Dun-nu-nu-nuh, Da-nu-nana-nuh, TEQUILA!

Posted on June 17, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat ate the worm!

2upintro1800tequilla I was milling around Grand Liquor on 31st Street in Queens yesterday, trying to remember what vintners make this sweet ass $3.99 bottle of gewurtztrameiner wine (a.k.a. the German-sounding flower wine. It tastes like a bouquet of lilies. And this is a good thing). Coming up short, I left the liquor store, walked down the street, stopped, and walked back. It is rare that a store display makes me backtrack, let alone one for alcohol. But they had a whole long window with little 1800 Tequila bottles on tiered pedestals, and each bottle was a little explosion of pop art.

Fortunately, there was a ginormous sign to indicate what the heck these bottles that looked like lava lamps on acid (is that redundant?) were all about. It read “Some say art is ‘unessential,’ that we can live without man-made beauty, that anything which does not have a ‘practical function’ is a superfluous luxury item. We strongly disagree. Not only do we believe that hand-crafted things are important, as they enrich our days and celebrate life, but we believe that the creation of art and art appreciation are among the greatest reasons to be alive…Art is everywhere. It is in every form. It is very much ‘essential.’”

To this end, 1800 has come up with their Essential Artists line of limited edition bottles. Each features the bizarre, highly-graphic, and somewhat disquieting/engaging work of a different artist. The goal is to feature the work of 1800 different artists over time. Right now they just have 8, but this thing only started in April so give them a break. The kind of work that they are featuring so far is great. Really vibrant with strong points of view and not too much pretension. The kind of stuff you would expect to see in a mural on the side of a building, and I mean that in the best possible way. You know, stuff that has real populist appeal. And the best is, you can slap some of this fine art onto a pair of sneakers for some totally killer kicks. Holla! Cause even though I love me some art, I really, really love me some art AND some practical function. Although at $250 a pair, maybe they’re not so practical. Nor are the actual bottles of tequila, which also cost some serious bread, and while the tequila may be functional, I’d hardly call it practical. Mark this one up in the “better to look, not touch” category.

Inspired? Visit the 1800 website and create your own bottle design.

Better Than a Dumpster

Posted on May 12, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat is one angry dwarf…and don’t forget our black t-shirt.

Imagine if you still lived life like you were in the second grade. Your boss denies your vacation request? Demolish him on the 4-square court. Know your multiplication tables up to 10? You’re a freaking genius! Have a blue foil star. And you glued a stack of popsicle sticks together in one fire-hazard sized pile? Instead of sad and slightly disturbing, it’s artistic. Looking at the stash of reclaimed art supplies at the Materials for the Arts warehouse in Long Island City, NY brings back those grammar school feelings of standing in front of the open art closet–big possibilities. MFTA opens their art and crafts treasure chest to artists and groups who need cheap or free swag in order to make their creative vision a reality. For 31 years, MFTA volunteers and staffers have been saving perfectly good arts supplies from the landfills and playing matchmaker, pairing them with the appropriate causes. Their warehouse is a veritable candy land of paint, glitter, yarn… So, actually, maybe not so much like a land made of candy, but definitely as good. Just seeing it will make you feel like a kid all over again. And knowing that a bunch of schools benefit from the MFTA resources, means that they’re helping today’s kids have that same kind of excitement. So support them how you can. Live near by? Volunteer: volunteer@mfta.org

However, unlike second grade, if you eat the paste there will be repercussions. You know who you are. Actually, depending on the kind of paste you ate, maybe you don’t.

photo copyright by MFTA/Susan Springer

photo copyright by MFTA

Reconnecting the Dots

Posted on May 6, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat refuses to give back any fillets of fish

Is there anything sadder than a discarded lotto ticket? It pretty much screams of dreams lost, broken, and disappointed, be they small or large. However, before that thought has you drafting a suicide note, take heart. Not everyone out there is a pessimist. Take artist Jean Shin, who sees these slips of sad trash more like prayer offerings to the gods of success. She has collected about $25,000 worth of lotto tickets and assembled them into a booming burg in a piece she calls Chance City.

