Handmade Nation featured maker Susan Stars was featured on the guest blog series by Not Martha and talks about her in-depth involvement with the DIY craft scene and her new book due out in March 2008 on Taunton Press.Bead Simple is the first book I have ever personally contributed a project to, so I am extra super excited to see a copy in person! The book also has projects by a handful of other featured Handmade Nation makers including Betsy Greer, Leah Kramer, Torie Nguyen, Jennifer Perkins, Linda Permann and Christy Petterson!! Yowza!

Kate Bingaman-Burt sent me some links to the typework for the book she has been working on- it is amazing and so exciting! Check it out HERE.

Featured maker Emily Kircher's rug & picture frame made it into a Midwest Living photo shoot! Super good press for the No Coast Craft-O-Rama in Minneapolis (Nov 30th & Dec 1st)



Seyta Selter is my best friend from high school who is doing amazing things.... She runs Duchess, Clotheir of Portland- a company that makes men's suits. These aren't just any suits, but beautiful period suits, fitted and made to order. She will be in NY (November 12 & 13 ) for two days doing fittings, click on the image for more information or contact her direct through her site.....

Craft Magazine on the CBS morning show!




(screen shot)


You can watch the clip HERE.
(just sit though that little commercial and it will come up!)
Read about it on the CRAFT blog HERE.

When we were in Austin last week for Maker Faire I went out to dinner with Natalie (pictured above left) and Jenny Ryan and they were discussing the insanity of the next week getting all the costumes ready for the CBS Morning show. You ladies did such a GREAT job! Also I know that there was additional help from Nancy Flynn, Cathy Callahan, Susan Beal and Diana Eng.

Handmade Nation featured maker Jill Bliss made it into the New York Times Magazine this past weekend in an article written by the consumed columnist Rob Walker (Walker is also responsible for bringing attention to the indie craft community in an article last spring called "Craft Work" featuring Heidi Kenny of My Paper Crane as well as an article called "Carry Art" featuring Poketo).

"The Cult of Gocco", NY Times, October 21, 2007 is a great overview of the current status of on of my favorite tools, the Gocco.

Don't know what a Gocco is? This is the definition from wikipedia:

"Gocco is a self-contained compact color printing system invented in 1977 by Noboru Hayama. Using flash bulbs similar to those found in old cameras, an original image is thermally imprinted on a master screen.

The name "print gocco" is derived from the Japanese word and concept "gocco", loosely translated as a type of make-believe play used to learn common rules and knowledge.

In December 2005, Gocco’s parent company, Riso Kagaku Corporation, announced it would end production of the Gocco system due to low sales in Japan. An Internet campaign was started to find a new home for the product."

Here is a photo from my flickr account showing the Gocco in action in my studio:


Also check out the flickr Gocco pool HERE and the www.savegocco.com page that Jill set up.

From the Save Gocco site:
although our own signature collection here at savegocco has ended, you can still help save gocco! we suggest sending a gocco'd postcard to the president of the company, explaining why you feel they should continue and expand worldwide production of gocco:
Akira Hayama
President & CEO
Riso Corporation
5-34-7 Shiba,
Minato-ku,
Tokyo 108-8385,
Japan

Want to check out stuff for sale that was printed on a Gocco? Go to etsy.com and use "gocco" as a tag in the search engine and just see what comes up!

How is it Thursday? No really, how can the entire week be gone?

We all gathered in Austin to share, learn and celebrate the idea of Making.

Maker Faire 2007 was fantastic!

Yes, this really is a giant home made human powered ride that was there.... I was on the phone with Nathan telling him how much fun I was having and how it was 90 degrees out and this thing comes a-rollin' around the corner..... don't get me wrong, it went pretty slow.

For those of you who may be a bit behind I was invited to speak at Maker Faire last weekend, to share my experience of making Handmade Nation and to talk about the DIY Craft community. My talk was 30 minutes long and included the revised version of the clip. Three BIG first's happend:

#1. It was the first time I had ever spoke to a large audience.
#2. It was the first time I had ever watched a group of people watch the film footage.
#3. It was the first time I had SEEN the footage on a big screen!!

