DIY

The Natural Wedding: Ideas and Inspiration for a Stylish and Green Celebration

gita — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

“... the average wedding can send 14.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—roughly double an individual human's carbon footprint for a year.” So writes the author Louise Moon in the introduction to her book, The Natural Wedding. As the founder of EcoMoon, which specializes in designing green weddings, Moon is uniquely qualified to guide those who aspire to be responsible stewards of our planet.

The book covers just about everything that has to do with weddings—theme, venue, dress, rings and other jewelry, accessories, invitations, menu, cake, flowers, decorations, wedding favors, table assignments, make-up and hair, clean-up and honeymoon—and shows how to avoid products and practices that are bad for the environment. She advises the bridal couple to think “seasonal,” “eco-chic,” “vintage,” and “DIY” (do-it-yourself). She also defines terms such as organic, biodynamic, free-range, fair trade, slow food and sustainable.

One of the author's suggestions is to plant your own garden specifically for the food and/or flowers you want to use in your wedding. (Obviously that takes a lot of advance planning.) Another is to use petals instead of rice or paper for confetti.

Moon gives so many suggestions that the bridal couple could be left feeling overwhelmed. How could you possibly implement all of these green solutions? The key is to pick those practices and products that appeal to you—and that you can afford. (The author's claim that a natural wedding is less expensive than a traditional one seemed a bit unrealistic given how costly some green products can be.)

Martha Stewart fans will love this book. It's full of DIY projects, from fabric corsages to bridesmaid totes and recipes. The photographs are beautiful and the illustrations are detailed. There's a wedding planner in the back of the book as well as a glossary, bibliography and list of helpful websites. The book is the size of a typical magazine, making it seem more like a coffee table book than a how-to-manual (it also has a coffee table price). That's not to say that it's not worth buying, just that it's so pretty I would hate to handle it too much for fear of spoiling its appearance.

The text is full of references that are British (such as well-known British eco-hotels or outdoor venues, laws governing getting married in Britain, and certain terms), and the author herself is British, but the book was published in the U.S. with no mention of a prior publication in Britain. However, its list of websites includes many American and Canadian venues, products, and companies, so it is still a valuable resource for North Americans.

In fact, anyone who wants their wedding to make a statement, but doesn't quite know how will find plenty of inspiration and handy information in this book. This would make a great present for someone who has just become engaged or is just starting to plan her wedding.

Written by: Ellen Keim, March 14th 2011

If It Ain’t Cheap, It Ain’t Punk: Fifteen Years Of Plan-It X Records

annette — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Directed by Joe Biel

Microcosm Publishing

If It Ain’t Cheap, It Ain’t Punk is a sweet, well put together documentary film that captures the spirit and feel of the do-it-yourself, underground punk scene that has grown up around Plan-it X Records in Bloomington, Indiana. The film began as part of a filmmaking workshop at Plan-it X’s weeklong festival in Bloomington in 2006. In sixty concise minutes it documents the fifteen-year history of Plan-it X records and of the growth of the do-it-yourself, underground punk movement that it has helped foster. The film includes live footage of bands such as Operation: Cliff Clavin, Ghost Mice, Defiance, Ohio; Against Me, Soophie Nun Squad, Japanther, and This Bike Is a Pipbomb. It also includes interviews with important figures in the Plan-it X universe such as Chris Clavin, who runs the label, and Hannah Jones from Ghost Mice and Operation: Cliff Clavin, as well as many participants in the Plan-it X festival.

The tone of the film is positive, light, and respectful. It showcases the relaxed, friendly atmosphere created by the bands and fans and their commitment to the politics of do-it-yourself economies, punk community, and radical activism. It is clear that the filmmakers are a part of the scene and close to many of their interviewees. They capture the scrappy aesthetic of patched shorts, wild hair and silk-screened t-shirts and the sense of playfulness that infuses the scene through kickball games and quarry swimming, as well as participants’ dedication to freely exchanging skills, ideas, and resources.

The filmmakers also make a conscious effort to explain the scene to those who may not be familiar with it. They try to contextualize its emergence within the history of do-it-yourself hardcore, pop punk, and the ease of communication and information dissemination facilitated by rise of the Internet. While this makes for a balanced documentary, it also is where the film falters. It’s unclear whether the film is made for an audience that is already familiar with Plan-it X and will thrill to seeing their community captured on camera or if it aims to explain this sub-culture to a wider audience.

Because it is unsure of its audience, If It Ain’t, It Ain’t Punk’s only fault is that it does not analyze the scene very deeply. While the range of commentators includes men and women in nearly equally numbers and the filmmakers are sure to include some voices over the age of forty, including a very sweet dad who has come to the festival with his son, there is a lack of analysis about who exactly is able to participate in this sub-culture and feels welcome. Most of the faces are white and most of the bands are male and the demographic of participants is overwhelmingly young, most under twenty-five. While this is unfortunately inevitable in many rock-oriented scenes, because the filmmakers are so seeped in the culture of do-it-yourself punk, they would be in a good position to critique it while not loosing what makes it so special: the friendship, fun, and political commitment that the film highlights so handily.

