Craft Congress Invite

So Craft Congress is in the planning stages again. You can check the site here, or you can just read the about info right here on Marimello if you, like we are lazy:

CRAFT CONGRESS, the first-ever gathering of organizers in the DIY/indie craft community, is now a sweet memory!

Fifty indie craft organizers came together in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, to share ideas, find ways to work together for our mutual benefit and to make our craft community even better.

While some questions were answered, many more were raised. So, that leaves us with the task of planning the Second Annual Craft Congress in 2008!

If you'd like to help plan the 2nd Annual CC, contact: Gloria in Pittsburgh at: gtforouzan (at) gmail.com. We'll need your help with:

1. Planning topics for discussion.

2. Fund raising to keep Craft Congress affordable for participants.

3. Getting the word out to all of the organizers around the world.

We’re reaching out across the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Australia and every where that crafty types are at work. Please help us get the word out.

Organizers please join our Yahoo group, (to brainstorm, plan, etc.), by going to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/craftcongress2007

Happy Handmade Holidays

Sigh. To be honest, we don't like Thanksgiving. This is not to say we do not adore our family or the spirit or the slight drop in temperature.

In fact, except for the food ( NOT THE CRANBERRY SAUCE MOM) we like the whole idea of Thanksgiving. It's the only holiday that doesn't involve buying a whole bunch of stuff. So this year consider taking the handmade pledge.

The handmade pledge lists the usual benefits of buying handmade:
Buying handmade makes for better gift giving,
Buying handmade is better for people,
Buying handmade is better for the environment

Of course the premise remains the same: buying stuff. Even handmade stuff is still stuff. Whether you belong to the Black Friday camp or the Buy Nothing Day camp, crafty people have yet another option that doesn't get a whole lot of press outside the Martha Stewart camp. So while the crafty peoples are always extra busy this time of year with craft shows and such, crafty people always have the option of making their own gifts.

That said, we will still be making the rounds at the craft shows around town. Last week it was Felt Club. This weekend, it will be Handmade for the Holidays over at Fairfax High.

Just not on Friday.

Famouser than Famous

The Witch Fire Project has been getting a lot of press lately, and we think that's super cool. But, but, what about Marimello? Well it was only a matter of time, before we got our due. In fact, Marimello has been in the news quite a bit this week.

First the interview with Ravelry, was finally published on SuperNaturale, which lead to the post on CRAFT's blog yesterday. Whee! On other fronts, our presence at the super wonderful Craft Republic Fair, drew some attention and an observation that within a minute of talking to us, we are obviously a blogger. Whaaaaat? Is that curious gleem in our eye so noticeable?

And speaking of gleam...Naikfur just posted a cute picture on her blog. Which is especially cool, because we will be meeting Amy in person for dinner next week. We are so excited.

Take that Witch Fire. You are always welcome to tell people you knew us when.

Old Mother Leary Left the Lantern in the Shed

And when the cow kicked it over, Marimello shrieked and said, GOOD GOD it's a hot time in the old town tonight.

OK not to pound it into your heads crafty friends, but it is still crazy here and it is a wonder that the poor little elves can type as you dear editatrix dictates. Their poor little eyes are swollen so, but you know we can't be bothered with typing ourselves with this washcloth over our eyes.

Speaking of washcloths! The Witch Fire shop is open for business and the donations are rolling in. Obviously it's time to put the red eyed elves to work photographing this luxurious stuff. So if you haven't already, roll on over to the shop on Etsy. And keep rolling back for more new stuff. The word has gone out to the fashionista friends of Marimello and we expect great things to be coming our way!

Check out the shop on the right over there and see what's happening. If you want to donate and get some FREE PRESS, head on over to the blog or give us an e-jingle.

New Craft Spectacular: Get Right Outta Town

Marimello has been contemplating the necessity of a new Los Angeles craft fair. Wouldn't it be fun if you could go to a little indie craft shopping every weekend? Wouldn't mixing and mingling with other crafties be a swell addition to an otherwise football-filled coupla days?

We want to know your thoughts. What have you been dying to see at a craft fair? Any special vendor types you think are missing from the usual mix? What kind of howtos would have you hanging on the edge of your seat? Would you have rocking tunes ala DJ or live band? What part of your stash would you bring and leave or trade on a big table of free goodies?