My talk went well, I got good feedback and I didn't choke up, blank-out OR swear (at least I don't remember swearing) so I am really pleased with that....

As far as the rest of the event weekend I have nothing but rave reviews. I got to learn how to crochet, use a loom, watch ladies hand make lace, see a human mouse trap in action, watch hundreds of bottles of coke explode (click that to watch the movie on the MAKE blog) with the aid of a mentos, check it out...


Makers of all shapes came out to represent: tech geeks, organic farmers, crafty hipsters, skilled crafts people, bike builders, side show freaks and tons of rad family's with kids who had a blast.

Here is a quick re-cap of my 72 hours in Austin

I left at 5 a.m. for Austin from Milwaukee on Saturday October 20th


I saw the sun rise outside the plane window....


Got to Maker Faire by 12:00 in the afternoon!!


George Hotz, the 17 year old who cracked the iphone...


Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching gave a great talk about her skills, inspiration and business


Human Sized Mouse Trap, yes... just like the game!!


I couldn't resist, here is the game (it never was as cool to play as it was on the commercial, right?)


These ladies make lace by hand!!


This guy named Cory Fogel had a conceptual project called "Purl Drums" where he was knitting and playing drums at the same time, for two days!!


Thank you O'Reilly Media for inviting me to be a part of such a fantastic experience.
psssst.. O'Reilly Media is responsible not only for Maker Faire but the fantastic magazines know as MAKE & CRAFT!

I took over 400 photographs (I know totally excessive) BUT then I had a disastrous camera problem. Thankfully, my good friend and assistant editor of Handmade Nation, Joe Wong retrieved the photos using some magic software and a wave of a wand....

The entire flickr set is HERE

It is 1:23 A.M.

Gallery Night opening over at the shop, check
Speech for Sunday written & practiced, check
DVD's & media packed, check
Suitcase packed, check
Clothes for tomorrow morning laid out, check

I think I am ready for my trip. Now I just have to wake up in 3 hours and be at the airport by 5:30 A.M. Goodnight & see you in Austin!!

Sometimes I have to leave the house to get work done. If I stay home (where my "office" is) I often find myself doing things that don't really need doing. Today it's not really working because here I am at a coffee shop posting on ye' ol' blog instead of doing the two major things that need to get done right now:

#1 make sure everyone in Milwaukee knows that we have a fantastic group show up at my gallery, Paper Boat, the opening reception is Friday for Gallery Night.

#2 get ready for Maker Faire this weekend.

The show is titled "The New Witch" with work by Xandar Marro, Pippi Zornoza, Micaela O'Herlihy, Kim Kisiolek, Polina Malikin, Katy Horan and yours truly. I can't resist the postcard image we used from Providence artist Xander Marro, it's a cloth patch that comes with a zine she put together titled "Witch".

You can see photos of the show HERE if you are interested

On to Maker Faire, where I will be spending Saturday checking out everything that is going on, there is SO MUCH going on. Sunday I will be giving a "talk" on the DIY craft community and showing a clip of the film. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about giving a "talk," not so much about being on stage, I am in a band and sorta used to that part. But more nervous about the AV (audio visual) aspect running smoothly, there is nothing worse than technical problems during someones presentation.

Jenny Hart and I are supposed to meet up for drinks on Saturday in Austin which should be fun! When I get back to my hotel I'll post pictures if I have Internet access to let you know what Maker Faire is like! Will you cross your fingers for me and my "talk", and come to our opening at Paper Boat if you are in Milwaukee!

It's official!

Here are some funny pictures of Cortney and I after we signed our contracts for the book over margaritas this week! I look exhausted, but soooo excited!!

Cortney Heimerl, Co-author of Handmade Nation

Faythe Levine, Co-author of Handmade Nation

Fall has hit Milwaukee, and I have to say it is sorta comforting. It's easier for me to settle down and focus when I'm bundled in a sweater and not overheating in the humidity!

