At Astral Hoops, we believe is everyone's responsibility to do what you can to keep our planet alive and well. It is easy to think that you aren't able to make a difference, but small things such as recycling your everyday waste can make a big impact.
At Astral Hoops, we believe is everyone's responsibility to do what you can to keep our planet alive and well. It is easy to think that you aren't able to make a difference, but small things such as recycling your everyday waste can make a big impact.
Here are some ways we try to do our part
- Using 95% recyclable packaging
- Reusing packaging from services / returns when possible
- Properly recycling all electronic
- Donating old / imperfect hoops that can't be sold
- Offering servicing, resizes, upgrades, ect.
How can you do your part?
-Learn about the local recycling laws in your area
-Have more awareness of how much trash you create and learn how to reduce your waste in a way that works for you
-Properly dispose of your electronics at a recycling center
For the entire month of March, we promoted recycling by encouraging people to trade in their old LEDs with us for a discount on a brand-new Astral Hoop. We received 65+ hoops and disassembled the broken ones to properly recycle the plastic and electronics. The hoops that still had life in them were cleaned up and will be donated back into the community.
We are looking for organizations, classes, programs that would be interested in refurbished LED hoops that are looking for a new home. Please email us at support@astralhoops.com with your name and more information about how you would put donated hoops to good use.
March 18 - Global Recycling Day
April 22 - Earth Day
June 5 - World Environment Day
Whether you’re looking for a new Astral in your collection or wondering what to get your loved ones, this is a great resource to help you find exactly what you need!
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Today we celebrate the rich cultures of Indigenous people throughout the Americas and also for us, the origins of the Native Hoop Dance.
Only a handful of states have yet to officially observe Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day, so we wanted to take a few moments out of your Monday to talk about the importance of relearning history, appreciating the spiritual significance of the native hoop dance, and how to give back to native communities.
]]>Only a handful of states have yet to officially observe Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day, so we wanted to take a few moments out of your Monday to talk about the importance of relearning history, appreciating the spiritual significance of the native hoop dance, and how to give back to native communities.
In Native American cultures, the hoop dance is used as a method of storytelling where dancers use 1 to 30 small, handmade hoops as props to tell a story through dance. The dancer interlocks the hoops on and around the body to represent animals and symbols by replicating wings or tails, and forming shapes like globes around the body.
There is no clear origin for the Native hoop dance, but the most popular story is from the Anishinaabe culture about a young boy who was not interested in typical activities like running and hunting, instead preferring to be alone and observe animals in nature. His father did not approve and even disowned him, but the boy didn’t let this stop him. Spending time with animals like eagles, snakes and bears inspired him to create a dance using hoops that emulated their movement.
The dance caught on and spread to other tribes and was passed down to future generations. To Indigenous cultures, the hoop became a sacred and important aspect of traditional healing ceremonies, representing the never-ending circle of life.
During the 1880s - 1930s, the United States government tried to assimilate Native Americans into U.S. culture by forcing their children into white schools, changing their names, and banning them from “participating in anything associated with their Native American culture including dance.” During the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1930s, Native Americans began to resist and take important parts of their cultures back. During this time, a young Native American named Tony White Hawk from the Jemez Pueblo tribe modernized the hoop dance. It quickly spread in popularity, and there is now a World Championship Hoop Dance Contest held annually in Phoenix, Arizona.
Founded in 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is the oldest and largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide.
Some of their current missions include: civil & human rights, environmental & water protections, education, protecting women from violence, and more.
First Nations Development Institute: Our mission is to strengthen American Indian economies to support healthy Native communities. We invest in and create innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control and support economic development for American Indian people and their communities.
Some of their work includes: Achieving Native Financial Empowerment; Investing in Native Youth; Strengthening Tribal & Community Institutions; Stewarding Native Lands; and more.
Conscious Alliance is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to supporting communities in crisis through hunger relief and youth empowerment.
Among their variety of long-term initiatives is their dedication to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Conscious Alliance neighbors us in Broomfield, CO and we've loved seeing their work in the community throughout the years.
https://www.aaanativearts.com/hoop-dance-pow-wow-dances
http://nativeamericanhoopdance.blogspot.com/p/references.html
https://askwonder.com/research/history-hoop-dancing-2pje0uwlh
All of us at Astral Hoops would like to wish our LGBTQIA+ community a very happy Pride Month! We love being part of the flow community which celebrates diversity, inclusion and love, and it brings us so much joy to create products that help individuals express their unique, beautiful selves.
