I am in love with eccentrics in all their forms.

http://507movements.com/

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Kudos to Matt Keveney for his fantastic animations.

 

Indian Artisans Online

I'm not sure how I feel about this one: http://www.indianartisansonline.com/

While I love the idea that my money would be going to support craftsmanship, I wonder if the act of outsourcing craftsmanship is contributing to keeping artisans in another part of the world getting paid low wages...or at least getting paid fair wages, but in a country whose justice system is handicapped & whose citizens often don't have access to clean water.

In light of this, my question is: if I hire artists directly through a site like this, am I contributing to the problem? While I tend to think not, I can never be too certain & I actively try not to be part of the problem, when social justice is on the line.

I believe that Indian Artisans Online is more like Etsy for Indian artists trying to open themselves up to a new market.

Additionally, how does this globalization impact first-world artisans, trying to make a living through direct sales on Etsy?

Crafting An Oscar

How is the iconic Oscar statuette made? Here's a hint: It's #MadeInAmerica - via ABC World News Tonight with David Muir
Posted by Good Morning America on Thursday, February 19, 2015

Free maps!

Ugh...Embroidery

While trying to find a custom embroidery specialist to do yardage, I discovered how difficult it is to find an embroiderer, who does more than just embroider logos on uniforms.

"...with commercial embroidery created in Asia the likelihood of custom flexibility revolves around large quantities, if they entertain it at all. If you could find a mill that would do it, I could possibly digitize it for you, but I find that most mills will not take digitized files without reinterpreting them, keeping their own workers busy with a chargeable fee for the process."

If the client needed custom printed fabric, I'd go to Peter Fasano.

Even if it were quilting, it'd be easy to find a vendor, since the industry has exploded in size in the past 5 years, but embroidery is another beast.

Meditation on the Nature of Death in Action

Every once in a while, I am struck by the beauty of well-crafted words.


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Kudos to Larry Kirby, WWII veteran, who eloquently defined the nature of the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in action. Thank you for your service.

Green Curtains

As an curtain & interior design professional, with an interest in environmentally friendly living, I was researching living curtains today. Sadly, I can't find the original reference to Li Fan's invention, but I remain impressed by the ability to have indoor living curtains.

For more information on green curtains, check out Kyocera's suggestions on how to grow your own outdoor green curtain.

Technique Tuesday: Curtains - Wave Pleat Tape

Similar to - but more flexible than - ripplefold header, wave pleat tape allows fabricators to make a header with little more required than the ability to sew straight lines & hook glorified paperclips into predetermined slots. Very D.I.Y. friendly.

Unless you rely on your curtains for complete blackout conditions & no light lines, go with the butt masters. Overlap masters interrupt the continuous folds, thus making the curtains look awkward.

Sabionari: The Last Playable Stradivarius Guitar

The Incredible Sound of an original Stradivarius Guitar

The only playable Stradivarius guitar left in the world, "The Sabionari", made by Antonio Stradivari in 1679. For more information visit - http://bit.ly/StradivariusGuitarMost famous for constructing the world’s finest violins that today are sold for millions of dollars, Stradivari also crafted a handful of guitars, one of which Baroque concert guitarist Rolf Lislevand performs with in this video, and is the last known in use.#Guitar #GuitarLegends ForgottenGuitar.com

Posted by Forgotten Guitar on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

James Bond Index

Oh, I love it when data viz & art meet: http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-bond-james-bond/

Reminder: Do Good. Help Others.

 

Beautiful piece for a beautiful reason.  

Antiquities & Smuggling

For me, a love of craftsmanship goes hand-in-hand with a love of history.

While I understand that museums have previously (in centuries past) built up their collections without checking the provenance, or the local laws related to the piece being moved, I do not agree with it.
For a discussion of provenance, check out the Dallas Museum of Art's page.

(For an example of how provenance can be held in too high a regard, specifically when compared with forensic science, watch Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?)

Kudos to the ICOM International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods, who works to educate people on how to recognize potentially valuable targets, as well as inform antiquities dealers of activities that may inadvertently support terrorist organizations.