Written by: Eleanor Whitney, January 7th 2011

Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It: The D.I.Y. Guide to the Good Life

mandy — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:00:00 +0000

By Billee Sharp

Cleis Press

Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It is packed full of just about as much information as the title suggests. The book is generally a fun and easy read, with crafting suggestions and healthy recipes. It is not, however, the bible I’d hoped it would be. While there are many recipes for making your own toilet bowl cleaner, there’s little helpful advice on things like how to garden. Rather, the focus is simply on the benefits of gardening.

One of the great things about Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It is that Billee Sharp is adept at making things most people would scoff at seem perfectly reasonable. For example, Sharp makes dumpster diving seem as viable an option as buying a chair off Craigslist—and not just for furniture. In the chapter entitled “Freeconomics,” Sharp gives suggestions for dumpster diving for food, organizing community programs that will help neighbors share their unwanted items in lieu of sending them to the dump, and twists on the tried and true clothing swap (which she has renamed “Naked Lady Parties”).

There is one line in the book that tainted the rest of the read for me. In chapter four, “Homely Habits,” Sharp makes it clear that she’s not the best at wielding a wrench, which is fine. But then she writes that when her husband is out of town she keeps a roll of duct tape on hand because, “Even if I can’t fix stuff, I can hold it together with duct tape.” This is one of the least empowering things I’ve ever read, and coming from a book that claims to put power back into my hands, I found it to be pretty jarring.

In addition to a little feminist boost, Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It desperately needs an index. There is so much information about baking, fixing, and growing in order to save money in the chapter about finances, but one may never find some gem they hoped to reference without spending cash on post-its to mark the pages.

If you’re a novice thrifter or a newbie to reducing, reusing, and recycling, Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It will have more helpful hints than you'll know what to do with. But if you’ve fixed a chair or composted recently, there may not be a lot of new information here for you.

Written by: Tatiana Ryckman, September 21st 2010

Hide Your Face(book) in Shame: Facebook and The Censorship of Female Sexuality

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Interview with Self Serve

A lot can happen in ten minutes. You can make your morning commute to work. You can do twenty sit-ups. You can have an orgasm. If you are business owners Molly Adler and Matie Fricker of Albuquerque's Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center, ten minutes can be all the time you need to inform people about the hazards of labiaplasty.

Also known as female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), labiaplasty is a controversial elective medical procedure that involves the surgical re-shaping of labia in order to make a woman's vulva look more “appealing.” A 2007 statement about FCGS, issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), read as follows: "Women should be informed about the lack of data supporting the efficacy of these procedures and their potential complications, including infection, altered sensation, dyspareunia, adhesions, and scarring."

In true sex-positive, DIY spirit, Adler and Fricker, along with Alee Ross-Raymond, put together a YouTube video called You Don't Need Labiaplasty. According to Matie Fricker:

“We created a video that included pictures of vulvas from Betty Dodson’s genital art gallery. So many women have body dysmorphia, and seeing unedited photos of healthy diverse genitalia is important. The video also included an impassioned plea to love your body. We had posted two versions of the video on YouTube. One of the video's start screens had Molly’s face on it, and [the other] was a full frontal vulva in an unaroused state. The video with the vulva on it got ten times as many hits.

“I posted the video on our Facebook page with the vulva because it was clear from our experience on YouTube that people wanted to see the female body. I posted the video on our Facebook page and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Many women thanked us and confessed to insecurities they had long carried.

“One of the comments was negative. Of our 1,300+ fans we lost one. I spoke to Molly about it the next day... and we decided we were going to post our next status update asking what our community felt was appropriate. The only people who saw the video were people who had self-selected to be our fans. We had decided we would ask our fans what they wanted to see and adjust accordingly.”

Before the women could act on their decision, Self Serve’s page and all of their administrative pages had been removed from Facebook.

Molly Adler sent off a message to a representative in Facebook's User Operations department seeking the reactivation of all accounts. On August 2, 2010 Adler was told that all of the personal accounts belong to Self Serve administrators were reactivated, but that the Self Serve page itself would not be reinstated due to terms of use violation.

Would Facebook have banned the Self Serve account had it not used that screen shot, but still used images of vulvas throughout the video? Would Facebook have banned the account had the video been posted completely devoid of any genital images? Why does Facebook consider a vague notion of safety and an honest discussion about the very real hazards of female genital modification to be at odds with one another?

These questions are not just “what-ifs.” Sadly, they're also rhetorical. At the time of this writing—over a month after the banning of Self Serve's page—the administrators of the Self Serve account never heard got a reply to their last e-mail, and their account is still suspended.

