I've always believed that the most powerful words we can say to someone are also the simplest: Here's what I love about you.

The trouble is, we rarely say them. We think them all the time…about our friends, our parents, our kids, the people who quietly make our lives better, but the words stay tucked away, waiting for a "someday" that doesn't always come.

After being laid off from my corporate job in July 2026, I went on vacation with my family to Higgins Beach in Scarborough, ME.  That was the first time in over 13 years that I was on vacation with no corporate job to return to.  No work piling up back at the office.  No projects quietly taking up space in my brain, disturbing the flow of vacation-mode. 

What began as an effort to create a birthday gift for a friend (shout out to Sherri!), turned into something more.  While I was collecting the mussel shells, cleaning them, arranging them in all different patterns, I felt something shift in my brain.  It was like the channel changed and creativity came flowing in.  It was the most aligned I had felt in years.  I photographed the shells and knew something more than I imagined had begun.

That's when the idea took shape: a piece of art that doesn't just hang on a wall, but carries a message. And not just one message, a chain of them.  What if this image could represent love all over the world?  We have always been told to dream big, right?

I'd love to see this Bouquet of Love travel far beyond my little corner of Massachusetts, from home to home, town to town, until love notes are hanging on walls all over the world. Every chain that grows is proof that a few honest words can change someone's whole day…maybe even their whole year.

So this is my invitation to you: think of someone. Tell them what you love about them. And let's see how far love can go.

With love,
Dré