Envelope size guide

A helpful link for everyone who can't memorize all the envelope sizes available to crafty designers like us.

Patterns galore

I just got turned onto Travis Beckham's site today. Check out his inventory of fully downloadable patterns. Way way cool Travis.

Over

This weekend was officially my last art fair. My last for the season, but more likely the last I'll ever do. This season was hardly successful and the amount of physical (and emotional) labor involved in doing a show is truly exhausting. I used to enjoy going down to my studio to see what ideas were stewing but now, as with most pasttimes that become careers, it's more of an obligation than a exploration. Plus, I've been picking up quite a bit of freelance (design) work lately so I'm going to relax and enjoy working on the computer again. There's nothing like long hours under the flourescents to really bring out your creativity.

Hanging in KC

Today's the last day of the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, Missouri. Sales have been just so-so, but I'm having a great time with my friend Eric Nichols and some new friends in nearby booths including John Forney and his friend Veronica and Sam Spiczka (pronounced, I believe, Spitz-ka). There was a bit of a debacle last night as random booths started going dark for no apparent reason. My guess is too much draw from individual vendors (I think John was trying to power four 200-watt bulbs-ha!) but they eventually resolved the situation.

Went out to Stretch Rumaner's bar Grinders afterwards for a late night snack.

Fun tip I learned from some guy today: powdered coffee creamer goes up like napalm when sprinkled over a fire pit. Not dumped, just sprinkled. Fun tip for Halloween.

Bank of America's Baby Bunny

Before you read this, I'm going to tell you up front this is a very sad story. A true story, but very sad.

I have been freelancing at an office a lot recently and at lunch I often hit the closest sub joint for a sandwich. On the way, in front of the monolithic Bank of America building, is a raised bed garden, made of granite and at least 4 feet off the ground filled with all kinds of plants. One day while walking by, I discovered a tiny baby bunny in this tiny, inaccessible garden. I looked all over the place but could not discover how this tiny thing could have scaled a four-foot wall to get into the garden or--as it it basically a giant granite planter--how he could have tunneled in from below. So this makes me very happy. Hurray for the bunny! He's been there every time I walk by, napping behind one of the shrubs or munching on the greenery. He always wakes up when I stop to see him, since I'm guessing I'm the only person in this city who even noticed he lived there.

Anyway, today I found him dead.

Spamorama

This was the text of a spam I accidentally opened today. Having watched the movie "Contact" recently, part of me started wondering if this was NOT jibberish but instead very complicated instructions for a time machine. Perhaps the key is to ask MacCauly Calkin (or his brother, MacCauly Culkin...)


Casings. ADVANCED Tube
launchers etcI
risk. Dummy: MacCauly Calkin
damaging
mics
blowjob shower.
proceeded waiter. Needless suddenly
adieu.
inherit topheavy staterun
money. arevery thenumber
strips subjected spikes
LABS COMPLEX RENDER ASCII. TRICKS. ANTENNA PATH WALLS. ACCROSS
acronym
park. drums kegs
yateres isfor convos Elsur FBIs
jokes..
WORKS HAZARDS. CITED STATMENT
Effective nails.
shakenor partially impurity insoluble waterand
reflected cancels echos. smallest
Push
freon Rd preformed endcaps
Wallet
NeoNazi. bullshit guerre
Depatment Kirkland AFB
given. literally overthrow
familiar. dotted
like:
injures work..
funnels. Funnels
DIALOG CORP. TeraBytes
leveled vs. thousand tons.PART

Only a mere 10,000 left...

First of all, we got our power back a couple of days ago (about 24 hours after it went out) so with all my crabbing it really wasn't that bad.

Especially considering there are still 10,000 people still without power. Today is Friday, the 28th--the storm that started this whole debacle was NINE days ago. There are people who have now been without power for nine days, as the temperature (and the damn humidity) has continued to climb back up to typical Saint Louis levels.

True, this is no New Orleans-level catastrophe, but c'mon Ameren...for real?

Nine days?

80,000 people still without power...now including us!

Though they claimed most of the remaining 155,000 without power would be on by last night, indeed this is not the case. There were still 139,000 this morning.

