Wishing Event

by

Saturday, December 14th 11am-4pm

wish: /wiSH/verb: 

Feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that is not easily attainable

So Me is partnering with World of Mae and SSeko designs for a Day of Wishing! Fill out your holiday wishlist and make an impact by shopping for a cause. We’ll make sure your loved ones know exactly what you’re wishing for this holiday season. Join us for snacks, mimosas, sharing laughs, giving back, making wishes, buying meaningful gifts, and supporting women. All are welcome, including kids! Children are welcome to play in our supervised children’s area and make crafts. Come and help us make others’ wishes come true and make some wishes of your own too!

World of Mae supports Ada Mae, a remarkable young girl who was born with a rare genetic disorder. So Me offers a collection of goods made by talented makers from our region and beyond. SSeko Designs is a global fashion brand whose mission is to create lasting change for women globally by providing dignified employment and university scholarship opportunities for women in East Africa. Read on to learn about how together we’re making an impact in our local community and in the world with our Day of Wishing!

3 Women, 3 Causes, 3 Wishes

World of Mae: Celebrating Ada’s spirit of hope & courage

World of Mae (WOM) supports Ada Mae Grashow, an Indiana Township girl living with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome(PMS). PMS causes complex lifelong debilitating disabilities, yet Ada’s spirit is full of hope and courage. WOM allows us to construct vital supports needed for Ada to thrive within a respectful community. In April of 2018 WOM created an inclusive high quality yet low cost mini early learning center. Current WOM funds are being raised to create an in home therapeutic water facility specifically designed for Ada’s very unique medical fragility. In Spring of 2019 Ada lost access to consistent water therapy. Consequently many aspects of her health & quality of life have deteriorated considerably. An in home therapy pool would provide daily access to gentle exercise her body needs to maintain functionality & live the full dignified life ALL children deserve. 

We are so grateful to partner with local businesses who share our dedication to empowering the community around us. The beauty of the aesthetics they produce and share match the beauty of their hearts and commitment to rising above, together. Ada Mae was born with such complex medical fragility and it is because of community leaders like Amy and Althea that she will live a full, dignified life, just as every child deserves. 

-Katie, World of Mae

So Me: Championing local artists since 2009

So Me Artisan Wares and Jeweler’s Studio, serves the greater Pittsburgh area with fine, handmade gifts, home decor and custom jewelry design, repair and sizing. So Me is proud to support vendors that are donating part of their profits to charity by offering a collection of artisan wares benefiting good causes.

My vision started with having so many talented friends who would create amazing multimedia pieces and then sit on them; what seemed to be lacking in the area was an outlet for their work to be seen.  Now I get to experience daily the imagination and talent of these artists in my very own store!  It inspires me daily to have original works of art in all medias making up my surroundings. The variety is always changing and I am always looking for new talent and ways to support the local community.

-Amy, So Me

SSeko Designs: Providing dignified employment for women of East Africa

SSeko Designs is a global fashion brand whose mission is to create lasting change for women globally by providing dignified employment and university scholarship opportunities for women in East Africa. Sseko began as a way to generate income for high potential, talented young women in Uganda to continue on to university and is continuing to grow its impact with artisans around the world too!

This holiday season consider giving gifts that are not only gorgeous and crafted with love but that create impact.  A portion of all purchases will help support the needs of Miss Aida Mae.  Shop with purpose this holiday season and get to know the stories and the makers of the gifts and treat yourself items you will cherish for years to come

-Althea, SSeko

Want to learn more about how we’re making an impact? Follow the links above for additional information.

TRIPLE THE GIVING, TRIPLE THE IMPACT, AND TRIPLE THE FUN!

Let’s Celebrate Spring and Moms– We Love Both!!

by

Rewarding, exciting, exhausting, funny, challenging, busy, proud, amazed, unknown, thankless, thankful, strength, grateful.

These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think of myself as a mother and when I think of my own mother, who taught me strength, respect, and unconditional love for our family, as well as how to attempt to fix anything, because she literally can!

To all Momma’s out there- From single-mothers to step-mothers to grandmothers…we salute you for taking on the hardest job out there and we thank you for everything you do for your families!
XOXO

JOIN US!!!!

WEDNESDAY. MAY 1ST from 5pm to 9pm

Take a little break & relax with us at So Me. Enjoy food and drinks served all evening. Sample our new “edible gifts” — DELICIOUS pesto spreads from Bella Cucina – One of Oprah’s “Favorite Things”. Browse our new lines, recent in-house designs, and a new clothing line we can’t get enough of. Complete your evening with a complimentary chair massage by professional therapist, Ryan Slye. And of course, catch, up, let go, relax, laugh, meet new friends, and bring your “old” ones :)) It’s worth the trip & you are worth the treat!

STRENGTH: moral power, firmness, or courage.

by

“You never know how strong you are, until strong is your only choice” ~Bob Marley

Everyone needs it, everyone has it…..This beautiful charm was created to be worn in honor of your strength, to remind you how strong you are. Move that mountain, to show others it can be moved. May you see what happens when you do not give up and continue to show up. May you grow through what you go through.

https://somepgh.com/product/strength-charm-sterling-silver-with-blue-diamond/

With every sale of this necklace, A portion of sales will be donated to the Spin Your Wheels Fundraiser, benefitting Riding for the Handicapped of Western PA (RHWPA), therapeutic horseback riding for children with special needs. This event is very near and dear to us here at So Me.

RHWPA Inc. is a therapeutic horseback riding program that has helped children and young adults with disabilities for well over 30 years. It is run entirely by volunteers and funded exclusively by donations, fundraising, and grants. There is no fee for riders to participate in the program, just a very small donation toward insurance is requested.

