Not 100% sure I like this song, but it's kind of loose and fun and refers to Wigan.
Had the opportunity to watch some TV last night. Noticed that Santogold provides background music for Bud Light and various other products ... artists are really going commercial quickly these days.
She's a Flamenco dancer and teacher of friend-Augustina.
He's for sale -- only $20. For sale, and kind of Yul Brynner-ish. 4x4".
Holy crap! Girl's made a fine song here. Very Magnetic Fields "Get Lost"-era. Way to go, Blondie!
My friend John Geletka just started a new blog about marketing, art and other things. Check it out! I'll add it to my links.
This is a project of Global Exchange and Co-Op America. Recycling, products and more green galore. Bring three books to receive $5 off the $15 admission price.
I smell a freelance assignment here ...
Just confirmed another DJing gig at the Medicine Park art gallery. That evening, Chicago photographer Ray Pride will have an opening. Reminders as the date approaches, but in the meantime click those links and learn.
Christa Lohman found this "Wild Diva" shoe in Edgewater, Chicago, IL. Let us all marvel at the wonderful design of this attractive pump.
FC's regular English correspondent, DJ Bass, who specializes in all things abandoned, artful and shoe-y, found this abandoned Adidas "trainer" during his roamings on 5/3/08.
Several months ago, I would have read this post by Star Editor-at-Large Julia Allison (her tumblr's a guilty pleasure) and probably said, "You go, girl! Tell that guy off. Help your friend." Now, however, after spending much of 2008 with some or other self-help or psychology book in hand (catching up on all of those parenting lessons that the parents didn't quite pass down, because their parents didn't pass them down, and so on backwards in time) I read Julia's posting and have this response: Stay out of it. Let the friend figure things out on her own. Apparently, she's getting something out of the situation with the boyfriend, because she hasn't dumped the dude yet. She'll figure it out sooner or later. If she doesn't, that's her problem -- and that problem is way too complex and deeply rooted for any friendly act of intervention to resolve.
A few years back, I became involved with someone who had more red flags than a Communist parade. Friends told me not to "go there," but of course I ignored their advice. The relationship turned out disastrously. The only person who was surprised by the outcome was me.
My friends offered advice, but they didn't intervene. Had they tried to stop me from making my mistake, I probably would have gotten angry at them, and asked something like, "Don't they believe I can think for myself?" I didn't fully realize it at the time, but nevertheless sensed that people who sincerely care will be honest about their opinions on things, and tell you when they are concerned, but then let go. They won't try to rescue you from yourself, because adults are supposed to do that for themselves. The operative words here are "boundaries" and "respect."
Control is a funny thing. Many of us try to control others because there's certain areas of our lives that we don't know how to control -- be it our social/political milieu ("I wish everyone voted Republican") or our own bad habits ("I can't get myself organized, so I'll try to organize someone else"). Or, we try to control our environment because we're ridden by fear, anxiety, indecision, or -- in some cases -- a perverse need to dominate others. Lastly, some of us try to control others whose actions and behaviors remind us of ourselves and our own mistakes. We try to correct our own mistakes or avoid self-diagnosed shortcomings and misjudgments through the act of rescuing others; this is a popular parenting technique, come to think of it.
Trying to control everyone and everything is not only exhausting and frustrating, it's pointless. People ultimately do what they want. It's our decision whether to live with people's choices, or if we find them unsatisfactory, spend our time with other people whose choices we agree with more. Easier said than done, of course -- especially in family situations!
Over time I have gradually thought more and more about this word, "control." I have identified ways that other people have tried to control me (mainly through trying to project their shame and negativity onto me) and ways I've tried to control them (mainly by trying to get them to stop trying to project their shame and negativity onto me). And I've thought about why I sometimes feel controlled, like I have no choice in a matter except to fall in line and/or take whatever it is -- be it protection or abuse -- people have to dish out. It's all part of codependency, a word/concept that isn't exactly concrete, but basically involves either a need to control or a need to be controlled.
Codependency isn't always easy to recognize, because our society treats a lot of codependent behavior as normal. (That's not my observation -- I read it somewhere.) I have friends who have gone to therapy for years, who just now are learning about codependency and asking, "how come my therapists didn't tell me about this?" I'd say it's because they're going to the wrong therapists, but perhaps it's for another reason -- that it's so everywhere, that we're surrounded by it and have difficulty recognizing it. (I sure as heck didn't know what it was, until I started reading about it.)
Also making this codependency thing complex is that a lot of behavior that is "codependent" is often well-intentioned. For example, intervening on behalf of an emotionally abused friend sounds like a Good Samaritan thing to do, right? But it's kind of not, if you think about it. (I didn't come up with these observations on my own, either.)
