nottene

Are you getting sick of knitting yet?

kim — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:58:00 +0000

Becky Stern at Craft posted about her awesome new project "Knitted Interfaces for Technology":

In this paper, we propose a participatory installation that aims to bring critical awareness and consideration to the complex relationship between people and their technological artifacts. These 'Body-Technology Interfaces,' (BTIs) in the form of hand-knitted custom wrappers for personal electronic devices, will reflect salient interaction behaviors between the participant and their chosen device.

How cool are they?

See a bunch more pics here

Learning to Knit Images

kim — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:34:00 +0000

Craft magazine posted about Ladybird craft books, which seem to be all out of print, and I couldn't resist posting a few of their beautiful illustrations on learning to knit:

You can order any of these images on the Ladybird website....

A different kind of yarn project

kim — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:51:00 +0000

Tired of actually knitting with yarn?

Try this!

My favorite knitwear brand

kim — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Keep and Share by Amy Twigger Holroyd is my absolute favorite knitwear company. Amy is inspired by the "story behind the product" and her philosophy of ethical fashion that is built to last has a growing number of beloved customers and fans. All of her pieces are made in her studio in lovely Hereford England. Unfortunately the mighty British pound makes it difficult for me to buy as much as I'd like, but the 'Jumble Sale', where last season's goods are 30% off, helps. Here are some of my favorites in her new SS08 collection:

My only complaint is her flash based website that only allows me to link to the main page and won't let me see bigger pictures of her beautiful work!

Beautiful knitwear

kim — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:36:00 +0000

I've been posting mostly funny, weird or cutesy knitted things so far, so now i thought I'd better show you something beautiful. I first saw Tim Ryan's lovely knitwear on Style Bubble, and I was hoping to say I found a bunch more pictures of his work once I dug around the internet a bit, but sadly I have not. So here are a few photos that were on Susie's site and will have to do for now. I'm going to see what other beautiful knits I can find out there to inspire us.

If you're interested Susie's post talks a bit more about his interests & technical skills.

Scarf round up link

kim — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Make Magazine Scarf Round Up is awesome! A few of my favorites:

The saw that dripped blood

A scarf that loves you back

Blood scarf (you have to click on the image in her portfolio)

Snake Scarves

kim — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:37:00 +0000

Really cute snake scarves!

For my Knitters

kim — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:12:00 +0000

I'm doing a group knitting project for next fall (see here) so I'm going to keep my entries very knit-centric for a while to inspire my knitters! Please click on the link above to read more about it (and see the first pictures).

My first post has to be about Net Granny! Iread about this site recently on Craftzine, and it's a service that let's you order a custom-made pair of socks hand-knitted by the Swiss grandmother of your choice. Look:

You click on the picture of the Granny you want to knit your socks, then you choose which socks you want, and you can see how long the wait is for your socks, and how many pairs of socks she is already knitting. I wonder how they found all these grannies....Here's a blurb from their website:

Until now, handknitted socks have been mainly sold on rural markets or in handcraft shops. Distribution via online-shop appeals to the modern urban people, who is used to fulfill his needs on the internet and still loves nothing more than cozy handmade socks. On the other side the grannies, all passionnate knitters, have found a vast clientele who cherishes their work.

Sweet!

Colors

kim — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:50:00 +0000

I picked up a couple of old copies of Benetton's Colors magazine . I got the Shopping for the Body issue you see above and also the War issue. I haven't posted any scans from the War issue yet because, to be honest, I have been shy of opening it. Justin looked at it when I first brought it home and and his reaction has frightened me a little bit. I will get up the courage soon though, especially if there's interest because neither of these issues are in the Colors archive. Please find below a few of my favorite bits from issue No. 18:

Can you read this one if you click on it? It seems if you strap the flesh of a potato to your knee it will swell....I hope I'm helping some nerd get out of gym class!

It makes your poop not smell. I'm not naming names, but I know someone who would like to get their hands on some of this. *ahem*

I want to say "only in America!" but I actually would expect this to come from Japan or China, and also I wouldn't have thought it to be from 1996. It seems so 'now', with all that antibacterial crap and general germaphobia these days.

