Blue Special #1 Acquisition Page.
Hello this is Kaidan Tansu Jr. of the Elsewhere Philatelic Society. The Tenderloin National Forest is a former alley that was turned into a thriving greenspace by artists from the Luggage Store Gallery in 1989. In 2001, Michael Swaine began appearing at the TNF to mend clothes for Tenderloin residents for free. In 2015 Michael stepped down and now Laurie Moyer and a handful of volunteers appear at the Tenderloin National Forest to mend clothes for Tenderloin residents [1] [2] [3].
The Elsewhere Philatelic Society has held events at the Tenderloin National Forest in 2010 and 2013 for members to acquire the "Blue Special #1" stamp which, as a special "reserved" stamp, has its place on the back inside cover of your passport. Now EPS members can visit "Sewing for the People" at the Tenderloin National Forest to acquire their own Blue Special #1. To do so, you must do the following two things, in any order:
1) Take a photo of the TNF sign or TNF hummingbird
-and-
2) Offer anything from list below to the person sewing on-site:
- Non-adhesive neutral colored velcros of varying lengths and widths
- Any kind of sewing needles
- Any kind of pins
- Full-size spools of dual-duty/all-purpose Gutermann or Coats&Clark thread in neutral colors - gray, black, white, beige, brown, dark blue (please no travel spools)
- Cash donations
YOU WILL THEN receive in exchange a token. To acquire the Blue Special #1 stamp from the EPS, send email to mail@starteleweb.com with the TNF sign/hummingbird photo and a photo of the token.
The regularly scheduled time for Sewing for the People is every 15th of the month, 12pm-5pm (estimated).