Discriminating Weirdos

A Really Nice Blog Post

This is just to say...

TNEmily gave me the honor of featuring my Black Sun piece on her blog (On Awesome Avenue) today under the heading Great Idea Thursday.  I just wanted to write a quick entry to point you in the direction of both her blog, and her really nice article about me and the piece.  Take a few minutes to check it out!  (ADAM)

Man, I Feel Important

After Em spent all weekend working with a soft box, lighting, and various settings on the digital camera, I think she finally worked out how to take some good pictures of her hats.  Once she finished yesterday afternoon, I asked her to give me the quick and dirty lessons I'd need to snap some more decent shots of my larger embroidery pieces.

I really wanted to get a picture of a piece I did about a year ago but had never photographed.  It's a stylized face done in black on a dark background.  My favorite part about the thing, though, is the way I decided to frame it.  I was tired of seeing the same old presentations for finished embroidery, so I decided to try something new by framing it with old records.

I carefully cut out the middle of one record, mounted the face on another, and sandwiched them together.  Then I drilled some holes around the edges and sewed the records to each other.

I certainly wouldn't do this with every piece, but for this one, I thought it fit nicely.  It's got a kind of weird, black sun feel to it, and I was pretty pleased.

Anyway, I posted a picture of it in some Flickr groups I belong to, and this morning I got a wonderful surprise.  My friend Beefranck sent me a note saying that my piece was featured in the Craft blog.  Craft was a great magazine which I was saddened to see go the way of the dodo, but they have tried to keep the torch burning a bit with Flickr groups and their own blog.  Needless to say, I was really excited to be noticed by them, and honored that they featured one of my pieces.

Thanks to them, and thanks to Beefranck for pointing it out to me!  (ADAM)

Making Heads

Can anyone out there guess what I'm working on this week?  Well, Em was accepted into the One of a Kind show here in Chicago (a big deal about which thee will be more information to come), so I'm working on making pieces for her display.  More specifically, I'm working on jazzing up some styrofoam heads.

I made a couple of these about a year ago, but I started with the old flour and water and wet newspaper mess.  To save time, and because I apparently hate the Earth, I decided to use a base head made of styrofoam this time.  I kept my idea of using strips of finished crossword puzzles as the covering.  It has a quirky feel while still having a touch of class. I also like the fact that that the puzzles have been filled in because it gives the thing an extra bit of humanity.

It's been fun, even for a guy who's afraid of mannequins.

Here's a quick picture that I took with the Photo Booth application, so it's certainly not as good as it could be.  It's enough to give you an idea, though.  (ADAM)

Adam and Emily Have Broken Up

Hold on!  Don't get all upset!  We haven't broken up our marriage!

We have, however, made the jump to break up our Etsy shop into two entities - one for my embroidery work and one for her hats.  I just wanted to make a quick announcement here that you can still find me at the original shop, while Em has moved to a new, just-for-hats place called MoeSewCo Millinery.

It's a big step, and it felt a little bit like the end of a long relationship, but once we saw the end result, we were both pretty excited.

We also got some new banners, and if you've been paying attention you'll notice that Discriminating Weirdos has a new look as well.  It's been a busy computer week at the Chicago Moe compound.

And because I don't feel comfortable posting without giving you some eye candy, here's a picture that I thought was pretty funny.

Excitement at the Moe Compound

Those of you who have been following our blog know that Em recently made a hat for British wit Stephen Fry.  It has been a while since she sent that hat to London, and we found out late last week that it had been held over in customs because of some unpaid fee or other.

Mr. Fry's assistant, the patient and talented Jo Crocker, was able to pay bail on the package this week, and we received word that the hat (and the embroidered tie I sent with it) arrived in the form of the following note and picture from the man himself:

Dear Emily and Adam,

My package arrived today! One hat and one tie. Both gorgeous beyond imagining.

I am wearing the hat as I type this and the tie is around my shoulders (proof enclosed)

Thank you both SO much for such generosity. I really am very touched by your kindness and very staggered by your skill, design flair, wit and perfectionism.

A great big, slobbery, grateful thank

With love from

Stephen

To say we're happy is a bit of an understatement.  In the words of one of Em's Facebook friends, we have achieved some sort of nerd apotheosis with this one.

