FH coming to La this weekend, SF next weekend

I am about to embark on a west coast adventure. Fabric Horse will be in LA for the first time ever this weekend. You can find us at the Renegade Craft Fair at The Cornfield, located at 1245 N Spring Street. If you ever wanted to try stuff on in person or to see what size is best for you come say hello. I'll be there Sat July 24, Sun July 25 from 11am-7pm.



The following weekend you can come find us in San Francisco at the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion. Sat July 31, Sun Aug 1 11am-7pm.



Boom.

Handmade Nation Hits Theaters

Wednesday night I saw the SF premiere of Faythe Levine's long anticipated craft documentary Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft & Design, courtesy of SF360Film+Club. And I wasn't the only one. That place was PACKED.

This film has been looong in the making, it seems, and it came out just under an hour, but nicely organized, with a catchy soundtrack and great opening/closing credit animation.

It opens with a great sequence of heavy-hitters in the craft world, the stars of Handmade Nation, talking about the cult of craft; they define, describe and depict their own relationships to making, and in doing explain why craft has come to be so important to the community of people doing it right now. This is the stuff that always gets me, the composite definitions people come up with for this seemingly innocuous pastime that are compelling and powerful reactions to modernity. As one such craft-lebrity, Sabrina Gschwandtner puts it, "Being a crafter is a way to slow down."

The film was fun to watch, looking for faces and spaces that you recognize, hearing familiar accounts of craft fair culture and learning more about companies you've seen on the circuit. It's a proud film, in a good way, because it takes it back to the more emotional roots of craft's new wave and effectively separates out the business of it all. It reminded me of the time back in college when my bestie Mary Wegmann and I fawned over issues of craft zines that we had to order in the mail and craft was so romantic and subversive and GOOD.

And now we all know craft is a little different, more money-making and less rough around the edges, but Handmade Nation really transports you back to that time when it was relatively new. Lots of the crafters show how they make their work, without much proprietary concern about other people copying them--craft in the beginning was after all, about sharing resources and getting as many people interested as possible in making things.

It's a celebration of a film, for sure, and poses great questions about the future of a movement that has reached critical mass in many ways. The same real, hard bound book deals, pattern and fabric lines for craft chain stores and craft fairs that trump malls for holiday shopping destinations, while signs of the movements success are also challenges to the very anti-corporate, d.i.y. roots of it all. Keeping with tradition, there were crafters set up vending things before and after the film itself:

Faythe Levine wasn't there for the screening (which I thought was a real tragedy!) and so she wasn't available to discuss the questions she poses at the end of the film surrounding all these issues of cultural negotiation and the future. Many people see craft as a direct challenge to mass production and too, a challenge to capital itself. But when craft gets HUGE, crafters are faced with the same decisions as capitalists. And the collective decision the community makes in the next five years about whether to go big or go home, will be an important one. The movement has gotten big enough now that there are many conflicting ideas about what the future of craft will look like, and this film doesn't show that conflict as much as I would have expected. That's probably my only criticism. Though there was a fine panel after the screening, the panelists' discussion wasn't about the film specifically, but more about their experiences in the d.i.y. community.

As a document of an historic movement, the film hit its mark. Sorry for the long post! But really, my heart just swelled watching it.

Rainy Day Brigade: Bike Kitchen on the Move

I would like to rally some cheers and admiration for the Bike Kitchen and their heroic move last weekend, all by BICYCLE and in the rain. It's not an easy thing to stand firm on your principles in inclement weather, for crying out loud, and cheers to their admirable determination! Hoorah!

All photos borrowed gratefully from Dustin Jensen, locally talented photographer and blogger, under a Creative Commons license.

The Bike Kitchen is a community bicycle project in San Francisco, of course, that aims to facilitate greater sharing of knowledge and access to the freedom inherent in traveling by bicycle. With a staff of volunteer mechanics on hand to answer questions and lend a hand, it's a great resource to expert and novice cyclists alike. They're still settling in, but plan to reopen March 3 at their fancy new, old 650H Florida Street Address. Happy Housewarming you all.

New Streetsblog SF launch this week

For the latest in policy debate, shifts in traffic patterns and urban planning, the Livable Streets Network is a great web resource. Their more well known ventures, Streetsblog together with the sister site, Streetfilms, has been improving the quality of urban living for years now by circulating valuable information about the plight of urban cycling and transportation issues. Their influence now gets them interviews with the likes of NYC's DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and their films have proven influential in proving to policymakers that changes to car-centric urban planning must happen SOON. They've just launched the most recent locality for the blogging network in San Francisco. Hopefully Streetsblog SF up to code so that the actual climate for cycling in the city can support the avid community of cyclists already in place. Coincidentally, there is a Streetfilms screening tonight in Philadelphia at the Academy of Natural Sciences: an hour of films showcasing bike-sharing programs with all three Streetfilms master documentarians in attendance and available for a Q&A following the screening. Starts at 6:30.

Biketoberfest? Biketoberfests!