Self Serve isn't the only women-owned sexuality boutique to have its Facebook page banned. Chicago's Early2Bed also lost their page. E2B founder Searah Deysach started her feminist sex shop in 2001 because she “love[s] sex toys and wanted to create a safe space for people to buy and explore them.” Deysach started a company Facebook page about two years ago. According to Deysach, while it existed, the page was warmly received with around 500 followers.

And then one day, the Early2Bed Facebook page simply disappeared. “No specific reason was given so I read the rules and the only thing we could have possibly violated was the obscenity clause, but we had... nothing more 'obscene' than the other sex shops that have pages.”

Like Self Serve, E2B was notified about the account's banning by email. Like the owners of Self Serve, Deysach contacted Facebook to find out what could be done. Unlike Self Serve, however, no reasons were given for the E2B account disappearance. Deysach went on to say that she has received “no responses to our many emails.”

So what's the deal with Facebook? Why are they so freaked out by lady parts and the sex-positive women who seek to celebrate them?

In order to get some sort of answer out of Facebook regarding their position on this issue, I went to the source itself—specifically, to the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and to the Facebook Principles. Please keep in mind that Facebook claims that the former is “derived” from the latter.

Section 3 of the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, labeled “Safety,” states: “You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.” Here, Facebook lumps sex and violence together, putting them on par with one another. Not only that, but they are apparently also willing to consider nudity synonymous with pornography. Herein lies one of the (many) problems.

Section 4 reads as follows: “If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.” That's all well and good, but how can a former user get permission to create a new account when representatives stop responding to their emails?

Further along, section 4.5 states that no one under the age of thirteen can have a Facebook account. How can Facebook hide behind the argument of “safety” as a justification for censoring images of women's genitalia? The United States is the company’s biggest market. By age thirteen, most children educated in U.S. public schools are already learning sex education. Granted, it's likely an “abstinence-only” curriculum, but children are still being exposed to anatomical representations of the human genitals by that point in their lives. Furthermore, Facebook has its own “Safety Center,” including a sub-section labeled “Safety For Parents.” The information provided includes ways that an account's privacy settings can be modified to block those profiles that users do not want to see.

Section 5 is “Protecting Other People's Rights.” SRR Secs. 5.3 and 5.4 state that “We will provide you with tools to help you protect your intellectual property rights. If we remove your content for infringing someone else's copyright, and you believe we removed it by mistake, we will provide you with an opportunity to appeal.” I find the language of this section particularly contentious, as it seems that “protection of other people's rights” in the Facebook world extends only to the possibility of intellectual property infringement; it has nothing to do with the right to free speech. In fact, it doesn't just seem that way; it is that way.

Let's move on to selections from the unintentional hilarity that is “The Facebook Principles.” From Principle 3, “Free Flow of Information”: "People should have the freedom to access all of the information made available to them by others. People should also have practical tools that make it easy, quick, and efficient to share and access this information."

Yes, they should. But when people are denied access to that information by: a. dictating what is acceptable speech; and then b. banning accounts belonging to individuals or organizations who try to share important information that you have nonetheless deemed “unacceptable,” a company proves itself to be stunningly ignorant and embarrassingly hypocritical all at once.

From Principle 7, “Fundamental Service”: "People should be able to use Facebook for free to establish a presence, connect with others, and share information with them. Every Person should be able to use the Facebook Service regardless of his or her level of participation or contribution."

Unless Facebook deems that the information you're trying to share is “pornographic” rather than, y'know, informative (not to mention supported by the American medical establishment), in which case you get the boot.

From Prinicple 8, “Common Welfare”: "The rights and responsibilities of Facebook and the People that use it should be described in a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which should not be inconsistent with these Principles."

It would be nice were this the case, but sadly, it's not. The SRR is inconsistent with the supposed Facebook Principles. You can try to spin it otherwise, but the proof is in right there online, plain as day for everyone with the most basic critical analytical skills to evaluate.

From Principle 9, “Transparent Process”: "Facebook should publicly make available information about its purpose, plans, policies, and operations. Facebook should have a town hall process of notice and comment and a system of voting to encourage input and discourse on amendments to these Principles or to the Rights and Responsibilities." Facebook will not, however, respond to e-mail pleas from otherwise conscientious users with noble intentions and loads of supporters.

It was extraordinarily savvy of Facebook's PR team/bevy of lawyers/Department of Cognitive Dissonance to start pretty much every sentence of its "Facebook Principles" with the phrase "People should have..." Yes, people (and groups and organizations and businesses, et al) should have all of those things Facebook has delineated among their supposed principles. But a quick perusal of the SRR, combined with the reality of their actions in relation to supposedly "objectionable" content, clearly indicates that this is simply not the case. It's as though they're saying, "You totally should have these things–but you don't. And you won't. Because we're not gonna let you."