If you are in the Chicago area this weekend you may want to check out YarnCon:
Held at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse on October 13th, 2007 from 10am to 4pm. If you are a sucker for making yarn, working and playing with yarn, or just being surrounded by it, this is going to be the place to be. Visit the YarnCon site for more detailed information! I would also like to mention that YarnCon is a supporter of Handmade Nation and although we can't make it, we thanks them for spreading the word of our project via their programs!

In other news, I've finally updated the etsy shop with donations for the first time in quite a few months! Over the past year I have received so many amazing handmade items to help raise money for the film, when this silk-screened poster by Beth Howard arrived last month I was so excited to post it for you all to see! So rad!

She donated 4 total to our etsy shop at $35 each, thanks Beth!

((For those of you not familiar we have been taking donations of handmade items and the proceeds go towards the documentary expenses.))

Wow 3, count them 3 entries today. That NEVER happens. But so much is going down if I don't write about it now I never will!!

Susan Beal just forwarded me a link to an article titled "Crafty Bitches" in Portland's Willamette Weekly that I was interviewed for a bit back. It's a great long article about craft, BUT, I just left a comment because I felt that I wasn't represented well.

I have had a lot of problems with press, being misrepresented. Anyone who deals with being interviewed or doing press related stuff knows that one little mis-print or mis-quote can change everything, make you sound like a total goob (yeah, you heard me, goob!). Because of this I am very careful in interviews now to be as clear as possible when stating my answers to questions or commenting on topics. In this particular article there is a quote from me about craft & war. Honestly, I think it's just sorta just hanging out. You know, no context. Just floating there, then to be revisited by having someone comment on my quote. The quote is accurate, the problem is it was an answer to a question that wasn't printed.

Ahhhhh reporters. Gotta love them with every ounce, but dang, I'm not a goob!

Anyhow, you can read the article and my comment about Craft and Activism HERE.

Blogs of Note.....
Thanks everyone who came by via
Blogs of Note!!

Your comments and feedback are much appreciated!

xo, Faythe

Last week Editor and Publisher Dale Dougherty of MAKE & CRAFT Magazine contacted me about speaking about the DIY craft community at Maker Faire in Austin, TX.

So..... I will be making an unexpected trip to Austin over the weekend of October 20-21!! Not only will I discuss different aspects of the community, but I will talk about my experience making the film and meeting so many different makers and how to get involved! I will also be showing the clip of the film that you can see on youtube and having a Q&A.

Big Big Big Announcement!

Handmade Nation will now not only be a documentary but a book, available in November 2008 out on Princeton Architectural Press!!! The book with be written by me (Faythe Levine) and co-author Cortney Heimerl (super amazing designer and recent Masters Graduate of NYU). We decided that the documentary will also be released around this time (a bit later than our original projected release) for a variety of reasons, number one being we need more time to edit.

Want to know more about the book?? It will feature 25 community members with 5 essays, all people we interviewed over the course of shooting the film.

There will be illustrations and hand drawn fonts by the lovely Kate Bingaman-Burt of Obsessive Consumption! Here are some samples of fonts she sent over this week- there is a photo set HERE if you want to see more!!!Want to know who is going to be featured in the book???

Essayists:
Besty Greer
Dennis Stevens
Garth Johnson
Callie Janoff
Susan Beal

Community Members:
Tracy Bull, Happy Owl Glass
Jenine Bressner
Deb Dormody, If'n Books + Marks
Heidi Kenny, My Paper Crane
Sabrina Gschwandter, KnitKnit
Sarah Neuburger, The Small Object
Ileana Rodriguez, India Romeo
Shannon Mulkey, Patina
Alena Hennessy
Christy Petterson, a bardis
Melissa & James BuchananThe Little Friends of Printmaking
Emily Kircher, EKRA
Melissa Dettloff, Lekkner & Crafters for Critters
Sue Blatt, Timber!
Annie Mohaupt, Mohaupt Shoes
Stephanie Syjucco, anti-factory
Nikki McClure
Jill Bliss, blissen
Sarah Anderson, birds of prey
Clarity Miller, Black Bird Fashion
Jenny Hart, Sublime Stitching
Knitta
Whitney Lee, Made With Sweet Love
Kathy Sever, Ramonster
Jennifer Perkins, Naughty Secretary Club