Inquiring minds want to know...Leave a suggestion in the comments or email the elves at marimellodesign [at] gmail [dotty] com. And derrr, anyone who gives us feedback will be immediately enslaved to help out with the project. Or at least be subject to more brain picking.

We can't wait to hear from you!

Where my stitches at? Interview with Jess and Casey of Ravelry

Ohmigoshomigosh, Marimello is finally on Ravelry. OH you aren't in yet? There, there.

And either BoingBoing is stalking us (again) or we got our invite the same week. (Check out the recent Boing Boing TV post.) Clearly is trying to outdo Marimello but little do they know we have something up our luscious bamboo silk sleeves: a vintage interview with Jess and Casey, the brains and passion behind Ravelry. Read on:

M: For those who don't get to play with Ravelry yet, just how much fun are we going to have?

J&C: I think that most people will have a lot of fun :) Ravelry is multi-faceted and we've found that everyone's favorite part of Ravelry is different. If you love organizing, you'll probably really enjoy your Ravelry notebook, where you can keep track of your projects, stash and tools. Do you like wandering around the web and checking out people's projects and patterns on their personal blogs and sites? Ravelry is perfect for fiber voyeurs. Really love forums and online communities? There are plenty of options out there but we think that our community is something special because there is that extra substance behind (and all around) the chatting. Fun is the whole point!

M: What has surprised you so far about the ways people are using their Ravelry abilities?

J&C: I guess the biggest surprise is how quickly people are finding one another. We just love hearing from independent designers who have been found by local yarn store owners because they want to stock their patterns, new independent dyers and spinners who are getting wholesale orders for their yarns for the first time, people starting up new Stitch'n Bitch groups in their area...all happening already, before we have even opened the site for real!

M: What role do you think community plays in the crafting world? Knitting in particular.

J&C: I often giggle to myself when Casey and I talk about Ravelry to people who are not knitters or crocheters. Often they just don't understand that there is a huge online community of crafters already and that we don't actually have to build all of those connections from the ground up. We are just providing a fun and concise way to find others who share your interests or live near you.

Obviously, communities centered around crafting is not anything new- sewing circles and groups at local stores have been happening for a long time. I think what is different now is that it is possible to connect with people from all over the world and even find local people that you might not have met otherwise.

I know that I learned to knit by myself, from a book, and I didn't know anyone who knit or crocheted until I started my blog. After a while, I was knitting pretty much every day and it was just so fun to do something creative after I got home from work, sitting in front of a computer all day. I really wanted to meet people who shared my love for knitting and, even in a city like Boston, it was a bit challenging to meet new people. I think online communities make that initial meeting a lot less stressful and more comfortable. After you have been chatting with someone on your blog or on Ravelry, you feel like you know them a bit and you can skip all the 'getting to know you' chitchat and actually hang out. I have met people through the blogging community that I consider my real friends.

One of the reasons that we created Ravelry in the first place was that the online crafting community was such a wealth of information and ingenuity but there was not a way to really search and find what you were looking for--besides googling for hours on end. Over the past year, we just noticed that there were so many new indie designers and yarn dyers and spinners--with etsy stores and their own websites--but there are only a handful of ways to get the word out about your stuff (profiles with bigger bloggers, knitty, crochetme, etc). We are hoping that Ravelry helps people to find their audience as well has helps crafters find new and interesting ways to express themselves.

M: It's fair to say social networking sites have had a significant impact on both the music and crafting communities. How do you think it has worked out differently for both communities? How do you think they influence the way crafters market themselves, conduct business, show off? I mean are we more showey-offy?

J&C: Here is our music parallel :) Online communities allow everyone to share their art with the world. The Internet (and especially blogs and community sites) has given talented crafters and musicians a way to find fans and customers themselves. You don't need a big marketing budget and you don't have to wait to be discovered by an industry. You can be discovered by the people instead.

We're very excited about all of the independent designers, dyers, and spinners that are using Ravelry. We really want to help these amazing people (and they really are amazing!) showcase their work, find their audience, and promote their businesses. Community is an extremely important part of small and independent business (businesses of any size, but the bigger guys often miss the point). People aren't only shopping small because they like things that are handmade or locally produced; we consumers are beginning to want a more real connection with the creators that we support.

This really means a lot to us. We want to help people do what they love for a living.

