Wait up, September, wait!

Posted on September 21, 2011 by LB

Dear friends,

I’m still trying to catch up from the last couple months, not to mention catch my breath!

Around mid August, before things really got crazy, I decided to take on a little crafty fabric recycling project. I had two tank tops in the same style that were getting really worn out in the arm pit area, and a sports bra that was also getting a little worn out and just needed some extra reinforcement. The final product, a sports tank top, is great and I’ve already worn it to a couple dance classes. Haven’t popped a seam yet!

At the end of August, beginning of September, My Colorado BFF, Megan Q, came out for our 3rd San Francisco Zine Fest. We had a great time shopping in the Mission, frolicking on the beach, eating many tasty treats, and of course, rocking our table as The Calico Umbrella Collective at the SFZF 2011! We both had new zines (more about that coming soon), and also hosted our 1st SFZF forum. We got a good-sized group of artists to discuss productivity and time-management skills. We were very excited to share our table with KokoroKara and Pinup Brooches this year. They are both lovely artists and friends!

The next weekend, my brother Geoff came out for a quick visit. In one day, we went from Ocean Beach to the Bay and several places in between, making the mandatory stops at Kid Robot and Upper Playground. And Geoff managed to get us ground-level seats for the Giants vs. Dodgers game! We also delighted in delicious dim sum downtown, Mission burritos, and sore feet!

Photos:

In between guests and work and what not, I celebrated my 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend Matt and my 2 year anniversary with this amazing city!

My internship as the ODC Dance Jam intern, or, “Jam Sister,” got into full swing mode with the audition, first meetings, and rehearsals starting.

I’m working on the look and feel of this site, and tying together my other online outlets in a cohesive manner. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thank you,

SFZine Fest 2010

Posted on September 12, 2010 by LB

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!

Some new favorites!

There were so many more… Yay Zine Fest!

Following in the footsteps of Lara

Posted on August 19, 2010 by LB

Earlier this week, my friends KokoraKara, Ms. Dyer (aka SeaCats) and I planned a craft night. I elected to host and we all agreed that there MUST be tasty snacks! But what to make? KokoraKara is vegan, and she had found a recipe that claimed to replicate the ever delicious Lara Bars. This amazing recipe from Enlightened Cooking, in fact!
I set out to attempt the basic bar.

However, because I was making for 3 hungry craft ladies, I increased my proportions. This is what I ended up using and doing:

Homemade Raw/Vegan/Sweet Tasty Snacks

1 Cup roughly chopped dates

1 Cup mixed raisins & dried cranberries

1/4 Cup whole raw almonds

1/8 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

Because my kitchen doesn’t have a food processor, I used our blender. I chopped the dates up as much as I could before putting them in. Chopping the raisins+cranberries seemed too troublesome, so they just went straight in.

Ok, now I’m positive that this recipe is easy breezy with a food processor. Using a blender works, but it takes a lot of muscle and ends up being extremely messy! I had to keep packing/mixing/mashing/scooping out goop to help the blender do its thing. It worked eventually, but it’s never a good sign when your roomie comes in and pours you a sympathy beer just because he’s been hearing you curse for an hour! Much appreciated, but still…

In the end, I had some lovely brown goop that was delicious when I licked it off my fingers. Dried fruits (especially dates) truly are nature’s candy! I decided to let the blender rest and hand chopped the raw almonds as finely as I could. I added those and the cinnamon and dove back in to get my hands sticky mixing everything up. You really have to use your hands. I cannot see how a spoon would ever work with the density of the goop!

I decided that instead of bars, I would make little round treats instead. I rolled them using my hands and placed them in a ziplock bag. The amount of ingredients I used resulted in 14 mini Lara “balls” I stuck them in the fridge for about an hour.

They were extremely tasty, deemed a rousing success by the ladies, gave us energy to craft well into the night, and were worth the effort! I’m not sure when I’ll try it again, because again I say, a food processor is a must! Phew…

Featured Project #4: Coworker Portraits

Posted on August 7, 2010 by LB

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.

When I was working at Currents, on Valencia, I wanted to make something for my coworkers because they have inspired me so much in the business of arts and crafts. I’ve also been wanting to start painting again, but didn’t have a lot of money or materials to work with. The project I decided on was to do portraits of my coworkers on cardboard. I took photos of my coworkers when we were at work together to have images to work from.

The first portrait I did was of my coworker friend who was leaving for a long stay in Japan. That portrait I painted with coffee and wine, which was really fun, and I did accents with pens. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of it because I had to finish it in a hurry. Hopefully when she comes back at the end of the month I can get some photos of it.

My other two coworker friends’ portraits I finished before I left Currents and gave them during my last couple days there. I used cardboard again, but this time my new roommate B let me use his tempera paints. It’s funny, I didn’t have a lot of colors on hand, but it worked out perfectly, as I wanted to paint the portraits using my friends’ favorite colors, and that’s what I ended up having! Sometimes, I really think having the challenge of limits actually makes art better. As scary as some of my limitations can seem right now, I have to embrace them as a chance to grow.

Here are the visuals!