The larger question is this: How do sex-positive individuals, businesses, and organizations combat this sort of societal resistance to–and censorship of–female sexuality?

In response, Molly Adler and Matie Fricker at Self Serve told me, “We can continue to try following the rules, terms etc., and challenging this notion that all sexual information and all images of the human body are obscene. That notion is obscene! The more space and voice sex positive feminists are given to speak for shame-free, guilt-free positive sexuality, the more perhaps our culture will steer in that direction.”

Searah Deysach added, “We need to continue to be vocal and fight censorship when we can! We need to band together to be a louder voice. We need to keep promoting sex positive imagery and ideas wherever we can. Facebook is huge, but there are lots of other venues out there.”

Written by: M. Brianna Stallings, September 3rd 2010

If You Like It Then You Should Be Able to Put A Ring On It

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Directed by Cara Holmes, Ciara Kennedy

Adorable, DIY-style animation and quirky music start off this excellent and important film about marriage equality in Ireland. Cara Holmes and Ciara Kennedy cut and paste stories, images, protests, and facts into a clever, witty, and purposeful narrative.

Voice-overs and interviews are illustrated and screened, intercut or overlaid upon footage from rallies, photo montages, and title cards (which have a very on-trend hand-drawn look). These touches make the film more accessible and adhere to the filmmakers’ established aesthetic. I really respect the directors’ decision to use this style–it actually underscores the gravity of the issue. It’s a very watchable, warm, and likeable documentary, and will have wide appeal.

Full disclosure: I met Cara when we were both booked at Ladyfest Berlin a few years ago, and her band wrote a song about my zine. A couple of years after that, we were both on the bill at Ladyfest Cork, which became the hen do before my UK civil partnership with my wife Sarah. Sarah and I actually staged a mock wedding as part of our comedy show at the festival, using vows rewritten to address the illegality of our marriage in Ireland. We met with MarriagEquality, who were tabling at Ladyfest, and took badges back for our friends to wear while preparing for our ceremony in the UK. We knew some bills were being proposed, and things were looking pretty good in Ireland at the time–like this issue was moving ahead.

When I saw If You Like It Then You Should Be Able To Put A Ring On It mentioned on a friend’s Facebook page, I immediately recognised Cara’s name and followed the link to the film. I felt really frustrated as I began watching; Ireland seems to have come no closer to legal and financial equality for queer couples who wish to marry.

Here’s a quote from one of the on-screen title sequences early on in the film:

In 2005, it was argued before the High Court that Katherine and Ann Louise had a constitutional right to equality: a right to marry, property rights, and family rights. They also argued that the failure to recognise their marriage breached their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. To date their marriage is still not recognised. On Feb 23, 2007 the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. There is no known timeframe for the Supreme Court hearing.

If You Like It... goes on to introduce couples who’ve married elsewhere, shows footage from protests and rallies (including some awesome placards!), interviews representatives from several marriage rights organisations, and manages the difficult task of presenting different viewpoints (civil partnership as a stepping stone to full equality vs. ‘separate but equal’ compromise) toward a common purpose remarkably well. It also puts the campaign into the larger context of queer rights around the world generally, and provides links in the credits to the organisations and artists who contributed to the film.

The pace of the film is quite inspiring–it builds to a climax that offers hope to the queer community, and should galvanise new allies into action. In the end, I was heartened by both the message and its style of delivery.

The case mentioned above is still pending, and a civil partnership bill is working its way through the Irish government, but it’s a slow process. Major props to Holmes and Kennedy for helping speed things along with this outstanding short film.

Written by: Chella Quint, June 26th 2010

Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Tara Rodgers

Duke University Press

I was about fifteen years old when PinkNoises.com started up. I was very involved in riot grrrl music, so perhaps it's no surprise that I liked a website specifically dedicated to women in electronic music. The writer of this content—as well as the rest of the Pink Noises website—was Tara Rodgers. After years of performing and researching, she came out with a book by the same name.

Much like her website, Pink Noises encourages the creativity and capabilities of women in electronic music. Tara interviewed twenty-four different female artists; a diverse collection of electronic musicians, sound artists, composers, DJs, remixers, and performance artists. The end result is a book heavily, wonderfully saturated with facts, ideas, and experiences.

The DIY section was my particular favorite because it was the first time I had seen a music tutorial specifically written for amateur female artists. This section was full of information and resources, while being simple and direct. Creativity and experimentation were emphasized. Not only was I capable of creating my own music, but was also encouraged to.

On the flip side, I wish this book came with a CD featuring one song from each artist interviewed. However, there are lists of female artists and websites at the end of the book. Also, I felt my eyes glazing over some of the interviews. Though I admired women who were rich with technical knowledge and musical theory, I need to revisit their ideas when I have more musical experience. There is a helpful glossary of terms in the back of the book for those of us still learning.

