch. Lotsa tricks up my sleeve  and plans for summer coming together. Looks like I’ll be in Boston in July and heading North for Wakestock in August. Submitted my time off for work, god I love Summer. Tempted to go for a tan tonight to keep my Florida glow.  I know it’s bad for me but I’ve got some left and already paid for it so either way, I’m paying. Tomorrow night I’ve got the Biz Media party and Friday is SATC2 with my sis. Next week is the Sailor Jerry screening/rum party and I’m finally introducing Carly to Jenie.  Gonna be a great scene with free rum drinks and lotsa babes with tattoos. Great news from my sister today about attending the LADY GAGA concert. ZOMG. Can’t freeeking wait. I haven’t got my bike fixed yet, I miss riding her.  I’m frustrated I’ve not gotten a new camera yet, I am a camera serial killer for real.  Next camera is gonna last, I won’t kill you well, I might but I  never really mean to hurt you camera. Spending time at home with myself tonight, need some time alone to internet and tidy my room. Hope to have a Skype chat with friend and relax a bit.  Feeling like a robot on auto pilot moving fast and not taking time to smell the roses. Maybe I’ll sew something tonight? That would be a good idea, Zoey misses me, I know she does. Ok time for a snack, I’m about to eat my arm.

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in a past life i was a blog

I’m recently watched Objectified, a doc about objects and design. I’ve been waiting, wanting to watch this and sit in my room for ages. Me, my bed, my gadgets; laptop, camera, flipcam, phone, monitor, sketchbook, reading book, memory cards, usb/wall charger. Objects of my affection. The whole time I’m thinking about web and design, blogging and user interaction, activity. “a big part of who you are as a designer is the way you look at the world” jonathan ive, senior vp industrial design, apple This is also a big part of what makes a good blogger, the ability to show the world how you see it through a different perspective. Taking something and designing it to be interesting. “when you see an object, you make so many assumptions about that object” The movie is artistic and filled with industrial design, computer technology, ergonomics, materials, form, connecting, analog, digital, spoon, chair, shape, look, feel. Making gadgets  better.  Making things user friendly. “improve the way people do things without them really knowing or thinking about it” “users react very positively when things are clear and understandable” What are you saying in your header,  the way your blog/website move, images, widgets, pages, reading, writing, categories, colours, links. themes. There’s so many things to think about, so many opportunities to show creativity in detail, design. phases of modern design formal logic or the object symbolism, content, rituals, cultural symbolism contextual sense, technological, human/object relationships “everything that has ever filled your world had been designed” “every object tells a story, it depends how you look at it.” henry ford

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you make me happy when skies are grey

Woke up to a beautiful sunshine this morning. It doesn’t matter what happens in the day if I wake up and see a beautiful sunrise, I’m happy. It’s just so pretty. Remember when I posted about Movember? How are your faces growing? Good? Nasty? I hope you’ve got those babies groomed cause this Mo Sista is a JUDGE at the Toronto Movember Gala at the Kool Haus. Starts at 8pm, be there and find me if you want to win a prizey-prize. One of my Tweeps Gregory Alan Elliott told me he left a poem for me somewhere downtown and if I found it I win a  prize. Is this it? Did i find it? Ooooh me loves prizes! I’ve written lots of poems. Did you know that when I was 16 I wrote and published an Anthology of Poetry and prose called JEANS [sorry it’s not online anywhere yet, I was still a book/pen/pencil girl]. A friend and I started a publishing company and then won young entrepreneur of my city. Fancy that! This is one of my most favorites, I wrote it at 7am walking along Bondi Beach in 2004. Enjoy & have a wonderful day! As the waves crashed on the shore the wind washed them away And was I walked along the sand I felt I could not stray For I was walking towards the sun And it was a brand new day

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