Apathy is a Bitch

We know it's hard to get off the couch sometimes. Hell we rarely get into real work clothes here at Marimello. And don't even start to tell us about how damn near impossible it is to will the computer into your hands. We know. But apathy is a bitch people. And it can mean death for a craft business as well as an event. Organize all you want.
So today we have sad news to report. The IHR Craft Swap we mentioned on Friday has been canceled. Not because people weren't interested, but because because enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into activism.
If you're going to be enthusiastic, don't just send an email, send cash. Sign up for volunteer work. If you want to see something happen, be part of making it happen.

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.

Protect Thyself: How Not To Become A Cog In A Mini-Mass Market Wheel

Let's get one thing straight. Marimello has been to countless factories in China. This is part of our day job. Marimello understands the process involved in getting that $2 item to the big box store display. Marimello feels very very weird when she sees it. Weird like cog-in-the-wheel weird.
The process by which any given item gets into your typical big box store is long and costly. It is not however without personality. The number of people that go into getting your shiny new toaster right on the shelf when you would boggle you mind.
Craft is different though. Buying from a crafter directly via online shops like Etsy, puts the consumer into direct contact with the creator. Consumers driven by the desire to purchase unique goods infused with the spirit of the artist has not been undocumented. In a culture where fewer crafts are handed down among family members, we have not lost the sense of importance in owning hand made treasures.
Not long ago a thread appeared on Etsy concerning a seller who sold items to another seller who turned around and sold them as her own. Obviously seller #1 was livid, but felt she had no recourse against buyer/seller#2. Where did she go wrong?
First we assume that the transactions of crafters are sacred and we are trying to protect ourselves from becoming cogs in a micro-mass market process. If this is you goal as a crafter I suggest looking into Creative Commons Licence. They're non-profit and even the software is totally free. From "all rights reserved" to "some rights reserved" a Creative Commons Licence can help you protect your designs on and offline. If someone misuses your design, you will still need to probably consult a lawyer, but at least you have back up.