When: Thursday, September 22nd, 2011; 5:30-8PM

Where: The Patio at The Arts Factory/ Bar + Bistro; 107 E. Charleston Blvd.

Price: $10 admission at the door

Description:

Circles magazine will team up with The Arts Factory and the Attic to showcase vintage fashions with a modern twist in a live fashion show outside on the patio of the Bar + Bistro. 20 models will showcase 20 outfits from various decades. Photos and an account of the show will be featured as the focus of the style section of issue 05 of Circles magazine themed “Trash 2 Treasure” (November 2011). Fundraising efforts will consist of ticket sales ($10 entry per person), raffle ticket sales at the event, and a silent auction of the outfits featured after the show. The event will start at 5:30pm with mixing and mingling, the fashion show will begin at 6:30PM, and the remainder of the evening will be the silent auction and more socializing. Our goal is to raise enough money to upgrade our website with an audio version of the magazine, sales of electronic subscriptions, a blog for additional articles, video documentation of recipes and DIY projects, additional ad space for magazine sponsors, and a web-based retail shop for Circles merchandise. Any additional funds raised will be used to purchase much needed computers and software for our growing number of program participants. See you there!

TSI Artists and Staff at the new AFAN Residence

On Wednesday, August 10^th, TSI artists, staff, and magazine contributors attended the ribbon cutting for the new AFAN supported residential community, Esperanza de Casa, meaning “House of Hope”.  The 12-bedroom structure will provide residence for people living with AIDS/HIV in Las Vegas in need of housing assistance.  Once fully operational, the property will also provide 8 additional apartment-style residences complete with a community garden known as Esperanza de Jardin, or the “Garden of Hope”. 

We were approached by Derek Washington who is facilitating the garden design, to contribute to a 200’ mural that will be painted by a variety of Las Vegas artists.  He also asked if our talented artists could contribute to the garden signs that will mark the plots with the names of the people who contribute to their care.  Transition Services will have their own plot to tend, as an opportunity to not only beautify the residence, but also grow plants and seeds used in many of the handmade products sold by our company.  The social interaction with the people who live in the home will be of great benefit to both the residences and the individuals we serve, not to mention how fun it will be to get outside and dig in the dirt!  Studio 8 Ten resident artist, Cinnamon Reeves designed the mural, which will be a large, colorful mosaic sun, and other TSI artists started to work painting the wall the day of the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Once we got on board with the garden project, Magdelena Brandon, the interior designer for the project, also requested we help out with a few other areas of the project.  Since our Vegas Drive location has created their own unique art style using rolled balls of handmade paper scraps to make mosaic-style artwork, they have become quite popular to visitors to the site.  Magdelena fell in love with the large pieces we showed her, and decided a smaller version for the welcome signs that will grace the doors when the new residents arrive would make them feel right at home.  We also contributed a set of our handmade bath and body products to each room, as well as painted plant pots created by the contributors of Circles magazine.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony attended by members of AFAN, as well as Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, City of Las Vegas HUD officials, and members of Senator Harry Reid’s office, we were able to share a few words about our organization as well as our mission to not only provide meaningful work opportunities for people with disabilities, but also to truly teach the people we serve the importance of being a member of a community.  Helping others is one way we can reach into the community and lend a helping hand, even as a non-profit team.  By lending our talents and skills to assist others, we can show the community that non-profits, specifically those serving people with disabilities, are not always sitting on the sidelines with their hands out, but also are willing to pitch in to better the lives of others.

Photos by Domonique Clay-Brown

Handmade paper and Cards for sale at the Red Rock Canyon Gift Shop

 We are very excited to announce Red Rock gift shop as our new Community Sales Partner!  Last Monday, June 21^st, we delivered our first stock of handmade paper products to be sold in the gift shop.  They will be selling both traditional handmade paper in assorted color packs, along with a very special Plantable paper (and cards) with indigenous desert wildflower seeds embedded.  The National Conservation Area director and the Gift Shop Manager visited Studio 8 Ten for a product tour several weeks earlier and fell in love with many of the products.  After much thought, they settled on some of the card designs already sold at Studio 8 Ten, but also requested several new designs be created especially for their venue.  Some of the new designs that the artists at Transition Services came up with include humming birds, Joshua Trees, and an adorable burro.

Mojave Max

The day of the product delivery was especially cool for the TSI artists at the Spring Mountain site who volunteered for the task.  After dropping off the goods to the gift shop, they ventured out to the tortoise habitat and were witness to one of the female tortoises laying 13 eggs!  The eggs were being collected by park staff, and brought to a safe place to sit before they hatch.  They learned that a female tortoise can hold her eggs for up to 5 years before laying them.  In this case, canyon staff thought this might have been the cause of some grumpiness by this particular tortoise in the past couple of years.  The product delivery was made even sweeter when they also got to see 2 other tortoises mulling around, including the famous Mojave Max.  Apparently, this kind of tortoise spotting is quite a treat, as desert tortoises spend an average of 95 percent of their lives hiding out.

Updated Gift Shop Look

It’s getting hot out, Las Vegas, and that makes Studio 8 Ten the perfect place to CHILL OUT!  Thanks to our friends at “Gifts in Kind International” and the Hospitality Design Trade show, we have added some sleek new furniture to our gift shop, creating a contemporary and comfortable seating area!  In addition to how cool it looks inside, our new shop supervisor, Annie McCaffery and the Studio 8 Ten sales team have done wonders with the displays of new and existing products made throughout the company.  Today is the perfect day to come by and see what’s new!

