DIY diaspora

Farewell ReadyMade

ReadyMade was an unbelievable brand that, since its inception in 2001, has inspired countless people across the world to rethink, reimagine, and reinterpret their everyday life. ReadyMade encouraged people to take a much broader view of what they might consider DIY. In the ReadyMade realm, DIY could mean everything from starting your own business to starting your own band. From building your own dining table out of discarded shipping pallets to growing your own food and cooking your own meal, ReadyMade was about taking your life into your own hands and shaping your own existence in any way you see fit. The ever-growing DIY movement truly encompasses every facet of our existence. The ReadyMade community will continue push DIY into the mainstream by building websites, writing blogs, taking photos, and most importantly, forming coherent opinions that are ours and only ours, and letting those be known. ReadyMade’s can-do spirit even in the most dire of circumstances has always been its life-blood and we know it will continue to be the driving force of ReadyMakers in the future. And this will keep us all going.

Consumers Heart Micro-preneurs

Here are some pics from last week's West Elm Hearts Handmade event at West Elm, Houston:

Zen and the art of thrift store shopping

Zen and the art of thrift store shopping

next article: Menarche (period) cakes

At long last: Something to celebrate and honor your period. Whether it's the first (menarche) or sweating out a late one, here is something to celebrate with: period cakes.

It'll be a parody on the diaper cake pictured, only with pads, tampons and chocolate. 

Why, you ask?  

So many insignificant occasions are celebrated, yet the bigger events go by unnoticed and unacknowledged. Secretary’s Day, for example, has a Hallmark card and a lunch special. But what of the special day that secretary got her first period as a young girl? There certainly was no Hallmark card or lunch special to celebrate that.    

So many stories related to a woman’s first menstrual cycle are both horrific and mortifying. These menarche mishaps are suffered in silence and surrounded by secrecy. It’s tainted with embarrassment and shame because society deems menstruation a taboo subject. Western society has robbed us of our right to celebrate. And so we never talk about it and are burdened with a secret and suffer each month in silence.

A young girl’s entry into womanhood is a big deal that deserves to be celebrated. It’s a powerful thing that signifies womanhood and reproduction and the stuff of life. We can help change the way it’s viewed by helping young women embrace this special event. Such positivity helps to promote a better self image.

When we think celebration, cake comes to mind. This fun craft project is a  sanitary napkin cake, a parody on diaper cakes. Because our period deserves its comeuppance, and we need to celebrate and laugh and start a dialogue and open the lines of communication so that another woman doesn’t have to be scarred by the humiliation of something so natural and normal and exciting.

Commencement BINGO!

Article on Commencement Bingo on Washington Times Communities. 

The royal hat fascination | Washington Times Communities

The royal hat fascination Washington Times Communities

Transition and loosies

There was a great story in the Sunday Times about loosies (loose cigarettes sold individually instead of purchasing an entire pack—which is increasingly becoming cost-prohibitive—at bodegas, etc.). Says it’s a growing business, that not just people on or near the poverty line are buying loosies these days. This guy in NYC has been selling them for years and makes a LOT of money doing so. Now he’s got two or three other guys working for him selling loosies in subway stations at more affluent stops (yet another sign of the shrinking middle-class?). I don’t know why I bring this up. I guess my ear is attuned to listen to anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit these days. Being a state employee these days means you must have a contingency plan ready to go if/for when you're laid off.

I’m having fun writing an article on how there’s a new Easter trend for adults of hiding little liquor bottles instead of eggs. I further elaborated on the “why” by tying it in with the wild success of boozed-up milkshakes  and fancy mac and cheese at trendy restaurants, our willingness to stand in long lines for $7 cupcakes, adult-themed ice cream trucks (used The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in NYC as an example), and the 18 and over dodgeball and kickball leagues across the country. The project will be decorating the bottles before you hide them.

Started putting together my state employee contingency plan. It includes pitchingReadymade, Martha Stewart, and Houston Press. Then I realized I'm not alone in this feeling of employee impernamence. The entire country is sort of precariously perched for employment. None of us feels as if we have true job security. Therefore I should write an article on it. Since I am putting together an “in case of job loss, break glass” kit, I wanna work that as the project. The kit is meant to contain your realistic contingency plan, an updated version of your resume, and a letter to your future, unemployed self that offers words of encouragement and explains to you why this can be a good thing. I’m interested in seeing how readers will react to it. It’s meant to be a coping tool to help everyone out. As long as I don’t sound glib about it, it should be okay.