Meet The Heroes of Hope

One of the pleasures of owning a small retail business is the opportunity to work with small vendors and build relationships with other people pursuing their dreams. One of our favorite companies to work with has been Rustic Marlin. The owners of Rustic Marlin, Melanie and Brian O’Neil like to say their company was founded out of their love for each other. When they decided to get married, they searched for the perfect thank you gifts for their siblings. In the end, they decided to make their own gifts - custom wooden signs - crafted from the rustic pine taken from the home they were in the process of renovating.

Like so many other businesses last year, Rustic Marlin found themselves shut down during the pandemic with their crew furloughed. Undaunted, Brian and Melanie set out to come up with a way to bring a spirit of hope in dark times. Inspired by people hanging homemade hearts in doorways to show support for healthcare workers, they designed a collection of heart-themed signs emblazoned with messages like ‘Hope’ and ‘Hero’. The couple worked together in their empty warehouse to produce enough signs to fill a small self-serve kiosk. They used the proceeds to support their employees impacted by the virus. 

Melanie and Brian named their campaign ’Signs of Hope,’ and it was an immediate success. Within two weeks, they raised $30,000. Recognizing the potential for greater goodness, they reached out to small businesses who had been carrying their products and offered to set them up with self-serve kiosks outside their still-shuttered shops. They encouraged the businesses to use a portion of their proceeds to help others in need. 

Last Spring, Brian traveled to Roots in Provincetown to help us set up a kiosk outside our shop. Before we even re-opened, we were amazed by the community’s response to the Signs of Hope. Walking around town, we were humbled and inspired to see the Signs hanging on the doors of so many friends and neighbors. 

Once everything began to reopen and the team at Rustic Marlin was able to return, they began to expand their selection for the Signs of Hope. They’ve even worked with us at Roots to create some signs especially for our beloved Ptown crowd. Even now, one year later, we can barely keep up with the demand for these signs. When we began the campaign, we decided to donate a portion of our proceeds to The Soup Kitchen In Provincetown (SKIP) and Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS). More recently, we’ve been able to expand our donations to include the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) in Provincetown. To date, we’ve donated more than $6,000 dollars to these groups from the sales of the Signs of Hope. We’ve been so excited and proud to join with Melanie, Brian and their team at Rustic Marlin to offer hope during these trying times.

And to think, it all started when two people fell in love…

If you would like to learn more about any of the charities we support or to donate to them directly, please visit their websites listed below:

Soup Kitchen in Provincetown :: www.skipfood.org

Outer Cape Health Services :: www.outercape.org/locations/provincetown

AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod :: www.asgcc.org