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The current trend of tie dyes, batiks and ikats has me reminiscing about summer camp tie dye projects and a sleepover party that involved creating a sweet pair of acid wash jeans. Good times. Would be fun to recreate those memories with a little DIY project with a tad bit more sophistication. Discovered this Shibori tie dye diy on “honestly wtf” and am excited for some arts and crafts this weekend!
On exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York now through November 13th is “Eco-Fashion: Going Green” which “explores fashion’s complex and multi-faceted relationship with the environment, discussing both bad and good ecological practices of the past 250 years.” Over 100 garments presented chronologically are on display featuring repurposed, vegan, ethical, natural and synthetic designs from such labels as Ciel, Bodkin, Edun, FIN, and NOIR. The garments featured reflect at least one of the following six themes: the repurposing and recycling of materials; material origins; textile dyeing and production; quality of craftsmanship; labor practices and the treatment of animals.
Definitely psyched to check it out – especially FIN’s marbled dress in organic bamboo satin and the evening gown by EDUN. Wonder if they are for sale in the museum store….
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Friday–noon-8 pm; Saturday–10 am-5 pm
Closed Sunday, Monday, and legal holidays. Admission is free.
Second to last class in the Eliot School’s Upholstery class. There is an end in site but still a lot of details to take care of before the project is complete. The second to last class was hugely successful, tacked in the sides, welted along the back, got the metal pli stapled in, cut, centered and tacked in fabric for the back…. still much more to go and the clock is ticking. Only one more class left and I’ve got a cushion and a whole lot of double welting to do… Click to continue »
Perhaps I am in need of a vacation, but lately have been pining for neutral white spaces. Something serene, organic, and modern. Whitewashed floors, rough wood tables infused with black and white prints… Here are two inspiration rooms:
The 2010 Furniture Society’s annual meeting entitled Fusions: Minds & Hands Shaping Our Future, has arrived on the MIT campus in Cambridge. The conference will be held from June16-19th where furniture makers, designers and aficionados convene to explore the latest in design. As part of the event, there will be several installations in and around Boston.
We got a chance to stroll, lounge and recline our way through the “Intellectuals Circle,’’ a public installation on MIT’s Kresge Lawn (right near the giant crosswalk on Mass. Ave, out if front of Eero Saarinen’s Chapel Building) where visitors are encouraged to enjoy the innovative seating designs and many took this to heart. As we arrived a couple was lounging in the giant knitting needle anchored hammock; a guest kicked her shoes off and took a load off on a his and hers bench; and a pair of friends reflected on the day on an oversized hay couch. Interactive public installations are pretty amazing way to experience art. As patrons are allowed to fully experience the art they become just as much a part of the exhibit as what is actually on display. It makes it seem so much more alive. The exhibit will be on display through the end of July.
Other exhibits not to miss include “Six Degress of Separation” exhibit – a 20-piece exhibit at MIT’s Compton Gallery featuring designs exclusively from furniture makers from New England. And
Am elated right now. Finally, finally got to see the chair in 3D and color and with fabric! After weeks of looking at a mess of a chair to see a block of print is pretty exciting. Was incredibly hard to visualize it all coming together, a faded red striped chair going to a bold black and white rorsharch print was a stretch, but I love it. And am glad I didn’t play it safe. Always better to go big. Here’s a sneak peak:
The Chair Saga: V1, v2, v3, v4
Follow the beginning stages of this upholstery project:
V.1 The Saga Begins
V.2 Rebuilding
V.3 Mild Freakout
V.4 Taking Shape
V.5 Hello Fabric!
V.6 So Close
Summer is here and Farmer’s Markets are in abundance with plenty of opportunity to fill your kitchen with fresh, organic, locally grown foods. In Cambridge, you can visit a different farmer’s market each day of the week. Here’s the weekly schedule:
Mondays: Central Square Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, 11:30 AM-6:00
At the parking lot at Bishop Allen Drive & Norfolk Street, behind Mass. Ave & the Harvest Co-op.
Tuesdays: Harvard University Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, 12:30 PM-6:00 PM
At the corner of Oxford & Kirkland Street. Near Sanders Theatre.
