Bubble Mailer tutorial over in SuperCute! blog

For all you sustainability nuts, I posted a make-your-own-bubble-mailers from recycled materials tutorial over in the SuperCute! blog:
tutorial!

 

Youngblood Gallery! New Space!

My favoritest place in the whole city to go see awesome artists and shop for amazing things from some of the best indie artists/designers in the world is finally reopening in their new location!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark it on your calendars: May 1st! I’ll be there, will you?? (Oh, and since May 1st is Lucie’s Birthday, there will also be a stop at the Cupcake Factory, which is next door)

(click image to go to their site)

In even better news, they’re going to be stocking some of my recycled sweater softies and snakes, as well as the new candle cups I’ve been making AND my skirts! squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!
(I would have photos, except I’m an idiot and had the camera on the wrong setting. Of course. *sigh*)
Anyway, they’re also carrying Becky’s bento kits!!! rad!

 

a day in the life

So today has been spent mostly working on skirts for my spring collection, but I took a little break and wandered over to my neighborhood secondhand shop and boy am I glad I did! I found this vintage (I think 50’s, but not entirely sure…) silk chinese-style dress. It’s handmade and appears to be hand beaded, I’m pretty sure it was someone’s wedding dress. It’s absolutely stunning, and beyond that it fits like it was tailored for me! This made my day, now I just need to send it to the cleaners and come up with an occasion to wear it!

Then I tested a pattern for a shopping bag made from recycled materials. I found a photo in the flickr recycled materials group that gave me the idea, now Becky and I are trying to figure out the best way to make these sturdy enough to hold our larger items. We want to use these at festivals, instead of purchasing shopping bags. We’ll probably use stickers to put the SuperCute! logo on the front, so that we can all three use them. (except we’ll prolly be making minis for Liz’s jewelry)
so far, so good, except I might need to reinforce the handle stitching and make them more square, less rectangular.

 

on Craftivism

Someone on the WhipUp forums touched on a topic that’s been dear to my heart as of late.

She wrote:

“There is a definite revival of DIY in our culture. It’s interesting a question as to how this all started. My belief is that it parallels the last revivial of DIY spirit in the 1970s.
At that time as well as today people felt disconnected, isolated, and desperate. People struggle to be heard especially in relationship to war and a repressive government. Art making of any kind is therapuetic and it restores our sense of empowerment. The DIY movement has been sparked by several different, maybe complimentary reasons:
the need for individuals to have an outlet.
the need to form community.
the need to access ones independence as a reflection of the ill equipped nature of the state.
the need to invest in the self.
the need for revolution.
the need for economic independence.
The nature of the DIY movement is thus to satisfy the retaliatory nature that arises when one feels repressed, isolated, and lacking the independence that every individual has a right to.”

………………

Recently I was interviewed for a potential article about the resurgence of crafting, and while I know there are as many factors as there are crafters, some common themes just keep coming up. One of the biggies is the concept of craftivism, or the role of craft in changing the world we live in. In addition to what the above author has written about the empowering nature of craft, I think it’s also about wanting to know the real cost of an item- not just the cash you plunk down, but the political, human and environmental costs that are so often hidden when you buy from the shelves of a chain store. I think more and more people want to look a real person in the eye and have that connection, that realness of knowing who made the item they are about to buy. NoImpact Man calls it transparency, the author of the above quote calls it independence or rebellion, but whatever you call it, the fact that people are looking for it fills me with hope and happiness.

 

SuperCute! News

As many of you know, I partner with two awesome other crafters, Becky of Glue and Glitter, and Liz of Lizerati under the name SuperCute! for local events. We each had similar ideas of what we hoped to accomplish via our crafting, and also share a similar vision of how we’d like to encourage a more sustainable world. Running a sustainable business presents some challenges, however, and we decided to start a blog on our site to talk about some of the issues we encounter, as well as share news about other people who are meeting these challenges head-on and succeeding.
There might also be a cupcake recipe or two thrown in, as well as some crafty tutorials and probably at least one photo of Liz wearing a fake moustache.
So, if you’re so inclined, stop in and see us!
http://www.shinyandfuzzy.com/blog/

(yes, it says shiny and fuzzy, see Liz and I started this a year or so before Becky popped out of a cupcake and decided to join us. Well, Liz makes shiny stuff, and I make a lot of fuzzy stuff, so… the name stuck. We hope you’ll understand. Besides, supercute dot com was taken…)

oh, and by the way, today, we’ll be here: I think there’s free beer?

(Click to see full-size)

 

Optimism Uprising?

This a fantastic article on the politics of optimism by the guy who wrote the book WorldChanging

“Every time we explain how a better future might be built, we redraw the boundaries of the possible.”

 

CRAFT Magazine Release party!!!

Join us on Sunday, March 9 from 1-5 p.m. for a party celebrating the release of CRAFT: 06, CRAFT Magazine’s “Play” issue. Your friends from the Indie Craft Experience and the Atlanta Craft Mafia will host free hands-on craft fun. We’ll supply you with everything you need to create mini felt monsters & robots at ParkGrounds Coffee in Reynoldstown, where you’ll also enjoy snacks and drinks, fabulous door prizes, and special subscription deals. Come have some handmade fun and check out CRAFT’s new issue while you’re at
it. Hope to see you there!

CRAFT: 06 Release Party
Sunday, March 9, 1-5 p.m.
@ ParkGrounds Coffee
142 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta GA 30316
http://parkgrounds.com/

 

Indie Craft Experience, Lucky #7!!!

The application for the next Indie Craft Experience is online. ICE is always one of my favorite festivals to do. Christy and Shannon really pour their hearts into this project and it shows every single time.

I can’t wait!!!!!

 

The Handmade’s Tale

 

Bookbinding?

I got this in an email from the lovely Sara at Re-Paper, thought someone else might be interested!

Looking to learn how to make your own books, or brush up on your
bookbinding skills? Join me at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio for 24
hours of bookbinding fun! Okay- 24 hours spread over 8, 3 hour
sessions, Wednesday nights March 12 - April 30th. I’ll be covering
basic techniques and materials as well as more in-depth tutorials on
specific book forms. Each student will complete five structures to take
home: pamphlet stitch, Japanese stab-bound, cased in codex, exposed/
sewn-spine coptic and chain-stitch over ribbon. Details and
registration forms are attached, and are also available at the APS
website . Hope to see you there!

-Sara
http://www.re-paper.net

click the flyer to see it larger: