This past Sunday, Hipcycle had the incredibly fortunate opportunity to exhibit on the National Mall in Washington, DC as part of our Nation’s premier Earth Day Event. We proudly foisted a “Learn About Upcycling Here!” banner 20 feet up in the sky, and presented a display of various upcycled goodies organized by material. We were mimicking the ever-popular “materials rotator” at the bottom of
Hipcycle Booth On the National Mall - Earth Day 2012
our home page, and I believe we were very successful in educating folks about the simple question of “what is upcycling?” and also in expanding thoughts about how waste can be kept out of landfills.
The weather was terrible -- about 49 degrees and with a steady rain all day -- and that kept crowds much smaller than the last time a major Earth Day event was held on the mall and a quarter of a million people showed up. However, the hearty folks that did come out were obviously passionate about our planet. They asked great questions and made some really cool suggestions about how we can grow our business and increase our impact.
The atmosphere was festive despite the weather, and it was an incredibly fun day. For me, it also served as a spark of re-inspiration and renewed energy. I’ve been working with our great team for just about a year to turn Hipcycle from a dream to a reality. It has been the best professional experience of my life, but it has also been a lot of hard work, with the occasional days that make me question the sanity of leaving the relative safety of the corporate world to become an entrepreneur and pursuing my passion of using business to help improve our world. The visitors to our booth repeatedly reminded me, through their enthusiasm and words, that there are lot of people out there who care about our environment and that
George watching over our booth.
that sentiment has the ability to translate to success for a humble upcycling company like Hipcycle. I woke up the next day still exhausted, yet totally fired up about getting back to work!
There was also something incredibly special about seeing my fledgling baby company on the hallowed grounds of our National Mall. Seeing our booth in the same line of sight with the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, and thinking about the history of the grounds, and its symbolism for democracy and dreams, was quite moving. Yet more inspiration for me to move forward and make a difference.
Earth Day is intended to remind you and inspire you, in some way shape or form, to make a difference for the chunk of rock we call our home. For me, mission accomplished.
Andrew Sell is Founder and Chief Hipcycler at Hipcycle, an e-commerce site for great upcycled products. He likes what he does...it beats working:)