This week alone I have witnessed two situations similar to the one that has made Julia Allison so livid. Neither of these situations involved friends of mine -- they were friends of friends -- but if they had, I would now recommend to the friend that she go see a therapist who can help her try to understand why she chooses abusive partners, or advise her to read some books about codependency (my faves are Pia Mellody and John Bradshaw, both of whom are fairly open about their own past codependency issues). I'd remind the friend that she has options, and be generally supportive, but stop there.
As for Julia's question about why people intervene in cases of physical abuse but not always in cases of emotional abuse, I think the reason is that emotional abuse is very open-ended. It can be just as damaging as physical abuse, no doubt, but because it has to do with feelings and thoughts it's not so clear-cut and therefore much trickier to address.
On a final note about her post: Slapping, though potentially cathartic, just doesn't achieve very much, I don't think. (My parents didn't believe in spanking or hitting me, which was one of their better parenting practices, in my opinion.) In my mid-20s, I smacked two guys on two separate occasions after they touched me inappropriately; I call this "Molester-Provoked Tourette's." In one instance a whole room of girls clapped; in the other, I got scared (the guy was pretty huge) and ran off to hide behind my friend Laura's big curly hairdo. Did the guys learn anything from these experiences? Maybe the guy involved in the room full of clapping girls did -- not because I punched him, though, but because the girls were all shaming him. But the big guy who I ran away from probably didn't learn anything.
Get it here.
Last night's DJ face-off between me and Tankboy went off fairly hitchless. People had fun, songs got spun, friends showed up, KISS broke up. OK, the last one is wrong. Playlist will show up here in time.
Achievement of the evening: Helping a guy figure out the name and artist of a song that he's wondered about for years: Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam."
Mishap of the evening: Playing a remix of Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait," which at seven minutes was entirely too long.
At the end of the evening, we got paid some money for our DJ services. Can you believe that? What fortune. Never thought I'd ever receive money for playing jingles for toilets and Sindy dolls! Life is wonderful.
This. Horrid.
If the weather's nice this weekend, I'd like to visit Rogers Park and/or Edgewater in search of finds. Anyone who's interested should email me at found_clothing@yahoo.com. Sunday afternoon looks best.
This will not happen if the weather sucks.
This song's great. Find it on this post by the nicely named Trashbags Kids. Gonna play it for sure this evening at Le Burlington.
So, I guess you can vote for your favorite flyer and start things off in the competitive spirit:
5/6/08, 6:45 p.m.
W. Melrose, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
Here's Eva, reclaiming her business card wallet. Eva has great fashion sense --her outfit is a long denim dress with a very cool cut. TOo bad you can't see it.
She told me that several years ago, she and a friend did a photojournalism project on Chicago's Catholic, Polish churches.
5/6/08, around 1 p.m.
N. Michigan Ave., eastern side, in front of Water Tower Place, downtown, Chicago, IL
Found this on the sidewalk. It says "size 14," but it's not that big on me. It smells like pretty girls, all perfumy.
The flyer should say it all ... Well, maybe not. For example, George S. Trow has nothing to do with this event. I had simply been in a hurry, wrote "trow" instead of "throw," said "oh no!," then Trow came to mind. Save.
In case you haven't noticed, I like wordplay and free association. It keeps things lively. It's the hippie in me, coming out of the closet to do a little dance before heading right back inside (hippies belong in closets). Not to smoke a bowl -- my inner hippie does not do drugs. Rather, it talks to its inner child and plays with crystals.
Cheap! Click the calf to view the series. I've weeded out some of the messier-looking ones -- my technique's improving, and some of my first products were kind of rough. I take orders, so if you see a creature you fancy, let me know and we'll work it out.
5/2/08, 11 p.m.
N. Halsted, south of Diversey, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
Found this in the street while biking home from happy fun times going to the International Museum of Surgical Science for an exhibition of contemporary art. The coolest piece was "i'm a uniter, not a divider" by Timea Tihanyi -- an installation made of felt that looked like a branching nerve.
The IMSS has people's kidney stones on display. Odd.
It's good. No idea what they're saying, but since, for the most part, I stopped valuing songs for their lyrical content sometime during the mid-90s, I don't much care -- it sounds cool ...
Cinnamon Cooper has got poise, and she's got Poise -- her own purse-making company. Yes, that was dorky. So what. Cinnamon and I actually "met" in the summer of 2006 when we were both "Real Hot 100" winners and attended the same capirinha funfest celebration party fete, but we didn't actually talk to each other. That didn't happen until late 2007, when we met through Gapers Block. Recently I asked Cinnamon some questions about her fashion enterprise -- she occasionally uses found fabrics -- and she graciously obliged.
