I finally finished this today. I had the most trouble attatching the top to the stand. I keep forgetting tension doesn't work with plush items. I'll learn one of these days. Finally, with a bit of struggling, it balances and stays put.
I tried to include some small "toys" that reprersent "The American Dream" or something like it (house, car, vacation) and fantasy (unicorn). What could be better than putting a quarter in a machine and having one of your dreams come true? If it only things were that simple...
It is life size, but no, it does not function as a normal gumball machine. I'm not that ambitious YET.
I can't wait to figure out what's next!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
New Soft Sculpture - They told me it would eat me up...
This is the newest edition to my collection. I am trying to get back into more detailed soft sculptures and take a break from the sweater monsters. I drew an image of this on my wall before my first day of class in the city and have imagined it in plush ever since. Finally, it's here! I am very happy with it and had ALOT of fun making it!
I am moving on to my next one, which I have already made a head of broccoli for...
In the mean time I rekindled my love for Clae Oldenburg and his soft sculptures. I hadn't looked at them in a while but I believe that somewhere they made quite an impression on my little imagination as I was growing up.
I am moving on to my next one, which I have already made a head of broccoli for...
In the mean time I rekindled my love for Clae Oldenburg and his soft sculptures. I hadn't looked at them in a while but I believe that somewhere they made quite an impression on my little imagination as I was growing up.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Etsy - Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer July 29, 2007
One big, booming online crafts fair
By A.D. Amorosi
For The Inquirer
South Philadelphian Sara Selepouchin , an enthusiastic Etsy seller (girlscantell), offers a green bag.
What Etsy makes, the world takes.
Haven't heard of Etsy? That's about to change. Because Etsy.com, founded by three former New York University students, including Chris Maguire of Roxborough, has quickly become the go-to site for all things handmade, and all the communities that surround and support craft work.
Since its 2005 start, Etsy.com has become so popular that it has spawned apostles who have formed "street teams" in various cities. Etsyians, they're called. And what they've created online amounts to a virtual international craft fair - without the corn dogs:
Concertinapieces in North Bend, Ind., sells intricately woven acrylic yarn toys with names like "Vlad the Blood Orange" for $6. Jacquelineknits of Woodbridge, Ontario, hawks hand-knit, hot-pink apple jackets - to protect your fruit from bruising - for $7.
Katrinakaye of Amsterdam coolly combines vintage Scandinavian fabrics and army bags for $35 purses named "Skipper" and "Wedge."
Aquaenergydesigns of Santa Clara, Calif., makes Glycerin Exfoliation Body Bars for $3. Meanwhile, Keemo of Boston sells upscale jewelry of malachite, ruby and moonstone, with her priciest piece - a turquoise necklace - going for $950.
Unlike the staid online storefronts of industry behemoth eBay, Etsy sellers write funny asides or quirky stories to go with their items; they also share stories in Etsy's online forums. And the community recently received a "real world" boost with the opening of an Etsy interactive lab and teaching facility in Brooklyn, N.Y.
"We want to bring back some of the artisanal quality daily objects had back before the Industrial Revolution," said Maguire, 34. "There's something indescribably satisfying about knowing the person who made your T-shirt, or beaded your custom banjo strap."
It's a message that is catching on: While the site recorded sales of only $170,000 in its first year, by June 2007, its members had sold more than $1.7 million worth of merchandise. The site now has more than 325,000 registered users, 50,000 of them sellers.
"Our bandwidth and traffic became so huge at one point, we actually ran out of power - not enough electricity for Etsy," joked Matt Stinchcomb, 31, Etsy's marketing guy, who has been with the site since the beginning.
Etsy started as a collaboration between Maguire, then a senior at New York University, and recent grad Robert Kalin, a casual friend.
Maguire was studying video gaming, an individualized program he cobbled together through programming, art and animation classes. His interests had always been diverse: A 2000 Masterman graduate who spent his childhood in Feltonville, Maguire ushered at the Academy of Music, worked at the Camp at Oak Lane Day School, and played nerdy, folk-punky rock with the Revolving Dorks (a name he still uses as his Etsy handle).
