DSM-5 Add SPD!

Hello all! There's been lots of hubbub regarding the new DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition) that's in the works. They are actually eliminating Asperger's Syndrome, Rett's Syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrated Disorder for the upcoming edition. Many advocates are fighting for SPD to be officially added. Anyone may submit information or suggestions for added criteria at dsm5.org. Submissions are open up until April 20th, and the final version is due out May 2013. We encourage you to speak up for your children or loved ones! If it does make it into the new version, this means more related services may be made available for your child's comfort and over all well being!

Introducing our New Intern!

Hello Soft Blog Readers!

I’m Brie, a new intern at Soft. I look forward to blogging with you all, and keeping you updated on new events or issues regarding anything sensory related! I’m currently in the middle of my M.A. in Intellectual Disabilities/Autism at Teachers College, Columbia University. I student teach at P.S. 226m in a class with students with autism. Last summer I produced an art show featuring two of my favorite artists who are autistic. If you want to check out the art show, friend “Les Autists” on Facebook and check out the AMAZING artwork these guys did! We donated all the proceeds to UCSD’s Autism Center for Excellence. Hopefully we can get another show up soon! I’m very excited to be apart of your community, and Soft Clothing! E-mail me any updates, questions, or comments at Brie.softclothing@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you all!

-Brie

Non Profit Updates

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Dis/Ability Organizations

Our non-profit partnership program will begin in March 2011. Soft will be donating percentage of profits to large national organizations that make a huge difference in the lives of children with sensory disorders, including Autism, Aspergers, Sensory Processing disorder and a range of developmental disabilities. In addition, once a year, we will award a one-time grant to a smaller community group or organization. Grant applications will be available in March 2011, and the first grant will be awarded in August 2011. To be the first to find out when our non-profit partnership program is in place and applications are available, please sign up for the Soft email list.

Give India

Soft is proud and excited about our manufacturing partnerships with India. We have a close, personal relationship with our factory representatives there, and they are so supportive and understanding of our mission. We wanted to give back in a way that compliments our beliefs about inclusive education. Through the organization Give India, Soft has started to support children with disabilities through a variety of local organizations. Our first donation funded art therapy for a non-verbal child for three months! Check our blog for regular updates on the specific programs, children and organizations we are helping to fund.

Monthly Giving

Soft launched their Monthly Giving Program in December 2009, benefiting the Autism Society of America, and the SPD Foundation. We are incredibly proud to support organizations dedicated to funding research and support, and that are so effective in their ability to reach the millions of families in need of their resources through local chapter outreach.

Supporting Teachers, Schools and Students

Bi-annually, Soft helps to fund a grant written by teachers, for teachers through the online charity organization DonorsChoose.org. Recently, we helped to fund a grant written by an Occupational Therapist in an inner city school in Massachusetts who needed sensory equipment for her students with Autism. You can read more about that project here. Check our blog for our most current projects, thank you notes from the teachers and students, and any photos they share with us.

In December 2009, we donated our Soft Sensory Tees to the entire pre-K class at a local elementary school in Bushwick Brooklyn. Later this year, at the request of a concerned parent, we donated our sensory tees to children with SPD in the Developmental Preschool Class at Silver First Elementary School in Everett, WA. If you have a special project in mind, please contact us at info@softclothing.net.

Sponsorships

We regularly sponsor non-profit events, walks, conferences, individuals, fundraising events. Some of our latest sponsorship projects are listed below.

The Cove School

Bounce for Autism

SPD Foundation Conference--March 2010

Keshet School

Soft in Junior Magazine

Soft in Special Parent Magazine

Soft In Family Time Magazine!

We are in Family Time Magazine this month! (Chicago/Midwest) Check out our mention in their "shortcuts" section where they let people know about innovative new products available to enhance the lives of their reader families. Look out for our feature in their April issue dedicated to Autism Awareness Month.

Soft in Earnshaws February 2010

Soft Market Dates!!!

Soft will be showing at two upcoming Market Dates on the West Coast! In San Francisco from March 13-15, then in LA from March 19-23. contact wholesale@softclothing.net for more info!