Nevada Senator John Ensign took time on Wednesday, February 17^th to show his appreciation to the community-based art studio, Studio 8 Ten, for the services they provide to adults with disabilities in the Las Vegas Valley.  He took a guided tour of the studio, provided to him by one of the artists who receive services each day.  He had a chance to see all the wonderful products made at Studio 8 Ten and throughout Transition Services.   He also had the opportunity to see the artists in action, making handmade paper, preparing for an upcoming birthday party, and sharing the talents of February guest artist, Kelly Patterson.  The Senator was greatly impressed by not only the quality of services, but also the uniqueness of the handmade products, especially the plantable cards.  He presented Studio 8 Ten with an official certificate recognizing and honoring the location “for your outstanding commitment to providing useable skills and meaningful employment to disabled individuals in our community; with appreciation for the difference you make in the lives of those whom you serve”.  His personal visit on Wednesday represents the third time members of his office have been to Studio 8 Ten, and the 2^nd time this month Nevada legislators have been to the studio, reminding them of the importance of funding programs that provide important services to the members of our community who have disabilities.

“Transition Services people are all about job creation, economic well being, safety, and having a fun life. We all work together as good citizens for a better world.”

– Gaye M. Mansell, Board of Directors

“I want to commend Transition Services and the staff there for the understanding, compassion and friendship they have shown my daughter. My daughter, along with others, feel worthwhile because they go out to work like most of us do. I have had the yard crew come out and they do an excellent job. I feel very fortunate to know these caring people and most importantly, the men and women that are in their care. “

— Judy DeZarn, parent of Transition Services program participant

“Affordable quality services. I am proud to support members of Transition Services.”

– Laurie Van Leiden, satisfied customer

“I literally went from a situation where everyday my son would be telling me he didn’t want to go to work, to him wanting to go all the time. It’s wonderful to see how Transition Services works with him…this is based on honoring the individual.”

-Michele Taylor, parent of Transition Services program participant

A new Transition Services business, TAKE 5 FOR K9s, provides dog walking services to the Heaven Can Wait Animal Society at their Saturday adoption event. Thanks to Heaven Can Wait, developmentally disabled adults gain valuable work experience as volunteer dog walkers and get to spend some quality time with some great dogs looking for a good home.

Transition Services, Inc. is a nonprofit organization providing employment to adults with developmental disabilities.

For more information please call us at 468-5264

What once seemed like only a dream to the individual artists working in Transition Services’ handmade products business, officially came to fruition on the afternoon of May 29th, 2008. Studio 8 Ten, Las Vegas’ only community-based art studio supporting people with disabilities, hosted Mayor Oscar Goodman to cut the ribbon and make the opening of the studio a celebration and a total reality.

Construction began on what was once the Heavenly Bliss wedding chapel in January of 2007, and the building has a whole new face, and a bunch of new faces. With its upscale, urban décor and open studio space, this new program facility offers individual artists the opportunity to be thriving members of the downtown community, and expand their skills related to design and production in the already-successful Transition Services handmade products business. They also have the opportunity to engage in customer interaction while learning new skills, like running a cash register, in the gift shop area. The public is welcome during business hours to visit the studio, interact with the artists at work, and purchase or place custom orders of the amazing handmade products.

The products offered at Studio 8 Ten range from handmade paper products, like the popular Plantable Thankyou notes that are all-the-rage amongst the Las Vegas business community, to a http://studio8ten.com/2009/11/featured-2/selection of bath and body products in 17 fresh scents, to dog toys, and logo t-shirts. With well over 50 different products available, and more coming by Christmas, it’s worth a visit to the up-and-coming downtown oasis. Make it an afternoon by visiting the Potato Valley Café for lunch…it’s right across the street!

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Mayor Goodman reflected on what a welcome addition Studio 8 Ten is to the downtown community while waving around the squeaky dog bone he purchased during his personal guided tour of the studio by artist Nora Miranda. The celebration continued into the following week with activities building up to the Grand Opening on First Friday, June 6th.

Studio 8 Ten is located at 810 South Las Vegas Boulevard, between Gass Ave. and Hoover Dr. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, from 10AM- 6PM, with extended hours on First Fridays from 10AM-10PM, (closed July 4th). Stop by during business hours or call 644-9418 for more information.

Transition Services is excited to announce our new cat care program, KITTEN SITTIN’, which will assist the POPPY FOUNDATION. The Poppy Foundation, which is affiliated with the Bonanza Cat Hospital, houses and takes care of cats that are mostly unadoptable due to health issues. The Poppy Foundation was created in 2001 after the passing of Poppy, Bonanza Cat Hospital’s famous cat. In the last eight years more than 300 cats have benefited from the Poppy Foundation. Through this new project Transition Services is further expanding its mission of offering work activities that contribute to the further independence of our participants and provide unique services to the Las Vegas community.

The POPPY FOUNDATION’S volunteers, technicians and veterinarian, along with Transition’s staff members will supervise and facilitate the animal care experience for our participants. The activities will occur at the Poppy Foundation’s cat sanctuary, located next to the Bonanza Cat Hospital at 7550 West Lake Meade, Suite #1, Las Vegas.

The benefits for both the individuals and the animals are enormous. The Poppy Foundation cats are a mix of old and young, playful and very sleepy kitties that are comfortable around people. All the cats will get a big boost by having plenty of opportunity to socialize, be groomed and just plain loved by Transition’s individuals. Participants will learn real-life skills which will help us grow the Kitten Sittin’ program into an independent lifetime care program for cats that have outlived their owner. Individuals will have an opportunity to learn cleaning and maintenance skills, how to properly care for cats, and will have plenty of time to enjoy the company of the kitties.

Please visit the Poppy Foundation web site at www.PoppyFoundation.org. and the Bonanza Cat Hospital at www.LVCatVet.com. If you have any questions, please call Matt Schneider, Pet Project Coordinator at 702-468-5264.

4545 W. Spring Mountain Rd, Suite 111, Las Vegas, NV 89102