Kalin, now 27, was looking for a programmer to help him with client-based Web design work, building software for social and business communication. The two worked on various New York projects that required both panache and manageability - a restaurant, a rare book dealer, an arts festival.
Then in September 2004, Maguire and Kalin redesigned Jean Railla's GetCrafty.com, a community Web site focused on the new wave of DIY-ers. Through that project, the duo discovered that many next-generation crafters felt ready to sell their wares, but had trouble finding a good online venue.
"When we started Etsy, we found it incredible that e-commerce had seen so few innovations since the early '90s," Maguire said. "The only real ways you could shop online had remained the same. . . . Our aim was to shake things up and show people that there are 'other' ways to shop online."
Maguire and Kalin brought in NYU's Haim Schoppik and Flash artist Jared Tarbell to create browsing tools unique to the site. It helped that all were crafters in their own right - Schoppik and Maguire build custom computers and make video game-pixel portraits of people, Kalin does carpentry, and Tarbell sold prints of algorithmically generated art
And where does the name Etsy come from? From the Latin for "and if." From a program Maguire and Haim wrote that spit out random phonetic four-letter URLs that were not yet owned by anyone. These are just a couple of the explanations that Etsy's founders playfully offer.
They decided to make Etsy more accessible and less expensive than eBay. Etsy charges listing fees of 20 cents and takes 3.5 percent of each sale; eBay has as many as 40 different fees, depending on what's being sold and how.
Etsy's founders also wanted to give the creative community a means of making a living doing what its members love to do, and of communicating with one another. The Etsy chat forums and live interactivity are the lifeblood of the site, according to Maguire.
"Giving the users ways to interact with us and one another - that's what keeps people here," he said. "Without the forums, chat rooms and conversations there wouldn't be a community, and we would have grown much more slowly, if at all."
The crafters appreciate that you don't have to be computer literate to have a beautiful store on Etsy. Once you have good photos of your work, you can set up shop in minutes.
"I don't have to hire a Web designer, don't have to pay for expensive software, don't have to commission a publicist," said Sue Eggen, 30, of Giant Dwarf. "I just pay a small fee and I get to do everything myself, with word of mouth by my side.
" 'Etsy Forever' will be my next tattoo."
Eggen heard about the site two years ago when she ran into Kalin handing out flyers at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. The Fishtown resident fashions items such as flapper cloche hats and mod glovelettes using recycled materials and found objects.
Because Etsy is a place to buy and sell all things handmade, Eggen feels someone interested in handcrafted materials is more likely to find her work there than in a vague search online.
Sara Selepouchin, 25, has become such an avid Etsy seller (girlscantell) that she's turned community organizer. If she hears of a new Philly Etsyian (there are roughly 345 sellers in the city and nearly 1,400 registered buyers), she invites the person to join the Philly Street Team to share ideas.
The silkscreener, who lives in South Philly, also travels to EtsyLabs several times a month to attend classes and workshops. She says being an active part of the Etsy community increases her sales. "Once they [people] know you, it's so much easier to justify buying from you."
Both Eggen and Selepouchin think Etsy has changed the craft market. While buying handmade has gained immense popularity and big businesses have tried to appropriate the art form, Etsy has stayed true to the DIY aesthetic and has always kept the artist first. At least that's what Eggen thinks.
"I believe without this community, the crafting revolution would not be where it is today," she said.
Even more mainstream designers are catching on. Although Philadelphia fashion designer Bela Shehu owns her own Center City clothing salon and sells online, she, too, thought she'd give Etsy a go. "I just heard of it not too long ago and set up a shop the other day," she said.
Maguire says he gauges the site's progress through the number of sales made in a day, and not the money.
"When the number jumps up, I know we're doing something right," he said. "More people are selling the stuff they've made with their own hands, and we're another step closer to granting more people the ability to quit their day jobs and do what they love."
Maguire himself will soon be off to Berkeley, Calif., to work on Etsy's West Coast offices and live with his girlfriend, Lara Roman, whom he's known since Masterman (she's getting her Ph.D. in urban forestry from the University of California at Berkeley).