Moss Obsession

  
Moss
Originally uploaded by Librarian Avenger

It actually started many months ago, maybe even a year ago, when I saw this article about creating moss graffiti in Craft.  I thought that was about the coolest thing I ever saw, but I thought that a lot about things in Craft (I still mourn the loss of the magazine).  The deal was this, find some local moss, wash it off, stick it in the blender with a beer and a little bit of sugar, then paint it wherever you like.... spritz frequently. 

While I think moss graffiti is cooler than hell, I had no hankerin' to actually graffite.  I did, however, wonder about making moss.  You see I've got this courtyard in my condo building.  It was a lost and sad place, smelling strongly of pee on a humid day.  I've been on a quest for a couple of years now to try to green up this place.  I'd love to remove the concrete, but alas, it is not to be.  So I'm all about containers.  This year I planted a whole bunch of containers with grass.  They've been very popular, if being very popular is that friends in my building have commented on them. 

The place is entirely shady.  It's really hard to persuade things to grow, and I want more than anything for it to seem more friendly and more green. 

My answer may lie in moss. 

This weekend, Adam and I went on a moss hunting expedition.  We snuck about the neighborhood, with bucket in hand, asking people if we could "have their moss" in a forgotten corner down by the river. Digging it out from between the cracks in the sidewalk (that moss is fair game), scraping it from under a fence.  Ok, so I was much more enthusiastic about this than Adam, who only wanted to go home and hide in the air-conditioning.  But I still thought it was pretty fun.  An urban scavenger hunt FOR MOSS!

Gather Square Moss Ring is available from AdornJewelry on Etsy

Since I was more into getting my hands dirty than he was, I washed it all out in the bucket.  I was amazed at how very quickly what was sort of brownish went almost fluorescent green.  It was almost instantaneous.  I got more excited.  This could be the answer to a lot of our gardening/grass woes!

Adam was much more enthusiastic about the blending process.  Probably because it involved beer.  And he likes sliding in at the end of the project for the most exciting part.  And lets not forget the beer. 

We spread our "moss-shake" on a bed that I'd recently de-lettuced, and now every time I pass, I look closely at it to see if anything's happening.  There might be some greening going on, but I really can't be sure. 

I'll have to keep you posted. 

Mini Moe (!) Terrarium is available from dewgardencrafts on Etsy

(Emily)

My "Bucket List" for today.

'Petite France' reflections
Originally uploaded by Mike G. K. (away on vacations)

There's some sort of bucket list thingy going viral on Facebook right now.  You're supposed to put a check next to all of the things that this person wants to do before they die.  I put a lot of checks next to those things, but most of the list just didn't appeal to me at all.  I don't actually WANT to drive a race car or write a book.  Because someone tagged me, of course I filled the thing out, but it did get me thinking about what my list would be. 

Here are some of the items that occur to me today.

1. speak a foreign language fluently.

I'm embarrassed that I'm a typical American who pretty much only speaks English.  I've been working on French for as long as I can remember, so this is the likely candidate; and besides my brother's wife is French and I like her family, so it seems that learning to communicate with family is a good idea.  I understand in an intermediate sort of way, and speak in a beginner's plus.  I want these things to improve. 

2. take a millinery class in a country that takes millinery seriously. 

Americans don't wear too many hats, but the art is no where near death in the British Isles.  I've had my eye on a class from Lina Stein for a while.  I met her on Facebook: she is in fact, the only FB friend I have that I don't actually know, but we have been quite chatty.  I find her work very inspiring, and I love how open she is about answering my silly questions even though I'm not enrolled in a class.  She seems like an utterly lovely person, and not an old fuddy-duddy which you can easily find in a milliner.  Plus she's in Ireland, and I love Ireland so very much. 

Hushhhhh !
Originally uploaded by Ammar Alothman

3. adopt a child

This has been a life goal for as long as I can remember.  There are too many children in the world that don't have families.  I really like to be a very small part of the solution someday. 

