Studio Event: Garment Rehab & Sample Sale

Medium Reality & Miss Velvet Cream Sample Sale and Garment Rehab

Sample Sale: including amazing deals on last season's goods as well as first dibs on this summer's hottest new men's jackets, vests, and shirts from Medium Reality, also featuring special guest Miss Velvet Cream for maximum deliciousness for ladies and gentlemen (and everybody in between).

Garment Rehab: BRING YOUR favorite boring old GARMENT and commission some custom alterations, surface design, dyeing, rehabilitation of all sorts available a la carte commission style.

Entertainment:
Pandora's Trunk in video projections,
live music by house band The Sweet Trade,
French press coffee by Farm:Table,
food and drink.

free admission
916 Natoma St @ 10th, SoMa SF
June 22nd, 6-9pm
http://mediumreality.com/
http://missvelvetcream.blogspot.com/

photo by del geronimo

School's out forever!

Stone fruit is starting to come in with a vengeance, and even in the perpetual summer of California there is nothing that lets you know what season it is like fresh cherries and peaches. Mmmm! Time to put on your best convertible shirt, roll up the sleeves in the afternoon sun and then button the cuffs when the fog rolls in, lounge on a hillside in a cool clean wind, eat something that will stain your lips red. While you are at it I want you to think about art and technology, how to implement them in your life, and what their implications are. Then come and talk to me about it.

#1. It's All True Art / Orson's / June 10
#2. Thread|Bare / The LAB / June 11 (&12-13)
#3. Wonderland art opening / June 12
#4. Forever Never Comes at Boxcar Theater / open NOW through June 26
#5. Oil spill coverage (no, you can't stop thinking about this yet)
#6. Satan's Angel / burlesque class / Monday June 21
#7. Medium Reality studio sample sale / Tuesday June 22
#8. The Dynamite Show! / Fou Fou Ha / Brava Theater / June 17-26
#9. Emrg N See / Oregon / July 16-18

whew! Is that enough stuff for ya? I know I am sleepy. Maybe it has to do with laying in a sailboat in the sun while I write this, but I'd like to think it's because of how hard I work. I'd like you to think that too, ok?

see you later, my lovelies. Be careful out there.

R.
Medium Reality: sustainable as hell
http://mediumreality.com

#1. It's All True Art / Orson's / June 10

7:00pm - 10:00pm
Orson Restaurant + Lounge: 508 4th St, SF, CA 94107

Mister WA presents "It's All True Art" Happy Hour at ORSON's

Our Featured JUNE Artist Rachel Lyra Hospodar
Designer and Founder of 'MEDIUM REALITY' Producer of 'PANDORA'S TRUNK' (Fashion In Performance)
Live sewing, live and remix video projection madness

Every second Thursday of the month, 'It's All True Art' invites YOU to meet the artist and participate in the live creative process while sipping perfect cocktails. Your host Mister WA is proud to bring to ORSON the creme of his transdisciplinary Arts peregrinations and celebrate Life and Art as ONE. An homage to Mr WELLES, the live wall cinematically magnifies a rich sensory encounter unique to beautiful San Francisco.
Great Place for a Drink, an Appetizer or Dinner. Admission is Free. http://orsonsf.com/

#2. Thread|Bare / The LAB / June 11 (&12-13)

Runway show and live auction:
Friday, June 11, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
$10 – $20 sliding scale admission
2 tickets free to the first emailer!

Trunk show:
Saturday and Sunday, June 12 – 13, 12 – 6pm
Free admission

Your emcees: Michelle Tea and Danyol Leon
DJ: Warm Leatherette
Performance by: SF Boylesque
thread | bare is a celebration of Bay Area independent fashion spirit. Local designers innovating in form, material, and interpretation create one-of-a-kind works and are brought together with performers to showcase their fabrications. The clothes are auctioned right off the models as they walk the runway, while scores of outfits and accessories are available in the concurrent trunk show.
http://www.thelab.org/
2948 16th Street

#3. Wonderland art opening / June 12

Have you checked out this new independent design boutique in the Mission yet? It is a refreshing blend of fresh local urban designers with a Mexican flavor.

Romanowski with Peasants and Travelers presents
Artists without Boundaries for Doctors without Borders
Art showcase charity auction
Sunday June 12 6-11pm
Wonderland Gallery 2929 24th st, SF
http://peasantsandtravelers.com
http://wonderlandsf.com

featured and resident artists including
Ferris Plock
Paul Hayes
Mars-1
Medium Reality
...and many more

#4. Forever Never Comes at Boxcar Theater / open NOW through June 26

Super excited to have done the costume design for this Neko Case-inspired story. Heading out to the opening tonight!
Wracked by guilt over her brother’s death, Sandra makes a deal with the Fox Confessor, a mysterious and mythical figure who watches over the small, rural town of South Boston, VA. When the Fox Confessor demands payment, secrets are revealed and family sins are not easily washed away. Not even the hope of sweet new love with Dylan, a young trans man, can keep Sandra’s nightmares at bay.
http://www.crowdedfire.org/FNC.html
Boxcar Theater
505 Natoma St
(yes, you can lock your bike to that black metal gate.)