Her city of cards, much like the dreams the lotto tickets represent, isn’t held together by anything permanent or stable. She uses no adhesive to bolster these paper slips, just a steady hand and gravity to assemble the sky scrapers. And, like a deeply cherished dream, somehow her precarious city works.

Shin says, “I feel like these are reflections of cities. Most people who move to cities experience a lot of hardship and work, not a lot of instant successes. So they learn the hard way by living in a city what defying odds is all about. Picking up your life and moving to the city and giving it all you can, your dreams may change — transform, but somehow, I think all of us retain that memory of something that they really wanted to do, and against all odds, are able to succeed.”

Hear more about Jean Shin’s efforts to look on the bright side of refuse at Morning Edition on NPR. And see more of her work in her “Common Threads” show, on display The Smithsonian until July 26.

chance_city

photo copyright Jean Shin

Item Du Jour #32

Posted on March 4, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat singing in the dead of night; take these broken wings and learn to fly

You know what I’m about? I’m about two things: affordable fashion and one of a kind looks. And that, people, is why Etsy is the shiznit (well that and about a million other reasons). As I’m peeping the NYC boutique scene, I’m not surprised to find that most Manhattan shops are out of my price range, but even the cute little Brooklyn stores are full of gear that costs at least twenty dollars more than I’m willing to spend. (where I come from, an expensive tank top costs $30, and I can maybe talk myself into it. When it costs $50? You can fuggetaboutit.) Etsy, on the other hand, brings me one of a kind pieces from up and coming designers all over the world at price points I can afford. Case in point: poppyswickedgarden. LOVES it!

There are plenty of things to oogle in this delicious shop, but today I’ve picked this Jesus’s Last Supper Convertible Skirt Dress ($30) . First of all, I am a big fan of anything that can do double duty, and being able to wear this either as a dress or a skirt is not only fun, but functional; it’s like you’re buying two pieces for the price of one. Also, I love the idea of wearing a reproduction of the famous Da Vinci painting, it turns you into a walking piece of art. This is not for the wall flowers out there; you are definitely going to be stopped in this little number as people take a closer look. I realize that maybe the religious imagery is a bit too much for some people, so I’ll also offer up the sexy Mod Dots Elegant Top ($23) as an alternative. Or get them both! Life’s too short to have a boring wardrobe.

davincidress il_430xn59102601

photos copywrighted by poppyswickedgarden

Explain This Blog

Posted on March 2, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat does a binary solo: 00000100000111. Robo boogie!

Today I bring you a link to some free laughs. There is nothing funnier than a really good non-sequitur. And I mean nothing. Have you any doubts? Well then you, my friend, should immediately get thee to explainthisimage.com. Explain This Image is my favorite kind of site, the kind where the name says it all. Essentially, this is a gallery of the weird, the mysterious, and–some times–the frightening. The peeps at Explain This troll the Internet in search of the most bizarre images out there, pictures that without a caption and without a context seem completely foreign to the everyday life most of us lead. These little vignettes are either a creative writer’s dream come true, or nightmare as some of the pictures are so outlandish that it seems nearly impossible to ground them in reality. But even if you’re not a day-dreamer prone to trying to figure out the story behind the image, everyone can enjoy this finely curated collection of the ridiculous. Here’s a pair of my favs.

unxplained-photo-1 unxplained-photo-2

photos copyrighted by explainthisimage.com

Broad Thinking

Posted on February 25, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat thinks that love is a dangerous angel

I talk a big game of living the thrifty life, but even I need a reminder every once in a while. The universe gave that handy reminder to me this weekend. Let me elaborate.

Even though we’ve been living in NYC for about six months or so now, the apartment is still not completely together. I mean, we’re getting there. We finally purchased our couch (the first time we’ve bought one new and not from the Salvation Army. It was $800, which was kind of a kick to the solar plexus, but we just fell in love with it’s modern lines and the fact that it could sleep two people without those heavy fold-away sofa beds that we’ve been lugging around for years) and because it was kind of a splurge for us, I’ve been trying oh so hard to be frugal and creative when it comes to accessorizing.