Yes, that's plural. This year will see the inaugural Biketoberfest in Philadelphia, put on by the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition at Dock Street at 50th & Baltimore in West Philadelphia. I can't think of a more suitable location in October, with W.Philly's wealth of autumnal color and just downstairs from the wonderful bike shop at Firehouse. The brewery has crafted a special brew for the occasion and there are prizes up for raffle including a R.E.Load Bag, a bike and a service package at TrophyBikes. There's only 300 tickets available for sale so you'd be advised to purchase early (now!) to ensure you get in to see the entertainment: a lineup featuring Stinking Lizaveta, Natural Selection, the West Philly Orchestra and DJ's Danophonic & Hoagie Jawns...who you may or may not recognize as an FH model. 25 bones gets you entry, a food ticket and a commemorative pint glass; 15 gets you just entry and pintglass. (for those of you investors hurting from the recent market nosedive) Cash bar, 21+ and all proceeds benefit the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, who absolutely deserve your support! That's this SUNDAY OCTOBER 19 2-6 pm.



Now remember how I said fests? There's also a Biketoberfest here on the west coast in Fairfax, CA. If you're in the bay area, this fest--hosted by Access4Bikes and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition--in its 5th year will benefit bicycle advocacy in Marin County, the number one destination outside of the city for Bay Area cyclists. The event features a marketplace of bike builders, manufacturers, merchants, teams, clubs and land management and environmental representatives alongside a brewfest, bringing over a dozen handcrafted beers from Northern California brewers: Lagunitas Brewing, Iron Springs, Broken Drum, Anchor Brewing, Bear Republic, Moolight, Eel River, North Coast Brewing, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada.

You'll find guided group road and mountain bike rides finishing at the festival, a vintage bicycle exhibit, bike swap and even more G rated events for the kiddies. This version of Biketoberfest also advertises live music and food organically grown in Northern California. This one takes place SATURDAY OCTOBER 18 11-6 at Fair-Anselm Plaza Parking lots, 765 Center Blvd (next to Iron Springs Pub), downtown Fairfax, CA. It's free for all parts except the beer tasting, which costs $20 per person.

I think the simultaneity of these two like-minded events is no coincidence, just the beginning of a nice trend. I'd like to believe that next year there will be dozens of these in every city across the land. Because really, what better way to benefit community bike initiatives and strengthen community?

picture stitcher

With all the sewing buzz lately, it's no wonder that more mixed medium artists are starting to use stitching in their illustrative and visual work. I love the way stitches read in 2 dimensions. The addition of some zig-zag, embroidery or straight meanderings can change the character of a perfectly beautiful picture into something more careful, with all the emotional depth that frequently accompanies the hand sewn object. Tactility should never be under rated.



This reminder came in the form of some pretty sweet art up currently at Rare Device in San Francisco. The show Let's Get Lost features pieces, both textiled and not, by artist Sarajo Frieden. This lady hails (originally) from my new home, Oakland, CA, and her work aims to explore the destinations one finds when surrendering to unpredictability. She says,"I may start out with intentions, thoughts, sketches or preconceived ideas about where I want to go. But at some point, I usually surrender any expectations to follow the roadless map that is creating. It is not a linear journey, and it's easy to get lost. But isn't that the point? How else would Pina Bausch's dancers find their way to the house in Mon Oncle?"




It's like finally understanding that everything is a big crazy mess, that everyone is actually a little insane and despite all of this, we're still okay. For me, it was a well-timed reminder of a lesson I thought I'd learned a long time ago. And much as I'm not sure I can say I glean all of that from these playful little sewn drawings, I've found that such issues of gigantic proportion are often best tackled with small gestures, especially playful ones.




Show's up til November 8, if you're in the neighborhood.

Free Parking!

What to do when your city is lacking green space? When you've got all the spirit of an urban designer coursing through your veins and no clue how to satisfy her? While all the world is your stage? I think I may have the ticket.

Park(ing) Day, a one-day global event through which activists, artists, treehuggers--in a word, people--takeover metered parking spots and temporarily transform them into urban greenspace. They use bicycles usually, to haul plants and parkbenches and rolls of verdant sod through city streets where they literally park, for two hour chunks at a time, or as long as someone feeds the meter, and declare public space. The project takes place in TONS of cities all over the United States and internationally, with local variations depending on its ambassador and by the looks of things in 2007, warrants our undying praise and affection.

The project was founded by the San Francisco based art and activism collaborative REBAR and coordinated through the Trust for Public Land, an national nonprofit working to conserve public greenspace. The latter's website offers a list of participating cities, sometimes with corresponding maps denoting where the proposed park is to appear on Friday. They also provided instructions for obtaining permission and getting started with your own Park(ing) Day Park. I'd suggest visiting both websites for the full gamut of information surrounding what to do if you'd like to park come Friday. They've even made a How-To Manual. How can you say no? The whole effort is volunteer, which is pretty remarkable considering the scope and ambition of the concept. And in case you're having trouble picturing the thing, here is a visual:



and another:



Get out there! If Kenosha, WI can manage to be a part of this, I think you probably can too.