To make matters worse, our power went BACK OUT last night around 8. Fun!

Still not on (as of this post, 2PM). But, hey, they're down to 80,000 without power. Great job guys! How about driving over to my neighborhood to see what's going on, eh?

Still 155,000 people out

I don't know why I'm obsessed with this, but there are still 156,000 people without power in the Saint Louis area, now almost a week after the storm. They claim most will be back on by tonight but...seriously? How is that possible?

According to AmerenUE's website...

There are a mere 232,000 people without power this lovely Monday morning, 5 nights after the storm...

At this pace, it'll be August before North County gets it's power back.

Power is on, we are go

We got our power back last night! So anyone who is interested in hanging out in some air conditioning is welcome to come over. We even have cold beer.

'Course you probably can't read this post, since your power is still out.

Still 326,000 people without power and it's getting HOT today.

We sure are lucky.

Well, we sure are back

Wednesday it was 104 degrees in Saint Louis. No, I mean it, that's not an exaggeration. With the "heat index" (heat + humidity = heat index), it was up to 115. I got up at 7 to run with my neighbor and it was like we had walked out into a sauna.

On Wednesday evening, one of the worst storms to hit Saint Louis blew through, taking about half the city's power with it including ours. That night's rest wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad. Yet.


I got up, sticky and sweaty, in the morning (still no power) and spent an hour or so clearing large heavy branches out of my yard and my neighbor's, while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. With no power, I ended up finding an office to work at (thanks Hughes!) and by the time I got home around 6, the heat and humidity started really getting unbearable. I spent an fairly uncomfortable evening sticking to the furniture and sweating while trying to read, longing for even just a fan to move the air around. Dave and I decided to watch a DVD on my laptop, since it was the only distraction and I knew I could power up again the next day.

The neighborhood, completely dark, was really really eerie.

My neighbor finally convinced me to join her at the Chase Park Plaza where her inlaws had an apartment and power. Dave opted to stay home (no idea why) but I couldn't do it. At 6:30AM the fire alarm went off at the Chase. We evacuated with an 8-year-old, a 2-year-old and a large, frightened dog.


So now it's Friday. Still no power at the crib. I went to work at Hughes again (thank god) and another storm rolled through, killing the power (and the project I was...grrr...right...in...the...midddle...of...!) temporarily here but cooling things down (so I hear, I've been in an office all day).

Power tonight? Not likely.

Power this weekend. We'll see.

God it's good to be home!

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 14

July 16, Berkeley Hills

Tomorrow we leave.

I'm not ready.

We went down to Richmond to visit Francis and James today, who (finally!) bought a little comfy house for themselves. It's adorable, of course, (as is their cat, Chloe-I miss my felines) with a garden that is prize-worthy and designed by Francis, who also made us dinner (James cleaned up, thanks James!). We hung out on their deck for many hours, basking in the California sunshine. Who would not want to live here?

Francis took us back, pointing out million-dollar homes on the way. As Al Chang's girlfriend, Laura Bathurst, said last night, "San Francisco is the perfect place to live but for the cost of living."

Can we do it?

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 13

July 15, Berkeley Hills

I had a bunch of work to do today so I worked at Jerry's house all day until dinner, when I drove into Berkeley to meet with Dave and the rest of his Dream Team. Jerry gave me directions that took me along Grizzly Peak Boulevard for miles, with some of the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen. On the way home, I caved in and stopped, like a good tourist, for a photo (I'll post when I get home, though it won't do the experience any justice at all). The view was the entire East Bay, all the way across the water to the entire City, plus all the surrounding mountains, the fog rolling in and the sun setting. There I was, above the clouds, looking down on it all.

Wow.

I got back to Jerry's house, planning for a boring evening of internet surfing, but Al Chang (Jerry's housemate)'s girlfriend, Laura Bathurst, was there unexpectedly from Stockton. She had cracked a bottle of wine and we got to talking about societal behavioral differences and self-confidence and moving to Madrid (possibly) and moving to San Francisco (for sure) and all kinds of great stuff. She talks faster than me, if that's even possible, and we put away several bottles before the Dream Team arrived home. They joined us for even more wine (we regretted this later but it was fun at the time) and about 2AM we finally hit the sack.