Other interviews struck chords in me that had never been validated before. For instance, noticing that I shared a similar, basic upbringing of music as they did; we loved music growing up, took a few years of an instrument in school, joined a band, quit the band. Many of these women experienced sexism and unreliability of other performers while in rock bands. I kept seeing interviewees mention that electronic music is a great way to be creative without having to suffer misogyny or flakiness of others.

Creativity without bad attitudes? Sounds like a dream come true! Well, it is for the most part. Unfortunately, we still have the sexism of the electronic music industry to deal with. For example, most people probably envision a man wearing headphones and a hooded sweatshirt when they hear the phrase "electronic musician." This is a shame; Pink Noises clearly demonstrates women of all stripes as electronic musicians, many of whom have been creating for decades.

While some of the interviewed musicians reported positive community and good resources, others felt the blow of not having their work taken seriously or being excluded from electronic music magazines, events, and other outlets. It's no wonder that many female electronic musicians take up androgynous names or wear masks while performing. Both of these factors help demonstrate the artist's personal identity to their audience. However, I feel as though some female artists may also be conjuring Joan of Arc in order to be taken seriously.

In the book's introduction, Rodgers touches base on the history of electronic music. She notes that electronic music's beginnings stem from war. She writes that "amplification and recording technologies emerged directly from wartime expenditures or were funded for their potential military applications." The earliest electronic music piece, "The Art of Noises" (1913), is a "bold celebration" of "machines, modern industry, and war." Even the terminology of electronic music refers to war; "executes" a programming "command," DJs "battle," computer "crash."

Considering an industry with early war associations and plagued with sexism today, it's no wonder that there are so few women involved. Pink Noises succeeds in immortalizing a talented, diverse collection of female artists, as well as encouraging women to get involved in creating for themselves.

Written by: Jacquie Piasta, June 7th 2010

Sick: A Compilation Zine on Physical Illness

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Edited by Ben Holtzman

Microcosm Publishing

It surrounds us. No matter how difficult, awkward, or painful, we will inevitably come into contact with it. But despite its ubiquity, physical illness continues to be one of the most challenging subjects for people to broach.

Sick is a compilation zine on physical illness that offers up the experiences and perspectives of individuals living with illness. Whether dealing with incurable polycystic kidney disease, coping with cancer, or struggling with an unnamed medical condition, each piece, no matter how distinct, explores common themes of support, communication, and community. Each writer concisely documents her or his personal struggle with illness and sheds light onto the stigmatization of sickness and deep-seated taboos that hinder dialogue. Apart from exploring the painful consequences of living in a society unaccustomed to discussing illness, the writers offer valuable tools that teach us to be considerate and helpful allies.

Sick gracefully navigates its way through a wide range of experiences as it aims to open the channels of communication and establish a collective voice for those impacted by illness. How do we respond when someone tells us they are sick? How many people in our community are transparent about having a disability or illness? What can we do to help each other feel welcome, equal, and supported?

The zine also considers exclusivity within radical/DIY/punk scenes. How does someone’s level of health determine their participation in a particular community? Riding a bicycle, marching in a protest, and dumpster diving, for instance, are activities accessible primarily to the able-bodied. To avoid being ostracized or dismissed, many sick individuals find themselves pushed into the proverbial closet of shame and isolation.

In our culture, sickness is a private affair. We have been socialized to fear or ignore it. Consequently, sick people must not only learn to manage their own disease, but are often burdened with others’ inability to openly discuss and cope with illness. Often racked with feelings of guilt, isolation, and alienation, it is essential that a sick person’s experiences are acknowledged and validated. This is what Sick achieves. It opens dialogue and validates experience. Perhaps we cannot understand what it means to have supraventricular tachycardia, but we can learn to listen and ask our friends how we can provide the support they need.

Though the accounts in Sick can be grim or downright disturbing, the writers’ warm resilience brightens every page with hope for opening discourse and dismantling entrenched social norms. It’s the writers’ heartfelt declarations and earnest desire to create a caring community that makes this read so compelling.

Sick is a compassionate, honest work and a necessary first step toward understanding the complexities of physical illness and building communities of support. It is challenging and tender; it is unprecedented and accessible.

Written by: Sofia Marin, April 15th 2010

The Paper Bride: Wedding DIY from Pop-the-Question to Tie-the-Knot and Happily Ever After

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Esther K. Smith

Potter Craft

Weddings are expensive. CNN Money states that, even with the recession, the average cost of a wedding in 2008 was $21,814. Paper goods, like invitations, save-the-date cards, and guest books can add up—so why not make them yourself? Esther Smith's instructional how-to book, The Paper Bride, goes over absolutely everything you need to make a wedding the way you want.

