Chucks for Fiver 2013 - New Batch of Converse!

We have a great new batch of Converse up for Auction this year in CHUCKS FOR FIVER!
This group will be sold on Ebay, but all proceeds will still go 100% to the ALS Association of Georgia.

"Wild at Heart" Converse by Lucky Butterfly

Converse Low-Top Chuck Taylor Sneakers size 7 (Womens SZ 9). Hand painted by Lynda Wilson of Lucky Butterfly Art & Design. The art is based on her print "A Prayer for the Wild at Heart kept in Cages", featuring an orange & yellow background decorated with birds, cages, and the title. The entire shoe is painted and the effect is very bright and striking in design.

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Doctor Who Converse by artist Joelle Saveliev

Artist Joelle Saveliev, who donated the incredible Hobbit and "Toothless" chucks that were so popular last year, has outdone herself. She has taken a pair of Maroon Converse and created a stylish Homage to Doctor Who. One side features a "Keep Calm and Call the Doctor" text over a swirly Gallifreyan background, and the other is the Dalek "Victory!" propaganda poster from the "Victory of the Daleks" episode. A copper pinstripe and Naugahyde laces complete the classic look. Bidding starts at $60.

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Custom Painted Ren & Stimpy Converse by ArtGirl H

Charcoal Converse Hi-Top Chuck Taylor Sneakers size 10 (Womens SZ 12). Hand painted by Art Girl H with scenes from Ren & Stimpy ("Space Madness" and "Stimpy's Invention"/ "The Happy Helmet"). More of her work can be found at her website, http://www.ArtGirlH.com. CAN YOU RESIST PRESSING THE CANDY-LIKE "BUY" BUTTON?!?!?

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Custom Painted OWLY Converse by comic book artist Andy Runton

Original art of "Owly and Friends" by Owly comic artist Andy Runton! Andy draws very cute comics and he's one of the nicest guys on the face of the earth, and he's painted all four sides of these Chucks with great night time scenes from his new book "Bright Lights and Starry Nights". All proceeds from this sale go to the ALS Association of Georgia. You can find more of Andy's work at http://www.andyrunton.com/owly/. Own one of these wearable works of art today! It's all for a good cause! http://www.ebay.com/usr/project_fiver

Stylized Victorian Violet Chucks

Artist Kimberly Andert, who did that amazing pair of Steampunk Chucks last year, has done an amazing job on this year's #ChucksForFiver entry-- a violet Victorian Boot with Swarovski accents! Check them out in her Etsy shop, and remember, all proceeds go to the ALS Association of Georgia.

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"The inspiration for these shoes is a pair of Victorian winter ankle boots. This pair is a size 6 1/2. They will comfortably fit a size 6 as well. The shoe has been painted a lovely violet as a background for the lush trims. Vintage black fur trim on the tongue, ending in black Venice lace and Swarovski crystals on the toe. The ankle edge is trimmed in a pleated satin ribbon and more fur. The back of the shoe has a corset lacing effect, with Venice lace trim. The side of the shoe, where the Converse logo normally is, has been covered with a vintage jet bead, braid trim and sequins. The normal front lacing closure has been replaced with brass and enamel buttons and shimmery violet ribbons. The ribbons tie into bows for closure. The overall effect is feminine and lush; a mash-up of modern comfort with the ornateness of Victorian style."

 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/160752092/stylized-violet-victorian-converse

Chucks for Fiver - Back for 2013!

Chucks For Fiver is back for 2013!! I'm still waiting on confirmation on a few details from the DragonCon staff, but I thought I'd get everybody thinking about the Chucks. I have a couple of pairs of late entries from last year, and I'm going to put a few up on eBay for everyone to bid on! This wonderful pair of Samurai Jack Chucks is made by Frances, who is a friend of Nikki. I don't have her website up yet, but she did a really great job on these!

Custom Painted Samurai Jack Converse (Sz W11 M9) [ Chucks For Fiver ]

Project Fiver : Mission Accomplished!!

 It is done!  After years of working to make it happen, and having to keep our mouths shut about it for a year until the film came out, The Triumphant Tale of Project Fiver coming to fruition can now be told!!

TheOneRing.net Exclusive : Concerning Hobbit Extras

Melissa was flown to New Zealand last year to be part of THE HOBBIT.  She even got to meet the film's Bilbo Baggins -Martin Freeman!  Read the story at the link, it's a pretty thorough account of what happened. 