The pink lipstick is actually a vibrator, the tiny bottle is skunk scent for hunters in the US, and "email diamant" is a toothpaste that tints gums pink. Before there was Vice magazine, there was Colors!

Organic tampons from 1996 in the center, finger tape on the top left to relieve joint ache in fingers (ouch! looks painful), Pepee is supposedly used by pornstars in Japan to make their genitals glisten on camera, and the cotton pads in the blue box are supposed to enlarge breasts.

There were so many more things I could post pictures of that were great: the twig toothbrush, leaves for deodorant, black dirt toothpaste....plus ear cleaning tools and an electric tongue! On the cover is "Night Flower" a pubic wig from Japan. I should post the copy to that one, it's so good!

My own toenail necklace of sorts....

kim — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:43:00 +0000

A little project of organizing some trinkets last weekend....click image to enlarge

Shoes!

kim — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Finally, with the new camera I bought J for Christmas, here are the shoes I made this fall. I am also still working on a pair of sandals that I didn't finish in class.

These are my early sketches. I still wish I had spent more time searching out green & yellow leather, but my budget and time allotment did not intersect at a place where green and yellow leathers existed.

Once I bought my lasts and materials, and practiced my first pullovers, I sketched out what my final projects would look like. The bright pastel green pebbled leather interior of Kempton 2 is my favorite detail. Kempton 3 has a knitted patch on the front and is trimmed in wool. The name of my shoe styles come from the last, which says Kempton on it. Kempton is also the name of the town where my sister lives.

The final shoes! Kempton 3 is on the left, it has a wool sock liner & contrast brown insole. Kempton 2 on the right has contrasting tongue and quarters (brown & pink, hard to see in these pics). To make the bumpy toes I learned how to build up my last. The most difficult part for me was the sewing because I stubbornly refused to buy new needles and bobbin cases for the machines at school. So I wrestled with my domestic machine instead. Everything got sewn eventually, but looking back I wish I'd just spent the $20 or whatever.

Happy New Year!

kim — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:28:00 +0000

I started a new tradition this New Year's Eve: the baking of a Vinegar Pie! It seemed like a great way to end the old year, partaking of something sour. We then followed up with something sweet (a chocolate cake) to ring in the new year.

My recipe for Vinegar Pie came from an old cookbook a friend showed me a few years ago (thanks Ken!). I thought it was such a strange recipe I jotted it down right away. But truthfully this recipe was universally declared disgusting! So instead of passing that one on, here's a link to a recipe I found on Instructables while I was trying to find out more about Vinegar Pie (the photo above is from this recipe, not mine—of course I forgot my camera!). I actually discovered very little about it in my research except that is an old American recipe, and that there are probably better versions out there than the one I used. So next year I'm going to try it again and see how it goes, much to my family's dismay I'm sure!

2008 desk calendar

kim — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:11:00 +0000

I know I've been neglecting this blog and my personal work lately, but I've come back with a little gift. I made a 2008 desk calender that you can printout on a color printer (on letter sized paper) and trim to fit in a CD case which you then fold back so it sits up as a nice little desk calendar. I saw a picture of one on one of the craft sites I read and decided it would be so easy to make myself one. So I thought I'd share with all of you out there in antonement for my blatant disregard of the internet lately. Enjoy:

(click here to download)

Of course, I can't find the image of the calendar online anymore, and as you know my camera is still on the fritz (christmas is coming!)....so email if you can't figure it out, and meanwhile I will try to get at least a camera phone pic of my finished desk calendar.

Edited to add:

You get the idea?

----

To be fair (to myself) I haven't been totally ignoring my personal work. They are all of my drawings in the desk calendar. And I have just finished my first two pairs of shoes (so much better than that first little thing I showed you). And I have my third and final pair almost done. So I will post pics of those shortly and then I can feel nice and accomplished before the holidays. Which is really one of the best parts of this season, isn't it?