The Paper Bride starts with a cute proposal idea—a ring hidden in a book—and moves onto alternative ways to let people know you are engaged: postcard, magnets, or even traditional save-the-date cards, but with funky envelopes and mailers. Smith comes up with out of the ordinary ideas for invitations and bridal showers. Not a fan of finger sandwiches? How about a liquor shower, where each guest brings one bottle for the party and one bottle for your liquor cabinet. The book truly sticks to its name, even showing off a paper wedding dress.

Smith's background is in letterpress, so she goes into great depth about making your own books and journals, and even has a chart for doing calligraphy yourself. If you have never done paper crafts before, don't worry: Smith goes over each step in detail, and provides diagrams that even a first time DIYer can follow. In the back of book, there are templates for making envelopes, boxes, program fans, and coasters. Some of the crafts are offbeat, like making paper flowers, while others are great even if you aren't planning a wedding, such as making your own photo album.

The great thing about The Paper Bride is that Smith emphasizes putting your own style into your wedding. If you're not into the traditional white wedding, then you can design your paper goods to reflect that. No matter what type of wedding you're having, this book has something you can use. But as Smith reminds her readers, the wedding day should not be the pinnacle of the relationship: “it will be wonderful, whatever happens, but it shouldn't be the happiest day of your life. You don't want the rest of your life to go downhill from there. You want to live happily ever after!”

Written by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch, April 4th 2010

Paperie for Inspired Living: Stationery and Decorations for Weddings, Parties, and Other Special Occasions

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:03:00 +0000

By Karen Bartolomei

Potter Craft

Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been a DIY girl. I always received craft kits as a kid, and even now, I will not buy a sweater if I think I can knit it myself. So when I saw a book that claimed it could teach me how to make stationery and paper goods for special events, I was intrigued. In short, Paperie for Inspired Living is a DIY dream!

Karen Bartolomei provides easily to follow instructions for each of the projects provided. In the first section, Bartolomei goes over how to make your own stationery, business cards and labels. The next two sections cover parties, both formal and informal. Bartolomei also explains how to put together all of the paper goods for special events, like weddings, birthdays and holidays. The best part is that all of the projects Bartolomei provides look like they could be professionally done.

Besides giving step-by-step instructions for the paperie, Bartolomei gives great decorating and party advice. The suggestions range from the affordable to the extravagant, so it can fit into anybody's budget. Some of the ideas are ingenious: one of the party ideas is a wine tasting event, and Bartolomei explains how to make your own coasters. Even if you are not big into throwing parties, this is a necessary book to have on your shelves. Many of the project ideas are perfect for gifts, and there is room for customizing every idea to your tastes.

In addition, Bartolomei provides excellent resources in the back of the book for any craft necessity. Bartolomei goes over where you can find artwork, fonts and papers needed to put these projects together. She also lists different stores that you can go to for supplies, as well as websites that can be helpful. Bartolomei does not leave anything out, and can help any new crafter feel like a professional.

Written by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch, October 19th 2009

Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:49:00 +0000

By Kaya Oakes

Holt Paperbacks

I’ve always thought of indie culture as the marriage of individuality and community, and of course, a celebration of the do-it-yourself (DIY) morality that is ingrained in our society. However, some of our most creative pioneers are often obscured from mainstream art, music, and literature. Kaya Oakes’s Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture offers a well-researched history and analysis of the DIY movement and the creative brilliance this community has generated. An engaging and remarkably informed cultural survey, the book examines the development of independent culture in the United States from the Beats and the Diggers through the current explosion of user-created content on the web.

Oakes presents indie culture as a deserving slice of American cultural history, offering an accessible academic portrait of icons such as Mike Watt of the Minutemen and poet Alan Ginsberg. She defines the often hard-to-peg genre of indie culture skillfully and provides major examples in the fields of art, literature, and music. A historical overview of indie culture is followed by chapters surveying the different areas of indie culture including independent publishing, music, zines, and crafting.

As someone who grew up in the post-punk years, I appreciate the detailed background Oakes provides because it gives me a better understanding of how the indie rock bands I love today, as well as their labels and distributors, progressed from the independent communities of earlier decades. And, as a crafter, I enjoy learning how independent culture has given rise to the online crafting communities and knitting collective I participate in today. My favorite quote from the many personal stories Oakes shares throughout the book comes from Handmade Nation’s Faythe Levine. When asked to reflect upon her first forays into independent culture, Levine refers to zine making as “my gateway drug to realizing that I would do whatever I wanted, and by myself.” This perspective really sums up DIY culture for me, as it is empowering to take the reigns of creativity into your own hands and realize you can truly participate in the independent cultural community.

Written by: Meg Rayford, October 3rd 2009

Permaculture Magazine (No. 60 Summer 2009)

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Edited by Maddy Harland

Permaculture Magazine seemed like an interesting concept that you don’t hear about in too much detail. I hate the ‘Go Green!’ trend and was interested in learning actual tips on sustainable living. On this front, the magazine was definitely able to deliver.

