Welcome to the third edition of our Network newsletter! Each month we will inform Celtic Friends members, and our readers, of the activities on the Network over the past month. Please, read on, as this issue is packed with helpful and useful information for each one of you.
Our membership is continuing to increase rapidly. We now have four hundred and forty five members! Thank you everyone, for your support!

Featured Members of the Month

In every issue, we feature those members of our network who have contributed, in some way, to our network, as well as the Celtic Community as a whole. We have provided each of you with the opportunity to voice your opinion by casting your vote for the person you think we should feature. You can cast your vote in the Round Table group. We appreciate your input!

This month our featured members are:

Amy Kercher - is a Master stitcher for the University of Oklahoma, schools of drama and dance, where she designs many of the costumes for school productions. She is also a printmaker and a visual artist and enjoys sewing, needlework, painting and drawing. Amy has been making Celtic art for more than 20 years and has had the good fortune to have her art selected seven times as the image for the Medieval Faire in Norman, OK. Amy was one of our earliest members and she has posted several photos of her designs on our site.

Oisin Mac Suibhne - is a glass artist originally from San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Tacoma WA about a year ago. Oisin has been working in glass for the past few years, and says it is a continually exciting experience. He does commissioned work, as well as, original pieces. Oisin has been drawing Celtic knots and spirals since his early teens and in years that are more recent, he has drawn some zoomorphic designs. His other interests include playing bodhrán in a Seattle-area Irish band. He would also like to become a bilingual speaker of Irish Gaelic. Oisin has been a member of our community since the beginning. His glasswork is truly beautiful!

Tira Brandon Evans - is the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans. She has written several books and is currently working on one about the Oghams, the sacred Celtic letters. Tira is a Faery Shaman, a teacher, writer, editor, historian, and publisher. She is also an initiator, healer, herbalist and genealogist, among other things. Her website includes pod casts, which she has been doing for about a year now. They are about Celtic lore, spirituality and ancient history. Tune in and have a listen!

Ciara Considine - is a Celtic singer with formal training in the piano and flute. She has also studied music at the college level. Ciara came from a musical family in Maidstone, Kent, UK, and was the youngest of four children of Irish parents. Ciara taught herself how to play the harp and Celtic lyre, as well as several other instruments. Her first album of Irish traditional songs, “O Mo Chroi”, was released in 2008. Ciara’s voice has a truly wonderful tone that allows the listener to hear the lyrics plainly, while enjoying the songs for their unique Celtic beauty. Since becoming a member, she has treated us by posting several of the songs from her album on her page.

Stephanie Flynn - is a Celtic cross stitch designer. She has qualifications in Art & Design and a Degree in Medieval History specializing in Literature and Myth/Folk lore. Originally, from Ireland, she has recently moved to Brisbaine Australia. Stephanie hand designs for Celtic Obsessions, which specializes in Celtic, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh inspired cross-stitch patterns. She also designs for Cross Stitch Heraldry, which specializes in Coat of Arms cross-stitch patterns. She has been selling her patterns worldwide and online for ten years. Stephanie has been an active member of our community since the beginning. She has contributed greatly by inviting her crafting friends to become members of the Celtic Friends Network.

Joe Adams - is a Celtic artist from New Jersey. His mediums include paint, ceramics and metal. He is currently working out an approach to Celtic art that is a fusion of Celtic and southwestern Native American art. He accepts commission work, including ceramics and graphic design. He also creates album covers for musicians. Joe’s interest in Celtic art began in 1988 during one of his many trips to Ireland. Within two years, he was participating in exhibits in both New York and North Jersey. Since joining, Joe has been an invaluable member of our community. Not only has he shared his insights by participating in groups and discussions, but also Joe was generous enough to share his talent with the Celtic Friends Network by designing a logo for our site! This project is still in the works but we plan to use the logo on hats and t-shirts, etc. We would like to extend our appreciation to Joe for volunteering his valuable time and talent!


These members have, in their own individual way, sparked interest with their works, brought us together as a culture and have left a mark that will likely be recorded in history. If you would like to be featured in upcoming months, there is more information about this under MORE tab, Get Featured.

Be Sure to Invite Your Friends

The Celtic Friends Network is a growing community and you can help our site grow even more by inviting your friends. By clicking the “Invite” tab at the top of every page, you can invite your friends individually, or you can import your address book from any of the following emails: Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or AOL Mail. Otherwise, you will have to do this manually through your email service.