Again, I cannot thank you, and the internet as a whole, enough for making this happen.  People told us that it was a nice gesture, but petitions like this never really ACCOMPLISHED anything.  But We had faith, and you all had faith, that this petition would be the exception.  And it was.  Thank you all so much for helping me give this incredible gift to Melissa, it is something I could never could have done all by myself.  All of you have earned a share of the accomplishment as well, for your part in it.  So go see THE HOBBIT in theaters, and next year, when they release the Extended Edition DVD, Look for Melissa and I in the Market scene in front of the Green Dragon Inn!

Chucks + DragonCon Results

We have the official numbers!
Total Proceeds raised from "Chucks for Fiver" : $1,545!
Total funds raised by DragonCon 2012 for the ALS Association: $45,000!

This is such an incredible accomplishment, I can hardly contain myself! (You can tell because of all the exclamation points!!!) Many thanks go out to Bev and the slew of other great folks who helped convince DragonCon to make the ALS Association their annual charity, and to all the Artists and shoe-donors for their time and talent.

The CHUCKS campaign had just one month, and it spread far and wide, and brought together an lot of incredibly talented people. I am making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS!
I am already in talks with the ALS Association and DragonCon about continuing the momentum with Chucks for Fiver and make it an ongoing feature. We will have another auction at next year's DragonCon, and some Online Auctions during the year, so stay tuned!

It's Time for the 2012 ALS Walk

We just had a fantastic Labor Day weekend, with the ALS Association being chosen as the official charity of DragonCon 2012! The bean counters are still working to calculate all of the donations, and following right on its heels...The 2012 Walk to Defeat ALS is coming in October!

The ALS Association is an important charity, because ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) is still considered an "Orphan Disease", meaning not enough people suffer from it to get major medical funding for treatment research.  But promising new research is always on the horizon. This year, scientists showed that Stem Cell injections can heal spinal cord injuries in mice to the point that allows them to walk and run again!   With continued funding and research, and a lot of hope, an effective treatment for ALS may be realized in the near future.

Lots of you have supported Fiver's Team in the past, and those who have walked with us know how much fun it can be.  Here's how you can get involved:

(1) http://web.alsa.org/goto/flamingos2012 -- Join the Team, to raise funds and walk with us on October 20th, or just as a "Virtual Walker" if you can't make it. You'll get your own fund-raising web page with a tidy little link (like http://web.alsa.org/goto/fiver2012") and all the materials you will need.With email, blogs and Facebook, it takes very little effort to reach hundreds of people with your message.

(2) http://web.alsa.org/goto/fiver2012 -- Make a donation to Melissa's ALS Association Team. All donations make you eligible for one free kiss from Mel. :-)

Atlanta Walk to Defeat ALS 2012 - Saturday, October 20th

International Plaza, World Congress Center (Same as last year)

- Directions + Map
- Check-in starts at 8:30 AM, Walk starts at 10 AM.

At Melissa's request, the Theme for this year is "Walk a Mile in My Chucks!"  So everyone show up in a pair of Converse sneakers (Decorated or not), in honor of the great turnout for the "Chucks for Fiver" Art Project for the DragonCon Charity Auction.




If you like, you can come in an official Fiver's Flamingos T-Shirt, which can be purchased at the site below:

http://shop.ProjectFiver.com (All items sold are at cost, zero profit)
Please allow 10 business days for shipping.  Otherwise, just wear a black shirt.

That's all for now, Melissa and I will be sending out updates closer to the walk date.  So please consider supporting the ALS Association by donation or walking.

As always, it's a great time for a great cause.

Thanks,
Chris

Chucks 2012 Gallery

What an incredible turnout for something that just started a month ago!
We had about 25 pairs of Chucks up for auction last weekend, and while the overall numbers are still being verified by the accountants, our Charity Services guy says the shoes made "Well over $1000" for the ALS Association! 

The crowd was really pumped about the shoes as well, and they all loved the idea. Minions and Studio Ghibli were well represented, and we got some very cool original art from some talented people.  Without further ado, here's a photo album of all of the Submissions:



Chucks for Fiver 2012 Set

Due to the success of this project, we will definitely be doing this again next year for DragonCon, and possibly even some online auctions during the year, so artists can promote their work on their blogs and such.

More to come, and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated shoes or their art for this project -- it really is something incredible.