This is where my tale begins. My bathroom has all granite walls and floors, and with all of that stone I want to turn it into a zen sanctuary, with lots of bamboo embellishments. But I also still want it to have a hint of modern to go with the rest of the apartment. I was thinking little touches of stainless steel here and there would make the the room industrial meditative chic. Which is the long route to saying that I was looking for some vanity jars to hold our Q-tips.

As I am hopelessly devoted to Target, I felt sure they would have an affordable answer to my search. I bee-lined to the bath section, and found what I was looking for. A little assortment of jars, in various sizes. Similar to the ones shown below . Consider it a job done, right? Well, I turned those suckers over to check out their price tag and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a big fat $13.99 on just the smallest jar. $13.99? Target, have you done gone and lost your dang mind? I said “good day sir,” and left the store tout suite.

photo copyright by Target.com

I couldn’t believe that Target had let me down. But I still had hope. I turned my sights to the equally beloved IKEA and, while an immediate beeline is never really possible in IKEA, I quickly meandered my way to their bed and bath section, only to find similar jars for $5.99. What the heck was going on? I mean, why charge so much for something that is in essence a glorified jelly jar? (Which, BTDubs, I strongly considered using before I decided that A. I probably wouldn’t be able to sterlize it properly for my Q-tips and B. that it might be impossible to make those faux gingham lids look industrial meditation chic)

Both of my go-to retailers had let me down. I knew that there were other bargain stores out there with other jars, but I had a feeling that none would be as stylish. I sadly wandered through the maze of the IKEA market place, that forlorn Charlie Brown music playing in my head: do do dooooo do do.

But then, providence struck. I was in the kitchen area, fiddling with some flatware when I notice them. Glass jars with modern lids for only $1.99! IKEA was trying to sell them to me as “cracker jars” but I know an industrial meditation chic bathroom accessory when I see it, thank you very much. I snapped up two, putting the other to work as a cotton ball container. And so the moral of the story is that you should never give up hope and never settle for something that doesn’t meet all of your goals. If you just keep you eyes and your mind open and think creatively, a frugal solution with almost always present itself.

Happy hunting!

Success!

A Little Nepotism Never Hurt Anyone

Posted on February 19, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat: It’s all in the family

Before I begin today’s post, I just wanted to give a shout out and a thank you to Andrew Wagner, the editor in chief from American Craft magazine who took the time to comment on Monday’s Handmade Nation blog. If you want to read his take on this awesome movie premier, check it out here.

Now to get down to business. Today I am recommending you all go and drool over the fantastic photography by Alec Chvirko at alecchvirko.com. In the interest of full, and pretty obvious disclosure, I should mention that the artist is in fact my brother. And because I know any props I give my little bro here will just seem like the biased opinion of a big sister, something akin to putting a finger painting up on my refrigerator, I’m going to give you a little smidge of a taste because his work speaks for itself. He also has a new blog, so we can all enjoy the latest fruits of his labor, fresh. If you like what you see drop him a line. He enjoys talking shop.

photos copyrighted by Alec Chvirko

alec_chvirko2

I’m on a Mission

Posted on February 3, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat hates the word “photog”

Okay, so anyone who’s spent any amount of time whatsoever on this blog knows that I go absolutely ape shit for good graffiti. Especially stuff that’s kind of raw and hidden away, stuff that doesn’t necessarily look like there’s an ad campaign attached to it. But, I was standing on the subway the other day (because the subway has been packed with wall to wall meat puppets recently, with nary a seat in sight), and the new little unnecessary waste of tax payer’s money TV screen on the W train flashed that there was no graffiti or “scratchitti” allowed. “Scratchitti?” You mean to tell me there’s a whole other method of public displays of anonymous art? Fucking sweet.

I quickly looked into it, using the awesome power of Google, and was disapointed to find that my initial search didn’t turn up anything of note. Scratchitti, it seems, has only really reached the primative point of carving words into surfaces with clumsy block lettering. But I am still intrigued and hopeful for the potential of this new (yet centuries old) form of street art.