In two days we're leaving to go home. Tear.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 12

July 14, Berkeley Hills

We moved our stuff to Jerry's house today (bye Phoenix Hotel with your rock stars and your noise), where Dave is doing a symposium with Al Chang and Sheila Kim (and Jerry and Kevin and others) about changing the world. Or something.

I practiced my driving on the hills (thank god for rental cars with insurance coverage), parked at the Bart, and headed into the city to source a bunch of stuff for a super top-secret project for Jerry and Dave (which I'll tell you about later when it all comes together). I found a great store called The Seventh something? on Market, but I can't remember the name! Darnit. Great tshirts and jeans.

Dinner was grilled to perfection by Jerry. Thanks Jerry!

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 11

July 13, Tenderloin and Berkeley HIlls

I discovered that the Phoenix Hotel has free breakfast! Which is great, since Dave left the East Bay before seeing that I was fed, but it's bad because the crappy internet access here doesn't reach to the breakfast area. So I can work at a real table with room to move my mouse (other than the 24" round tile-top table in our room that serves as a "desk") but I can't really get any work done because I need the internet!

So off to Berkeley to hang with Jerry Michalski (bringing, yes, Saigon Sandwiches with me...must evangelize...), where he and Dave picked me up in his 1962 Sunbeam (his is white). I wedged myself into the back... um... luggage area? (it's not big enough to really be a seat) and headed up the hill.

Whee...!

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 10

July 12, Tenderloin

Dave and I are staying at this mostly-hip, retrofitted Motor Lodge called The Phoenix Hotel (it's listed on their website as being in the Civic Center, but really is stuck in the heart of the Tenderloin, an area I am both fascinated by and repulsed by equally). The Phoenix is a self-declared "not for everyone" hotel, and today we discovered--or rediscovered, since a similar thing was taking place Sunday when we got here--why. The open courtyard and louvered windows makes it a lovely place to hang out when it's quiet, but the Phoenix, in an attempt to be ultra hip and relevant to the neighborhood I guess, hosts loud, raucous parties in the courtyard.

In the middle of the day.

In the middle of the week.

Upon returning from a late breakfast--it's Wednesday, about 2 or so--we discovered a (very loud) Pirate-themed Party taking place that included a courtyard of (drunk) people dressed up as...well, pirates and mini-plays (utilizing the entire hotel balcony, including both ways up to our room), as well as bad, bad, bad karaoke.

Both Dave and I needed to work, so we were forced to pack up and go on foot in search of internet access and a flat place to work (preferrably with an outlet nearby), ending up at the Hyatt on a table set up for some conference registration, being asked no less than 5 times if we knew where the restroom was. Grrr...

But that evening, at dinner at Limon on Valencia, we were amused with Trinny's stories about muggings and downpours and gays, all the while trying to convince us to move out here

Trust me, we're convinced.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 9

July 11, Chinatown

Today was such a big day, I'll try to be short.

I was solo all day, so I walked to my favorite place in San Francisco: Chinatown. I think I'm addicted to the thrill of finding the coolest cheap bargains, without succumbing to all the same crap that every tourist spends unnecessary money on. Here's what I found:

$6 for a porcelain teacup with a removable porcelain strainer and a lid for brewing loose tea, but easier to clean than my collection of tea balls or my bodum tea press.

$4 for a paper lantern (ok, I caved and bought a very touristy item, but it was very beautiful and I'm going to hang it in my office)

$4 for a case for my sunglasses, another arguably touristy item but I was in need since I'd left my case at home and tossing the glasses in with my pens and such is killing them.

$3 for incense. Wait, that's touristy too. Damn.

$13 for a scarf that I thought I needed (it was COLD this morning) but it's actually too long, too heavy, and...well, just ugly. Bad investment, considering my score later in the day...read on.

After walking up and down Grant several times, I hopped over to Ross Alley for a peek at the Fortune Cookie factory as recommended by both my tour sources (see Day 8). It's a fascinating thing to watch, but they have a sign up asking for 50 cents for photographs and you feel very odd just standing there at the door watching. I thought they gave out free cookies but alas, they didn't look too friendly to me so I skipped asking about a freebie.