If you are a DIY/trashion/fixer-upper person and want me to interview you here, just drop me a line.
How did you begin making purses? What was the inspiration?
The first purse I made was for a fund-raiser for Inspiration Corporation. They auctioned off art and other creatively made handmade items. I made a clutch with a deconstructed dupioni silk and beaded surface. It was quite nice (of course I took no pictures) and I was thrilled when it was sold for far more than I expected it to sell for. I met a few people that night who asked if I would be interested in making something for their nonprofit organization, and after spending about two years making bags to simply give away, I began to get the idea that I could make bags and sell them to raise money for organizations I wanted to support.
What inspires you now to go with certain designs?
Mostly people I know. In so many cases I've had a friend, or even a complete stranger, say, "I had this bag. It was perfect, except for this one detail." And I've looked at the bag or their memory of the bag and have recreated my version of the bag without the flaw. In other cases, I've just had the idea to make a bag that fit my needs. For example, I recently decided I needed a purse that could carry my wallet, keys, a book, a notebook and my digital SLR. And I wanted it dressy so I could take it with me on fancy outings, but not so dressy that I couldn't take it out for everyday use. While sitting on the bus, I saw girl who was totally punk rock'd out and her belt gave me an idea for taking a simple shape and making it more attractive by using rings to hold on the straps and having a decorative lining.
Do you make your own patterns?
Absolutely. It's one thing I'm stringent on with myself, and is something I suggest others do as well. If you don't create the design and/or the pattern (it's possible to give a design to a professional pattern-maker and have them come up with something), then all you're doing is selling someone else's work. It's actually illegal to purchase a sewing pattern, make the item, and then sell it as your own design. That said, I have bought a number of patterns over the years and have studied them and learned construction techniques and ideas from them that have made it possible for me to have the mental building blocks to create the finished pieces I want.
Do you ever use found fabric or bobbles?
Yep. Not very often, unfortunately, since most of the fabrics I find are things I can't really make a bag out of. A sweatshirt just isn't going to give me the bag I want. However, I have found buttons, beads, and buckles, and have used them occasionally on a bag. In fact -- the bag with the rings that I wrote about before? The rings were sewn to an ugly towel that the previous owner of our home had left hanging over a window. The towel became a rag, and the rings found their way onto my purse.
Give us a cool purse-related anecdote.
A few years ago, a coworker asked me if I would make a bag for his wife with a special pocket for her asthma inhaler. "She always carries these huge bags that don't have pockets big enough, so she doesn't take it with her. And then I get worried that she's going to have an attack and not have it," he said. So he worked with me and I created a bag for her. I was thrilled to hear that she loved the bag and used it for what it was intended for. I mentioned this story at a panel on crafting and activism a few years ago, and that same woman stood up in front of the crowd and held the bag over her head and said, "Hey, that's me." I got goosebumps seeing her with the bag. Not only did I make something that she wanted to carry, but I made it possible for my coworker to breathe easier, knowing that his wife could breathe.
Who are some of your favorite peers?
Oh, there are so, so many. I have to give a huge shout out to the other seven women in the Chicago Craft Mafia with me. These women have all kept me motivated and focused and educated and able to keep this all informed. And it is so hard to choose otherwise, because there are so many amazing makers of handmade goods in Chicago alone that I've been fortunate to meet through the DIY Trunk Show. There are some amazing people who are making such great stuff in Chicago. I even got my wedding ring from local crafter Natalia Wilson. I was thrilled to know the person making my ring, but it really helped cement that while it may take a little more work, I can find anything I need from a local person who is making great stuff themselves.
How do DIY fashionistas help the environment?
So much of fashion is waste. So much gets thrown out after a few wears because it was poorly made and doesn't hold up, or just becomes unfashionable. But so much of the DIY movement is remaking, reusing, re-envisioning goods. And I love seeing people take toasters and turn them into lamps, take ties and turn them into skirts, use seat belts as straps and buckles for shoulder bags. It's great to know how much stuff lives a second life because someone creatively thought up something to do with it.
When was the last time you bought a purse?
Haha! I honestly can't remember. I know I bought a used messenger bag at a thrift store in 2000, and I carried it until it fell apart. And because I couldn't find another bag that did what I wanted it to, I created the Pro-Choice Messenger Bag. I remember buying a really cool vintage purse when I first moved to Chicago to use as my "interview" bag. But I think that might be the only time I've ever purchased a purse. The incredibly ironic thing of my running this small purse business, is that before I started making them, I never carried them. I could never find the right shape, with the right pockets, in the right color, for the right price. So once I started making my own, I began to realize how great it was to have a bag with me.