Crafting the Business of Etsy: Size Does Matter

If you haven’t already (it was posted almost a week and a half ago) go read in entirety Rob’s post on the Etsy blog here. It’ll bring a tear to your eye. Or not. It might just bring a little lust to your heart to read about the inner machinations of the increasingly popular craft selling site. Sure, everyone in the craft would knows and adores Etsy, but on the outside, as we like to call it, Etsy is the regular folks are starting to take notice of Etsy and its business practices. From the business world’s perspective, Etsy is an overnight sensation compared to the era (eons?) of trial and error that much larger, more well-known sites went through. Sure they had to wait for us all to get used to buying things online and that took time, but consider also the amazing community that has developed with in Etsy. That can’t be said for some other site where users sold their wares in the past.

Perhaps a better post would look more at what Etsy has learned, rather than marvel at how it works. But here’s an excerpt anyway. Find a similar passage from a larger company and the Marimello team will sit down to a meal of crochet hooks. Our hats are too precious.

From Rob’s post:

These are some particular challenges we’ve faced:

Having a consistent message vs. letting humans be human. There is no “Etsy” in the monolithic sense of a single identity or being. Etsy is the several dozen employees of Etsy, Inc. and even more, the several hundred thousand members of the community.

As I see it, large corporations try to sanitize all their outgoing messages for the sake of keeping face. It is very easy to identify this kind of behavior. Whenever you read something and it sounds like a series of pre-made phrases strung together, instead of a human being speaking, this is sanitized communication. To me, this stuff sounds inhuman.

I want Etsy to stay human. This means allowing each person’s voice to be heard, even if it’s squeaky or loud or soft. I will not put a glossy layer of PR over what we do. If we trip, let us learn from it instead of trying to hide it; when we leap, let’s show others how to leap. Hence the title of this whole blog post: Open Etsy.

We’ve got a ways to go. It’s 2:34am and I have to get back to polishing the new screen designs for Alchemy. To everyone out there, it’s been a good ride so far, and I’m looking forward to the next couple years more than anything.

Carasan, mi Corazon

A mother-daughter design duo? We’ve seen it before. But a mother-daughter knit couture design duo; be still our hearts!

We don’t usually do this, but we do spend a lot of time drooling over couture and when we find a crossover for crafting, we absolutely must make the introduction. So, meet Carasan. When 18 year old daughter Cassandra couldn’t find a job in her new college town (NYC, so quelle surprise), she asked her mother to go into business with her.
Their inspiration ranges from Erte to Fortuny and according to their statement, “Carasan epitomizes today's young American Couture, transcending time with its authentic creations and looking back into history for inspiration, not just for their designs, but also how we all impact the world in which we live forever.” Sure it’s couture, but it sounds suspiciously crafty, yes?

Thanks to FashionIndie for pointing us toward Carasan, and look for an upcoming interview with the duo on Angel Lust PR.

Now let’s go back to drooling…If you don't have a myspace account to go check out the pics, it's worth getting one.

How To: stay off the internets and seek out 3D peeps

There's so much to do this weekend, we thought we'd give you a head start deciding:
In LA, get your ipod and head down to Swap Meet. Have a beer and go pirate the music. Maybe have a few beers, get up on the stage and sing the music. But remember the warning posted on the site, "According to recent legal decisions, inducing anyone to use physical space for the purpose of sharing music may render the space-time continuum illegal. Use the space-time continuum at your own risk!"
If you're near Santa Monica on Saturday, check out Fashion Swap Meet. It may not be super crafty, but you are sure to get some good inspiration. Stop by our Maker Faire friend's booth, Custom Industries and tell them we sent you.
Speaking of not crafty, Marimello will be missing you all this weekend and heading out of town to San Diego and ComicCon. Bet you didn't think we were such nerds, but truth be told, we had a huge crush on The Preacher.
If you too won't be in Lalaland either, there's still too much to do.
Friday, Etsy is putting out the Trashion in Brooklyn. Come make trash into treasure for free! As it should be, we think.
If that doesn't satisfy your crafty needs, then on Saturday check out NYCreates in Red Hook (Brooklyn).
Sunday, in Portland, clap your hands for Handmade Bazaar. It's a tim tested, Pacific Northwest approved craft fair that Marimello wishes we had a teleporter for.

Heck, if you aren't anywhere near any of these event, don't cry. Check out Handmade Bazaars instructions for starting your own bazaar. And if starting traditions is your thing, but a whole craft fair sounds a little daunting, may we recommend starting up a craft night at your local pub. Heck, that's where you'll find Marimello. Tonight we'll be lapping up the crafts at Craft Night, hosted at Silverlake's oasis, Akbar.