In this issue, I learned (theoretically) how to build an outdoor wood fire oven, how to care for chickens, tips for inexpensive and green day trips out with the family, and DIY recipes for beauty products, among other things. In addition to teaching, Permaculture Magazine also had stories from real people trying to minimize their carbon footprint by moving to sustainable farms, working on allotment gardens, and renovating old houses into more environmentally friendly ones.

This was all very interesting and inspiring. After reading this issue, I wanted to move out of my city, get a farm, build a wood oven so I can try the delicious looking pizza recipe, and live in a cute, renovated house in the countryside. However, after thinking about this for a minute, I realized that while these are all really neat ideas, they aren’t exactly practical for me, nor, I suspect, are they for a good majority of the population.

Permaculture is printed in the United Kingdom, and maybe they have more countryside and resources available there, but even though I’m from a more rural part of the United States originally, I don’t feel I could implement many of the ideas covered here. Many of the ideas require lots of land, resources, time, hard work, and research. Most of them require a hefty dose of capital to start up, even though they should save you money in the long run.

In the end, the only real things I could do after reading this magazine was to make the beauty products and take some advice from the green day trip outings section. The plus side is that all the beauty recipes are vegan. I did enjoy this issue; however, it seems to only cater to a very small, elite group so unfortunately it’s not for everyone.

Written by: Jen Klee, September 3rd 2009

Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2: A DIY Resource for Zines and Zine Culture

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:32:00 +0000

By Alex Wrekk

Lunchroom Publishing

First published in 2002, Alex Wrekk’s Stolen Sharpie Revolution has served as a resource for untold numbers of people both in and outside of the zine community. For the uninitiated, zines (pronounced like the second half of "magazines") are self-published and usually photocopied booklets focused on an incredibly wide range of topics, from politics to how-to guides to personal essays.

One of the great things about zines is that anyone can make one; you could get started today without a guide and figure it out as you went along as I did a few years back after I picked up a free zine at a local show and became inspired to create my own. However, it certainly helps to have a place to go for practical instructions on things like page layout and postal regulations, creative ideas for zine assembly and presentation, and information on how to distribute your zine and connect with other zine writers. That’s all here, along with an extensive resource list comprising zine libraries, websites, annual zine events around the world, distros (zine distributors), and publications that review zines.

Unlike the majority of zines, Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2 is a bound book, although it's anything but a normal book on the inside. On most of the pages, paragraphs of typewritten text have been cut out and pasted on different patterned backgrounds, which Wrekk tells us are from the insides of security envelopes. Some of the tutorials provided by other people are typed on a computer or handwritten, with drawings included. Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2 isn’t the best example of a professional quality, self-published product; there are numerous misspellings and grammatical errors, and one page appears twice in a row, with the following page nowhere to be found. However, the guide successfully embodies the do-it-yourself ethic and community spirit of the zine world, and provides a comprehensive introduction to both the nuts and bolts of zinemaking and the workings and etiquette of the zine community as a whole. It’s a staple for every zinester’s bookshelf, and will delight and enlighten writers, artists, librarians, and educators.

Written by: Kiri Oliver, August 17th 2009

Bleeding Chanel Necklace and Microphone Earrings

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:22:00 +0000

By PorcelinaZERO

What do a straightedge vegetarian German jewelry maker and I have in common? Besides our love of a drug-free lifestyle and animal-free eating, we like the punk-rock aesthetic—and if I do say so myself, a delightful mix of the ideals.

PorcelinaZERO, an online boutique run by an exceptionally friendly woman named Tanja, is filled with cute charms, funky rings, brightly colored cameo necklaces, and hip earrings. As I type, lightweight miniature microphones dangle from my earlobes. My black Bleeding Chanel necklace awaits an awkward outing.

“Hey, I think something’s wrong with your not-so-designer necklace.”

“Actually, it was made a designer, and I think there’s something wrong with paying $300 for a wallet with a logo.”

In addition to selling directly through her own domain, shop owner Tanja maintains Etsy and Dawanda storefronts for increased exposure. Her prices can be converted to U.S. dollars, EURO, or GB Pound. All of her jewelry is handmade from Polymer clay, Hama beads, Shrinky Dinks, and assorted found items. She will happily make custom pieces and even sells DIY supplies through her various outlets.

If anyone asks, “Why is Chanel bleeding?” I encourage you to answer, “It’s just like the children’s hands in the sweatshops.” Human exploitation isn’t funny, so why the hell are they laughing uncomfortably at the truth around your neck?

A word about the shop name: Porcelina and Zero are references to songs from The Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. For old school fans like me, this was a no-brainer and made me nostalgic for the days when I walked around in that video-inspired black and silver t-shirt. These days, Zwan is an embarrassing memory. Even Tanja will admit that times were better when Billy, James, D’arcy, and Jimmy were together.

