Tag Archives: DIY

Welder’s Cap Completed

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Recently, my boyfriend started learning how to weld, and asked if I could make him a welder’s cap. I did research for images and patterns and more time passed between his request and the actual making, but I did manage to bust it out before the end of his semester. For a first attempt, I am very please with final product.

Here’s a great illustration of a welder’s cap and why it’s important. It helps protect the parts of a welder’s head that aren’t covered by a standard face mask – hair, ears, back of the neck. The other requirement for the cap is that it has to be made out of 100% cotton, the least flammable fabric.

Speaking of flammable, I usually work with recycled or leftover fabric, so a lot of times I’m not altogether certain of the fiber content of what I’m working with. So bring on the burn test! I learned about burn testing fabric in university, and honestly, it’s really fun. I found a wonderful visual chart from Ditzyprints.com to update my notes and was ready to burn, baby, burn. The fabric I used was muslin (yes, usually cotton, but I just wanted to be sure since I didn’t actually buy it myself; someone gave it to me) and pants that I had bought in Japan and were worn out in certain areas (yay bike crotch!) past repair. I translated the tag in Japanese and was pretty sure it was cotton, but again, just wanted to be absolutely sure. I mean, this was my boyfriend’s head at stake here! Happily, a burn test proved both fabrics to be 100% cotton.

I found a free pattern for the cap, by SeaminglySimple on Flickr, which was very easy to print and work from. I didn’t discover the instructions until later, and this may explain why the brim ended up on on top of the band, instead of under. It made sense to me while I was working on it, I guess. Oh, my brain…

I know it’s a mistake, but I do like how it turned out. It’s unique! (Right?)

And my boyfriend was really happy with it too, which was the most important part. Pictures!

 

SFZine Fest 2010

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A week later, I’m finally recovered enough to do this post…

Last week, my BFF from CO and DIY/zinester counterpart, MQ, came out to San Francisco. We had a lovely time eating various forms of deliciousness in the Mission, shopping on Valencia, going to the beach (It’s a big deal to girls from Colorado!), hanging out in the Haight, and of course, assembling our zines and other materials for the 2010 SF Zine Fest.

I really think this year was our best festival ever. We featured 3 artists from CO: MQ, Adan Delagara, and Kelly of shortandqueer. From CA we had myself and KokoroKara. We had the most cohesive table display we’ve ever assembled, we sold more than ever before, and we had nothing but positive experiences and interactions with other exhibitors and attendees all weekend. Utterly fantastic. Lots of friends came to support and check out the festival. And of course, I walked away with a huge stack of zines and art that will keep me busy for many weeks.

I’m really proud of my and MQ’s new zines. I created a collection of 10 years of my poetry titled “Pop Tarts and Really Good Beer” and my first comic zine, “The Adventures of Kitty & Monkey.” Both will be on sale on my Etsy shop in the next week. MQ’s new zine, “The People We Might Be” featured 3 new essays that connect to mysterious photos from her grandmother’s collection. MQ is an amazing writer and as usual, I was moved by her essays. My favorite was definitely the one about her boyfriend and his gun collection!

What did we learn this year at the Zine Fest?

Finances: We did a lot better this year managing our finances and keeping track of our inventory (I’m happy to report that everyone got paid!) but next year I’d like to have an actual cash box that can lock. That would help soooo much – no more digging around in envelopes for change!

Pricing: I really struggle with knowing how to price my stuff. I’ve been dealing with this on Etsy, as well. MQ and I discussed this a lot – how do you balance the hours you put in both designing and creating, the materials you use, and predicting what people will actually pay for something? I think my break through moment with this was when MQ put it simply – “Is this in my budget range? Would I be able to buy this?” Instead of pricing for some phantom “rich folks,” I should just price for someone like me and make my work affordable and accessible.

Self-promo: I’m really bad at talking up my own stuff, but great at promoting my friends’! Why is this? MQ agreed – so we’d talk up each others’ work a ton AND try to be better about promoting our own stuff.

Customers: I took note of what people were drawn to on our table. Bold lines and colors are an obvious choice, but it was interesting how people automatically went for the zine with the thick, touchable, textured paper. Materials really do make a difference.

Above all, I don’t know what I’d do without MQ! A table buddy makes life so much easier. You have someone to talk to when there’s a lag or when exhaustion sets in, someone to double check the inventory while you chat up customers, someone to watch the table if you need a break, and one of you can go get coffee/lunch/walk around the festival!

We declared this year’s SFZF a total success and we can’t wait for next year! MQ’s visit made me ridiculously happy and I can’t wait to see her again soon.

Right now I’m focusing on my Etsy inventory and catching up on projects. Onwards and upwards, friends!

And lastly, the tip of the iceberg…

Some favorite folks we ran into!