Spread the word by making use of the links to “Digg” and “Stumble Upon”. These are found under the subheading: “Help Others Find Us!” located near the bottom or middle right of each page, depending on which page you are on.

If you own your own website or have a profile page on other social sites, such as MySpace for example, you can help make our site more visible by posting one of our Network Badges there. These Badges can be found under the MORE tab (Link To Us). Alternatively, they can be found near the middle or the bottom right of each page, depending on which page you are on. Simply click “Get Badge” link. For more information on how to use the Badge, please request a tutorial under the HELP tab (tutorials).

Remember, this is your network and we sincerely hope that you will help make it more enjoyable for yourself, and for others members, by inviting your friends and referring others to our site!

Network Store

Come check out the new items that we have added to the Celtic Shop! The pages are continuously being updated and new products are added daily. If you would like your products featured there, please contact us.

We have recently added a wide range of products to the store. These items include Books, Candles and Candleholders, Celtic Clothing and Tapestries, and Celtic music and Celtic gifts. We will soon be adding DVD’s, Tarot cards and Celtic Trinket Boxes. Please check back regularly as the Network Store is updated daily!

New Features

Celtic Copyright Protectors button:
Help protect your works by using this button on your website. This button was created to help discourage copyright infringement and to warn potential violators of the penalties for doing so. This button works on other social networks as well as on Celtic sites. It offers an option that has a no follow tag so that using it on every page of your site does not affect your rankings. Placing this button on your website shows the rest of the world that our members are looking out for your artwork or pictures as we search the internet. In addition, it is a way to makes our group stronger because other surfers will sign up and start helping to protect your pictures and content as well. This button is located in the Celtic Copyright Protectors group. To use it on your website simply click on the button to get the code.

Chat:
This feature has been available however, last month the location was changed. Some bugs needed to be fixed afterwards. These were all worked out. Chat is now functioning properly! We apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused and hope you enjoy using this feature.

Featured Groups

Celtic Copyright Protectors:
This group was designed for people who are interested in protecting Celtic art. Not surprisingly, this group was an instant hit. There are already forty-six members, making it the largest group on the Network! Here you can help show the world that Celtic art is looked after. This group is for individuals who pay attention to art on the internet. In order to help prevent plagiarism, the members extend warnings to individuals who may have used art that is not theirs and, if necessary, report copyright infringement to the author of the works. With as small donation, services are available to members who need help protecting their images, as well as entire websites. In addition, members can use the new Celtic Copyright Protectors button that is provided for use on websites. For more information on these new features, please visit the group page.

Genealogy & Family Stories: This group was created to allow members to share what they know about their family history and to help others discover their ancestral past. There are links to websites that help you search for information about your family’s roots. These links are not associated with the Celtic Friends Network. There is a discussion forum where members can share their stories and information on their genealogy.

Ár dTeangacha: This group was created to provide a place for members to learn and discuss Celtic languages as they were and as they are. Ár dTeangacha means, “To translate from one official language to another official language”.

We Care About Your Safety!

Your privacy is important to us. We would like to remind you that we have provided added safety measures in an effort to keep the information that you provide to us, specifically your personal email addresses, private. This means that no one, except the administrator, has access to him or her.

When you would like to send private messages to your friends on the Network, you may do so from your friends’ profile page (Send a Message). When you send the message, it goes to their inbox here on our site, as well as to their personal email inbox. They can reply to you from their inbox here on the site, however, your personal email address is not displayed anywhere! The only way another member of the Celtic Friends Network can get your address is if you provide it to him or her personally, or post it in a comment.

We would encourage you to use every precaution necessary, to protect your personal email addresses. If someone asks you for your address, be very sure that it is a person that you can trust. Giving out your email address to anyone online can be a very dangerous thing. We sincerely care about the safety of our members and seek to make you aware of the dangers of giving out your email address.

Donations

Show your appreciation and support to our community by making a donation that will help maintain our site. We do not charge the members of the Celtic Friends Network any fee for the use of our site. Therefore, we have placed a “Donate” button on the upper left corner of the main page.

Thank You!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as we continue to develop the Celtic Friends Network. We are a very diverse Celtic community. Many people have gathered here for bringing together the various facets of our culture. We hope that this Network provides a place for you to spread your knowledge and for others to learn from it.