His latest project will be a virtual Second Life craft bazaar - an extremely experimental, two-dimensional, real-time craft fair, where users stake out virtual plots, move around the fair, and buy items from other people's booths. He's also working on a way for Etsy users to post requests for custom work.
All these pluses and no minuses? No detractors? According to the Etsy forums and the rising registration rates, there seem to be none.
"Who doesn't like us?" asks Stinchcomb. "Sweatshop owners and Wal-Mart. But that's just a guess."
One big, booming online crafts fair
By A.D. Amorosi
For The Inquirer
South Philadelphian Sara Selepouchin , an enthusiastic Etsy seller (girlscantell), offers a green bag.
What Etsy makes, the world takes.
Haven't heard of Etsy? That's about to change. Because Etsy.com, founded by three former New York University students, including Chris Maguire of Roxborough, has quickly become the go-to site for all things handmade, and all the communities that surround and support craft work.
Since its 2005 start, Etsy.com has become so popular that it has spawned apostles who have formed "street teams" in various cities. Etsyians, they're called. And what they've created online amounts to a virtual international craft fair - without the corn dogs:
Concertinapieces in North Bend, Ind., sells intricately woven acrylic yarn toys with names like "Vlad the Blood Orange" for $6. Jacquelineknits of Woodbridge, Ontario, hawks hand-knit, hot-pink apple jackets - to protect your fruit from bruising - for $7.
Katrinakaye of Amsterdam coolly combines vintage Scandinavian fabrics and army bags for $35 purses named "Skipper" and "Wedge."
Aquaenergydesigns of Santa Clara, Calif., makes Glycerin Exfoliation Body Bars for $3. Meanwhile, Keemo of Boston sells upscale jewelry of malachite, ruby and moonstone, with her priciest piece - a turquoise necklace - going for $950.
Unlike the staid online storefronts of industry behemoth eBay, Etsy sellers write funny asides or quirky stories to go with their items; they also share stories in Etsy's online forums. And the community recently received a "real world" boost with the opening of an Etsy interactive lab and teaching facility in Brooklyn, N.Y.
"We want to bring back some of the artisanal quality daily objects had back before the Industrial Revolution," said Maguire, 34. "There's something indescribably satisfying about knowing the person who made your T-shirt, or beaded your custom banjo strap."
It's a message that is catching on: While the site recorded sales of only $170,000 in its first year, by June 2007, its members had sold more than $1.7 million worth of merchandise. The site now has more than 325,000 registered users, 50,000 of them sellers.
"Our bandwidth and traffic became so huge at one point, we actually ran out of power - not enough electricity for Etsy," joked Matt Stinchcomb, 31, Etsy's marketing guy, who has been with the site since the beginning.
Etsy started as a collaboration between Maguire, then a senior at New York University, and recent grad Robert Kalin, a casual friend.
Maguire was studying video gaming, an individualized program he cobbled together through programming, art and animation classes. His interests had always been diverse: A 2000 Masterman graduate who spent his childhood in Feltonville, Maguire ushered at the Academy of Music, worked at the Camp at Oak Lane Day School, and played nerdy, folk-punky rock with the Revolving Dorks (a name he still uses as his Etsy handle).
Kalin, now 27, was looking for a programmer to help him with client-based Web design work, building software for social and business communication. The two worked on various New York projects that required both panache and manageability - a restaurant, a rare book dealer, an arts festival.
Then in September 2004, Maguire and Kalin redesigned Jean Railla's GetCrafty.com, a community Web site focused on the new wave of DIY-ers. Through that project, the duo discovered that many next-generation crafters felt ready to sell their wares, but had trouble finding a good online venue.
"When we started Etsy, we found it incredible that e-commerce had seen so few innovations since the early '90s," Maguire said. "The only real ways you could shop online had remained the same. . . . Our aim was to shake things up and show people that there are 'other' ways to shop online."
Maguire and Kalin brought in NYU's Haim Schoppik and Flash artist Jared Tarbell to create browsing tools unique to the site. It helped that all were crafters in their own right - Schoppik and Maguire build custom computers and make video game-pixel portraits of people, Kalin does carpentry, and Tarbell sold prints of algorithmically generated art
And where does the name Etsy come from? From the Latin for "and if." From a program Maguire and Haim wrote that spit out random phonetic four-letter URLs that were not yet owned by anyone. These are just a couple of the explanations that Etsy's founders playfully offer.
