Craft Cartel Podcast Episode #2: Handmade Politics
Nope we’re not just a flash in the pan, we now have TWO episodes!
This episode we talk the politics of buying handmade stuff.
We also talk to some of our cartel members about the items they put together for our St Patricks Day anti-colonial market.
We interview Kirsteene from Scrumptious Productions
The first of our series of craft zine reviews looks at Guerilla Craftfare
This weeks websites and events to check out are
buyhandmade.org
bigboxreuse.com
sewgreen.blogspot.com
melbournesocialforum.org
ACDJ Localisation Forum
Subscribe and download today!
Now we’re both getting perilously close to needing real jobs so if you love the cast please throw some coins in our virtual hat.
We LOVED hearing from you all last episode. If you have any comments, suggestions, complaints, craft zine or website recommendations. Or if you make subversive stuff and you want to join the Craft Cartel, drop us a line. Or please comment below.
The podcast archive and market info page is constantly being updated, so don’t forget to check it out.
xox
PUPcycling
I love how artists and crafters are so good at taking other peoples waste and turning it into something wonderful and clever. I reckon plastic bag upcycling is the best example. There are so many amazing things that can be done with a plastic bag other than chucking it in a landfill.
The most obvious is turning plastic bags into even better plastic bags and the proliferation of fused and knitted/crocheted grocery bags out there is very heartening. A friend of mine has even made an entire lace curtain out of crocheted plastic.
But this tops all of that.
These plastic bag animals are tied to subway grates in New York. When the train goes underneath they act just like Marilyn’s skirt.
That’s clever street art. The world needs more of it.
Feminist Bookmark
International Women’s Day is always a special day for me because I like to spend the day reviewing the last year of my own life through a feminist lens. I also like to spend time remembering all of the women who have fought and died for the freedoms I now enjoy.
This year I spent a good part of the day with my feet up in my design hub (craft room) listening to an awesome interview with Kathy from whipup.net on the Craft Sanity podcast – very inspirational, you should definitely subscribe. And while I got an earful of a wonferfully inspiring conversation I did some stitching.
And made this.
This is for a kit that I’m putting together which will be available for you to buy soon.
In the meantime, or if you have no interest in learning how to cross stitch (pfft) or if you have too many other projects on the go and you really wish you could have this one; this one is for sale. And it comes with a free copy of Hoop-La for a bit of inspiration.
You can buy it here.
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On another note, I think I’m becoming obsessed with the language of spam. Is there any linguists out there studying it? Today I got some spam through this site which complimented me on such a beautiful domain name. I was truly touched.
Riots Not Diets
Here’s a very cute use of cross stitch in art. Flickr user Sparklyvodka (great name, like her already!) made these as a final project for an art course. These are all based on things the celebrities would never say. Although I wonder if there should be (in private) at the end of that statement..
Cheers to Julie for the ace find!
Speaking of skinny girls with eating disorders. I am certainly adding my voice to the outrage against the Miss Bimbo online game. I am not linking to it because I don’t believe they need any more encouragement.
Basically the game involves playing games on their website to earn Bimbo dollars which are then spent on making your virtual body look hot. Options include diet pills and plastic surgery. The hotter ie skinnier your Bimbo is, the better you get ranked against other users of the site.
This offends me on so many levels. Most of the press has been around parents being outraged. And as a parent I am outraged. I get petrified at the thought of how to explain the world in a rational way to a teenager now. I can’t even imagine how I’m gonna get a teenager through to her 20s without an eating disorder/drug addiction etc in 15 years time.
But I’m more angry as a woman. I saw one of the developers of the site on tv nonchalantly shrugging off concerns of parents as no big deal. I don’t think it had occurred to him that people might find this offensive. He claimed that their site isn’t anything new, it’s all stuff that’s around in society anyway. But he was wrong.
This site is turning the physical mutilation of women for the purposes of men’s voyeuristic pleasure into a virtual competition. It’s turning it into a game, with mass participation. This has a massive desensitisation effect for very young impressionable minds. Participants of this game can experience the social ‘benefits’ of plastic surgery without ever having the deal with the costs, both physical, emotional and financial of the actual surgery.
I’m angry that some young men thought that it would be a nice profit making venture to exploit the competitive drive amongst young women.
And I’m really pissed off that they put craft on the front page.
Trek Craft
I’m not a fan crafter. I would possibly like to be but I don’t think I’m obsessed enough about anything to want to make fan craft. Unless of course, if you count dead radical feminists…
But I have so much admiration for fan crafters ’cause they make such cool stuff. I reckon it must be the extra level of emotion and obsession that goes into the design process.
So I have to point out these awesome Star Trek crafts by Devorah Sperber. This pieces are based on the Star Trek Transporter and are made out of hanging glass beads
I am so impressed with the technical aspects of these pieces. Not only has she absolutely encapsulated the visual dynamic of the transporter but the accuracy in detail is phenomenal. I would love to have one of these hanging in the back door. Doesn’t really go with the house but I would still love it.
If you’re in New York, go see this exhibition, it’s on until April the 26th.
Iraq I Knit
Well I don’t but Lisa does.
Lisa is also the only person in the world who has ever convinced me I should take up knitting. I’ll get there one day….
These amazing pieces have been made for the 5th Anniversary and they are so so gorgeous.
I would just love to own a jersey aka sweater like that!