Wednesdays: Cambridge Center Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, 11:00 AM-6:00 PM
Main Street, near Kendall Square T Station
Thursdays: Kendall Square Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
500 Kendall Street, Kendall Square.
Fridays: Charles Square Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, noon-6:00 PM
Charles Hotel Courtyard at Harvard Square
Saturdays: Cambridgeport Farmers’ Market, Sat. 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Morse School parking lot, Magazine St. & Memorial Dr.
Sundays: Charles Square Farmers’ Market, Cambridge, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
At the Charles Hotel Courtyard at Harvard Square
Or check out nearby Farmer’s Markets in Somerville:
Wednesdays: Davis Square Farmers’ Market, Noon-6:00 PM
At the parking lot at Day & Herbert Streets.
Saturdays: Union Square Farmer’s Market, 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
In the Union Square Plaza
Donna Karen is the latest in a long list of designers to embrace the concept of the convertible dress with her Infinity Dress. We’ve long been fans of convertible fashion (see: Mohop, Tia Sandals & Lara Miller) – the idea of an item that can be worn more ways is brilliant. In direct contrast to the trendy disposable garments that fill so many store shelves, these items can be worn so many different ways they are truly timeless. We like to think it would make us a little greener too, buying one dress that can be worn six ways might help keep five dresses out of our closet. Not to mention making packing for trips a breeze!
Here are some of our favorite convertible dresses: Click to continue »
The number 60,000 keeps rolling in my head – “60,000 gallons of oil a day are spewing into the Gulf……” 60,000 gallons with no end in site. Images of pelicans, crabs, dragonflies and the latest dolphins and whales coated in oil are so heartbreaking that it sickens me to look at them. Politicians talk about how we’ve got to keep it from our shores, and all I can think about is the damage that has been done already. Even if it never reached our shores physically it will still have an enormous impact on the entire ecosystem. The gulf is already thick with oil, I can’t help but imagine the fish swimming into a cloud of black that consumes them, chokes them and how the oil leaves a wasteland in its wake. And all because of our dependence on oil, our negligence, our lack of foresight. Cannot bear to think of the suffering that the inhabitants of our oceans will endure and at what cost.
It’s difficult not to feel defeated and helpless in light of the magnitude of this tragedy, but even the smallest of steps add up in the end. Consider 11 year old Olivia Bouler who asked the same question and has since created over 150 original bird illustrations to thank National Audubon Society donors who have contributed to oil spill relief efforts. Olivia’s one small act has raised awareness and inspired others that there is hope in the most impossible situations.
So what small steps can you take to aid the relief efforts in the gulf?
1) DONATE – You can donate to reputable organizations like the National Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy or the National Wildlife Federation who are spearheading the wildlife rescue and clean-up efforts in the Gulf. Click the links below to donate today:
National Audubon Society
The National Wildlife Federation
The Nature Conservancy
International Bird Rescue Research Center where you can support their relief efforts by “donating, becoming a member or adopting a bird.”
2) VOLUNTEER – But not yet. Most of the volunteer opportunities right now are for highly specialized volunteers, so volunteer services are on reserve. You can sign up and get your name on a volunteer waiting list through the The LA Gulf Response Louisiana Volunteer Program. You could also call BP’s Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request line at 866-448-5816.
3) PLEDGE – Take a look at the label and pledge to change your behavior, to give up one single petroleum based product in your life, be it lip balm, lotion, crayons, or a plastic water bottle. Or pledge to carpool, to ride your bike, to walk or to combined errands in to one trip. Although it may seem insignificant, reducing our dependency on oil and petroleum based products could have a huge impact on industry, the market and the types of products we consume. Often dollars speak louder than words… For a list of petroleum based products, click here
And some say Twitter is a complete waste of time, but without it I never would have discovered this DIY coat rack project courtesy of a “tweet” from architect and sustainable design pioneer, Michelle Kaufmann. So now I finally do something with the bucket of dowels I’ve been hanging on to for some unknown reason (confession – as much as I pretend to live a simple, ‘stuff-free’ life, I am a closet hoarder. There, I said it…), and it’s a good thing I did (see me justifying my hoarding) because now I can make this simple mod concrete and wood coat rack designed by Vytautas Gecas. Click to continue »
