friends Archives - Taylor Street Favors

Posted on June 14, 2019May 30, 2020 by Derek

Why We [still] Love June

June is for celebrating marriage, fathers & PRIDE

We originally posted June is for Celebrating in 2017 – sure feels a life time ago. Not long after the 2015 Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, David and I began to wonder if a business like ours — built on a commitment to not just marriage equality, but basic equal rights and inclusiveness — might within a few years become so commonplace as to be inconsequential. Ahem…turns out, we were wrong.

Pride month is a reminder that our actions matter, and that we have a long way to go. And while we are grateful for the support so many brands show this one month, discrimination continues year round. And importantly, commercialization of Pride doesn’t automatically create support for the LGBTQ community. What can you do to lend your support?

Donate to organizations like The Trevor Project or HRC.
Shop at gay-owned businesses like ours, or our Lilly & Taylor ETSY shop, not just in June, but all year long.
Attend your local Pride Event – celebrate with your friends & your community.

It’s Pride month! Happy Pride!

And it’s also David’s and my wedding anniversary month (!)

And it’s Father’s Day! Since our family has two dads, two amazing sons and now, one grandson (!!), we have plenty to celebrate.

Since Taylor Street is all about celebrating, we love June!

There is a common thread to these celebrations, and to all celebrations — and that is the sense of community each promotes. There is a sense of belonging and acceptance — and love — that is created when you and I take time to honor tradition, our families, our respect for one-another. And while modern families are increasingly diverse, at their core they remain much the same…

David and I will continue to share stories of people and their celebrations — of all types —throughout the year. We do this to support a sense of community, celebrate its members, and strengthen our collective bond. Because, as Lin -Manuel Miranda said in his amazing 2016 Tony Awards acceptance speech, “Love is love”, nothing here is promised – not one day.

We also will continue to post profiles of wedding industry professionals who support inclusivity and marriage equality.

Thank you for your support & Happy Pride! Please share with us how you are celebrating Pride, celebrating Father’s Day, celebrating your marriage, or – like us – ALL THREE!

#loveislove #NoH8 #lovewins #LGBTPride #Pride

Posted on November 23, 2017May 30, 2020 by Derek

All American Family

simon-maage-351417 — Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

Tired of the SEO-optimized click-bait titles and bored by breathless Black Friday pre-sale announcements?

Me too.

Add in 24/7 race-to-the-bottom political news and it’s tempting to just give-in to the sky-is-falling-so-might-as-well-get-used-to-it voice in my head and trudge silently toward December. Tempting, but that’s an excuse to not do this Thanksgiving post I’ve committed to. And I absolutely believe in Yoda’s “do or do not, there is no try” attitude-is-everything philosophy. So I write. My topic — giving thanks this Thanksgiving.

I am giving thanks to family – my family.

This year, Thanksgiving itself will be a very small gathering. The reasons are many. The larger local family is adjusting to a new marriage and the restructuring this brings. With new additions to guest lists and newlywed hosts at the helm, we could sense the anxiety and ambivalence of having a really large group for dinner and graciously excused ourselves.

Our parents are also not joining us this year. My father’s worsening dementia makes it difficult for him to enjoy gatherings. The disease makes it increasingly hard for him to have a conversation, and that plus the noise and unfamiliar surroundings causes him to withdraw. I will instead have a Thanksgiving lunch with him at his facility. David’s mom is unable to travel by air, is unable to drive herself here, and is too far away for us to drive her to us and back. FaceTime will have to do.

So it will be David and me, our son and one other adult, someone who consistently and passionately works (and it can be work) to remain involved in our 12 year old’s life. He will be with us for a few days over Thanksgiving, and we are so glad that he will be here. He is family.

He is as family as it gets in my world. He continues to choose by his actions to be involved, to listen, to make spending time with us a priority. He wants to. Not many adults show that dedication and loyalty.

What defines your family?

David’s and my family is not defined by blood, it is defined by commitment. Our family is defined by trust and support. We care about, care for and look out for each other.

Big picture — families, however they form, are a reflection of the effort its members put into maintaining and encouraging them. Their spirit and relevance are a direct result of a concerted effort. Most importantly, families are worth celebrating, especially those families that do not fit neatly into a traditional definition, are seldom acknowledged, and sometimes marginalized. These diverse & modern families are American families too.