Now, something I know to be a relatively new phenomenon (and by relatively new, I mean in the last decade or so. What, you expect something more cutting edge? What do you people want? I have a life you know. Jeez.) is art ala USPS sticker. This is where the artist punks out because he/she doesn’t want to get caught doing real graffiti and instead doodles a little something on a USPS label and slaps it on some random public place. But I’m not hatin’. Some of the stuff out there is really fun, and probably a sticker is a bit more socially conscious than a massive painting or a forever scratched window. At least a sticker can be peeled off by people with sticks up their bum about that kind of thing.

Although sadly, because of the stickers’ impermanance, it means that some of these gems will disappear almost as soon as they are put up, either removed by a vigilant public works drone, or washed away by a good solid rain. So, keeping that in mind I am out to preserve as many of these little devils as I can, and because I’m such a giver, I’ll make sure to post the best ones here so we can all enjoy these little acts of creativity. Like the one below, which I found at the corner of 32nd St and 30th Ave in Astoria.

AND, as if you weren’t already sick of me enough, this segues nicely into the other photo project that I’m starting. From February 2nd onward, I’ll be taking a picture a day for a full year. I know, hardly a new concept, but what the hell? Just because it’s hackneyed doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Just don’t get your panties in a bunch about it. Take deep breaths and try to relax and everything will be fine. I promise.

sticker

Altered Reality

Posted on February 2, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat is pulling your strings

Some people have marionette fears. I would never judge these people…except that I do. Now, don’t get me wrong. The soulless eyes of a baby doll can totally creep me out, given the right set of circumstances (like if I woke up and it’s little glass eyes were right there, staring into mine? I got a chill just thinking about it). But puppets? How can anyone be scared of puppets? They’re so cool. Now, while the figures who inhabit Chris Sickles’ Red Nose Studio 3D illustrated surreality aren’t technically puppets, they have all the allure of a puppet with their quasi-humanistic features slightly off kilter by strange, angled features and carved details that allow for some pretty serious dramatic shadowing. There’s definitely something Punch and Judy about his subjects.

But, unlike a puppet show where the boundaries of the stage always keep the audience aware that there are hidden hands pulling strings, the illustrations coming out of Red Nose Studio are so complete and detailed (with no strings visible), that you get the sense not that you’re looking at a staged photo, but rather a window into another, more magical world. What’s even better, is that Sickles seems to primarily ply his trade to niche magazines, so a lot of his wild dreamscapes are really illustrating a magazine article on, say, how annuities are a promising option for retirement income. Insane! Who ever thought someone could take such a concrete (and dry) topic and turn it into a conceptual visual of a man literally rooting himself to the ground? Or take this awesome example. The magazine article is about how to predict where your small business will be in five years. Sickles took that basic premise and twisted it around like a Rubik’s cube, and ended up with this whimsical, fantastic little guy peering into the future. I think Neil Gaiman wishes he lived in Chris Sickles’ imagination. I know I do.

Photo copyright Red Nose Studio

Nesting Instincts

Posted on January 6, 2009 by meghan

Pack Rat is currently using the Sword of Omens’ Sight Beyond Sight function to suss out how long the lines at Target are

I am in love. I know, I know, you guys must get tired of me swooning every day over a new artist/blog/etc. But I can’t help it! There’s so much good stuff out there to see. Today, via Junk Creation blog (which I also adore), I came across Craftynest and the home stylings of Monica Ewing. Her low cost, recycle-based projects are the bomb diggity. (Remember when people used that phrase? Oh 1999. What were you thinking?) I was especially taken with her very smart, very chic modular bookcase made from salvaged drawers. It seems that I’m always passing dresser drawers in my many roadside scavanges, and this is an excellent idea for how to repurpose them. And she is not only inventive, but helpful–as she has supplied a how-to on her blog for copy cats like me. Take a gander at the before and after below.

drawers_before

drawers_after4