Columbia Flower Market

kim — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:01:00 +0000

One thing I did not get to take pictures of in London that I really enjoyed was a visit to Columbia Road Flower Market. My friend that we stayed with lives right down the street, and, as we only had a short day on Sunday due to our flight home, we decided to stay close to our luggage before we had to head to Heathrow. I'm so glad we did because not only did we have a yummy breakfast at Jones Dairy, but we also picked up a beautiful bouquet for our hostess.

Gosh, the more I describe the trip the more I lament my lack of photographic evidence! The pics above I swiped form the Columbia Road Flower Market website, but you can also see a much better post about a trip to the flower market from This is Naive.

London pics...as my camera dies!

kim — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:45:00 +0000

You can watch it get worse:

All's well in the food halls at Harrods....

My shoes at the edge of "Shibboleth" at the Turbine Gallery (too lazy to link at the end of the day on a Friday....you saw them all before the other day anyway)

As I get closer to the crack the camera shrieks in purple

The purple haze takes over in the last picture that doens't look like snow!

Believe it or not we also spent time roaming around Hyde Park in the mist, visiting my friend who works in vintage in Notting Hill (ha, in vintage), and walking up Upper St as we used to when we had little ££ & lots of time. We didn't make it to many favourite old spots (Primrose HIll, Chalk Farm, Camden, Shepards Bush (oh how I would have loved to spend some time thrifting if the $$ wasn't so crap!), but it was a short trip so it didn't sting too bad. And now I need to buy a new camera so it's probablt for the best.

London ephemera

kim — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:12:00 +0000

So I just came back from a trip to London of the short, hectic and super-fun variety. I lived there for almost 2 and a half years up until this time last year. So it was with a bit of a heavy heart that I came home on Monday. I miss it a bit over there. Strangely, visiting felt as if time had stood still this year. J & I visited friends, ran around town, reminisced, and basically were sleeply and awake at all the wrong times.

Here are some of the bits of paper I brought back with me:

These first ones are all from Tate Modern....

Postcard from a Gillian Wearing photograph from the series (see previous link) Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say

Dan Flavin 'Monumment' for V. Tatlin
I think the image results page on Google is the best link for him!

The back of the flyer for Doris Salcedo's piece for the Turbine Hall Shibboleth. I have some photos that I'll post of this piece later this week. In looking up a link for Salcedo, I found this from the Istanbul Biennial. Wow!

These two are the packaging from a Louise Bourgeois tea towel. Apparently I have now started a home furnishing art collection. (Post on The Thing is still outstanding!) I'm sad to report we did not see the show though....also sadly missed the V&A Couture show that everyone is raving about. I was only there for a weekend people!

Note to self: Look up Meredith Frampton's work....

Who can resist a proper Dracula? Really just brought it home to reference good films to look for on Netflix....

My lovely Selvedge magazine, that is just too pricey in the US (maybe I'll get a subscription!)

Spats Tabulations (for the curious)

kim — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:26:00 +0000

1. Are you:
22% A. Male
78%B. Female

2. What are spats?
90% A. Covering for the top of the shoe and the lower part of the leg (correct)
10% B. Two tone leather shoes
0% C. Leggings (correct in Japan!)
0% D. Leather suspenders

3. When do you think people wore spats? (all answers are correct!)
50% A. Pre WWI
29% B. 1930s-40s
6% C. 1700s
15% D. They still do!

4. Who wears spats? (all answers are correct!)
44% A. Military personnel (6% said only military)
32% B. Women
88% C. Men (16% said only men)
65% D. Fashionable people (6% said only fashionable people)
29% E. Workers like welders, loggers, etc.
26% F. My ancestors/relatives
41% G. Movie stars
(12.5% chose all answers)

5. Have you ever worn spats?
12.5% A. Yes
87.5% B. No
(0 men ever wore spats)

6. If not, would you in future?
41% (15% men, 50% women) A. Yes
50% (85% men, 40% women) B. No
(9% wrote in 'maybe' (0% men, 10% women))