Who will your family include this Thanksgiving? Will there be new members, whether because of relationship or circumstance changes? Or, are you about to “be that newbie” in someone else’s family? Either way, let’s all plan to not just try, but to do — and take one definite action step that will demonstrate the importance of your family to you and how glad you are to be a part of your family this year. Someday, they might be all the family you’ve got — and, as it turns out, all the family you’ll need.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on December 9, 2016May 30, 2020 by Derek

A Little Inspiration Goes A Long Way

I haven’t written a post in awhile — since November 8 I haven’t felt inspired, honestly — not an okay space to set up shop and wallow in for long. So, just in case you too find yourself motivation-challenged, I’ve linked to three recent posts from a few of my favorite sources that are helping me to get up and go — to work.

Parisian Walkways: Passage du Grand-Cerf, by Jeffrey T Iverson

I love reading this online magazine. I mean – it’s Paris! But more than the city itself, this article’s inspiration comes from the small shop owners, who have taken a chance, focused on their trade, and believe in the value of a well-made item. These artisans take pride in their work and the master-craft traditions they preserve. Many of them also set up shop originally when this passage was a neglected eye-sore and stuck with it. These stories helped to reenergize my passion for Taylor Street Favors, our wedding favors and gift business, whose inclusive message may become less accepted, making it ever more important for us to stick with it and promote.

What I’ve Learned In 38 Years Of Surrounding Myself With Confident People

This inspiring article, from Fast Company contributor, Michael Thompson, ticks off 7 qualities he’s picked up from the confident people who have been a part of his life. I was nodding in agreement as I read.

Finding joy in others success, and celebrating it with friends and family, is so important – both to your friend [duh!], and to your well-being as well. The act of celebrating is empowering – doing so makes you, your friends, and family happier and stronger.

As Michael quoted in his piece from Kareem Abdul Jabbar, truly confident people just want “to play the game well and go home”. In the wedding industry, trend spotting and trend-following are omnipresent, so Kareem’s notion of not requiring other people’s approval really resonates with me, which connects me to my third inspirational piece, on…

The 17 Hottest Wedding Trends for 2017

Articles pertaining to trends in this industry are e v e r y w h e r e, and not surprisingly often repeat the same tedious do’s and dont’s of the season. David and I believe strongly in helping you create a ceremony, a reception, or a party that feels authentic to you. We believe that just because some look, color or theme is trending does not mean it is worthy of following or repeating. However, we don’t live under a rock. We do like, and need to have, an awareness of what is going on in this industry to be able to keep our store fresh and relevant. I think this article does a good job of providing an overview without gushing or selling you on any particular view. Most importantly for me – these trends are not a surprise, and I am realizing David and I are getting quite adept at hand-selecting items that are well made, a good value, and will be interesting to our customers. Woo hoo!

Here’s to confidence in all you — and we — do.

Let’s aim high and do this.

Posted on May 22, 2015July 12, 2019 by David

The Guest List

Derek and I are getting married next year. We have been talking about this for the last two plus years. Over the last eight years we have created our amazing family and made friends that have become like family. We have been fortunate so pulling together the guest list should be easy, right?

Well, sort of. Our guest list will be somewhat long, around 150 people – we actually decided to cap it there. And yes, this is longer then we imagined when we first started thinking about this two years ago. Once you start thinking about it, there are so many people that bring meaning to your life that the question becomes: when does the guest list pass from being an intimate affair to a full on conference?

We started with the usual: parents, siblings & kids, aunts, uncles & cousins – this number came to 30 give or take (it could be more but I suspect a few would not be able to attend). It’s a good start. A small intimate family wedding sounds nice doesn’t it? Hang out with the in-laws. Keep it casual. Have a few beers and then get hitched. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’ll be able to use terms like in-law with true recognition of law in its meaning. Surrounding yourself with family on one of the best days of your life seems like a nice way to spend the day, but you know we can’t stop there.

Next, we decided we had friends that felt like family who we would want there with us. Our friend Jeffery would be at the top of that list. His support over the last ten years has allowed Derek and me to build and strengthen our relationship by being Leo’s uncle. Always there as another guiding light in Leo’s life, his commitment to our family has been consistent and steady. Because of this connection we also have decided to ask Jeffery to officiate the ceremony. There are a few others in our ‘fr-amily’ that we added to the list. Friends were added who stood by each of us before we were a couple and continue to be there today. Friends we have made together as a family. For our son, these represent his lifetime of relationships. Now we are up to 60+ guests.

Yes, the list goes on topping out at 127 for now – leaving us lots of room for adding and subtracting. Unexpectedly, the most beautiful thing about making this list is that we are able to look at moments with each person, couple and family we invited, what connected us to them and why we felt it was important to have them be a part of our celebration of each other. Friends and family help mold us into the people we finally choose to be. So here we are at the beginning of our wedding journey remembering some amazing people and what they brought to our lives, there by completing our guest list. Now to get location booked, the ‘Save The Date’ cards and the invitations designed. Yikes.

How did you decide on your guest list?