Along Stockton, on my hike back to the hotel, I discovered Fabric Depo between Sacramento and Clay, just before the tunnel. It's tiny, but I found some lightweight knit jersey fabric, 60" wide at 1.50 yard! Just like American Apparel's sheer jersey scarf, only for a grand total of 62 cents. Seriously. Plus some of the most fabulous fabrics, trims, and adornments for next to nothing.

The last stop on the way home was Brand Fury on Sutter between Jones and Taylor, with some of the best SF t-shirts around, if you must take one with you, all designed and silkscreened by San Franciscans. I got a Tenderloin one, because again, this area seems to fascinate and repel me.

Tonight was dinner with Evan Williams and Sara Morishige. But you'll have to read Dave's blog for that story...

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 8

July 10, The Tenderloin

Three of my new favorite finds here in the City:

First is a handy little pocket size book called Mundane Journeys by Kate Pocrass and Patrick J. Kavanagh. Chock full of quirky little things to notice and mundane places you would normally walk right by, it's a glimpse into some of the more interesting tidbits of San Francisco. The book, unfortunately, is out of print but Rosa Lee Harden (Kevin Jones' lovely better half) offered their copy to me and I am in heaven. I haven't gone anywhere without it.

Second was a recommendation from the above-mentioned gem, that I discovered was actually right across the street from The Phoenix Hotel in the Tenderloin, and is not to be missed: Saigon Sandwich. My tofu sandwich, at $2.50, was a HUGE french bread roll with fried tofu in some sort of magical sauce, with carrots, cilantro, hot peppers (but not too hot). I ate mine at the hotel while Dave was on a conference call and I am instantly addicted, though it took a good 20 minutes to each the whole thing.

Third, is a box of cards by Chronicle Books called City Walks: San Francisco by Christina Henry de Tessan (with Maps by John Spelman). Subtitled "50 Adventures on Foot", it's a box of 50 beautifully-designed and printed cards (with yummy matte laminate and friendly rounded corners) with different walks through all kinds of areas in San Francisco. Each one is carefully researched with some off-the-beaten-path treasures as well as tried-and-true neighborhood favorites. You can do architectural, environmental, cultural or shopping walks. Each morning I've been selecting a few, sticking them in my back pocket (the 4x6 size is perfect for that) and heading out.

Once the calls were done, Dave and I decided to explore SF's oldest park, Buena Vista Park. The hike to the top affords some amazing views of the immediate Haight area below as well as the entire city beyond. At the top, Dave noticed a neighboring hill, which we discovered (later) was Corona Heights Park. An even steeper (though shorter) hike puts you atop a giant group of boulders with a breathtaking (albeit very windy--hold onto your hats) 360-degree view of the entire city. Watching the fog roll in over the hill was so mesmerizing, as it is to me every time I see it here. I'm such a tourist.

We ended up walking down into the Haight (past some of the most spectacular houses I've ever seen--oh Tyler, you and I would never make it out of this neighborhood...) and into the often-panned Haight-Ashbury shopping district. True, it was very commercial but not as touristy as I had expected. We stopped for coffee, found a great wine shop and bought a great bottle, walked up and got some cheese at the famous Say Cheese, then found the Goodwill and nabbed 2 wine glasses and a knife (for the cheese) and got on the bus home.

Two more Saigon Sandwiches for dinner and our day was pretty darn near perfect.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 7

July 9, Mission District

Amazing luck! This morning, we had to leave the condo and move to a hotel for the next five nights, and had to move the rental car out of their space behind the condo, too. Just as I pulled out of the alley and turned the corner a car pulled out, and I got a lovely space right on the street. I'm telling you, this trip is charmed.

We met up again with Heather Gold to watch the World Cup in Dolores Park (along with about 8,000 of our closest friends). It was so packed that the whole head-butting incident was actually missed by our end of the park. So, Italy won and we headed out for coffee.