While I’m on the topic of Lisa’s stuff I was gonna post about this one the other day but never got to it. This was the tribute knit dress for the Obama campaign
Now THAT makes politics sexy eh?
I reckon it’s time I had a little rant about the primaries ’cause I’ve had a number of people ask me recently what I reckon. I don’t really care who wins the Democrat race (don’t care about the elephants). And I think the whole conversation about what’s more important the first black guy or first white chick is absolute trash. As far as I’m concerned, they may as well be white men ’cause they’re not acting ANY DIFFERENT.
I have never been a fan of equality. I am a fan of liberation. As a feminist I have no desire to be free to be like a man, I want to be free to be a woman. And I assume if I was African American I would have a similar sentiment. Hilary and Obama don’t offer any reform to the fundamental system which oppresses women and people of colour. Quite the opposite if you ask me.
I thoroughly recommend you read this piece from the Indigenest Intelligence Review on the Obama ‘promise’. It is well written and gives brilliant historical context. And it makes me ask the questions about what either candidate is offering to the indigenous people of North America? Do either of them acknowledge that the ‘great’ nation of the United States of America is built on stolen land and fuelled by genocide?
Obama, whom one would expect to have some level of sympathy at least has a campaign tshirt that looks like this
these were part of a series that featured other such moments of genius as “Ghettobama” “Frobama”, “Showbama” and “Unabama”.
This tshirt has demonstrated such a high level of ignorance and disrespect. The Navajo people do not wear headdresses and those people who do only do so in ceremony. So this is insanely offensive. And compounding this is of course is Obama’s complete lack of policy in relation to indigenous people.
If I was American I wouldn’t be very inclined to participate in a presidential election. Despite attempting to be the global voice of freedom, the US has one of the least democratic electoral systems in the world. Electoral reform is a far more worthy campaign to invest energy in, if you’re into voting that is. But if I was gonna vote, it would definitely go to Cynthia. The only true pro peace candidate.
Respec’
Earth Suit
Found this nice piece of craftivism at whipup. A Spanish crew called Eloole have made this awesome Earth suit
They try to remove consciences about the climatic change, armed conflicts and the immigration. The handmade suit have a structure of foam and details as the chimneys, skulls, weapons, small boats in felt and cottons fabrics.
It’s for an Oxfam Climate Change campaign called Hasta Los Polos. Sorry don’t have a link for it. But doesn’t it look amazing! I love how they’ve done his makeup so he looks like he’s been on the turps for weeks.
Iraq I Roll
Yesterday (otherwise known as today in the rest of the world who haven’t caught up yet) was the 5th Anniversary of the US Invasion of Iraq. So I’ve been thinking about what my contribution was gonna be to the blogswarm.
I thought I could discuss how ironic it is that many on the right – and I’m talking outside of the US here, I have long since given up trying to figure out the thought logic of the US right – are now calling the war a disaster. I mean, what did they think was going to happen? Maybe the US Army would skip in and take out Saddam and give all the kids soft toys and look like heroes?
I thought about discussing the original debate about how it was all about access to resources and now it appears the war is costing more than it’s making. Which is of course the reason why the right is now starting to think it’s all a waste of time.
I thought about discussing how disgusting it is that there isn’t even a record of how many Iraqi people have died during their alleged liberation. It’s a bit hard to call it a liberation when the liberators have taken out more people than the original dictator.
Well I reckon there’s a lot of people talking about that stuff so instead, here’s my contribution
Oh and while we’re on the topic of liberating people
Craft Cartel Podcast Episode #1!!!
Yes folks, you’ve heard the whispers and the rumours are true, the Craft Cartel is now a Podcast!
This episode we talk about the Cartel and where it all began. We talk to Melanie from Satchel. And share some fun and subversive crafty projects for you to get involved in. Plus a bit of music and a lot of laughs. Download and subscribe now!
We’re having a special launch party tonight at the market so come along and check out some cool crafty goodness. See the market blurb below…
Like what you hear? We’re planning a show every fortnight or month depending on how busy we are. Mortgages don’t pay themselves you know. Help us not have to work for the man and flick us some coin to help with the costs of producing the ‘cast. Think of it as online busking!
Craft Cartel Night Market – IRA Solidarity
‘Cause drinking beer and wearing green is so passe
This week is a VERY SPECIAL night for the craft cartel. We promised global domination and tonight we deliver, with the launch of our very own PODCAST! Come along to score your limited edition 1st episode on CD and find out how to subscribe and get every single episode delivered straight to your little mp3 player. Public Transport will never be boring again for our lucky listeners!
And sadly this will be our last market at Section 8, yip we’re on the move. So stay tuned for further details. And come along tonight to say a big cheers to Section 8 for being lovely to us for all these wonderful nights of subversion.
It is also St Patricks Day so we’re having a special little celebration for all things anti-colonial. The challenge is on for our stall holders to have at least one item designed to bring down an empire.
PLUS we have the wonderfully awesome Rapskallion back to tantalise our ear buds. Did you hear them a couple of markets ago? They were fantastic!
And of course the bbq will be cranking with our spunky chef spreading the love. The words getting around about the tucker so you better to be there early. Which of course gives you more time to peruse the market and share your hard-earned pennies with our amazing local crafters (who really love your support).
Did you know that buying local handmade goods will save the planet from imminent destruction?
See you there
xox
P.S. If you want to wear green and drink beer, we won’t object, in fact, you’ll be joining us!