We will also be giving shout-out's to the online community forums, more on that later!! I have to go install a show at my shop called the New Witch, so much to do, so little time.

xo, Faythe

This last week went by in a blur......
I want to tell you all about our trip to Chicago Renegade and the trip to NY but only have time to post the links to the photo albums right now.


Check them out and see all the amazing stuff we've been up to HERE & HERE!

In New York we did interviews with

Sabrina of KnitKnit and

Callie of the Church of Craft

as well as the new Editor in Chief of American Craft Magazine!

yowza!

Tell us what you think & more news to come soon, cross my heart!

Faythe Levine

P.S. Keep those Crafty Tattoos Coming!!!

Hey, I am waiting to upload 200 stills from when we shot at Renegade Craft Fair last weekend because my camera batter got sucked into some blackhole, then we had to jump on a plane to New York for the re-launch party of American Craft Magazine. So here I am in NY and we are about to be on our way to SoHo to do an interview Andrew Wagner the new Editor in Cheif of American Craft- hopefully this weekend I'll have time to upload all the Chicago picutres and now the NY pictures as well. Yesterday we did a great interview with Sabrina of KnitKnit Magazine (now book) and Callie of The Church of Craft.

More soon including big news about the Handmade Nation Book! Gotta go catch the Subway-

Faythe

Handmade Nation gets attention on ETSY's Storque!



-----------> NEW YORK peeps go to this (I wish I could!!)

New Clip!!

A bit of the footage from our previous one and a lot of new faces including peeps from: Poketo, Needles & Pens, Little Otsu, Jenny Hart, Reform School and more! We are still chugging along with editing with our original goal of having a 2008 release still a good possibility. Please feel free to re-post the clip on your blogs, myspace, etc.---------->

In other news:

• Micaela and I will be doing some follow-up shooting this weekend in Chicago at the Renegade Craft Fair.
• We will also be out in New York for the re-launch of American Craft Magazine next week as well as shooting at the ETSY Labs!
• I will be making the trip to Austin in November for Stitch.
• There will be screening a clip of the film previous to the fashion show here in Milwaukee at Art vs. Craft.
• Cortney and I are still working on the details of our book deal with Princeton Architectural Press (which will be a companion book to the documentary!!).
• Our ETSY shop still is our main source of income for the film, if you haven't checked out our most recent donations and T-shirts still on sale for $13 please do.

Otherwise, be in touch and we will let you know as soon as there is more news to share!

Warmly,
Faythe Levine
Director

Wanted: Crafty Tattoo photos!

Handmade Nation is seeking photos of crafty themed tattoos for possible use in the end credits in the documentary, This is still just an idea and all you need to do is to take a new photo in the daylight that shows off your crafty-fantastic tattoo work.

We DO NOT have release forms at this time since we are exploring if there will be any interest from the community. When you send your image we will contact you before using it in the film (we will need a release before doing so).

Please submit the following along with you 300dpi jpg of your crafty tattoo:
*We will not give out your email of phone number this information is so we can contact you if we move forward with the idea and get a signed release.

1. Your Name:
2. Your email:
3. Your website: “leave this blank if you do not want us to share this information on flickr*”
4. Your phone number:
   

YES- you can submit more than one photo

*By submitting a photo you are however giving us the right to post it on our flickr page, and we will credit you!

email all the information to indiecraftdocumentary@gmail.com
with the subject “Crafty Tattoo”

Don’t hesitate to email with any questions.