7. Do you think spats are in style now?
12.5% (20% women, 0% men) A. Yes
87.5% (80% women, 100% men) B. No

8. Please list any designers or shops where you have seen spats:
–http://wwwshoeblog.com/blog/spats
–There's a tiny mens haberdashery in the East Villiage--9th St. I think I saw them there. Maybe vintage though...
–Does Mr. Peanut cout?How about Scrooge McDuck? Mickey Mouse wore spats sometimes.
–I have no idea what spats are
–SJP used to wear a pair of Calvin Klein ones
–Camper had a pair of heels with a removable spat (only covered the foot, not the ankle), Oh and I also really wanted to get this pair of boots from Sacco a few years ago that had snap off spats so you either had flats or boots. Turned out the flats were a bad shape though.
–none
–Chanel & Prada
–Never, except for the History Channel
–Tuxedo shops
–Have never seen them in the last 55 years. I think my mother had some in the old halloween box when I was a kid.

9. If not, do you think spats will come back in style?
56% A. Yes
34% B. No
(11% wrote in 'maybe')

10. What do you think is the future of spats?
-I don't think about the future of spats
-I think of them as a top hat or cane
-Actually, I think current fashion is spat-inspired. You know the long skinny jean pulled way over the top of the show, even over stillettos. I guess the tops of shoes are stilll considered unsightly.
-The damdest things always manage to come back once--I doubt spats will be any exception.
-I think they will be very popular unless stirrup pants beat them out.
-need a famous movie star or singer to bring it back in style but it will be short lived.
-Not my style...who knows!
-If anything, a short lived comeback in fashion. Mostly, I think nothing of them as I had to google it just to know what they were.
-I have always wanted a pair honestly. I would love a pair of monochromatic, non-contrasty ones to fit over a nice stylish ankle boot to give the option of wearing knee high boots.
-They might come back as part of the whole new dapper thing, esp. among chic black men.
-I think spats will come back in style as a runway thing (gimmick?), but that there won't be popular or widespread adaptation of them. In fact, I know I have seen them portrayed this way in magazines, but I forget when/where, Kind of like how I got an email the other day about the return of the bowler hat. Okay, maybe for the few, but not for the many.
-No future
-Bring them on!
-You never know, fashion seems to look back a lot, perhaps they will find a new life for a time.
-The cabaret, burlesque thing is big now so maybe
-I'm not sure. i think it would be great to have a standard shoe and utilize spats as an accessory.
-Thigh high tights, leg warmers, thigh high boots, I saw a pair on Zappos that were knee high but had decorative leather overlay that went from mid-calf down over the heel and toe. Boots with built in leather spats!
-only a very limited market (for the flamboyant among us)
-paired with wedges or high heels in bright plaids or dyed leather with unusual textures and unexpected features (eg leather frog clasps) and worn as an alternative to boots
-As long as there are marching bands...there's a future for spats (hahahahaha) Seriously, I think they have the potential to be a "cool" accessory for people/consumers who like to deviate a but frm the "typical" fashion trends. They seem like fun to me!
-Alternative styles stemmiing from spats (i.e. spats incorporated into sandals)
-A bright one!
-They could replace legwarmers
-I don't see a future for them
-I suspect they will continue to be reserved for period costumes, marching bands, and maybe military
-I can see some variation in women's footwear coming back around in the next couple of years--maybe with a high heel.

---
Thanks everyone for your answers! I will be presenting my survey results in a small class for work....I found it very interesting to see all the different viewpoints on the future of spats especially.

Round up 9

kim — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:04:00 +0000

• Visualizations of time, the pic above mostly closely resembles how I visualize time.....
• A wonderful article from Cabinet Magazine that explores what makes a Readymade, and what is art after all. Or a story about art vandalism. A must read if you are a Duchamp fan.....

From The Coveted:

• I've been meaning to write a bit about Olaf Ureliasson ever since I caught something on the Coveted a while ago, but I guess if you want to know more about his beautiful vision you'll have to look around yourself. Above is The Weather Project 2003 from the (one of my favorite exhibition spaces) Turbine Hall, Tate Modern London
• Interesting ideas about one of a kind No Editions, more here.

From Coudal:

• I am so not a car person!
• A lovely column in The Guardian about objects begins.