If You Want To Employ This Sweater

Do you have a band? Did you make your own instruments? Did your friend make you all matching sweaters? Do you make your own merch to sell? Are you the merch girl that every band needs?
Marimello needs to talk to you.
Don't ask why, we are mysterious curious.
OK, ask why. We're working on a piece about music and passion. We have a task for you and an ear to lend to any damn story you want to tell.
And don't just email us to make fun of our guitar. It's pink and your boyfriend didn't buy you one. And regarding the chord, so what? Marimello can't play guitar, but check out the fine fine ruffles on that mini dress! Hand knit baby!
marimellodesign [at] gmail

Marimello Hearts I Heart Rummage

Here in LA the Crocodile Cafe is a shitty chain restaurant we haven't seen in a while and are not sure if it is still in business. However in Seattle the Crocodile Café is muuuuch cooler and every first Sunday of the month, they host I Heart Rummage.

According to Marimello's Seattle correspondent, "it's the cute craft fair that your mom would drag you to as a kid but has all the stuff you want. Like Etsy come to life…and with you can get breaky before or after you shop if you find yourself famished." Check out the vibe on the new video here.

Food? Crafts? How could we resist? But not being in Seattle we hit the internet and met up with Cassandra Lanning who has been running a one-woman show for the last year.

IHR though has been around for almost six years, throwing events on the first Sundays of almost every month. [CORRECTIONS ABOUND!] You can catch them next at Bumbershoot.
That's right, Bumbershoot. Craft+Food+Music. It's like Heaven except it still costs money.
The next regular show at the Croc is September 16.

But IHR isn't just a pretty craft fair. Says Cassandra, "We are currently offering a series of free summer craft classes to our customers as well as other vendors. The classes are being taught by several of our expert vendors in the areas of jewelry making, needle felting, card making, sewing and home-brewing (yep, that means BEER!)." They're building a full-fledged crafting (albeit a little tipsy) army.

Contact Cassandra and check out their site here. Stay tuned Mello readers, for more IHR events.

(And P.S. Seattalians or Seattlites or whatever you are calling yourselves these days, Marimello's got a craving for some clouds. You never know when we'll be invading!)

Felt Club Rules!

For anyone in LA who braved the heat, The Ukranian Culture Center and Felt Club was where it was AT yesterday! (Lucky for Marimello, we were posted at the door where the breeze was at it's strongest.) Go support our new friends and check out the vendor list at Felt Club. If you missed it, be sure to make the next event in their new and improved digs on November 18th! Stay tuned for details and deadlines if you are planning to apply to be a vendor.

Ready, Set, Film: Marimello Spaces Out!

Oh NO! In all our anger and frothing at the mouth earlier about what a crap week it has been we forgot to send out the love for the very cool the 48 Hour Film Project happening this weekend in Los Angeles. If you haven't heard from you film school hottie this weekend, maybe this explains it all. Come out in droves next weekend, when the films will be screened. If you think you're on deadline, or you think the pressure for an upcoming event is too much, then you haven't lived through making a film in 48 hours. These people are indie hardcore!
In a nutshell, the 48 our Film Project is exactly what it sounds like only harder. Participating teams have an infinite time period to put together a crew and cast, but only 48 hours to write, edit and complete the entirely original film. The hard (or fun, depending on your yum/yuck threshold) part is keeping them honest. At 7 p.m. on Friday each team was issued a mandatory set of rules including a genre, a character's name and occupation, a prop and a line of dialogue. Films are due on Sunday at, duh, 7 p.m.
Now, Marimello likes a tight deadline as much as the next journo, but when it comes to crafting, we haven't seen much of this balls out, indie spirit. Just for spite, in the coming days Marimello will post a timed crafting challenge. We just have to think of something accessible and ludicrous enough to make you balk and pony up. Get your sticks out and dig through your most unappealing leftovers. You know that's where we'll be heading first.
Ready, Set, Craft.

Functionality Friday: Let's Party!

