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

One for my CT Peeps

Posted on September 26, 2008 by meghan

Pack Rat loves nutmeggers!

If you live in the Connecticut area, or are visiting for the fall foliage (and I recommend it. Connecticut has some great color and you don’t have to fight for room in a Bed & Breakfast the way you do in Vermont) in the coming weekends, then you are going to have your plates full will fun, indie stuff to do.

Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of the New Haven Underground Film Festival, which, according to their website, is so underground that it’s not even in New Haven. Yeah, it’s in West Hartford, about 45 minutes away from New Haven, so I guess they’re not kidding. Stepping in where the sadly defunct Film Fest New Haven left off, this is your CT stop this weekend to see some great indie films from all over the world.

image copyright: New Haven Underground Film Festival

If you are craving more arty stimulus, then check out City Wide Open Studios the following weekend, October 2-5 (and this one actually is in New Haven). City Wide Open Studios (or CWOS) has been running for over a decade and it’s easy to see why. With an ever-expanding list of contemporary artists, this is the premier place to see edgy, innovative pieces in Connecticut.

Unlike many other visual arts festivals in The Constitution State, which seem to run rampant with water colors of landscapes and boats, CWOS is fresh and full of vitality–it neither takes itself too seriously, nor simply lets itself go in the sweat pants and Mickey Mouse t-shirt kind of way that a lot of CT galleries and shows have.

Held in both the private studios of the artists, as well as non-traditional locales, such as an abandoned school building, CWOS takes the stuffiness and rigid conservatism out of small-town New England and injects it with vibrancy, color, and life. Featuring everything from jewelry to t-shirt design, to painting, photography, sculpture, woodworking and other modes of fine art, CWOS is the most eclectic, biggest free-for-all I’ve ever encountered in the art world.

Affordable (I paid $5 to see, probably close to 60 artists last year), accessible (it runs for four days and has multiple locations, as well as tour buses that can take you to each stop) and just plain fun, CWOS is a don’t-miss event for anyone in Connecticut in the month of October.

For a full listing of showings and events visit the New Haven Advocate, the local alt-weekly that publishes the event guide.

image copyright: Artspace New Haven

New Issue!!

Posted on April 17, 2008 by meghan

It’s Pack Rat Magazine, b*tches!

Okay, so I know I’ve been awol recently and I’m sure you’ve all be struggling to find the will to live without my sage words of advice (JK) but I’m back and the reason for my prolonged absence and subsequent return is that I’ve been working diligently on producing for you all (or y’all where appropriate) issue numero quatro of Pack Rat. This issue we help the Earth in the spirit of Earth Day by doing what we do best: recycled crafts and lots of them. We also talk with jewelry designer Becky Houle, a.k.a. The Vicious Kitty, look into what this whole letterbox craze is all about and, with the help of Cat Morley from Cut Out + Keep make our own letterbox stampers, hit the thrifts for some inexpensive crafting supplies, and just about a zillion things more. Head over to www.packratmag.com/zine to get in on the action. I missed you all and I’m glad to be back. Happy crafting!

Issue 3

Posted on February 12, 2008 by meghan

Hi kids! the Feb/March Issue is finally out and rarin’ to go. Click on the pdf link below! And remember, if you think you could do better, you’re welcome to show us what you’ve got. Submission deadlines for next issue will be March 20th. Happy reading.

issue3.pdf

I Wish They All Could Be California Girls

Posted on October 15, 2007 by meghan

Check out Issue #1 from Pack Rat Magazine!

Hey guys. Quick blog for all you Cali knitting crazies out there. If you’re in the Bay Area, make sure you check out SF Chicks with Sticks, a hip young knitting group open to women, men, and having a good time. Use them as a motivational jumping off point, or work with fellow knitters on a “Knit Along” group project. And above all, make friends!

Be Part of the Uprising

Posted on September 28, 2007 by meghan

Urban Craft Uprising, that is. One of the biggest indie craft organizations on the west coast, UCU is in its third year of rocking Seattles knitted socks off. If you are in the area, start counting the days down to their big show, December 1st and 2nd. And, if you are a vendor or someone interested in selling your own wares, check the website often. They frequently have workshops to help independent crafts businesses, such as the one coming up Oct. 20th. P.S. I think the design of their website is awesome.