#5. Oil spill coverage (no, you can't stop thinking about this yet)

I'm afraid we're going to stop paying attention to this as if it has gone away... it hasn't! Gobs of oil are washing up near Pensacola, the feds are closing down all the fisheries. Think about a little harm reduction, and come up with a way to reduce your petroleum usage a little bit. A little bit more. I'll go along!

"Is rounding up undocumented workers and potheads more important than cleaning up the #BP #oilspill? Apparently.http://mojo.ly/8YrA2q"
http://twitter.com/MacMcClelland

Yes you can watch streaming video of the seafloor 5000 feet down. For some reason there are no little fishes anywhere in sight.
http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

#6. Satan's Angel / burlesque classes / Monday June 21

These classes are with Satan's Angel, a visiting luminary of the burlesque world.
Two Burlesque Classes. $25.00/each (discount for both classes).
Please contact Stephanie@LadyMonster.com to reserve your space.
916 Natoma @ 10th Street. SF

Bump and Glide: 5:00 – 7:00pm. Movement with Costuming, Props and Advanced Techniques.
Spinners and Tassels DIY: 7:00 – 9:00pm. Learn how to make pasties and fringe tassels with spinners.
http://www.satansangel.com/TOUR.html

#7. Medium Reality studio sample sale / Tuesday June 22

There are no details on this bad boy yet because I just decided to do it, today! It's been a while since I opened the studio doors to the public and I want to bring in all my favorite people (that's you!) and give you first crack at summer stock, and last crack at some old things that I have marked down to move. Snacks and wine, naturally. Music? Most likely. Video? If we're lucky. Circus? If we're really really lucky.

Mark your calendars and gird your loins
Tuesday June 22, after work oclock
916 Natoma St at 10th
http://mediumreality.com

#8. The Dynamite Show! / Fou Fou Ha / Brava Theater / June 17-26

Sporting a clown-based mashup of costumes including a heavy Medium Reality flavor. Making you laugh till you pee yourself. You know you love Fou Fou Ha. Don't miss this show.
THE DYNAMITE SHOW!!!
~A song and dance extravaganza~
Phenomenal performance by Fou Fou Ha!
Accompanied by the live music of
The Gomorrans Social Aide and Pleasure Club
June 17th - 20th and June 24th - 26th
Brava Theater
http://foufouha.com/

#9. Emrg N See / Oregon / July 16-18

It's outside Eugene, and while I have never been to there, this laid-back party full of really diverse music and people who are there to have a good time (and love buying my clothes) makes me want to check out the town as well. I'm still working on travel logistics and have an extra ticket.. so anyone who has been craving a little road trip, drop me a line!
http://2010.emrgnsee.com/

Anti/Surveillance Fashion at Maker Faire!

5.17.2010 16:32
Getting ready for the Anti/Surveillance Fashion Show (rehearsal)

This show is going to present the work of scores of different people from all over the place. We have scoured the internet for examples of fashionable inventions meant to thwart – or aid – in surveillance. Everyone we have contacted is super excited about the idea, and we have been getting the most exciting things in the mail! Today we got a pair of mirrored underwear, designed to protect against upskirt photography. I haven't seen them yet, but to judge from the emails coming out of headquarters they are very effective. Hopefully I can take a photo at our rehearsal this evening, but the technology may thwart me. The TV suit is coming tonight, along with platform shoes designed to keep streetwalkers safe. ----Bzzzt! Both of those items are designed to increase -bzzzzt----- surveillance.


5.17.2010 19:01


eric boyd's northpaw belt

TV suit prep

shoe phone open

shoe phone closed

Watching prototypes come together for a presentation is so exciting! Problem solving on the fly, fixing those last little things, and figuring out why the systems that worked perfectly in the workshop DON'T anymore... last year for Pandora's Trunk storytime runway show, we had to sew a microphone into a dress five minutes before the show started, because the audio pickups weren't loud enough on their own over the crowd noise. The TV suit is definitely my favorite from the Anti/Surveillance show, it's kind of an unexpected way to execute the idea but sure to please the crowd, it was good for many smiles in the rehearsal! We spent some sewing time securing all the wires to the garment. I love it when needle and thread meet electrons. Trying the TV jacket onto smartypants model Meredith while she tries to show us how she pulled off an entirely unrelated electronics project, why yes we would like to include that as well. So many WIRES a-flyin! Looking for an extra RCA adaptor or 6. Female to Female?? The TV signal is shielded black and white so you can get away with murder.

Putting together a fashion show is an exercise in imagination. Without all the bodies in a room it's just a few little boxes with wires poking over the top. At NoiseBridge, even with everyone in the room, it just looks like a group of geeks sitting around. It takes an act of supreme imagination to co-ordinate all these little bits together into a presentation set to wow the socks off a crowd who has had their eyeballs stuffed with science and mayhem all weekend. A lot of these projects aren't exactly garments, either – lots of accessories, additions to your own wardrobe. Belts that can help you think or move, shoes that you can use covertly to communicate, or to send an alarm. Constantly under the lens of the camera, fashion is a natural form in which to explore the relationship between surveillance and culture. How are we watched? How do we watch? How do we present ourselves to the eyes of the world?