Never underestimate the power of music and alternative fashion to bring people together. Do your part to support like-minded women crafters.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, June 21st 2009

Down With Liberty...Up With Chains!

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:30:00 +0000

By Chain and The Gang

K Records

Certain record labels have a sound that courses like an undercurrent through all of their releases. Others have an image to uphold. K Records has both. Founded in 1982 by Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson and featuring a roster that includes Mirah, Kimya Dawson, and the All Girl Summer Fun Band, K Records has a long-standing reputation for being indie, lo-fi, and proud of it. So it makes perfect sense that staunchly DIY musician Ian Svenonius—an artist with a unique sound also motivated by an agenda—would work time and again with the label.

According to Wikiquote, there are a number of variant phrases attributed to anarchist Emma Goldman about getting down when things get hot. The one that sounds most like the guiding philosophy of Chain and the Gang founder Svenonius is as follows: “If I can't dance, it's not my revolution!” Based out of Corruption Land, USA (also known as Washington D.C.), this has been Svenonius' unrelenting position for a couple of decades. Band after band—from the post-hardcore punishment of Nation of Ulysses to the self-proclaimed “Gospel Yeh-Yeh” of The Make-Up, from the indie sounds of Weird War and now to his latest outing, Chain and the Gang—Svenonius has made it his populist musical mission to take this tired old boring world out at the knees.

That being said, Down With Liberty... Up With Chains! is only somewhat serviceable as a soundtrack for smashing The State. This is an album full of seemingly simple repetitive electro-informed Brit soul-style garage rock dealing with complex subject matter (progress, the financial system, technology) in a gleefully irreverent way. Writing this review at the job that pays my bills, I feel slightly rebellious— dangerous, even—for listening to something so doggedly anti-establishment. Mostly, though, I am just reminded of my continual guilt at working for “The Man” to maintain the status quo. Which is, I gather, the exact sort of response Svenonius would want me to have.

Personal favorites include “Interview With the Chain Gang,” an innovative yet self-aware tune summoning up questions the band is likely to get from the music press, and “Unpronounceable Name,” a herky-jerky ditty that reminds me of those old-school no-wave sensations James Chance & the Contortions. Less entertaining is “What Is A Dollar?” a cheap and all-too familiar shot at capitalism full of tired sentiments that could make Jello Biafra roll his eyes. Still, it's a tidy and short album. Except for “Deathbed Confession,” a loose spoken-word song about those faceless evildoers we're always told the CIA hires to do their dirty work, all the songs are under five minutes; the whole thing clocks in at just under thirty-seven minutes. It won't be for everyone, as not everyone likes being beaten over the head with dogma, but if you dig gettin' down to a decidedly anti-authoritarian beat, this might be right up your alley.

Written by: M. Brianna Stallings, May 6th 2009

Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:14:00 +0000

By Faythe Levine, Cortney Heimerl

Princeton Architectural Press

I don’t usually have high hopes for books based on films. Luckily, Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design, which is based on the documentary by the same name, rises above what one would typically expect from this genre. Chock full of large color photos and interviews with crafters from fifteen cities around the country, this book provides a window into the modern craft movement in America. The book itself is something of a work of art, as anyone familiar with Princeton Architectural Press should expect.

As a crafty person myself (I hand-silkscreen garments and sell them on etsy.com), living in Portland, Oregon (a DIY craft epicenter), it was interesting to read profiles of fellow contemporary craft artisans, see some of the amazing work they are doing, and to hear their thoughts on craft. The embroideries of Jenny Hart are particularly breathtaking, as are the garments of Shannon Mulkey. The most fascinating profile of the collection describes Knitta, a knitting collective who “tag” using their knitting, wrapping it around street poles. When asked about their intentions with this project, members of Knitta said that by doing this they are “adding a human element so you are not so disconnected from your everyday environment” and “there is a lot of cement and steel that we are not very comfortable seeing on a daily basis.”

Levine gives a brief introduction and makes some intriguing statements that piqued my curiosity about the history of this movement and the idea of thinking about craft as a politicized feminist phenomenon. From a feminist perspective it was interesting to read that ninety-five percent of the crafters Levine interviewed were women. As Levine says in the introduction, “Our handmade goods were influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism, and art. We were redefining what craft was and making it our own.” Unfortunately Levine doesn’t go into greater depth or offer perspective other than the three page preface. She lets the crafters speak for themselves, which is great, but it would have been nice to have an overarching essay to tie together these sketches, particularly given the abbreviated length of most of the profiles.

Handmade Nation reads like a good coffee book table and definitely inspires me to go to the screening of the documentary film when it makes its Northwest premier this month.

Written by: Liz Simmons, April 20th 2009