Wordplay Wednesday: Mysteries of Vernacular

As many of my friends know, I have a deep love for wordplay, puns & etymology.

I am so excited to see Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel's new TED-Ed series, Mysteries of Vernacular!

Technique Tuesday: Leather - Togging and Drying

The team over at Horween Leathers have put together an article on how different leather drying methods impact the final product created and its potential uses.

http://horween.com/101/technique-toggling-and-drying/

How Wallpaper Used To Be Made

I am mildly obsessed with videos of how things are made.

Continuing the theme of printed interiors - here's another gem from the British Pathé filmakers. This time in Greenford, Middlesex 1968, showcasing more large scale printing techniques. Favourite section ~ how the flock wallpaper so popular in days gone by was created (sneeze, sneeze, and sneeze all the way home?!). Lovely stuff ~ Enjoy :)
Posted by The Art of Wonderment on Tuesday, February 9, 2016

"Stage Management" in Live TV

A lot of people have asked what it means to be the Associate Director on a show like Grease Live. Here's a peek behind the curtain. Every shot in the show was designed and scripted by our director Alex Rudzinski. My job was to execute that plan. You hear me calling shot numbers and camera moves carefully coordinated with the music. My head stays in the script and Alex, to my right, keeps an eye on cameras to adjust framing and pacing. #GreaseLive
Posted by Carrie Havel on Monday, February 1, 2016

Dismantled Piano

Morton Bros Piano, dismantled by Tom Fotheringham

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Hat tip to Austin Radcliffe & Things Organized Neatly.

Le Petit Théâtre Dior

The attention to detail involved in this creation is breathtaking.

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Kudos to all involved.

Satisfied Mind

My happy place is an organized library, with amber lighting, a leather club chair, an ottoman, a warm blanket across my legs & a side table supporting a hot to room-temperature beverage. This place doesn’t exist for me yet, which is - I suppose - why it is my happy place & not simply the place where I try to read, but instead get distracted by cat videos, genre-crossing pop songs or memories that float into my head.

I find myself very easily distracted by tasks (making tomorrow’s lunch, cleaning off the perpetually magazine-laden coffee table), if I am not already deeply immersed in something. My mind – not unlike water - is just as happy to crash into obstacles like a river, as it is to sit still for a while, as though it were a vernal pool.

Since I find my trains of thought more productive when I have nothing to distract me, I try to stay organized.

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Many thanks to Joan Baez, whose voice I have heard while writing this post, Lifehack & Unclutterer, my favorite websites for inspiration to declutter.

Slavery

This is one of the many reasons that I believe in shopping smaller & more locally: TO END SLAVERY.

While this isn't a complete solution in and of itself, often, it allows you to see more of the steps that go into the finished product.  

Take a look at your (estimated) slavery footprint here: http://slaveryfootprint.org

Remember: read labels & read up on the certification organizations if you can. Sometimes, fair trade isn't labelled.

Reminder to me: just because coffee feels like a good idea doesn't mean that it is fair trade. 

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Kudos to The Good Trade for all of the hard work they do!

Intellectual Property: Now Anything But Boring

Learning about legal contracts, trademark infringement & intellectual property are as much a part of small business ownership as plying your craft.

 

"Freedom of Expression and Morality Based Impediments to the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights" by Marc J. Randazza of the Randazza Legal Group manages to include an academic discussion of "Cumfiesta", "Screw You", "Nut Sack Ale", & Japanese porn being stolen in Taiwan. 

 

Dude.

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Thanks to Marc J. Randazza, for being an amazingly clever writer.

Inspiration From The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

Success Comes to Those Who Hustle Wisely

Recently, during a particularly honest conversation with Keith Frankel, I was complaining about how long I have been hustling, while trying to succeed.

He said that I have either been hustling foolishly, or I have been hustling at the wrong thing.

I think it is a combination of both.

I am posting in order to allow others to learn from my mistakes.

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Thanks to Bud Caldwell, for his amazing diagram; if you like it, you should buy a print.