I was looking on Baltimore Craigslist for apartments close
to MICA, when I noticed there was an Art/Design category in the Jobs
section.Hmmmm.Click.One of the newest listings was headlined "Fabric Artist
Wanted,"a phrase I had never seen
before.How wonderful!Thus began a very interesting collaboration
with Todd Broadwater, a talented artist who designs video games and action
figures.He wanted a prototype of a 32"
cloth doll of Slender Man-- the internet meme that has taken on an eerie life
of its own.Now he's got it up on
Kickstarter, where you can purchase your own for $50.Here is his daughter with the doll:
I worked from Todd's great drawings:
(As I checked the scale, I kept thinking of the segment from Spinal Tap in which the set designer makes the Stone Henge gate 18 inches instead of 18 feet. Love that tiny stone gate being lowered dramatically from above the stage!) Here's how it looked in process:
Somehow I remembered how my Raggedy Ann doll's butt was
hinged for sitting.
Here are the pattern pieces for his little suit:
And here's the final product:
Now he's loose in the world. Do visit Todd's Kickstarter page and order your very own
Slender Man doll today.He is also
offering some limited edition illustrations that are strange and wonderful.
The last time I was in NYC I picked up a "W" magazine and was blown away by some of the fresh, smart and creative looks I saw.
Dress by Akris
Dress by Alexander Wang
The prices, of course, are astronomical,
but I enjoy looking the same way I enjoy viewing great paintings at a museum
that I don't expect to have hanging on my walls in the near future. And how about these shoes?
I am on a something of a blogging hiatus while I work on separating my life from my husband's. (Figuring out what parts to separate and what parts to keep intact while we transition to the nesting model of childcare takes a lot of care and emotional energy.) Meanwhile, I have also put off the seasonal ritual of treating my feet to a lovely pedicure and letting them see the sun through sandals once again. I was determined this time to seek out an eco-friendly spa that would not use the many toxic chemicals used in nail polish and polish remover (especially toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and formaldehyde ). So my feet continue to wait. Then today I came across this terrific blog post in a lovely blog called Gratitude 2013 about a spot nearby in Silver Spring. (Thank you, Universe!)
It's called The Emerald Door. Let's visit. If you know of other eco-friendly spas in the DC area, please add them in the comment section. I will not likely be able to do a big research project in the short term.
Busy making a Slenderman plush doll for a client these days. I'll post pics when I'm done. Meanwhile the Dutch designer, Johanne Helger Lund, just popped up in a facebook ad. She uses natural fibers and organic and sustainable elements whenever possible. Her background is costume design, which gives her clothes a nostalgic look that I like.
Carmen dress available in several colors for 184 euros.
Here's a different view that shows the details
I think this is my favorite:
Carla dress for 184 euros
She specializes in feminine, flattering looks. The prices are steep as you might expect from a small design house committed to fair labor conditions. How's the Euro-Dollar exchange rate these days? Check out her label's website, Ecouture, for more lovely frocks available for on-line purchase.
There are some wonderful mega thrift stores in the area where you can pore over racks and racks of merchandise and find inexpensive things to surprise and delight.They all look like non-profit charity organizations, but they are not made alike.For example, Value Village and Unique Thrift are for-profit organizations.They contract with non-profit organizations like the National Children’s Center and Vietnam Veterans of America, who collect the merchandise and provide donors with the ability to write off their donations as charitable.I am glad the National Children’s Center and Vietnam Veterans of America have found this means to support their charitable work.However, as an eco-fashionista, I was sad to see the Value Village on New Hampshire Avenue in Hillandale begin featuring a huge Hallowe’en shop with hundreds of new, cheap costumes made overseas.As a for-profit entity, this just made good business sense:they realized everyone was scouring thrifts for costume ideas and elements, and they made sure everyone could find something to buy.From an environmental point of view it undercut the goals of reducing, reusing and recycling.
Goodwill of Greater Washington is an exception to the for-profit thrift model.The organization exists to provide job training and placement.And 91% of DC Goodwill’s funding goes directly towards their job training and employment services.What a great way to do a lot of good with your clothing and furniture donations!Also, I think, because of their non-profit soul, they are likely to stay truer to their important environmental role.
Below is a video about Goodwill and, after it, a lot impressive facts about their work.If you’d like to learn more about Goodwill of Greater Washington, find their nearest store or donation center, or get involved, please visit www.dcgoodwill.org --or download their free mobile app from the iTunes app store. My friend, Kristina, recommends heading out Columbia Pike to one of their Virginia sites as their are many great eateries along the way. Salvadoran food anyone?Go Goodwill!
In 2012, DC Goodwill provided job training and placement services to over 3,200 people in our community.
DC Goodwill successfully placed 228 people into new jobs in 2012 and employed over 600 in its retail stores, contract services and administrative support divisions.
After 90 days of employment 86% of the individuals DC Goodwill placed into jobs last year still retained those jobs.
