Our Namesake

Ambrose (340-397 AD) is the patron saint of learning. After a successful life in public office he was elected to serve as the Bishop of Milan. During his time in leadership Goths invaded the empire and held several people captive. Ambrose responded by melting the church’s fortune of ornamental gold to give as their ransom.

We strive to embody the spirit of St. Ambrose by offering our fortunes of education and experience to develop creative individuals and communities in the hope that they would grow and do the same for others.

Our Mark

For centuries master craftsmen turned raw materials into finished products on anvils. Their callused hands spoke of an intimate knowledge of tools that comes only from years spent perfecting a craft. On the anvil raw becomes refined. It rallies against mass mechanized production in favor of small run quality goods. It demands of its operators the practice of strength and finesse and in return imbues them with the pride of making something beautiful in a beautiful way.

Ambrose is an anvil; a solid place where youth can turn raw ideas, passion and potential into something beautiful, refined and ready.

History

A while back I had a thing for patron saints.  It was birthed by V for Vendetta, a 10 part comic book written in the mid 80’s by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd.  Like many other small town Midwestern kids my youth was deprived of the comic-book culture; it’s expected when 4,000 people can barely support their own movie theater.  It follows that I didn’t learn of “V” until 2006 when he was made known to the masses in a film adaptation of the comic.  Set in the near future, a fascist party has risen to power in England by carrying out a violent scheme against her own citizenry.  “V”, our leading anarchist, dawns a Guy Fawkes mask and begins a campaign to humble the power-bloated government by blowing up Parliment.  In the process he meets a lovely Evey Hammond, a daughter of the revolution, and impresses on her the following notion:

People die.  Ideas live forever.

Enter St. Ambrose.  He’s one of many deceased rebels known for something and labeled a patron.  For V it was freedom, but for Ambrose it was bees, education and poverty.

Legend has it that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey on his tongue (not the most relaxing mental image).  His father, a praetorian prefect, saw the silver lining and considered this a sign of his future eloquence.  As Ambrose grew he followed his father’s footsteps and was educated in Rome in literature, law, and rhetoric.  By 33 had it all - a successful career as a lawyer, an important position as governor of Milan, the approval and friendship of the emperor and a large estate.  At this time (374 AD) there was a huge conflict within the church regarding the divinity of Christ.  Maintaining public order was part of his duty so when infighting in the church (really?) lead to a riot Ambrose stepped up and worked his honey-tongued magic to settle both nerves and crowds.  Impressed with his passion and eloquence the crowd began chanting “Ambrose for bishop!”  After resisting initially, he gave his property to the poor and took over  leadership.

The lot he inherited as bishop was not an easy one.  Shortly after donning the cloth, Goths invaded the empire and held captives for ransom.  Ambrose responded by melting both personal and church held fortunes to give as the payment. His concern with people over power was something so pure and good that we had to emulate it, so we started asking questions. What if we could embody this spirit as a community?  What if we were more concerned with people than profit? What if we pursued the health of our communities rather than the health of our bank accounts (but still kept it in the black)? And with that, and a healthy dose of optimism, our humble attempt was birthed. Ambrose: a design and screen printing company focused on mentoring students to produce excellent work for the benefit of others.

Contact

Adam Weiler
E-mail: adam at joyandrevolution.com
Phone: (616) 594-0773