They decided to make Etsy more accessible and less expensive than eBay. Etsy charges listing fees of 20 cents and takes 3.5 percent of each sale; eBay has as many as 40 different fees, depending on what's being sold and how.
Etsy's founders also wanted to give the creative community a means of making a living doing what its members love to do, and of communicating with one another. The Etsy chat forums and live interactivity are the lifeblood of the site, according to Maguire.
"Giving the users ways to interact with us and one another - that's what keeps people here," he said. "Without the forums, chat rooms and conversations there wouldn't be a community, and we would have grown much more slowly, if at all."
The crafters appreciate that you don't have to be computer literate to have a beautiful store on Etsy. Once you have good photos of your work, you can set up shop in minutes.
"I don't have to hire a Web designer, don't have to pay for expensive software, don't have to commission a publicist," said Sue Eggen, 30, of Giant Dwarf. "I just pay a small fee and I get to do everything myself, with word of mouth by my side.
" 'Etsy Forever' will be my next tattoo."
Eggen heard about the site two years ago when she ran into Kalin handing out flyers at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. The Fishtown resident fashions items such as flapper cloche hats and mod glovelettes using recycled materials and found objects.
Because Etsy is a place to buy and sell all things handmade, Eggen feels someone interested in handcrafted materials is more likely to find her work there than in a vague search online.
Sara Selepouchin, 25, has become such an avid Etsy seller (girlscantell) that she's turned community organizer. If she hears of a new Philly Etsyian (there are roughly 345 sellers in the city and nearly 1,400 registered buyers), she invites the person to join the Philly Street Team to share ideas.
The silkscreener, who lives in South Philly, also travels to EtsyLabs several times a month to attend classes and workshops. She says being an active part of the Etsy community increases her sales. "Once they [people] know you, it's so much easier to justify buying from you."
Both Eggen and Selepouchin think Etsy has changed the craft market. While buying handmade has gained immense popularity and big businesses have tried to appropriate the art form, Etsy has stayed true to the DIY aesthetic and has always kept the artist first. At least that's what Eggen thinks.
"I believe without this community, the crafting revolution would not be where it is today," she said.
Even more mainstream designers are catching on. Although Philadelphia fashion designer Bela Shehu owns her own Center City clothing salon and sells online, she, too, thought she'd give Etsy a go. "I just heard of it not too long ago and set up a shop the other day," she said.
Maguire says he gauges the site's progress through the number of sales made in a day, and not the money.
"When the number jumps up, I know we're doing something right," he said. "More people are selling the stuff they've made with their own hands, and we're another step closer to granting more people the ability to quit their day jobs and do what they love."
Maguire himself will soon be off to Berkeley, Calif., to work on Etsy's West Coast offices and live with his girlfriend, Lara Roman, whom he's known since Masterman (she's getting her Ph.D. in urban forestry from the University of California at Berkeley).
His latest project will be a virtual Second Life craft bazaar - an extremely experimental, two-dimensional, real-time craft fair, where users stake out virtual plots, move around the fair, and buy items from other people's booths. He's also working on a way for Etsy users to post requests for custom work.
All these pluses and no minuses? No detractors? According to the Etsy forums and the rising registration rates, there seem to be none.
"Who doesn't like us?" asks Stinchcomb. "Sweatshop owners and Wal-Mart. But that's just a guess."
Friday, July 27, 2007
Plush crazed
I finally took and posted one of my first photos with me and one of my creations together in the same shot. It happened to be a self portrait so it only made sense but I am considering doing this with the other plushies so that customers and viewers can get a better idea of how large some of them really are. It might help to people to understand them a little bit better and get a better idea of how huggable they really are! On a side note, believe it or not, I am running low on sweaters to use to make the sweater monsters. I may have to do a run through on my closet to see what I can sacrifice. I am trying to find at least one more shop in the Philadelphia area that is willing to sell my creations on consignment. I just really love for more people to be able to see them, even if they don't sell, I think just seeing them would make some folks smile and afterall that's really what it is all about.