Along the way, I discovered Otsu, a publishing company-cum-retail store nestled in the shopping district along Valencia. A tiny store chock full of hand crafted items, mostly paper goods, from checkbook covers (got one) to t-shirts (got one) to handmade cards (got two) to coasters (one package of 6 with rabbits on them). I will take a photo of my treasures, including Dave in his new Otsu t-shirt (yes, ok, it's the one featured in Readymade, but that's not why I bought it), as soon as I get home. I forgot the cable to hook up my digital camera, so no photos until I get back home. Sorry! Otsu is located at 849 Valencia, between 19th and 20th and is only open Wed-Sun from 11:30-7:30.

We packed up our stuff and headed to the Phoenix Hotel. That, my friends, is covered in a later post. See Day 10.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 6

July 8, Mission Area

Dave sent out a text message to all this SF contacts, inviting them to drinks on the rooftop bar at Medjool in the Misison. It was a light crowd (invites were by email--so last year!--but we hadn't discovered twttr yet).

Arriving on the scene was our friend Trinny, who just bought an amazing condo in, as she says, "Corona Heights/upper Castro/Cole Valley" with beautiful views of...god, everything, and Heather Gold who has the coolest motorcycle, and Shannon Clark who just--literally minutes earlier--had moved into a new apartment in Noe Valley with a secret room. Too much fun was had by all...

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 5

July 7, back in Misison District

We drove back from Sonoma today, to the condo we were staying at when we first got here. Went for a walk down Valencia with a local, who pointed out 826 Valencia, Dave Egger's store/thing. I feel starstruck, even from across the street.

Also discovered The 500 Club at 17th and Guerroro, a great dive of a bar with all the Goldfish crackers you can eat. Or Bagel bites, or whatever they have on hand.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 4

July 6, Sonoma

I worked most of the day while Dave and Kevin went for a 10-mile hike.

One thing worth blogging today: I found a solution to the heat problem with my computer.

My new MacBook Pro laptop is awesome, but (as most laptop users already know), while working on it for long lengths of time it gets so hot I have to shut everything down and put it to sleep to cool it down every so often. I love the portability of it, but this heat thing has been driving me nuts. At home, I tried putting a baker's rack under the computer, raising it off the desk by about 1/4" or so and that seems to help.

But I discovered today that working a stone countertop solves this problem completely. The heat is dispersed into the stone, which at first was quite cold to work on, but soon became nice and warm without overheating. The computer stayed at a comfortable temperature for the entire 7 hours I worked on it. Though it might make my next desk a heafty burden, I think a stone top is brilliant.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 3

July 5, Sonoma

Dave was back in the City working today, so I took the car and drove around a bit. Two places worth noting:

Tiddle E Winks "Vintage 5 and Dime"
Run by Heidi Geffen, "Proprietress", this little gem is just off the main square in downtown Sonoma. On the door is a sign that says "yes, it's all really old (except for the candy)" and it sure is. A bright, cheery store filled with old tchotckes from the 30's, 40's and 50's candy stores and beyone. Everything from Xray Glasses (remember those ads in the back of magazines for glasses that could see through clothing?) to sewing notions to flashcards. Reasonably priced from 50 cents and up. I took home a little cardboard game with two tiny balls you roll into the holes where a monkey's eyes are supposed to be. Cute!

Down the street, on the main drag, is the Spirits in Stone Art Gallery (a ridculously New Age-y name that I did not even remember until blogging this, and had I actually noticed it then, I probably would not have gone in) where I found the art of Wosene Worke Kosrof. A painter from Ethiopia, his work incorporates Amharic scipt (his native language) in contemporary abstract paintings. I felt honored to have seen a few of his originals in person in this space, I wish I could have afforded one. Instead, I picked up his brand new catalogue, "WORDS: From Spoken to Seen. The Art of Wosene Worke Kosrof" for $30. Worth every penny, it's 74 pages with many of them full color plates of his work.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 2

July 4, Sonoma

It's the 4th of July and we moved up to Sonoma for a couple of days.

I picked up a copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and am thoroughly engrossed. Oddly relevant in that I grew up near Lake Forest (where the author is originally from) and am currently spending the next two weeks in SF, where much of the rest of the book takes place. I highly recommend the book, but as it's already a best seller many times over I hardly think it needs another endorsement.

