Our Story...
Hi, Purple People!
We're Jen & Nat.
We're teachers.
We're storytellers.
We're parents.
We're citizens.
We're worried.
We're working.
We're hopeful.
We're the creators of...
Once Upon a Purple...
In 2016, we were living in Thailand and watched the divisive presidential election unfold in the United States with growing concern. We read about "filter bubbles" and "echo chambers". We felt disconnected living so far away and we wondered, What can we do?
The day after the 2016 election, Jen opened the cupboards of her kindergarten classroom and pulled out counters and a thinking tool...the Venn Diagram.
There were points that RED Republicans made and points that BLUE Democrats made, but surely there must be a few PURPLE POINTS in common!?!?!
The Purple Points Project began with this question:
What's in COMMON?
The Community
We invited American neighbors in our Bangkok community to join us as we explored ways to talk across the partisan divide. We called our group The Purple Living Room Project because we were trying to encourage casual and constructive political conversations at home.
For several years we met regularly and developed strategies for talking about tough topics with a focus on listening for connection. We created a "Purple Code" to keep the conversations respectful and positive.
We hosted "walk and talk" sessions to reflect on issues back home in the States and a letter-writing campaign to our congressional representatives when the government was in a particularly long shut-down.
We were grateful to connect with other Americans overseas, but we still felt a disconnect from the discourse back home.
The Purple Minute
In the summer of 2024, we returned home to live in the United States...just in time for another presidential election!
What we saw when we returned shocked us...
Suspicion. Distrust. Frustration. Apathy. Anger.
Once again we wondered, what can we do?
We're teachers and storytellers...
We could tell stories of political collaboration.
We started producing a "Purple Minute" series...
one minute shorts that highlight tales of purple thinking.
(Find these on your favorite social media channels!)
The Game
The Purple Minutes were a start,
but we still wondered, What else can we do?
We wanted to turn the collaborative conversation protocol into a useful tool to find connection.
We made It our goal to create a game you could play with anyone, anywhere to talk about anything and discover what's in common.
We called this work "Purple Points Project" because finding what's in common is the point!
We set off on a series of road trips to play test the game across the country. We wanted to see if groups could play the game in under an hour, find connections, and have FUN...It worked!
The Logo
The Purple Points Project game was turning into a fun tool that anyone could use to talk about anything and find connection. It was time to share it with the world!
We looked for a graphic designer to help us tell our story visually. We were grateful to find Shayla Hufana with ConceptShell Designs. She studied our journey, synthesized our ideas and found a way to tell our story with one image!
What do you see when you look at this new logo?
We see wisdom, growth, and possibility...
Thanks for thinking purple...
Keep in touch!
Nat & Jen
What's Next?
In these divisive political times,
Do you ever wonder, like we did...
What can we do?
We have big ideas for the
next chapter in this purple story.
Will you help us write it?
Sign up for updates...
Share your purple ideas...
Stay connected with
Purple Points Project!