Some of the companies where DC Goodwill graduates were placed in 2012 include Allied Barton Security, Accenture, Safeway, George Mason University, Jiffy Lube, Securitas, Virginia Commerce Bank, Fairfax County Public Schools, PNC Bank and Marriott.
Over 80% of the people in DC Goodwill’s contracts division have a documented, severe disability.
DC Goodwill is also a job creator. Every retail store we open creates between 25 and 30 new jobs.
Whenever someone donates to Goodwill they are also repurposing and recycling unwanted household goods. In 2012, DC Goodwill diverted 20 million pounds of goods from area landfills.
DC Goodwill donated almost $70,000 in Good Samaritan vouchers to other nonprofit agencies in 2012 so that the populations they serve can secure free clothing and shoes from Goodwill stores.
Goodwill serves people with a variety ofdisabilities including emotional, developmental, physical and mental.
Goodwill serves people with a variety of disadvantaging conditions including those with a lack of education, those trying to get off welfare, ex-offenders and the chronically unemployed.
In January the unemployment rate in the District of Columbia was at 8.6% compared to 5.5% just five years ago.
The unemployment rate in DC’s Ward 8 still exceeds 25%, which is the highest area rate in the country!
How about this weather?And the gorgeous spring blooms?!It is the perfect time to highlight a jewelry designer who makes beautiful,
colorful things using natural products.In 2009, Columbia-native and U.S. State Department employee, Catalina
Lemaitre launched Calamarie, a company dedicated to eco-friendly jewelry made
by Columbian artisans.Her designs do
wonderful things with orange peels, seeds and even silk cocoons.Here are just a few of her designs.
I bought a purple orange-peel-rose bracelet a couple of
years ago and can attest to its durability.I am now attracted to her many hair accessories.
Did you know that only 5% of the art currently on display in
U.S. museums is made by women artists?
NMWA finds those we should see more of. Take a long lunch and enjoy some great art and great jewelry design. Happy Spring!
She wrote the book before
the latest factory disaster, but she had gone undercover as a garment buyer in
China and Bangladesh and had noted the obvious safety problems- especially in
Bangladesh.Despite sending auditors to monitor factory conditions, the big clothing
retailers (H&M, Zara, Gap, JCPenney, Wal-Mart, Sears, Target,
Disney...) have failed repeatedly to ensure safe working conditions. The government of Bangladesh is not doing enough to protect its citizens either.
In the drive
to produce cheaper and cheaper clothing, manufacturers have willingly moved into
developing countries where the costs are absolutely rock bottom. Workers in Bangladesh make about $38/month
according to Cline, which is even below the $200+ made by Chinese workers.The quality of textiles and clothing has also
declined as the race for the lowest price continues.Clothing retailers are also changing
inventory more often and promoting shorter trend cycles.All this has lead consumers to shop more
often for cheaper goods and to consider buying, say, a $15 item for one party or event-- disposable
fashion.Enormous volumes of clothing end
up in landfills or thrift stores.If
they don't sell within a month in thrift stores, they are often collected in
large bales and shippedto African
nations where are they sold to second-hand clothing merchants.
The
transport alone of huge volumes of clothing is hard on the earth.When you consider the high toll of growing
water-hungry cotton, of producing petroleum-based polyester and of chemically processing
textiles in countries with dismal environmental controls, it frankly gets a bit
nauseating.I am tired for Mother Earth.
But that is
me.The author was much more skilled and
graceful on Fresh Air.She presented
the facts gradually and ended with a gentle account of how her own habits have
changed (less shopping and more carefully chosen items that she keeps longer).She also added this final thought:"I'm 100 percent convinced this is the turning point.There's just something about the number of
the pictures. I feel like it's too bad of a tragedy for the brands to bounce
back this time."
(See Elizabeth Cline's list of ethical fashion designers and resources on the book's website here.)
DDOE Director of Community Outreach, Sharon Cooke, started off
with a rousing welcome and said they were going to let us all know that
vintage/thrifted clothing is earth-friendly, inexpensive and fabulous.The three women behind me, who had dropped in
on their lunch hour, answered "All right then!"signaling that they were ready to see the
proof.
Crystal Morton, Crystal Lewis and Regana Smith enjoying the show
The models were a mix of professionals, DDOE staff and
vendors' friends:men and women of all
ages, races, shapes and sizes walking with attitude and looking
great.(Scroll to the end for a
mini-fashion show.)The mood was joyous
as people cheered their friends and applauded the looks.There was a tremendous range of styles, and
the looks were beautifully put together top to bottom.They also suited the different models
wonderfully well.
Punctuating the four segments of the show were a large
number of statement pieces by Isagus who makes things out of gift wrap bows,
trash bags, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, bunting and anything else that she decides
to intercept on its way to the landfill.
The vendors represented and some shots from their booths
follow.I'll profile many of them in
greater depth in the days ahead.