Went out to dinner with Dave and Kevin Jones (the guy whose home were are crashing at) in Sonoma and drove back in Kevin's (wife's) mini with the top down, watching the fireworks. Amazing.

Two Weeks in San Fran, Day 1

July 3, San Fran Mission District

Just for the night, we're staying at one of Dave's customer's condos in the Mission Dolores area. While walking to pick up the keys, I stumbled upon a 18" plastic letter R in the trash. Wow! Ever since my Trunk Show in December, when I put up large paper letters spelling A-R-T on my house to help direct traffic in, I've wanted to find more permanent letters that we could leave up--you know, be the "ART" house of the neighborhood. I have been looking for good, old letters about 18" tall on ebay and they keep going for ridiculous prices.

I take this as an omen of good things for this trip. Tucked the letter under my arm and continued on our walk.

Bring paths from Illustrator CS into Photoshop CS

I kept running into a problem in Photoshop when trying to copy a path from Illustrator and paste it in. Older versions would automaticallly popup a window asking if you wanted to paste it as a Pixels, Path, or Shape Layer. CS does not automatically do this, so my path kept being rendered to pixels every time I'd paste it in.

To bring a path into Photoshop from Illustrator, you actually have to set a preference in Illustrator (counterintuitive, I know). Here's how:

Go to Illustrator Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard


In the bottom box, "Clipboard on Quit", be sure the box marked "AICB (no transparency support)" IS CHECKED.


Be sure "Preserve Appearance and Overprints" is selected.

Save your preferences, re-copy your path and try it in Photoshop now. The "Pixels, Path or Shape Layer" popup window should come up and you can select "Path" to retain your paths.


Good luck!

But Is That Clever?

I was sitting there flipping channels the other day when Tivo decides I want to watch HGTV's "That's Clever!"--yes, the exclamation point IS in the title--despite the fact that I've given it three thumbs down. I hate this show for so many reasons, not the least of which is how painfully ridiculous the producers require the crafters to act on national television. It's so embarassing, it's actually hard to watch.

To my horror, the crafty chick in this episode is actually showing the wincing viewers how to make "art" out of dryer lint.

No, really, I'm not kidding.

Check it out.

Rock and Roll

I went to the second annual Rock and Roll Craft Show this weekend (twice actually), held at the former Junk Junkie store in south Saint Louis. I didn't make it last year, but based on the amount of hype this year I felt like I couldn't miss it. And in the interest of full disclosure, I'm planning a Makers show for December at Mad Art Gallery so I wanted to troll the vendors and see who was worthy of inviting to our show. Overall, the event was a lot smaller than I had expected. I found out that Bust magazine was one of the sponsors and I had assumed it would be as big as Readymade's Holiday Craft Show in NY or something like a Renegade Craft Fair (I went to Chicago's two years ago and dropped nearly $200 on some kick ass merchandise...), but it was much smaller, almost entirely local, but extremely packed. The gear was pretty varied in quality, but most (if not all) was under $100 and since the coordinators weren't taking a cut at all, the show must have been a real success to the makers involved. I rarely saw a person exit the building without at least one of the small brown paper bags with the RRCS logo stamped on the front of it in hand (nice touch guys). I think the venue was way too small for the amount of stuff they had available--it was hard to move around, and trying on clothes was impossible unless you wanted to do it over what you had on--but that's just a sign that they've outgrown their location and need to find a bigger space for next time.

Pros:
- Marie Oberkirsch's textiles
- Squasht clothing and hats
- Dinosaur Kewpie handbags
- the Design Deli lamps
- Big Headed Bluebird, Red Anvil and LaLaLori jewelry
- Janice Wallace cards, Secret Leaves books
- Anchovy's re-designed stuffed animals were pricey but really funny
- Live music
- Vintage iron-on transfers on-the-spot
- Well run and extremely organized, if not too many volunteers standing around

Cons:
- Some of the merchandise was not very good
- Very cramped space, hard to move around
- No bathroom!

Kudos to the organizers. This event must have been a lot of work. Look forward to seeing it in a larger venue next time.