Marimello's packin' the sticks and hittin's the beach this holiday weekend. And we promise you this is not going to be the weekend we work on the t-shirt rugs, shopping bag bags or the massive miter afghan. We're packing light and we're packing something sexy.
And we figure nothing says sexy like a girl in a knit bikini, working on a crossword, cozied beer in hand.
Right?
The bikini at left is from Naughty Needles Knitting. (Delicate readers may want to avoid just googling Naughty Needles, or you will wind up where we just did.) Ther's another bikini pattern on Get Crafty or try this one on DIY Network. Note the french manicured fingers modeling the process.
If you're feeling lazy or like the look of hand made with out the hands having been yours, Verao's got a really swanky new design up on Etsy.
But boyfriend beware, Marimello gets sick of the small projects easily. Once we're back we might start up something a little larger...a motorcycle cover, say.

Free Press and Craft: Like Mainstream Only Funnier

Rachel Smolkin recently published an article in American Journalism Review about how Jon Stewart has changed the way we view the news. For the love of all things academic, read the whole article here.
What on earth does this have to do with craft? A whole lot. Despite our major crush on Stewart himself, we have to admit his Daily Show changes nightly news nightly not simply because it is funnier. Smolkin, as part of the mission of AJR, questions the import and influence of "silly riffing" on a nightly news program, because the "real" news of late has frequently turned out to be fake or at least doctored. Insert Jayson Blair joke here.
The discussion she has is an important one and one we crafters should be having on the import of our own so-called revolution. The Daily Show presents us with just another nightly new show--only funnier and more pointed. Similarly, crafters present the world with just another source of, um, well items for consumption. The Daily Show succeeds because it allows whimsy and irony into and arena where both qualities are usually frowned upon.
Whimsy and irony have come to the front of this most recent craft movement. Maybe because what we're making is not being made out of necessity. Sure there is a crafty itch in many of us that cannot be scratched with anything but a knitting needle, but Marimello doesn't make warshrags because we can't more easily get them somewhere else.
Craft these days can mean trying to find a greener solution, by turning one man's trash into another man's treasure for instance. But a growing part of the craft movement holds more stock in turning one man's treasure into another man's trash. We're not talking trash like that slaved over, but gawdafwful holiday sweater gift trash, we're talking Stephanie Syjuco's crocheted Chanel bags and knitpro on microrevolt. It's cute and sassy to take back from the Man this way, and hey, it's cheaper than couture too!
Like Jon Stewart's newscast, personal opinion is an essential part of the product. And only by the existence of a more traditional opposite are his comedy and subversive crafting possible. But Stewart doesn't have to turn around a hug Katie Couric or give her the finger either way. As crafters our subversion must carefully consider its history and tradition. So run over there and hug grandma for us. And be sure to wear the sweater.

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Gocco: What Is It and Why Don't We Have One?

The beloved (but alas hard to find) printing machine may be coming back to the states according to the reliable sources of Savegocco.com. Which is great news for serious crafters and dabblers alike.
Gocco print, when it was introduced in the 70's, offered an easy in-home color print system. Because all you need is an original image, the uses of the printer are limited only by its user. Gocco print uses the heat from flashbulbs within the printer to create a master from the original. Similar to silk screening, the user then sandwiches ink between the master and a plastic to transfer the image onto paper, fabric, wood, and almost anything else.
Initially, gocco print was THE way to make invitations and cards at home, but as with many in-home creative products, its popularity declined as computers provided easier methods of creating complex images at home. You can read the whole history of Riso, gocco's parent company, here.
Interestingly the home computer may be the reason for the little printers' current resurgence in popularity though. This is not to say that we do not love our own little computer/printer set up, but it lacks a little something when it comes to generating images we'd write home about, or on.
It is this little something bringing back gocco printing--but what is it? Gocco prints are somewhat unique and usually only a finite number are made. Many of the gocco prints you find available are individually designed by the person who made them. But the exact same two statements could be made about anything printed from a conventional home computer. So, identify this little something that makes gocco prints different and you identify the difference between wearing a sweater your mother made you and wearing a sweater your mother gave you. Identify this and put your finger on the pulse of millions of crafters.
Gocco, translated loosely, is the make believe and play we participate in to learn rules and common knowledge. The originator of the print gocco system, Noboru Hayama says "this 'gocco' play is a source of intellectual education and its spirit is, I believe, an important national heritage. Therefore, I decided to use the word gocco as part of this product name."
Thus a gocco print is, like any craft valued equally as the efforts of the printer and the image or message of the card.
Read more about the gocco print system here. Or get your gocco on with crafters online at flickr, or with a kit from Felt Cafe.