There are so many amazing benefits to therapeutic horseback riding and you can read about them here but it will give you a fuller appreciation for it (and it will warm your heart) if you stop by sometime to actually see how these kiddos react in their horses. They are always looking for volunteers! 

Therapeutic horseback riding supplements traditional physical therapy and educational development by improving muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor skills, self-esteem and general well being. 

HERE IS A FUN FACT: *horseback riding rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait!* Because of this, riders with physical disabilities often show improvement in flexibility, balance and muscle strength.

So Me Created Strength Charm, with or without a blue diamond.
https://somepgh.com/product/strength-charm-sterling-silver-with-blue-diamond/
https://somepgh.com/product/strength-charm-sterling-silver-necklace/

April Birthdays Come with Diamonds

by

As a jeweler, I am often asked to design jewelry incorporating the birthstone of the recipient. I have also designed pieces that incorporate the birthstones of family members that are living or loved ones that have passed as a way to keep them close and present for the person wearing the piece.  

I must say that some of the luckiest ladies are born in April as they have a diamond as their birthstone. To me a diamond is an amazing stone because it is truly the best and most durable stone to wear every single day, no matter what you are doing (within reason— don’t forget that prongs can loosen or break and a thin exposed girdle on a marquis or pear engagement ring should not be worn while say, demoing your bathroom). Rinsing the dishes and loading the dishwasher or planting a few spring flowers shouldn’t be problematic, making them an ideal stone for everyday rings and bracelets— something I would not suggest for a May (emerald) or October (opal) birthstone ring, as they are lower on the Mohs hardness scale.

Another reason diamonds are incredible is their glimmer even when dirty; but forget about it when they are clean. Their eye catching rainbow holograms are unrivaled. They can add a sparkly pick-me-up to a gray Pittsburgh day and remind you that you forgot your sunglasses on a sunny afternoon with their blinding twinkle.

And there is more variety in diamonds than you may think. Recently, I have begun a relationship with a colored diamond supplier and the stones he sent me are stunning. I would be happy to speak to anyone who would like to know more. Did you know diamonds come in almost every color? There are red, orange, yellow, pink, green, blue, purple, brown, and black and not all of them are reserved for multi-million dollar, bank-breaking, celebrity engagement rings. They also come in some wonderfully dainty, light reflecting, exquisite cuts.

Out of all the many wonderful things a diamond is known for— eternal love, strength, and beauty, one of the lesser known facts is that the word diamond comes from the Greek word, ‘adamas’, which translates to unconquerable. As a female business owner that works with other women of all ages, I am very aware of the strength we possess. We don’t always feel that way, with the many bumps in the road we face. Relationships have ups and downs and some have endings, we perform multiple thankless tasks each and everyday that can physically and emotionally exhaust us, we have weight fluctuations, in-laws, bills, caring for elderly parents, dreams not yet fulfilled, and moments we just want to pull the covers over our head and not leave our beds for the day, but we are resilient, we bend without breaking and pull ourselves up again. Each one of us has a fire inside, one we need to tend with self love, understanding, and patience as well as moments of self affirmation.

Sadly, many women wait for diamonds to be given as a gift. Well ladies, if we wait for diamonds the way we wait for just-because flowers, the consistently back burner home project to be completed, or our new hair cut to be noticed we might wait a really, really long time. We need to celebrate ourselves. Buy that special piece of jewelry we didn’t receive at the holidays or on our birthday.

Whether April is your birth month or not, diamonds remind us every time we look at them that something so magnificent and beautiful came into it’s own unique and incredible form from extreme pressure, just like all of us. 

Our Why

by

why shop with u

There is no doubt that the retail landscape has changed considerably since the (almost) ten years that SoMe first opened. Everyone is busy and it seems online shopping is no longer a luxury as much as it is a norm. Yet, here we are! A small local business started from a simple dream about to celebrate a decade…

The dream that grew into SoMe was a vision rooted in creativity. I wanted a space where local artisans could gather together and showcase their work. A place where patrons could come to find quality one of a kind products crafted right in their hometown. As well as a place where I could cultivate and grow my own creativity as an artist and custom jeweler.

And through the changing landscapes of how we shop and how we live, the essence of that dream has remained intact. I have had the privilege of meeting and brandishing the talents of myriads of local artists, while simultaneously growing my own custom jewelry and repair business.

So if you are someone who is wondering what SoMe has to offer, and why you should consider shopping local, here is the list!

We offer a huge variety of artisan crafted goods. Our local artists put care, soul, vision, and tremendous creativity into everything they create. From ceramic artists to beading geniuses to exquisite knife carvers, you can find a gift for anyone on your list.

We have the means to get nearly anything custom created — from clothing, jewelry, pottery, paintings, and signage to wedding, baby and sympathy gifts.

That ring from Aunt Martha that has been laying in the bottom of your second drawer for 15 years because it’s “just not your style”? We can make it yours.

That awesome necklace your best friend from college got you for your 21st birthday that stopped it’s tour of your body when you ripped it off with your turtleneck that year turtlenecks were in? We can get it back on tour.

That one of a kind special gift you need to find for the friend who listened to you cry for 13 months over a guy named Roger? We have that. We promise.

And we also have YOU.

Yep, definitely the greatest side-bar that came out of fostering and following my dream was getting to know you. And your stories. Your laughter. Your families. Your likes. Your visions. Your lives.

So keep on stopping by. And we’ll keep creating. Custom lives together.

XO

somepgh