4. learn to weave straw hats from an old master craftsman

This is a difficult thing to acheive, since weavers of parasisol and panama straws are dying off and the younger population is leaving the rural family trade for the lure of making badly made clothing for Wal-Mart. I think you can see where I fall on this issue!  I've been told that it takes 12 days to weave a good parasisol straw.  I want to learn how so I can pass this incredible knowledge on, and so I can help in some small way to find ways for these weavers to make a better living so they don't lose their children to Walmart.

photo by Jon Turan from Flickr

lonely planet - Maldives
Originally uploaded by i b u

5. I'm stopping with 5 (even though the FB list was 50!).  I want to have adventures that I have not yet dreamed of.  Maybe it's a roadtrip through Mexico.  Maybe it's snorkelling in Micronesia.  Maybe it's studying the piano in Austria.  I have no idea.  And I can't be one of those people that says "I have to see Mt Rushmore" because I really don't like to go to the places that everybody goes to. I've been around Mt Rushmore.  I've seen lots of South Dakota, but I don't have to actually go and see the Thing.  I'd much rather look for other, less documented Things.  Stories. Pies. The snatch of an over-heard coversation.  One beautiful stone. Wandering around without my Baedecker. (Emily)

The Hat is finished.

and gone, for that matter.  I sent it to Stephen Fry's office (what would it be like to have an office?) moments ago from my favorite UPS store.  I handed it to the capable packing hands of the staff with the words: "This is the single most important hat I have ever made."

That might be an exaggeration, but it kinda feels that way right now.  Oh my gosh I hope he likes it.  I'm absolutely on pins and needles, and not the ones I use to stitch.  Adam says that it's a waste of stomach acid to worry, but I can't help myself. 

I mean, COME ON!!!  Regardless of the fact that I keep having to explain who he is, this guy is a Big Deal!  And he's going to get a hat from me!  EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

We took lots of hat photos this weekend, so you may see the final fruits of my labor.  If he likes it, I will list it as a custom hat option on Etsy. (which is available at present for lots of designs) 

Cross your fingers for me, everybody!

Oh and also since we did take lots of photos yesterday, you may anticipate a number of new listings at our Etsy shop (moesewco.etsy.com), where everything is 10% off for our Stick It Up Your A$$ Mortgage Company sale.  We're close to the goal of paying the insurance and the mortgage and still being able to eat for August, but every dollar spent still helps.  (Emily)

Thanks, Tim

Our good friend, Tim Kaiser, is a mad scientist.  He spends much of his time in his basement lair at the helm of his soldering iron, bending circuits and creating some of the craziest sounding electronic instruments you've ever heard.  Better, they also look great, because Tim isn't just about the sound.  He likes his work to LOOK as cool as it sounds.  Then he spends the rest of his time performing and recording all over the place using his own creations.

Check out this video from MAKE TV featuring him and you'll see what I mean.  He talks a bit about his beliefs in aesthetics.

Tim has been doing this for a long time, and it has become his profession.  That's right, he's living the dream of making things for a living.  And his work is sought after in the world of experimental music.  He even has friends in the pop and rock world, and it's rumored that Duran Duran keeps some of his pieces stored elegantly behind velvet ropes.

As you may have heard, we're having a sale over at Moe Sew Co, and we are honored and excited to say that Tim has donated one of his instruments to our cause.  Visit our shop to check out The Super, one of Tim's Atomic oscillators.  It's for sale, at a pretty strong mark down, and until August 15th, it's 10% off the already low price!

Out Of My Comfort Zone

We're frantically preparing for the Spring Show on Sunday, and Em has me working WAY outside my comfort zone.  Somehow, due to a small avalanche of special orders, she has fallen behind on her hats, and she has enlisted me to help.  The goal, of course, is to finish as many hats as possible for the show, because the more options there are, the more likely we'll be to sell some.

That leaves me in a strange place, though.  I also have things I need to finish and that I wanted to have at the show, and I always have more ideas for ties and patches to stitch.  I'm the same way too, as far as sales go -- the more I have to display, the more likely I am to sell pieces.

Really, though, I think it comes down to the fact that I'm not very confident when it comes to lining her hats.  It's a lot of measuring and cutting and pinning, and hand sewing with needles that seem like strands of human hair compared to my embroidery needles.  Every little bit of fluff gets caught on my callouses and causes great explosions of thread and silk.  Pins go in crooked, and half of them find their way into my thumb.

I'm happy to help, but I'll stick to embroidery in the future.  The hat stuff is too complicated for me. If nothing else, I have an even more solid appreciation of the work she puts into her hats than I even did before.

Maybe that was her plan all along.(ADAM)