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All of us at Astral Hoops would like to wish our LGBTQIA+ community a very happy Pride Month! We love being part of the flow community which celebrates diversity, inclusion and love, and it brings us so much joy to create products that help individuals express their unique, beautiful selves.
One of our fondest Pride memories was hearing the news that the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. We were vending at our booth at Electric Forest in June, 2015 when we heard the news. So much excitement on-site!
Recently, we spoke with a few awesome flow artists about their plans for Pride Month and experiences as LGBTQIA+ members of the flow arts community:
What does the flow arts community mean to you?
Being able to share individual expressions with the same prop. Having a creative/meditative outlet that's powerful enough to help you deal with life's stressors.
Are you doing anything for Pride?
Well I went to Pensacola Pride Memorial Day and that was fun lol. I'm rocking solo at FK this weekend so I hope to share memories with all the beautiful people I'm going to see out there. Pride for me is a year round mentality but I take the time this month to reflect and remember everything the community has been through to get us where we are now and what it's really about.
What does the flow arts community mean to you?
The flow arts community means a lot to me, when I first started everyone was so supportive and kind. It felt great to be surrounded by such an accepting and helpful group of people.
Are you doing anything for Pride?
I live in Orlando which is also the month that honors those we lost in the Pulse shooting. I will be going to the ceremony and honor those who we lost. However, personally for myself this month I am finally coming out as bisexual. It's been a struggle and hard to be myself, but I feel that I owe that to myself to be true and love who I want to love.
What does the flow arts community mean to you?
Are you doing anything for Pride?
What does the flow arts community mean to you?
Are you doing anything for Pride?
We want to hear your thoughts too! Send us an email: info@astralhoops.com
We are thrilled to share all of the fun features of the Atomic V Classic LED Smart Hoops with you! Find tips and details here!
We've added a new feature to the iPhone and Android apps that give you access to thousands of new patterns. Use this feature to browse through pattern libraries and preview what they look like on your phone. Then quickly and easily upload and save your favorite patterns to your Atomic V AF hoop. You can also use the app's Desinger to modify and build off of the patterns in these packs. This works with all Atomic V AF Hoops.
]]>Persistence of Vision is an optical illusion where perception of an image continues after the image is no longer there. LED hoops use this trick to hack the mind into seeing fun patterns and images. Using the Designer feature of the AF phone apps, you can create your own images that can be seen as hoop moves. In this article you'll learn how to maximize this effect and amazing your friends!
There's a limit to how much can be perceived by the brain using POV effect. High contrasting pixelated images such as 8-bit video game graphics are easiest to see. A black background behind the image will help it pop. The optimal size for for POV images ranges from about 10 x 10 LEDs to 30 x 30 LEDs. Images larger than this start to becoming more difficult for the brain to perceive.
If you're performing at a corporate event, adding the company's logo to your hoop could be a great way to take it up a notch. Since logos are generally simple in design, they tend to work well as POV images. The logo will also usually show up in pictures taken of you performing and leave a lasting impression.
To add a logo, first obtain an image file for it. You can save logo images directly from the company's website, or you can often ask for the companies logo image package.
Next, we load it into the Designer and resize it down to around 25 x 25 pixels (LEDs). This is the size of the Astral logo in the above picture. Set the canvas size in Designer to your designed size first, then load the image in. The app might ask you if you want to make the canvas bigger. Select "No". This will resize the logo to your desired size. Some editing might be necessary after resizing to give the smaller image a clean look. Make sure to color the background black while editing the image.
If you're handy with graphics using an image editor such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator can help with resizing and cleaning up the image. The opensource editor GIMP is another good option.
You can have a lot of fun with photo shoots of the Atomic V AF hoop. The picture of Astral Hoops Sponsored Artist Izabelle The Amazing is just one example of what is possible. For this picture we used an image size of 100 x 120 LEDs, then slowly lowered the hoop in front of the camera while taking a long exposure picture. Exposure times of 0.5 to 1 second work well for this. Turn off POV stabilization in the app's Settings to prevent the image from turning with the hoop. This will help you line up the image for the camera.
Note, large images are great for long exposure photography and videos, but can generally not be seen by the eye through persistence of vision effect. For some fun with video trails using your phone, check out the Luminancer app for Android and iPhone.
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Polypro, HDPE, colored tubing and sparkles. What's the difference? Learn how to choose the tubing that's right for you.
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