Warmly,
Faythe Levine
Director

Last week Irene Serrano a writer from a spanish version of Marie Claire contacted me about an article she was working on about the DIY philosopy and she wanted to know if I would give her my opinion. Of course I said yes and the result went live today-- the cool thing about it is that I am featured in the same article as my friend Alicia who runs a shop in Barcelona called Dudua which is a gallery and boutique similar to my shop Paper Boat here in Milwaukee!! The internet makes the world so small-- above is a screen shot of our piece and HERE is a link to the article!

Just picked up the Fall issue of Adorn & found our fundraiser totes featured! Thanks Adorn!


The new issue looks super rad, I haven't had a second to really look at it, but it is tempting me right now.....

Holy YES! We are nearing the end of phase 1 with editing (transcribing all the tapes, all 80 hours) I never realized how painful it would be to listen to myself talk that much. Let's just say it made me squirm. BUT this means we now get to the fun part of piecing the puzzle of the documentary together! Piece of cake, right?!

What Cris and I realized over the course of watching all the footage gathered from the last year, is that we needed to follow-up on a few things. And of course there was some stuff missing.

So gave up my space at Renegade Craft fair and instead of vending we will be shooting. Not just roaming around and talking to people shooting (although we will probably do some of that too), but following one lucky vendor for 24 hours. That's right, 24 hours with a crafter-- so the view can expierecne the amount of work that goes into participating in a show this scale. Our lucky lady is going to be the fantastic Ileana of India*Romeo.

FUN FACT: Ileana was actually the very first person we interviewed for the documentary in Atlanta, GA at ICE.

Micaela and I will also be making an unexpceted very quick trip to New York for the launch of the newly revamped American Craft Magazine (not to be confused with CRAFT: zine) and doing an interview with Andrew Wagner the new editor-in-chief (formerly of Dwell). Cris and I decided we need a little more imput from someone who is apart of the American Craft community and Mr. Wagner fits the bill! It just so happens that it times out perfectly to catch the last of the Summer in the City Salon Series at the American Craft Council Library. The last segment is on Blogging the Handmade: Creating Community, Conversation & Commerce. Brooklyn gallery owners Amy Shaw (Greenjeans) and Rena Tom (Rare Device) speak about their blogs and how they’re linking craft and design lovers to build communities smitten with unique handmade objects.
And we will not leave NY a second time without paying homage to the ETSY Labs! We are also going to try to get Rob Kalin (the man behind the concept and software) on camera for an interview to get his two cents about the DIY community and the quick growth of ETSY.

Some of you may know that I have been finalizing a book deal with Princeton Architectural Press (I think that's the first time I've officially printed their name on the blog!!). The book with be a companion to the documentary featuring makers from around the country including parts of their interviews from our footage and lots of pictures and essays from community members (I'm so flippin excited!). More on that soon along with an introduction to Cortney Heimerl who will be the co-author!

That made me think, maybe we should do a Q&A for Cortney, Micaela (our camera-lady) & Cris (the editor)? Thoughts?

Please don't forget- I posted new donation up in the ETSY shop and the blue totes are restocked for those of you who have been emailing!

Lates!
Faythe

FUN FACT: My brick & mortar shop is featured in the September issue of Spin Magazine in an article about Milwaukee! Page 146!

Ad for Renegade program
Originally uploaded by Indie Craft Documentary.

On my way to Cris' house to edit this morning before I open Paper Boat at noon-- Just emailed this to Sue and Kathleen for the Renagade Craft Fair Booklet-- a few days late, but hopefully it's okay, I totally spaced it until late last night.

Since we are in super boring editing mode and there isn't much to share about the film right now I am going to make an effort to post stuff that I think is important for our community...

Starting now.

#1 Leaders of the DIY Movement Speak at American Craft Counsil Salon
Everyone should go and read this blog, it's fantastic.


#2 I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the amazing show that happens once a year in Chicago called the DIY Trunk Show- if not, well you should check out their site. I especially like their
Craftifesto......

The DIY Trunk Show Craftifesto: The Power is in Your Hands!

The DIY Trunk Show is an annual event that brings the best of the Chicago area's alternative craft community to the people.