Amy Martin

nerd Jerk

Everybody Get Up

Doctor Popular

Some new favorites!

Mary Van Note

Malachi Ward

Elle Skinner

Agent Agnes

There were so many more… Yay Zine Fest!

Oh geez, SFZF is only 3 weeks away!!!

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In 3 glorious weeks, my BFF from CO, the righteous MQ, will be in SF and we will be getting our DIY on at the SFZF or San Francisco Zine Fest (that’s a lot of initials/acronyms in one sentence)! And this weekend felt like a Zine Fest preview weekend for me.

Yesterday, Saturday, I took a walk and checked out the Market SF artist fair at the Blue Macaw in the Mission and met some lovely artists. Melinda Mae and I gushed about how much we love the physical textures of fabrics and how we can’t resist touching them! We also discussed the best places to buy fabrics (Japan & NYC are at the top of the list, just in case you’re curious. I learned later that LA is also great). I really wish I could buy Melinda’s handbags – they’re so beautiful! Hopefully one day soon.

I also lusted after Creek Van Houten’s amazing steampunk jewelry and trinkets. Leyna Lightman gave me a cookie and told me about dyeing lace and the lace she bought in Turkey. I bought fun envelopes from Meleta Buckstaff and I LOVE her bracelet cuffs made from old men’s ties. Brilliant! I didn’t get to talk with them, but I really liked Monkey and Seal’s crafts too! Lastly, I spent a long time talking with Stephanie Cortes of nerdJerk whose blog I’ve just started to read, but whom I already have an ENORMOUS craft crush on. She’s also a member of the SF Bay Area Etsy Street Team. I bought her zine and she gave me a button. Huzzah! There were lots of other lovely artists at the fair, but unfortunately I didn’t get to talk with them all.

Today, Sunday, I took an early morning bike ride through the Mission to Ocean Beach. On the way back through Golden Gate Park, I stopped at the County Fair Building (the same venue as the SFZF) and checked out the Vintage Paper Expo. I had no idea people were so hardcore about vintage paper goods! I’ve also never seen so many boxes of postcards in one place. In order not to get overwhelmed/spend any money I didn’t spend a ton of time there, but I looked lots and I did buy a couple vintage postcards for friends. I want to save my pennies and hopefully buy some original, turn of the century fashion plates next year!

And to top it all off, I visited a friend who went to Comic Con in San Diego this year and brought back a little present for me – a signed copy of Amy Martin’s The Girls are Mighty Fine, which I was planning on buying at SFZF! Oh, glory!

So I’m all inspired and close to getting my own projects finished for the SFZF in a few short weeks! I’m putting out a collection of 10 years of my poetry, and my first ever comic book! I couldn’t be more excited. I’m also stoked to work on my Etsy shop and make it better.

Don’t forget, kids! Come to the San Francisco Zine Fest! Sept. 4 & 5 at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park!

Featured Project #5: Fabric Accessories & MB’s Cuff Bracelet

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There are several projects I’ve completed over the last couple months that I’d like to showcase. So I’ve decided to write about one every day for the rest of the week until they’re all up. This is the last one!

At Currents, my coworker friends and I would always talk about products we wanted to make. They had or were discovering their niches. I was realizing how much I love sewing and working with fabric. I really love the big scarf look (to the extreme!) – all that fabric, texture, and color, surrounding a person. I decided I wanted to try and make fabric accessories based on that idea.

I’ve always been hesitant about making art “for sale” and wondered how professional artists balance the ideas they want to create with making art that sells.

So I chose a path I’ve naturally chosen in the path – making art a gift. My friend MB’s birthday was coming up (in April), so I decided to make my first trial fabric accessory piece for her. I made a mock up version out of muslin to kind of figure out the ins and outs of the look I wanted. I was going for full and fancy! I think of this bracelet as the mama of the ones I’ve made since. And it still holds a lot of inspiration for me. Lately, I’ve been leaning more towards simpler, and smaller, bracelets, but I think there’s still a lot of richness for me in the “full and fancy” that I should delve into.

Anyway, I’ll let the product speak for itself:

For more fabric cuff bracelets I’ve made, please check out my Etsy shop!

P.S. In making things “for sale,” I’ve been able to find an answer to my question. I realized that the only distinction for me when making art “for me” vs. “for sale” is simply a feeling that what I’m making is FOR SOMEONE – an individual. Who they are, I don’t know, but they’re out there and this is for them. And from research that I’ve done and other artists I’ve talked to, what I know now is that I should continue listening to my art, my heart, and making what I love, what calls to me, what I’m passionate about – and people will naturally be drawn to that, and want that in their lives as well. It’s useless trying to gear towards and guess what you think people will buy. If I make high quality art that I love, others will love it too.

Yes!