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Why?
When I was 7 and my sister, Carrie, was 10 years old, we lost our father to heart disease. He was only 37. As adults, we watched our step father fight through melanoma cancer and leukemia, and eventually die from the latter. Most recently, our mother succumbed to dementia and slowly deteriorated for eight years, until she was finally freed from her suffering. And, we're sure this is not uncommon. At some point, disease touches everyone, whether it’s you or someone you love.

Then, there are global issues that touch us all, and make us want to advocate change, things like world hunger, child abuse and animal cruelty. These are causes you want to get behind, because witnessing the devastation, neglect and violence is almost too much to bear.


There’s so much to be done in the world. The big question is, how do we make a difference? We’re not Bill Gates or Angelina and Brad with millions of dollars to donate to our favorite causes and charities. Many of us work hard just to make ends meet. But, we’re tired…tired of global warming, cancer and heart disease. Yet, we just don’t know how our small contributions could possibly make a dent in changing anything.

This was the reason for the “I’m Tired of” concept. What if we could build a community of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people, each contributing a small amount? What if we could create very inexpensive, but cool fashionable products that people could buy, and in doing so, they would be making donations to a multitude of causes that are important to them? If it snowballed, we could raise millions of dollars to fight for the world's most important causes.

And, that’s where we’re hopefully headed. We’re not sure we’ve come up with the ultimate answer to change the world overnight, but we’ve got a realistic solution that we know could make a big difference.

The Bracelets

The “I’m Tired of” bracelet concept was sparked by the success of Lance Armstrong’s effort to raise money for cancer with a simple silicone bracelet. When we set our criteria, we decided that, like Armstrong’s, first and foremost, it had to be inexpensive so everyone could afford it. And, equally important, we had to be able to make a substantial donation to charity from each one. We’ve accomplished both. For every $10 bracelet sold, we donate $5 (that’s half) to important causes. You pick the cause and your bracelet and the donation will automatically be made on your behalf.

Next, our products had to be both eco friendly and fashionable if we wanted lots and lots of people to wear them. We’ve spent the last eight years in the fashion business, the last two in eco fashion. Both of us have practiced a green lifestyle for many years, not in a treehugger kind of way, but always keeping our Planet in mind in a modern way, and making changes. Last, but not least, we needed the bracelet to be completely made in the USA.

The first concept was to literally take tires from our landfills and have them melted down to make the bracelet straps. We quickly found out that wasn’t possible, because tires are made from Vulcanized rubber and simply don’t melt…they just burn. For a while, we gave up. Then, several months later, like kismet, we came across an American company that had patented a process to, in essence, recycle used tires into sheet rubber, and it all came together.

We also thought our play on words was pretty clever. The bracelet straps are made from recycled TIRES…get it…I’m TIRED. But there's more to "I'm Tired of," read on...


Next was design. We had worked with a very talented silver jewelry designer on a previous project, and it was a no-brainer for us to bring in Joseph Bortoli to design the bracelets for us. He came up with the perfect idea, which incorporated a large bead, made from recycled metal, in two different styles, with the words “I’m Tired of” and the cause emblazoned on it (i.e., “I’m Tired of Cancer").

And, he designed them so they also look great wearing several at a time. We want people to give them away to friends as gifts, wear more than one themselves, support different causes or emphasize one cause. That’s how this effort will explode and succeed.


So what are you “tired” of?


Who We Are
Dan Hoffman and Carrie Pollare are brother and sister. They have been business partners for more than 20 years. Together, they built a very successful computer products company from the ground up, with more than 100 employees and over 100 million dollars in annual sales. Then, with their strong backgrounds in marketing and business management, they started a product development and marketing company to help inventors and designers, who had great ideas, but didn’t know how to develop them and ultimately bring them to market successfully. This, in turn, led them into the fashion business and, subsequently, into eco fashion, where they've helped create several successful product lines.


Most recently, they launched WhiteApricot.com, which is a leading online newsletter and website, covering news, tips and trends in eco fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Carrie, whose background, prior to working with her brother, was in journalism and publicity, is the editor of the publication. “I spend my life immersed in cutting edge design and innovative products, all with the mission of helping the Planet,” Carrie explains. “And, by reporting on them and getting more people educated and involved, we make a difference, but I felt we could be doing so much more. This is our way of delivering a fashion statement that truly can make a difference in the world. I can’t wait to see people walking down the street wearing these bracelets.”


Dan adds, “Living a modern sustainable lifestyle and always looking for ways to give back by engaging in worthy causes have always been priorities for me and my wife, Katherine, who is also deeply involved in doggy rescue and adoption in Los Angeles. The opportunity to take a simple, inexpensive and cool eco friendly product, that shows support for great causes, and then donate half the sales to these causes was irresistible. We can raise millions
of dollars through thousands of caring people, all doing just a little bit.”


Joseph Bortoli found his calling when surfing and spiritual quests led him through Mexico, Europe and Asia, after which he created his jewelry brand, Nagual. Today, his work can be found in some of the finest stores in the country, including Saks Fifth Ave., and on many high-profile celebrities, like Jon Bon Jovi, Colin Farrel, LL Cool J and Randy Jackson. “When Carrie and Dan approached me and asked me to design a great looking bracelet, made from recycled tires and metal, I thought it would be a fun challenge,” says Joseph. “When I was told it had to sell for only $10 and half of that was being donated, I thought they were crazy. I had never designed anything for less than $200, let alone $10, but I really got on board with their idea to raise money and awareness, so I ultimately figured it out.”

 

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