Wonder Woman

“Alayne, I would love for you to write a blog about your connection to Wonder Woman,” Julie, a woman I hired to consult with all things blog, asked me on a recent call. She had seen my Wonder Woman merchandise and was reminded of a photograph she had of her seven year old self standing in a pure power pose in wonder woman underoos.

“I remember the exact moment that picture was taken,” she said with a warmth to her voice. Julie remembered the feeling of empowerment she had when she made the connection that finally there was a super hero for her to identify with. It was a bit of a revelation for her because even though Wonder Woman had been around as a super hero for quite some time, the mass merchandising direct to little girls was relatively new for her generation.

The Wonder Woman swag hit the scenes in 1977 with the first lunchbox making its way into our little girls’ lives. Up until then it was Barbies, princesses and baby dolls where little girls were taught that nurturing, being cared for and perfect figures were the power we should expect. Laughable when I think about it, but the part that is saddest is the notion that we didn’t expect more out of our inadvertent toy role models. Wonder Woman had an invisible plane, a cape, white boots, pointed boobs! She was all power.

Of course there was feminist controversy to her messaging, but as far as super heros go, at least it was a start.

My Own Introduction to Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman swag entered my world much later, when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. The cards and gifts came pouring in and it was an astounding experience— I used to call it cancer Christmas. I am still not sure why we feel the need to send gifts for cancer diagnosis, but it is a lovely kind gesture that surely helps the healing process.

It turned out that many people somehow felt I was worthy of Wonder Woman themed gifts and so an unintended collection began and I would have never known that five years later, I would be looking for Wonder Woman merch to sell as part of an effort to save my business during a global pandemic.

This is how Wonder Woman Gift Boxes were born. First came the hand made masks, then the aprons, then the stickers and sticky notes and calendars and so on and so on.

I love making Wonder Woman gift boxes to send for birthdays and just because occasions because what I have noticed in the last five years is that Wonder Woman brings out the bad ass in all of us. And who doesn’t need more of this?