San Francisco, California, September 2006

I was beyond elated when my copy director assigned me to be the creative lead of the Nordstrom Edun campaign launch in 2006.

Edun is the socially conscious, eco-friendly fashion line that was created by U2’s Bono and his wife Ali in 2005. I had already written many blogs and small features about Edun for the U2 site that I work for, and was present the week they introduced the label at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York the prior year. I even owned four or five outfits by Edun, which I wore often to silently promote the brand.

Scott knew what he was doing letting me have that beat, so to speak. I couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about scripting the copy and to top it off, I was a faithful ONE Campaign volunteer, which was perfect because the piece we were pushing was a ONE Campaign T-shirt that Edun had produced. All of the information was already in my head because I was a part of it from every angle.

I was so passionate about the brand, the words came easily. I began with the headline “Come Together As ONE” and built upon that. I wrote the catalog pages describing the clothes, the store windows that would display the shirts, the newspaper ad that would run in The New York Times and the invitations to the special events, which would officially launch the label in our stores.

And that’s where it got exciting.

Though I couldn’t make it to the two stores (in Chicago and Los Angeles) that would feature Bono himself at their events, I was permitted to travel to San Francisco where his wife, Ali, and the original designer of the label, Rogan Gregory, would be in attendance.

I quickly called my friends at the San Francisco store (events’ folks, beauty directors and sales managers I’d worked remotely with for years) and told them I’d be coming. They said they’d be sure to secure me a spot at the cosmetics counter (one of our artists would give me a complimentary makeup application to get me glitzed up for the night) and an escort would take me to the private area where I could meet Ali, then I could join everyone for the event in our Savvy section, where the party would take place.

In the weeks leading up to the events, I worked with our wonderful Seattle event director to fine tune the text. Normally, vendors require several rounds of changes before the final versions of ads are agreed upon. Not in this case—the Edun team could not have been more wonderful about giving feedback and were pleasant to work with on every conference call. Colleagues of mine joked that if I heard Ali or Bono on a call during a meeting, I’d turn into a clone of Chris Farley’s alter ego and start asking ridiculous questions. I’m pleased to say that never happened.

I was a bundle of nerves upon arrival in San Francisco. I’d carefully carried my $400 Edun dress (the most expensive clothing I owned, and what I would wear to the party) on the plane and steamed it the day of the event. My hair was not cooperating (I picked the wrong time of year to grow my bangs out) and the golden nail polish, which matched my golden shoes, erupted in my suitcase, leaving my other toiletries coated in a glitter-like mess.

To top it off, I had plans to see someone who meant the world to me that same day and he stood me up. It would be the only time I would be in San Francisco for two years, and he couldn’t take a couple hours out of his life to see me. I was devastated.

I cried hysterically as I stepped in the shower to prepare for the event.

I felt sorry for myself. I asked myself why I was always alone. I was angry at the thought that I couldn’t go to the earlier Bono appearances, though it would’ve meant more to me than any other person in the company. I was sad that I had no one to share this amazing moment with, other than my mom and my sister, who would be with me only in spirit by phone.

I dried my tears and put a cold compress on my face while my hair was in curlers. I bandaged the blisters on my heels that I’d earned climbing around Alcatraz on a tour the previous day. I slipped the dress on and tucked my small camera into a purse I’d bought just for the occasion.

I walked the few blocks over to the store and met some of my remote colleagues in person. I was greeted warmly with hugs and a glass of champagne. The friend who applied my makeup noticed by puffy eyes and put cucumber cream on them to minimize the inflammation. 15 minutes later, I was being led to the back room where the Edun PR rep and Rogan were already waiting.

I chatted with them—both incredibly nice and gracious people—and sort of went into a haze. I was a copywriter in the back room of a store with champagne and fruits being served from silver trays in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. How did I get here?

Before I had too much time to contemplate, in walked Ali, smiling and glowing the way everyone always describes her.

She really is a stunning woman, more petite than she appears in photos, with creamy, gorgeous skin and shiny, licorice black hair.

Ali made her way around the room (there were only about 6 of us in attendance) and when she got to me, she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Ali.”

Instead of saying, “Um, yeah, I KNOW!” I introduced myself and explained that I was the lead copywriter from Seattle who had written all the pieces for the campaign. She said that I did a lovely job.

There was never any talk of my U2 fan-ness, though she clearly knew who I was. Just pleasant small talk about Edun and the wonderful efforts of The ONE Campaign.

Then, she asked if she could pour anyone a glass of water when she went to get one for herself.

Yes, the guest of honor was so down to earth, she nearly became her own wait staff.

Thankfully, one of our elves interjected and got the refreshment ready for her. Then, we were shuffled out on to the sales floor for the public part of the reception (though it wasn’t entirely public, because those attending were invited).

Ali and Rogan were charming and funny as they spoke (Ali mentioned something about usually being upstaged by her louder husband, which got big laughs), and the whole crowd flocked to buy beautiful Edun dresses and the highlighted T-shirts that I’d worked so hard to promote.

As everyone began mingling, Ali and I made our way back to each other and I asked her if she wouldn’t mind taking a picture with me when she had a moment.

“Oh, you!” She said. “Of course, love.”

As I was starting to ask my colleague to snap the picture, Ali whispered and asked me if I was okay.

I didn’t realize that the crying I’d done earlier was still written all over my face.

“Yes. I had a disappointment earlier today, but I’m just fine now. Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. So happy to meet you.”

She gave me a little hug and then we faced the camera. I tried desperately not to tear up, but if you look closely at our picture, my eyes are a bit glossier than normal.

What a wonderful woman Bono married! She has so much, yet she gives so much more.