I participated in a Mimi + You Celebrate Courage workshop at The Spoke Club in late May.

Celebrate Courage gives women an opportunity to express their hopes and plans for the future through art, creativity and collaboration.

The “Creative Workshop” held at women’s shelters are a place where women can move away from their worries and come together to focus on a new way of expressing themselves. Necklaces made by the women in these workshops represent the celebration of their courage and accomplishment. They can choose to keep their pieces or donate them to be showcased on the MiMi + You website, Proceeds are given to the shelters, thereby giving these brave women in need the chance to further support other women in need.

Our Corporate and Community “Creative Workshops” give employees and members of our community the opportunity to learn about the important services women’s shelters provide. And in these workshops you will learn how to create “One of a Kind” necklaces that are as much about fashion and art as they are an expression of the women who make them. All necklaces are then sold by MiMi + You with proceeds donated to women’s shelters.

Donate your idle jewelry to be used as product and creative inspiration at the workshops. Send us your old jewelry visit www.getinvolved.ca and take the challenge. To schedule a shelter or corporate creative workshop, find out about our upcoming community workshops, or to volunteer as a workshop facilitator please visit www.mimiandu.com/courage

The workshop was $20 dollars to participate. I’m not a very artistic person so I wasn’t sure how this necklace was going to turn out. I had no plan at first so I gathered beads that I liked the look of.

Things started to take form and I brought some chains into the mix. I was surprisingly better at creating a necklace than I expected. My jumble of ideas came together pretty well and it really surprised myself.

The end product turned out pretty good. It was a necklace that I would wear myself. It hasn’t gone up for sale on the Mimi + You Celebrate Courage product page yet, but I will be sure to announce when you can purchase it yourself.

If you would like to participate in a workshop there are a few scheduled during the next few months:
June 24, 2009 – July 22, 2009 – August 19, 2009 – September 23, 2009

Workshops start at 6:30 p.m. sharp
Participation fee is $20 per person

The Spoke Club
600 King Street West
4th floor, Cellar Room
Toronto, ON

To RSVP please visit the Mimi + You Celebrate Courage website.