Also, the Plush Team got a shout out on the Softies Central blog which I just discovered. What a fantastic little sight that has been set up tp showcase plushie designers, creators, and lovers! I absolutly adore felt food of all kinds and there's alot of that to be seen here! This is sure to be a site that I will be frequenting!
Also, the Plush Team got a shout out on the Softies Central blog which I just discovered. What a fantastic little sight that has been set up tp showcase plushie designers, creators, and lovers! I absolutly adore felt food of all kinds and there's alot of that to be seen here! This is sure to be a site that I will be frequenting!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
New Hope Sidetracks Gallery - Final Product
It's finally done. After many a nail bent and many a customer from the downstairs flower shop scared away by my hammering, it's done. I am really happy with it. It feels really good to spend alot of time on something and then to complete it finally. It has been a while since I have worked on a long term project, taking my time to make sure everything is in its right place. I am mostly pleased with it and can't wait to see it hanging somewhere other than in my apartment!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Felt Nudes Progression
My work for the New Hope Sidetracks Gallery is slowly progressing. I will finish with enough time to spend an appropriate amount of energy on the background and framing.
I watched a fantastic documentary on Ansel Adams in my photography class. There is also a series of PBS specials called ART 21 which have some excellent documentaries on modern and contemporary artists. I enjoy these kinds of documentaries and wish they were more widely publicized or less expensive to buy on VHS or DVD.
I am looking forward to next semester's classes already, though I will miss the ones from this semester. I am taking a screenprinting class and hopefully, maybe a cyanotype printing class. I can't imagine my life without classes. I just love learning, there's so much to learn and so much to know and so much to experience. I don't think a day should go by without me having learned at least one thing, and I intend to keep it that way. For me, that's what it's all about, learning, and then sharing what you know with the world in whatever way you know how.
Enough about that, I'm looking forward to more progress on the nudes tomorrow and hopefully some work on the background and hanging mechanism. I am also looking forward to a good hike in the Pines on Saturday, followed by family extravaganzas, and a job interview on Monday.
Enjoy.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Lemon Grass Philadelphia, PA
Today we did a test run to the University City area taking the PATCO to the Market-Frankford Line. An easy commute, though mildly confusing with the construction at the 8th and Market Station. We got out at the 40th and Market station and walked a few blocks down to 37th and over to Lancaster where Lemon Grass is. A small little place with about 25 tables(?) and traditional decor of Thailand. With only 2 waitresses, one cook, and one dishwasher (yes, we counted) and a FULL restaurant it was by far one of the best dining experiences I have had. The waitresses were amazing, doing everything from taking orders, filling water glasses, clearing plates, etc, all in a fantastically timely manner. I got Lemongrass soup which was absolutely delicious...sweet, sour, and a little spicy! I also got Veggies Mussaman which consisted of various vegetables and potatoes in a delicious curry peanut coconut sauce. And then, of course, for dessert we got Mango Sticky Rice. Absolutely amazing, a great combination of warm/cold, sticky/smooth, and delicious/irresistible! I was impresses with the service, the great atmosphere, and the nearly flawless tastes. Next time I have something to celebrate, I would like to return and get the Apple Cider Wine and enjoy something completely different though probably just as good. Mmm!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Naked in New Hope
Today I finally sat down and plugged away at my nude figures for the New Hope Sidetracks Gallery in September. I was dreading and avoiding this project because I have always felt that I have a difficulty creating realistic looking forms. And of course, I avoid doing sketches or making patterns ahead of time, so it took me a bit of time and reworking to figure out the proper shapes and proportions. Something about sculpting with fabric seems so natural to me. I thought, after the fact, that I don't think I could have sculpted that successfully in clay yet I did a decent job with felt and cotton. There are some things I'd like to fix in the next figure. I think there will be seven in all climbing a tattered rope-like background. I can only hope the more I do the better they will get and the faster I will be able to do them. I, however, am not looking forward to doing the next one even though now I have a general idea of how to do it. I would love to learn more about soft sculpture and textiles in general. This is something that I never had the opportunity to learn as an undergrad but I think there are so many possibilities with textiles.
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