City Circus is HERE!!!

Just a few more days till we open Echo's Reach at Brava Theater.

(edited to add awesome review from our opening night. tons of photos, technically no rhinestones since we added them all in later)

I am super excited about this show. It is a full blown circus featuring youth and adult performers that have amazing skills. check out this video from last year





and then know that you have to see this circus yourself. It's got amazing skills, a compelling story, and the most fabulous costumes you have ever. seen. in your. entire. life. Why do I know this? Because Medium Reality did them, natch.

http://www.citycircus.org/

april events update

The weather is blowing back and forth like crazy in San Francisco! Our trusty bike couriers have kept up with a smile, trekking Medium Reality garments back and forth across town and up crazy hills to all of our stores and theaters. (and bringing us snacks.... thanks TCB!) We have been churning the clothes out as fast as we can but it is an uphill battle to keep up with demand. Keep asking, though, we love you too and are growing our production capacity this spring. Keep the curveballs coming!

1. Sense & Sustainability - April 9 Medium Reality New York runway debut TICKET GIVEAWAY
2. The HUB - San Francisco! april 8th
3. SFestival April 8-13, especially April 11th
4. Red Hots Burlesque - School of Shimmy
5. Yuri's Night April 9 & 10
6. Alchemy May 1

[1.] Sense & Sustainability - April 9
This amazing opportunity in downtown New York fell into our laps super last minute but Medium Reality is always ready to rock it when needed. This sustainable runway show is being produced as a fundraiser to help finish a documentary about India. There are tons of amazing people involved and I have been hearing the buzz all the way from here! If you will be in New York, check it out!
On Friday April 9th, Joya Dass (former business anchor with ABC and CNN) and Aiden Murtagh of Eyes Wide Open Productions is hosting a "green" fashion show at the Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones St, between Lafayette and Bowery.
Their event is called “Sense and Sustainability” and features four designers with a focus on furthering the sustainable fashion movement: Swati Argade, Helen Asir, Rachel Lyra Hospodar (Medium Reality) and Marcus Hicks (Sarah Dixons Nova). Urbandaddy.com is the project sponsor. The event runs from 6-9 pm with the runway show beginning promptly at 8 pm! All proceeds from this event will go towards the post-production of her first documentary, called First Sight, investigating the world of curable blindness in India. To buy your tickets go to: http://www.firstsightthemovie.com/Fashion_Show.htm
Come by for a hot night of fashion, open bar, a silent auction offering you a chance to win a trip to a sustainable resort in Baja California! Editors and reporters from Vogue Magazine, Martha Stewart's Body & Soul Magazine and Time-out New York are attending, and are scheduled to do a story for their respective publications.

[2.] Global Action through Fashion - at the new SF HUB
Medium Reality will be joining a bunch of other local sustainability-oriented businesses to present information about our processes as well as showcasing tons of new work!
http://www.globalactionthroughfashion.org/events.html
FIRST BAY AREA ETHICAL FASHION NIGHT
Date: April 8th, 2010
Time: 6-10pm
Location: The Hub SoMa, San Francisco
Hub SoMa will open May 3 at The S.F. Chronicle Building - one block south of the Powell St BART station. The 8600 sq/ft space will feature an art gallery, offices, and large events spaces for members.
Address: 901 Mission St, Ste 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

[3.] SFestival April 8-13, especially April 11th
This little-festival-that-could put the roots in grassroots with its totally underground, forreal hip hop flavor. Impresario organizer Baraka Noel Mumbles has put together a straight week of dope hip-hop & poetry influenced artists working in all genres in venues across the bay area and beyond...
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=376884398131&ref=ts
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=352860822&blogId=531567273
http://myspace.com/codeoctopus
http://barakanoel.com/

SFestival SUNDAY featuring: pandora.s trunk fashion showcase
Little Baobab 3388 19th St San Francisco
SF april 11 SUN 7:30pm $5-$15 (suggested)

Shawn Franco from Modesto: myspace.com/trueedgeshawn
&
Jen Genius and Shakespeare & Cody Giannotti and Shye Powers & Stellar and meg.s ukelele

with the rabid fashion of mediumreality: mediumreality.com
& the oakland birds: myspace.com/aimeeamparo
plus Vigilante Nakedist & PANHANDLERS

[4.] Red Hots Burlesque School of Shimmy
Medium Reality is hosting everything-friendly anything-goes burlesque troop's saucy workshop series coming up at our studio - it culminates with performances at el Rio!
http://www.redhotsburlesque.com/

[5.] Yuri's Night April 9 & 10
We're travelling down to NASA on thursday to hang up some paintings, how often does one get to do that? Looking forward to an amazing science-oriented party at Moffett Field!
http://ynba.org/

[6.] Alchemy May 1
Mark your calendars now for this amazing interactive art party. Last year was an amazing packed experience of high- and low-tech fun. This year promises even more of both, with lots of in between too. Liquid nitrogen and finger puppets. And electronics. What could go wrong?
http://www.false-profit.com/2010/05/01/alchemy/