How has your process evolved over time?
I've become such a better sewer and pattern-maker. My processes are so much more streamlined and I'm so much faster than I used to be. The first messenger bag I made took me six hours. I can now make that same bag in 1 1/2 hours. Most of this is just repetition. If you do the same thing over and over, you eventually figure out little ways to make it better and faster. But another part of this is that I've made a lot of mistakes. And I learn from them. And I keep my mistakes around. When I'm starting to feel all cocky, all I have to do is look at the bag in my closet that contains all the time I grew frustrated and chucked the bag I was working on. Making mistakes can be discouraging, or it can be enlightening. It all depends on how you approach it.
What's the question you wish everyone would ask you, and what is your answer?
Which "it" bag do you want? I don't. There is such a huge market in the luxury handbag business, and I understand women's desire to have luxury goods. I get the desire to own something that is carried by a woman you admire. But what bothers me about most (not all) of the luxury bags, is that they're still made by women in factories who are poorly paid and receiving pennies for their labor. There are no machine-sewn items. There is always a person operating that machine, which can only do one thing at a time. It's not like you feed in all the parts at one end, and a bag comes out the other end. There are machines that make things better and faster and more durable than the average sewing machine sitting on dining tables, but they're still run by a person who gets paid per finished piece. And just because it comes with a high price tag, doesn't mean that it was sewn well, nor does it mean that it is even made from quality materials.
I'd suggest that before anyone plunks $1000 or even $300 on a bag, look at the type of fabric the bag is made from, and see if the material will hold up well over time and in the type of use that you'd expect to give it. Now, look at the stitching to make sure it is complete, even, and not loose. Make sure that pieces line up evenly. Make sure that the strap doesn't seem like it will wear through quickly. Make sure that you're going to get your money's worth, and make sure that your money is going to provide a decent living to everyone involved in the production and selling of the bag.
Did anybody have one of these dolls when they were a kid? I remember having two of them. Or perhaps one was mine, and one was my grandmother's. Pretty creepy, eh? Our dolls looked like the first picture.
I wonder if LMNN has something to do with my fascination for trashions ... or my occasional bouts of depression. Well, "maybe" on the first count (the dress, if done in a fabric other than burlap, would be kind of cute). "OK, not really" on the latter.
Sara Schnadt, who works at the City's Dept. of Cultural Affairs, is also a performance artist. One of her pieces, Connectivity, involves recreating the Internet using wire, string and pins (the photo shows you how). Sara performed her piece for Looptopia in a Macy's storefront window, and today I helped her take her piece apart. It was very cathartic -- lots of yarn-snipping and wire-unwinding. Sara is a very interesting person -- read this interview of her I did for Gapers Block.
5/4/08, around 7:30 p.m.
N. Clark by the McDonald's in Lincoln Park/Lakeview, Chicago, IL
So, these are some of the other photos from yesterday's Stroll 'n' Search. I had gotten tired last night and quit before posting all of the ready photos. Also, I wanted to display the photos chronologically, including the RAW images of other finds that my PC simply won't accept from my camera. Today I retrieved the crApple computer from the crApple shop, hoping to finally do this (the crApple likes it RAW), but guess what? The crApple still doesn't work. I am about ready to move into the store on N. Michigan at this point (at least it's conveniently located).
I forgot to mention that yesterday's walk with Matthew and Bohdan involved a few recurring item-types. These were:
* Chairs
* Pairs of shoes
* Twizzlers wrappers
Maybe you all can write short stories featuring these three items. If anyone does, I will post it here. Just keep it short, OK? And no gratuitous sex or violence. Instead, put some happy unicorns in it, or a woman who eats a magical Twizzler and realizes that she doesn't need a man to make her happy.
5/4/08, 7:30 p.m.
N. Clark, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
Another pair of shoes.
5/4/08, 7pm
N. Clark, Western side, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
Why not? Someone could wear this, theoretically.
5/4/08, 6:45 p.m.
N. Clark and Belmont, by the Starbucks, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
These shoes ... oh, these Birkenstock shoes. Please, no comebacks. What about Jane Birkinstock shoes?
5/4/08, 6:30 p.m.
N. Sheffield and Roscoe, by Sheffield's, Lakeview, Chicago, IL
Another pair of shoes.
5/4/08, about 6:30 p.m.
N. Clark, by that Irish bar in Wrigleyville (oh right, like that clarifies things), Chicago, IL
This was by one of the clothing donation boxes.
Oldie but goody, done live. Takes me back to 1995.
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