Put Those Itchy Fingers To Use

Posted on June 4, 2007 by meghan

Well, technology has bested me yet again. I wrote today’s blog out, all nice and neat, and then some how managed to lose the whole thing when I went to add photos. Oh well. I will not let technology win. It may be smarter, but I am more stubborn. What I wanted to tell you about is this great online charity, headhuggers.org. Run by head honcho (yes, pun intended) Sue Thompson, this site is dedicated to creating and distributing caps to people in need. This all started when Sue went to lunch with a friend of hers who was battling cancer and as a result of her chemotherapy had lost her hair. The woman was forced to wear a baseball cap to keep her head warm and this just seemed like insult added on to injury, that this woman would have to deal with being cold on top of everything else. So Sue started Head Huggers in order to help people with hair loss due to chemotherapy, brain surgery, burn wounds, and more. The mission of these hats, according to Head Huggers brochure, is to provide people in need with warmth, comfort and dignity. Sue has been at it some time now, since December 2001 and she is always looking for more volunteers. If you knit, crochet, or sew there are patterns available on the website for the caps, and there are also copyrighted patterns available if you contact Sue directly. She loves cap donations, but what she really seems to need right now is help distributing. You can help by starting up your own local chapter of Head Huggers and donating your hand crafted caps to your local oncologist offices and chemotherapy clinics. Sue has had a good amount of success so far. She’s delivered between 5,000 to 6,000 caps in 19 different states since the project began in 2001. But as always, she needs help to keep it going. So use your wonderful crafting skills to send someone a long distance hug.

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Make Everything

Posted on May 9, 2007 by meghan

Price alert. Today’s blog is about Make Workshop, a magical place in the Big Old Apple where how-to lessons for cool indie stuff abound. I say price alert because while the classes are not outrageously priced, they are a little on the outside of our usual price range. Classes start at $60 and can go up to $350 plus the cost of supplies. But wait, before you tune out, check out the titles of some of the workshops they offer: wallpaper making; pattern making, revamping your wardrobe, shoe making, letter press workshops as well as more standard fare like embroidery, sewing, knitting, soap making and much more. Pretty slick, right? And as much as I applaud people who teach themselves, sometimes its just easier to have someone show you the way. But, if you can’t quite make it to New York, or if $60 a class is just too steep for you, go ahead and pre-order Make Workshop creator, Diana Rupp’s book, S.E.W.: Sew Everything Workshop, scheduled to come out in September.

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Smacking My Forehead

Posted on April 24, 2007 by meghan

As the title implies, I am currently smacking my forehead with the palm of my hand for not mentioning getcrafty.com earlier. It is such a staple in the craft community, the “hub of the new domesticity,” as the site says, that I assumed that I had already written about it. Imagine my embarrassment when I went back over the archives and realized I had been remiss! Paint me red. I’m going to pretend that it was my subconscious telling me to hold off because soon a mention of getcrafty.com would, as my friend’s professor says, “feed two birds with one scone.” Recently posed on the site is an article about the first ever Craft Congress by Christy Petterson. Craft Congress, you say? Indeed I do. The biggest and brightest stars of our tight knit community came together earlier this month to discuss this ever-growing movement and how we can come together to make a difference. If that doesn’t get you pumped, well then check this out. Topics discussed: the possibility of shared health insurance for self-employed crafters, affecting copyright laws, and the political power of the crafting community just to name few. Isn’t this invigorating? What’s a more exciting call to action then “Crafters Unite!”

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Full Bowls, Full Hearts

Posted on April 5, 2007 by meghan

Permit me a serious moment here. We at Pack Rat firmly believe that crafting for a cause is always a good idea. Using the gifts of creativity and skill for the embetterment of others is the best gift your can give anyone, including yourself. More than just giving money, when you craft something for someone in need, you get to give something of yourself. And hopefully in return you get something bigger and deeper back. Emptybowls.net is a great cause dedicated to just that. Empty bowls was started in 1990 by a Michigan school teacher as a way to get the community involved in the school’s fund raising efforts. Seventeen years later, they are still going at it strong. The basic idea for Empty Bowls is simple. The fund raisers create ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. Fund raisees or donaters come to the meal and choose a bowl to use. They get to keep their handmade treasures as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. In exchange for a meal and the bowl, the guest gives at least the suggested minimum donation of ten dollars. The funds collected then get donated to an orgazination, any organization that fights hunger. This can range from an local organization servicing the immediate community, or an international service involved in world hunger relief. What better way to express yourself than this?