The Discovery of Anne Cha and the #GirlPower Movement

Artist Anne Cha created #GirlPower 

in March of 2013 to celebrate

International Women's Day.

Inspired by the classic Rosie the Riveter icon,

#GirlPower is dedicated to strong women everywhere.

And women across the globe have her embraced her!

As the creator of Art of the Pin-Up Girl, I am engaged in the social media world on a daily basis.  I attribute much of our success to the support of all of our friends and fans who have loved us from the beginning.  I have a deep passion for pin-up and it is amazing to see that I am a part of a greater community who all share this undying passion.  It is in this glorious space where I discovered Anne Cha.

You see, I follow many modern pin-up models and share them with our community.  The trend towards a classic, golden era styling and photography is exhilarating to me and resonates with our fans as well.  Jolee Blon' is one of those beauties who looks like a snapshot from days gone by and it was this portrait by Anne that first caught my eye!  As I delved into Anne's facebook page for the first time, I was mesmerized by her work and could see that she was a rare talent.  And then I saw #GirlPower and I shared it.  Here is my first share of the piece:

Now, my fans are the classiest, coolest people and they always interact with me, but this was a huge response to a share of any kind on my fledgling page - including famous people.  I knew right then, that this was something special.  I immediately reached out to Anne and asked her if she would be willing to partner with me, to release #GirlPower merchandise in the United States.  To my delight, she said yes and we began not only a business relationship, but a friendship - which I cherish.  Since then, we have been on a roller coaster of a ride I call:  Defending #GirlPower!

An Anne's authorized agent and manager, I filed the United States copyright for her piece and we began fielding requests for using the artwork, as well as trolling the net to find all the ways that people have embraced and shared her.  #GirlPower has gone viral and women all over the world have connected with the work and put their own spin on it.  

In fact, Anne has been able to discover over 100 women, across the world, who have had #GirlPower tattooed on their bodies.  They have shared their stories of struggle and survival with her and these women are truly inspiring and many of their stories are heartbreaking.

And then came the "Pink"!

Someone - to this day, we don't know who - rendered #GirlPower into a pink version with the tattoo changed to "Fight Like a Girl".  

This version - despite the poor quality - also went viral like crazy!

And this #fightlikeagirl version was changed and shared in a variety of ways - prompting Anne to render her own high quality version in pink to support the cause of breast cancer awareness.

On May 23rd at Pinned Miami, we released the first ever Anne Cha #GirlPower merchandise, offering prints, t-shirts (sponsored by Tatyana Boutique) and #GirlPower military-style dog tags.  In fact, for the finale of our concert show of Art of the Pin-Up Girl at Pinned, burlesque troupe The Assets, danced onstage wearing the #GirlPower t-shirts!

One woman even had #GirlPower tattooed on her arm on the spot at the Pinned Miami Festival at one the tattoo booths!

Now you can buy officially licensed #GirlPower merchandise on Art of the Pin-Up Girl's Etsy Shop!

So the sharing and viral activity has continued and #GirlPower has become an icon!

She has even brought out the big guns!  

A few weeks ago, celebrity Christina Milian shared #GirlPower to her 1.6 million fans on her Instagram.

Most people who share #GirlPower have no idea that Anne Cha is the artist.  It is true that when you create an icon like this, she belongs to the world and everyone calls her their own.  Please help us spread the word about Anne Cha and her fantastic art.  If you see her, tag Anne Cha and let people know that this artist is deserving of the recognition for creating this and many more beautiful works.  

In fact, her pin-ups just get better and better!

Several important licensing deals are in the works for #GirlPower 

and the "pink" merchandise will be on Etsy soon!  

Art of the Pin-Up Girl is your official source for 

#GirlPower merchandise and all purchases directly benefit the artist.  

#GirlPower is protected by US copyright 2014 and all rights are reserved.