Windy City

No not Chicago - Brooklyn. Much of yesterday was spent photographing bags in a glassed in perch full of beautiful natural light. Views of the water all around - a peaceful place to work to the sound of whistling wind.



Everything is going good. I'm getting into the rhythm and groove. After lunch I propped the door open to let in some fresh air.

Wind + Sails. I should have known.





I guess a sails gotta do what a sails gotta do.

These bags and many more will be available in my Etsy shop on Fri.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Gifted

Come on out to the Gifted Holiday Market presented by the Brooklyn Flea and Time Out New York.

We curated the mix of vendors at Gifted to be sort of like the Flea: stuff you can only find there; folks selling beautiful, unique items they made themselves; vintage/antique objects that are distinctive and affordable; snazzy jewelry; cool, quality art; and of course yummy foodstuffs. Our goofy tagline is "Edited + Eclectic for Everyone."

Reiter8 will be there for one Sunday only: 12/7 from 11-6.

The Gifted Holiday Market takes place at the Masonic Temple on 317 Claremont Ave in Fort Greene - right next to the Brooklyn Flea Sundays through Dec 21.

Bustin' Out!

I'm so excited. Reiter8 will be at this years Bust Craftacular! I went last year to check it out and it's definately a one stop shopping handmade extravaganza. 200+ vendors, dj etc. Here are the vitals:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2008
10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street, NYC

Back to making more bags!

Flurries, Inspiration and a Library Card

Been holding out posting about the beautiful Brooklyn holiday cards by moontree letterpress until we were appropriately close to the holidays. My son is adamant that we not speak of Christmas until after Thanksgiving. And we have to have an observe a small pause - no trimming the tree on Thanksgiving night for us. So, yesterdays brief snow flurry was just the excuse I needed to bring Rebecca's work to your attention and still be respectful of the 'other' holiday.

While I was visiting her blog, I saw the first "Design by the Book" video. Its a series of videos by the New York Public Library in collaboration with Design*Sponge which brings a small group of Brooklyn designers to look for creative inspiration at the library.



I remember going to the NYPL branch across the street from the main branch when I was a student a Pratt. They had a image room - thousands (?) of manila folders with images tucked inside, sorted alphabetically by subject ... and a xerox machine. Pre digital, baby. Thankfully they have kept with the digital age and now have digital image collection.

I am looking forward to seeing these artists go through the creative process and to see what hatches.

Word Up .. and down and sideways

Supposed to be working...
Behind schedule....
Distracted by Wordle.

OK, back to work ... after one more.

Strapped

The above picture shows a small portion of the belting materials from a long gone Brooklyn belt manufacturer that my studio mates and I were lucky enough to go into and reclaim what we thought we could reuse. It was packed floor to ceiling of wonderful crazy stuff: neon patent leather perforated woven strapping anyone? Ok, I exaggerate but not by much.



(Yep, that's clear plastic zodiac strapping)

Two van loads and a car full later, piles of vinyl, patent, ribbon, woven strapping supplies are piled in our common work area. I believe the remaining went to Materials for the Arts. (MFTA redistributes materials to artists, non profits, schools and students.)



Oh, the possibilities! Stay tuned for the prototypes...

A Perfect Fit

The original messenger bag pattern has been adjusted in order to accommodate a laptop - hooray!



This is my MacBook Pro - with room to spare. The messenger bags below are now available in my Etsy shop Although they were photographed on a male mannequin, they are a great size for both men and women.

Give your kid your camera*

It's great to see different perspectives - literally.

My daughter picked up my camera in a moment of restlessness and in need of a distraction while writing a paper over the weekend. The above picture are hers - no photoshop, no cropping. The above bad boy brother dogs are ours: Alex and Beau. Don't know what grade she'll get on the paper, but I give her an A in photography.

*But not your laptop - my other child inadvertently deleted all the files off my desktop. Poof. Gone. For good.

Where I'm From Tour - continued..

Check it out: The Where I'm From Tour Music Video!



Tristan from Tough Dumplin and Chenel from JunkPrints are the energetic masterminds behind the music and art event that was held at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg this past Sat. The 'Foundation for Better Music' under Tristans direction is bringing emerging musical artists - plus artists from other disciplines - together two cities at a time with the mission of expanding exposure beyond geographical barriers. This past event was Toronto Meets New York.

Featured in the video are many of my beyond talented studio mates! Be patient, stay with it - reiter8 with stills form the (way) past and present is all the way at the end!

Thanks Tristan and Chanel (and Mike) - I had a great time - great event!

Wahoo for Plyboo!

I love PlyBoo. There. I said it.

I love the warm color and the hint of the bamboo 'joints' that occur in the stem. Plyboo is made from 100% rapidly renewable bamboo. In fact, Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world, with a growth rate of up to 1.5-2" an hour!!

Michael Neil Jacobsen, a studio mate has just introduced PlyBoo cutting boards available here. I love the edge treatment and the craftsmanship is fantastic. A steal at $38-42. Plus - who can resist that eco packaging!!

Love Plyboo even more? Check out his beautifully handcrafted desk.

11/4/08

Find your polling locale online at maps.google.com.
The above treasury can be found on Etsy.com

To do list

Find your polling locale online at maps.google.com.
Above showcase is featured on Trunkt.org

Introductions

Mark your calendar for November 8th. That's the first stop of the ‘Where I’m From Tour' taking place at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg.

This first event is titled 'Toronto meets New York'. The purpose of the tour is to expose and introduce musicians to various audiences from other cities - to spread the word and help break geographic barriers. Various visual artists work from sculpture to fashion will be displayed/projected - including Reiter8!

I'm excited to be a part of this event and to support Tristan from Tough Dumplin and Chanel from Junkprints in their effort to spread the word and open doors.

Thanks, Tristan and Chanel!

More info at Tough Dumplin and RSVP to save $$ off the ticket price.