From new favorite Girl in the Green Dress:

• I have a soft spot for Space Invaders
• Word seach gift tags! But the link on Etsy doesn't seem to work anymore :(

From Make:

• Great office supply selection! This has been linked all over town, but I hadn't see the one above, from Chloe Coulson
• I would love to raise my own silkworms....to make silk!

From Phantasmaphile:

• Louise Hindsgavl

• Anna Howarth

From PSFK:
• Hey! Getting customers to love and feel attached to a product creates sustainability! Surprise!
• And also: the deathe of trends!

From We Make Money Not Art:
I've been meaning to write about somehting more meaningful to go with these links too, but eh, you do the thinking (see what I mean about me and the internet burnout?)
• Knitting
• And more knitting

more prada love

kim — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:41:00 +0000

Just a short one for today....I hope to post my Round Up over the weekend, and then more new, less internetty, things for a while. I'm burned out!

Miuccia Prada wrote a (very) short piece in Wired in June of 2003 about the space around the body. Prada did a raincoat that changed from transparent to opaque when it gets wet:

Somehow this tech-y piece feels nice. Sweet.

Spats!

kim — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:48:00 +0000

Hey, anybody out there! I'm doing a survery about spats for a project for my footwear class for work. Got a minute?

SPATS QUESTIONNAIRE

I know this is supposed to be awesome:

kim — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:37:00 +0000

but I'm still not into this tech-y stuff....

I feel like I should be seeing so many possibilities when I see articles about new technology like this, but I can't seem to see past the gimmickiness of it (glowing nipples! ha!). Not that this particular article is talking about using it as anything but functionally, of course.

Maybe I am still a bit scarred from my MA program, or maybe I've been reading too many posts on Make, Boing Boing, and We Make Money Not Art. Not that I don't love those sites (because I really do).....do you think I'm just on overload? Or maybe I'm speding too much time looking and I should be doing more making.....!

Edited: Another one!

Self-warming underwear! Yes, I know, so functional.

deconstruction

kim — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:45:00 +0000

From Design Boom I saw this awesome chair by Peter Andersson and rediscovered my old favorite the David Report. I just resubscribed to the RSS feed, so hopefully more fun with the David Report!

My favorite shot:

Of course, Mr. Andersson has some great other products too:

Stackables

It's an ear plug earring, duh

I want hangers like this please.....

Beautiful tables.....

Also I think he's involved with this lovely project called 20ltd. but I can't find his work on the site anywhere....I love limited edition shit.

!!

Spacing out loud

kim — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:02:00 +0000

Boy, am I feeling blah today....I've got a dozen posts half written, and none of them seem interesting enough to finish. Work is slowing down so I don't even have the excuse of being super busy. A trip to London is on the horizon, as well as another visit to Denver. I wish I could say I was just looking forawrd to relaxing and visiting some favorite art museums and favorite pieces of art, but I'm just feeling quite empty-headed.

Last visit to Denver I went to see the new building of the Denver Art Museum, but I found I still prefer the Gio Ponti building. Maybe it's because the beautiful identity system launched with the Ponti building was my first love in my first graphic design job. I kep finding pieces of it in the archives, but it was presented in shambles (and now it's sadly completely done away with). If I can, I will upload a shot of one of the marks I used in a mug design. I love that piece.

I hope to hit the new New Museum very soon here in NYC. I have a super love for those guys because they were one of the first places to carry mine & Justin's book (which I've mentioned before, but don't really have online anymore).

(credit)
A trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver is also coming up for me, but to tell you the truth, after just dicking around on their website to find an image to post (found my picture elsewhere, click it for credits) I have my doubts....I also did some graphic design work for them when they were just opened so I'm pretty freaking curious too.

Also it reminds me a bit of the ICA Boston, which I visited last winter:

We're getting The Thing!

kim — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:04:00 +0000

I've signed up for The Thing! I'm supposed to still be eligible for the first piece by Miranda July. I'll post pictures when it arrives. I am so excited!

Lucky Squirrel

kim — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:05:00 +0000

You know how I love a story about luck:

photo by Michael Doig

Read the full story! (The Swap Meat was involved too!)