Soft Starts Wholesaling!

West Coast Showroom:

Michael Gonzales
110 East 9th Street #B601
Los Angeles, Ca. 90079
P.213.489.0830
F.213.489.0891
michael@metrokidsla.com
www.metrokidsla.com

All Other Wholesale Inquiries: wholesale@softclothing.net

Trade Magazines:
Soft in EARNSHAWS February 2010 (p.13)

_______________________________

Market Dates:

Soft will be attending the following Markets and Trade Shows. Please contact our LA showroom for more information and wholesale pricelists:

Market Dates and Trade Show Calendar

Click to register for our upcoming Market Date:

Sensory Friendly Style for Valentine's Day

dresses and tie tees are 15% off! code: valentine
free usps shipping on orders of $45 or more! code: heartship

Not convinced? Read our glowing reviews.

I know we're the new kids on the block...It's hard to trust a new clothing brand. You don't know what that Soft tee is going to look, or more importantly, feel like. Well, don't take our word for it. We have already sent out hundreds to parents, kids, reviewers and more. Read some of the reviews and feedback we've been getting. We're incredibly pleased and grateful!

Honor MLK Day and give to Red Cross with Soft Weekend Sale

25% off purchases of $50 or more, plus we will donate $1 for every sale to the RED CROSS HAITI fund. Help us to honor MLK day, and continue our mission to help with Haiti relief. Now through January 18th at midnight. Use this code at checkout: weekendsale

Today is the day! Soft is officially launching our BASICS collection, designed for sensory sensitive dressers! We have some great offers to celebrate!

(free tee with any purchase--just put it in your shopping cart, and use code: launchsale at checkout. one per order through January 15)

(free ups ground shipping on orders of $50.00 or more! CODE at checkout: softlaunch. Limited time only)

(Buy one dress, get the second one half off--one only per purchase/mailing address--through Jan. 10, 2010)

Thank You Letter from Teacher

We received this letter from the teacher whose grant we helped to fund via donorschoose.org. Thanks to all the Soft Facebook fans who joined in. We'll share pictures as soon as we get them!

Dresses are here!

Soft Tee Launch

Dear Soft Supporters,

Many of you have been checking our blog for a long time! It has been a long road, but we are finally here--with Soft, seamless tees now available on our website! Thank you for your guidance along the way!

As you have been such loyal supporters,we wanted to let you know about our three limited time offers (below--click on coupon for more info). Short and long sleeve seamless, tagless sensory tees, developed by a mom and special educator, tested with kids with sensory sensitivity--here at long last!

--Jessica Ralli

Director, Soft

Soft Non Profit Support!

As many of you know, part of the Soft mission is supporting organizations we believe in--organizations which support Autism and SPD research, and inclusive education. We have outlined the following plan for when we are profitable:

Dis/Ability Organizations

Our non-profit partnership program will begin in March 2010. Soft will be donating percentage of profits to large national organizations that make a huge difference in the lives of children with sensory disorders, including Autism, Aspergers, Sensory Processing disorder and a range of developmental disabilities. In addition, once a year, we will award a one-time grant to a smaller community group or organization. Grant applications will be available in March 2010, and the first grant will be awarded in August 2010. To be the first to find out when our non-profit partnership program is in place and applications are available, please sign up for the Soft email list.

Give India

Soft is proud and excited about our manufacturing partnerships with India. We have a close, personal relationship with our factory representatives there, and they are so supportive and understanding of our mission. We wanted to give back in a way that compliments our beliefs about inclusive education. Through the organization Give India, Soft has started to support children with disabilities through a variety of local organizations. Our first donation funded art therapy for a non-verbal child for three months! Check our blog for regular updates on the specific programs, children and organizations we are helping to fund.

Monthly Giving
Today we started our SOFT MONTHLY GIVING PROGRAM, which will benefit the Autism Society of America. We are incredibly proud to support an organization dedicated to funding Autism research and support, and that is so effective in their ability to reach the millions of families in need of their resources through local chapter outreach. Here is the letter they sent to us to thank us! Yay!