We believe:

Craft is powerful. We want to show the depth and breadth of the Chicago crafting community. Anything you want—clothing, jewelry, art, music—you can probably get from a real live person here in Chicago. And buying handmade, one-of-a-kind goods from your neighbor kicks the ass of buying mass-produced, slave-made corporate stuff.

Craft is personal. To know that something was made by hand, by someone who cares that you like it, makes that object much more enjoyable. And it makes you feel less lonely when you realize that you know the name of the person who made the bar of soap you use, the earrings you wore when you met that special someone, or the scarf that kept you from freezing while you waited for the train.

Craft is political. We're not just trying to sell stuff. We're trying to change the world. We want everyone to rethink corporate culture and consumerism.

Craft is possible. Everybody can create something—you don't have to be an established business to make stuff. The DIY Trunk Show encourages new crafters by giving them a place to sell their work for the first time. We hold workshops to teach people how to make things. And we're creating friendships and connections between crafters‹being a small business owner doesn't mean you have to work in isolation.

I am going to be back in blog-land soon. At Cris's house editing as I type and just wanted to let you know we have new donations up in the etsy shop including a generous donations from the above Sublime Stitching.

Prints by the talented JAMIE ZOLLARS (who I got the pleasure of drinking with after Felt Club in LA) Whale Print from Foxy & Winston

Postcard sets from Catia Chen

More donations going live by the end of the week, I swear! Plus our t-shirt sale is still going on, blue totes will be back next week and more to be announced soon!

Hello supporters of Handmade Nation
Some of you may already know this and some of you may not know but so far the film has been funded by my personal credit cards (thanks VISA & CHASE) and generous community support. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my minimum payments SO I've put all our T-shirts on sale to help raise some quick funds.

If you've been meaning to get a shirt now is the time. SHOP HERE



Hope everyone's summer is going well-- we are chugging along editing. More updates soon and thanks as always for your interest and support!

xo,
Faythe
Director of Handmade Nation

Limited Art vs. Craft Totes now available
Originally uploaded by Indie Craft Documentary.

Just got back from LA where I got to be a part of Felt Club (www.feltclub.com) it was amazing and I'll have photos up very soon. Just posted these leftover Art vs. Craft totes up on our etsy site, they are super rad. I took only 5 to LA with me to sell at Felt Club and they all went within the first hour! More details on felt club soon!

Mirror Mirror in my hand----

mirror ad.
Originally uploaded by Indie Craft Documentary.

Finally got around to putting these puppies in the etsy shop! See you in Los Angeles at Felt Club on Sunday!

Okay okay SO much news.... First, my baby, Art vs. Craft was a huge success. Pictures are up on flickr HERE.

I'm sitting here with Cris my editor chipping away at transcribing hours upon hours of footage. We just wrapped up working on Stephanie Syjuco's interview and now we just started Erin Weckerle of Sodafine who is talking about organic fibers and production from beginning to end.

Also, it's safe to announce the BIG news which is (drum roll please......) Princeton Architectural Press will be publishing a book that will be a companion to the film. It will be a separate project that will hopefully come out around the same time as the film. More details soon, but HOW EXCITING! PA Press is the same publisher that put out "By Hand" and "DIY by Design", both super great books supporting the creative community we are documenting.

Kate Bingaman's spread in Print Magazine is out, she included a logo off of the tote bag she purchased to support the film!!! Super rad! Thanks Kate! (little side note: Kate will be illustrating parts of our book with PA Press!!)Last but not least, join us in Los Angeles this weekend for the fantastic FELT CLUB put on by Jenny Ryan!

Susan Beal includes us in her Renegade Brooklyn Roundup for Venus Magazine online HERE

Director of Handmade Nation, Faythe Levine, makes it onto the cover of MKE, the Milwaukee weekly paper!! Read the article here where they discuss the film, her shop and the craft fair that is happening THIS WEEKEND, Art vs. Craft!!

Also, we just put up our new shirts in the ETSY SHOP, get em' while they last, American Apparel 50/50 blend T's in a really good Orchid color and Evergreen color!! FREE SHIPPING in the United $tates!