The Cle Elum Seven

Quad pocket wallet in glossy espresso, featuring Jamie.

Several years ago a customer came into my shop and told me she had just attended a meeting at the church across the street. She had met with a group of activists who were founding a new chimpanzee sanctuary that was soon to be located in Washington State.

Photo notebook in glossy espresso, featuring Negra. 

I asked her to keep in touch with me about the project, and months later a representative from Chimp Sanctuary Northwest got in touch with me to say the sanctuary was a reality. Since then I've been making special photo products for their annual auction. I've also gotten to know each of the Cle Elum Seven through the amazing blog posts and videos here.

These items will be available at the Out of the Box auction on May 4, 2013.

 

You can learn more about the chimps' transformational journey from a Pennsylvania research lab to Cle Elum, Washington here. My favorite video was taken the day the chimps, who had spent most of their lives in tiny cages, were first were able to go outside and feel grass under their feet. View it here.