Works in Progress

I thought it would be great for you all to see what happens in the studio mid-process. Here you can see my primary workspace, covered in the latest batch of wool dreadlock falls. In the upper left corner is a pile of unfelted wool, already split up into dreadlock-sized bits.

Award me!

The clever Katy found The Plummy Awards and nominated me for one. I think that's a great idea, and I think the rest of you should do it too. Thanks Katy!

Room to Read

I went to an initial planning meeting for Room to Read's winter fundraising event last night. Room to Read is an excellent nonprofit, and I'm excited to be working on a project for them. I signed up to manage the theme, decorations, etc. It sounds like it's going to be a posh event - last year's was fantastic (especially the food!) and they made their substantial goal - this year's goal is even bigger.


I felt pretty out of place in the nice Marina apartment where the meeting was, but I managed not to break or spill anything and everybody was very nice. I also met the woman who throws Funk n Trunk and she invited me to sell felt at her next show. I passed along several cards and even passed on the website for the custom-dyed wool rovings that I use. Networking, check. I continue to hear really nice things from everyone I talk to about my work, and I believe I've already sold a hairpiece at Miranda Caroligne.

Late Summer Crunch Time

It seems like there is a lot going on right now - and I don't think it's just me. Burning Man season is gearing up into high pitch, and the feeling of excitement spills out all over the Bay Area. There are lots of fun events coming up. The summer sunshine can't hurt, either - the weather is beautiful here and every time the sun comes out I think everyone in San Francisco wriggles a little with joy.

What's new in Mediumreality land? Always something! New items up on the website, including my favorite - soft sculpture silk/wool/cotton spikes.

Tomorrow I'll be dropping off a bunch of felt hairpieces at my favorite fashion designer's boutique. Miranda Caroligne is on 14th at Guerrero and if you are in the neighborhood there's no better place to grab a seat on a couch in a cool, breezy spot, and enjoy some mighty fine company. She doesn't bite - make friends!

I added a page to the Medium Reality website - now you can go and look up my schedule of events where I'll be selling art and felts. It's really starting to fill up - I'm getting a ton of positive feedback from people out in the world about the work that I've been doing and it really makes me feel good. I'm excited to get out in the world and interact with my audience. The last two months have been largely about keeping my nose to the grindstone in the studio and a change will be good.

The lineup for August 12's Pandora's Trunk is finally solidified; you can read all about the fashion designers and other artists. I'm really getting excited about the event - we'll have three fashion designers that are very different but complement each other very well, and a host of other things that I think will provide a really delightful variety for almost anyone who walks through the door. I'm certain we're doing a lot more things right than last time, and am intellectually curious to see the differing results from our changes in approach to things like promotions.

I'm in the middle of scheduling an on-location photo shoot for September and am really excited about it - there are lots of times that I take photos in my jury-rig studio and they just don't look professional enough to me. I'm really grateful that my photographer team friends Chuck Revell and Lizanne Ray are going to help me take it to the next level.

Finally, tomorrow night I'm meeting with the events planning committee for Room to Read, a really fantastic nonprofit based here in the Bay Area. I just love their mission and after volunteering at their previous fall fundraiser, and doing a little research, I'm really impressed with their ninja-precise approach to fundraising and do-gooding.

Australian Hair Extensions

I just wanted to take a moment to point out this shop I came across today:

Wildilocks

An australian fake-hair-dresser and piecemaker, this site is chock-full of really high-quality products and a great array of customizable options. It's too bad she's in australia, and I'm not - a lot of her services center around install. Still, finding pieces like this with this many choices is great wherever you're located.

It's never what you think

After spending years predicting all the things that could go wrong in a theatrical load-in, you think I would have learned the lesson well. Anything that can go wrong, will. The problem's never where you're looking - the problems where you are looking are probably already caught.

Months ago I made an agreement with a woman in Canada to buy her Melbourne-registered domain name from her for my other project, Pandora's Trunk. It took until today to get it from her. Well, let's correct that. It took until today to get it pointed in the right direction. It's still in her name. Fortunately, the Bust magazine ad pointing to the URL should only be reaching people starting...oh, today. I don't have any fingernails left from all the nervous chewing, but things have come together. I present to you the official Pandora's Trunk website, built by yours truly using Google Page Creator.

Pandora's Trunk is my other love child, and it's closely entwined with Medium Reality. It's a show in my warehouse here in San Francisco, with hand-picked local fashion designers, artisans, food artisans, and other producers of delights, as well as a massage and spa corner, live music, and free drinks. I've produced a variety of events in the past, from straight theatrical productions, cabaret fundraisers, musical performances, to underground art shows and all-out dance parties. They all have their ups and downs, but for the most part left me cold - dance party producers turn revelers into punched numbers, into automatons of cool. Bars turn normal humans into too-drunk boors, and putting your energy into an event that features people who don't value your contribution leaves a funny taste in the mouth. I don't want to simply make commerce happen, though. I think of myself as a teenage punk rocker, looking for things that actual people were making happen, searching for human-scale events in the city around me, and I know that I need to make something whole, fun, and able to stand on its own. I'm throwing a party, where me and several other very cool people who are making unusual and excellent works, will be delighted to show you what we've been up to.

Store stocked up, oh yeah.

The last two weeks have been like a marathon! The store is now fully stocked for launch, with new felt dreadlocks and scarves as well as a bunch of new hats. The new hats are all fully lined, which is another step in the direction of being proper and respectable. I just finished the layout for the new stock cards i am getting - and sent off an order for 2500!!! These cards are crucial in the next few steps. They are part of being able to consign in local stores (what's consigning? it's when you put your stuff in the store to sell but you dont get paid until it sells - the store does not buy it from you) which is, of course, a promotion tool for the website as well as a great way to make some quick cash. I also plan on putting them around in coffeeshops, hair salons, etc as a major part of promoting the website. I think they look pretty good - we'll see how they actually come out. There's always a little bit of a wierd bump shifting from electronic to print form.