Dear Jessica,

Thank you very much for your contribution to the Autism Society of America. ASA is the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization that offers vital programs to improve the lives of those affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing programs which support treatment, education, and research of autism. As many as one out of every 150 children will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. ASA estimates that 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected, and autism is costing the U.S. at least $90 billion each year. We count on our community of supporters to ensure that we can continue providing these services.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Lee Grossman
President and CEO

Tie Photo Shoot

Sponsor a Soft Tee giveaway!

Email info@softclothing.net for more details!

Soft Tees! (coming soon)

Soft Clothing for All.....Dogs?

francis wearing a soft classic tee in Red, size XXL.

Future Styles Sketchbok: Spring 2010

Soft Tee Giveaway!

Soft Clothing for All Children will be launching in a few weeks with our first collection of tagless, flat seamed, soft cotton basics for kids with sensory sensitivity. We would like to give three lucky families a chance to win our entire t-shirt collection (6 soft tees in 6 great colors). All you have to do is help us spread the word in two easy steps!

How to enter:

1. Tell your friends about Soft, by posting a link to this giveaway, our website, or social network (your choice) on one of your forums, listserves, or social network sites (facebook, twitter, yahoogroups, myspace, ning, etc...)

2. after sharing, click on “comment” below and leave us a comment, question, feedback, or just say hello.

3. when you leave a comment, you will be entered in the drawing, + on November 15th, 3 winners will be randomly selected to win 6 Soft Tees!

Thank YOU for your help, and good luck!

Love,
Soft

Free Tees for Bloggers/Media!

Soft will be giving away a certain number of sample tees to bloggers, writers, and general media savvy people--who are interested in writing a review, conducting an interview, or somehow getting the word out about SOFT when we launch in November. If you would like to request a sample, please send an email to
info@softclothing.net
with the subject heading SAMPLE TEES. Include the following:

*Name
*Address
*Name of blog/media outlet you write for or contribute to with links
*size request (XS-XXL KIDS)

If you would like to suggest someone we should send our Tees to--please do! Try to provide contact info (at least an email or website)

Thanks!

Opening Ceremony releases Where the Wild Things Are inspired line of clothing

The upcoming release (October 16) of Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," adapted, of course, from Maurice Sendak's genius story that has touched millions of childhoods--has inspired a slew of artists to create work based on the magic of this story and highly anticipated magic of this film. 24, to be exact, according to Vice Magazine--which is presenting "24 Artists Inspired by WTWTA." The one that stood out the most--was the above pictured WTWTA-inspired clothing collection by Opening Ceremony. The pictures are priceless, the clothing, unfortunately, is not.

Watch the trailer:

Isaac Mizrahi: Because You're American, and You're Not A Stone

For those who are unequally obsessed with Isaac Mizrahi, and who don't share the same unending lust for the 1995 documentary Unzipped--the above title is a quote. When asked: "Why do you like Mary Tyler Moore?" Isaac respond, exasperated: "Because I'm American, and I'm not a STONE."

His latest collection which showed today was anything but stone like. Full of feeling and personality--Isaac brings humanity to fashion in his collections--which I feel are at the heart of the many millions of ways he spends his time (and gets paid to) these days. His playful accessories tell a story. His use of color makes you feel alive and very connected to the world (country, and specifically city if you are in NY) you live in. There was something very Broadway about it (in a good old fashioned way), very strolling down the avenue.

Cathy Horyn put it best, "I guess," on her NYT blog when she wrote: "It was a nice day, I guess, for American fashion."

Isaac does evening like few others in my opinion, but it doesn't fully capture the essence of the show, so for him, two highlights:for the soul of New York

for the evening, completely timeless

NY Fashion Week: Rodarte

Dyed, torn, scraped, scratched, dipped, bleached, soaked and shredded. Every one the Mulleavys chosen fabrics and materials was somehow scarred yet still ethereal and beautiful. The designers are masters of draping the female form, and finding colors and textures that engage the eye and each other.

Absolute highlight: