Friday, January 30, 2009

Friday Snacks!

It's Friday - enjoy the snacks!

IN STITCHES
Find new work by embroidery artists of the craft new wave at Gallery Hanahou (in Soho, name means "encore!" in Hawaiian). "Forget Me-Not" is on view Feb. 6-27 (opening Feb. 6, 6-8pm), and bills affordable artwork. (via Craftzine blog)

TREND ALERT?
Will top hats become the new antlers? Maybe not, but these hanging lights would be fun to make yourself... Nice shapes, rich satiny hat linings... (via Cool Hunting)

SENSE OF REPURPOSE
An exquisite and sensible way to save and repurpose a cathedral: make it into a museum! This is the new Museum of Garden History, in London, of course. (via Inhabitat)

HACKED IN TEXAS
In case you missed this story on your nightly news... Someone hacked a traffic sign in Austin. Nice!!

SAVE & SAVOR
I'm a good-food person, and lately I've been interested in the ethnic street food scene in NYC, partly because I'm watching too much Anthony Bourdain, and partly because prices tend to be recession-friendly. The blog Cheap Ass Food is my new favorite guide for discovering good eats -- irreverent, thorough, and good pics... Pass the pork buns and vegetable dumplings!

Hungry for more?
Visit the Friday Snacks Archive

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Art Market Recession Report by Hrag Vartanian

Sorry to double up on bad news in one day, but culture writer (and my dear friend) Hrag Vartanian has a great piece in NYFA Current, the New York Foundation for the Arts's magazine, on today's struggling art market.

As with the home furnishings market, the art market also has important overlaps with the craft market.

Click here to read An Art Market Recession Report by Hrag Vartanian.

I think it's valuable to read these reports because it can lead to creative new ideas about how to address the challenges of our own businesses. And because it reminds us we're not alone in the struggle.

CODA:
I saw this article in the Times later today about artists showing in retail shops when galleries close. It may not be ideal, but it is innovative!
Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Struggles in the Home Furnishings Market


We at Greenjeans felt the recession early, and Julie Scelfo's article, "The Meltdown in Home Furnishings" in yesterday's New York Times, sheds some light on why.

" 'The impression everybody in this industry seems to have is that because this economic meltdown started with the housing market, anything related to home got slammed first and worst, and that included home furnishings,' said Warren Shoulberg, the editor of Home Furnishings News, a trade publication. 'Other than the auto industry, I think the home furnishings industry has pretty much gotten hit the worst.' "

With Domino magazine ceasing publication after the March 2009 issue, following the demise of Cottage Living, Country Home, O at Home (an Oprah mag), and perhaps most incredibly the 106-year-old House & Garden, the home furnishings and design market clearly is not what it was a few years ago.

" 'If you’ve got less in your pocket and you’re worried about putting food on the table, you’re not going to be buying new throw pillows just because Pottery Barn has a new color,' Mr. [Joseph] Feldman [an analyst at the Telsey Advisory Group in Manhattan who studies retail markets] said. 'Given the state of the economy, consumers are doing more with what they have.' "

I know that's true for me. It seems to have been true for our customers, too. And obviously it's why we're holding off on our plans to reopen with a space dedicated to local furniture.

While the Times article focuses mostly on commercial home furnishings businesses, it also applies to the struggle of independent furniture makers and other designers and craftspeople as well. If the big guys are struggling, you know the little guys are too.

Two of the biggest craft fairs of the year take place next month: the Buyer's Market of American Craft in Philadelphia, a wholesale-only show, and the American Craft Show in Baltimore, which is both wholesale and retail. Not to mention the New York International Gift Fair, a huge wholesale show with a large Handmade section, taking place this week. These shows are full of home furnishings offerings, and are major sources for a lot of stores that stock such items.

I'll be honest: from a business perspective I am nervous for these shows. Nervous that exhibitors won't make enough money, nervous for the show organizers because I am sure there has been a decline in the number of exhibitors registering to show. And nervous for the wholesale buyers who are looking for certain price points that might be unrealistic for the handmade market.

My prediction is that we're going to see a lot of cutting boards in the booths of furniture makers, coasters and trivets in potter's booths, and uncomplicated ornaments and bottle stoppers with the glassblowers this year, indicating an effort to come up with items that are more affordable to buy and less of an investment to produce. And I expect that there will be a lot fewer people shopping than just looking this year.

We all know this recession won't last forever, but weathering this storm is no easy trick, and for those whose businesses center on home furnishings -- retailers, makers, and show organizers alike -- the challenge is awfully dramatic, to say the least.

On the other hand, perhaps there will be a boom in home furnishings once the economy gets back on its feet. After so many months and years of holding back, customers will want new pieces for their home.

In the meantime, let's be thinking about how to present independently made home furnishings in new ways so that when the economy does come back online, we're ready to roll!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Petition for Secretary of the Arts

If you have not done so already, please add your signature to the over 200,000 so far to get the Arts on President Obama's agenda.

All those in favor of the creation of a Secretary of the Arts, say Aye!

http://www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html

Then spread the word...

Thank you!



New in the Webshop - Journals by C'ai Lun


I put up a bunch of new handbound journals by C'ai Lun (Dennis Yuen) in the Webshop last night -- check 'em out!

Just in time for Chinese New Year and welcoming in the Year of the Ox. Kung hei fat choi!





Posted and images by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

New Issue of the Greenjeans Gazette


Our latest monthly e-newsletter, the Greenjeans Gazette, dropped today.

Read it here!

If you wish this came into your email box each month, why not sign up? It's free! (And we'll never share your info or spam you.)

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Greenjeans Review: Nava Lubelski at LMAKprojects

Friday afternoon Jae and I went for a long walk, taking advantage of the relatively mild weather. We crossed the Manhattan Bridge and wandered north through Chinatown, discovering some of the many wonders along Eldridge Street.

We caught glimpses through filmy windows of women chopping vegetables and playing Mahjong, marveled at huge spiny fruits in nets hanging above the cornucopia of produce at a corner market, and stumbled upon the delicious and very recession friendly Vanessa's Dumplings where we downed four pork and scallion dumplings, freshly made on the spot, for a mere dollar.

And then we came upon LMAKprojects, a neat little gallery that happened to be featuring work by New York-born and Asheville-based artist Nava Lubelski. We went inside for a closer look.

I first noticed Lubelski's work in the Museum of Arts and Design's show Pricked, which included her piece "Clumsy," a yellow tablecloth with a big wine stain around which she had embroidered in red. It was one of the most subtle yet memorable pieces in the show, and I was thrilled to see more of her work.

For this show, titled Recombination, Lubelski has created a number of wall pieces that at first look like splashed paint on canvas, but on closer inspection reveal themselves to be works of embroidery. Artfully tattered and vibrantly colored, many of the canvases feature gaping holes criss-crossed with stitches in a way that suggests spiders webs or Native American dream catchers, or maybe badly darned socks.

The network of forms -- yawning circles, dense pools, tenuous ligaments -- also suggests cellular structures, like highly magnified images of brain cells or nerve systems. In fact, according to the press release, the artist "was inspired by the idea of Recombinant DNA, in which DNA molecules from different sources are joined to create new genetic material."

Lubelski is a good colorist, and the washes (or stains) of color she applies to the canvases work beautifully against the rich colors of the embroidery floss. The colors and forms are pleasing enough, but it is the texture and mystery brought by the embroidery that really makes these works appealing to this viewer.

In addition to the wall pieces, there are three "gloves" crocheted out of thread, found trimmings, pins, and hair. (The checklist describes these as casts of the artist's left hand in the shape of a glove.) They are displayed on the wall, tacked up with upholstery pins, with simple frames drawn in smudged pencil around them. Very lovely.

All the works are active, with a lot of push/pull and tension/resolve going on. They also have a general aesthetic prettiness, which I just simply like. They naturally remind one of Louise Bourgeois -- with all that red and thread and references to the body, the comparison is inevitable, and perhaps also apt.

More so, they remind me of Lee Bontecou's sculpture, with its gasping voids and wire stitches, works that seem to be both decaying and evolving at the same time. Lubelski's pieces don't have the sense of violence of either of these two elder female artists, though she shows promise of bolder things to come.

Since the New Museum relocated to the Bowery last year, this area of town (the Lower East Side) has been filling with new galleries. On the map I picked up there are 34 galleries listed. Here's a map you can download with even more. Zounds!

So, go check out the Nava Lubelski show at LMAKprojects (local directions). And then go down the street for dumplings to fortify your afternoon of gallery hopping. Double happiness!

"Recombination: Nava Lubelski" in on view thru February 14, 2009 at LMAKprojects at 139 Eldridge St., NYC.

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Images courtesy LMAKprojects.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Friday Snacks! (The Obama Edition)

It's Friday -- enjoy the snacks!

COMMANDING
Obama's Inaugural Address was not only great to hear, it is also a beautiful work of statecraft -- the careful turnings of phrase, the artful suggestions. Here's the full text. (Pictured in my living room. Brian Braskie chair. Poster by Yee Haw Industries.)

SUBLIME
Speaking of literary craft, I was too cranked from Obama's speech to listen to Elizabeth Alexander's poem that followed. Finally read it tonight -- it's beautiful! Gave me goosebumps. What do you think, is it as good as Maya Angelou's poem for Clinton's inaugural, or Robert Frost's for JFK's? Here is the full text. Also, here's a Yale Daily News piece about the poet, the youngest ever to read at a presidential inauguration.

RIDICULOUS
Has Shepherd Fairey (designer of the ubiquitous blue-grey-red Obama iconography) gone around the bend? I mean, commemorative dinner plates? C'mon, man, get a grip! (Via Cool Hunting)

VICTORIOUS
Besides, if someone wants a commemorative Obama plate, isn't the Victory Plate the better choice, really? And only $19.95! (Treat yourself to the video that plays on the site for a minute -- who directs these things?)

IMPRESSIVE
All joking aside, Wired magazine speculates convincingly that the suit Obama wore on Inauguration Day was bulletproof. If indeed the fabric of the suit is woven with kevlar, that's some impressive example of fine craftsmanship! And that's no joke. (Via New York Magazine)

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Volunteering on Martin Luther King Jr. Day


Do you volunteer for your community on a regular basis?

I think volunteering is a great thing, but I sure do not, not measurably anyway.

Yet over the past several weeks, with Obama's frequent appeal to us to get involved with public service in order to help bring our country together and improve our communities, I am feeling more and more compelled to change this.

Today of course is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and while reading through some of his writings, I noticed this quote: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

What indeed?

Despite the fact that tomorrow is the Inauguration and kinda a big deal, the Obama's have evidently taken up today for public service.

I know soup kitchens and food pantries are understocked and in need of hands to keep things going. I know there are plenty of places to find listings for volunteer opportunities. And yet I don't pitch in.

It's not for lack of positive role models. My Mom had a very well-developed sense of public service, and was always engaged in something charitable on top of her full-time job and being a Mom. From answering phones during the local public television station's pledge drive and canvassing for the politicians she supported, to organizing community crafts fairs and heading up my Girl Scout troop, public service was just part of my Mom's life.

I just don't feel like giving bags of unwanted clothes to the Salvation Army once a year compares.

(And I don't mean talking for free at events about my work -- that doesn't count. I mean, it's volunteering, but it's not really helping the less fortunate or cleaning up streets or anything).

So I am deciding today, in honor of Martin Luther King and President-elect Obama, to make a change. I am deciding to spend a few hours each month going outside of my comfort zone and pitching in for the greater good.

If you, like me, are not an avid volunteer already, I invite you to join me. Let's make a change and start pitching in, because it's all about being the change you want to see in the world.

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image by Doug Mills for the New York Times.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday Snacks (on Saturday!)

Sorry I missed posting Friday Snacks yesterday! I promise they're just as delicious on Saturday...

GET ALCOHOL-INSPIRED
Looking for a place to stay that will leave you drunk with wonder? The rooms in this hotel in the Netherlands are built inside huge reclaimed wine casks. How intoxicating is that? (Via Inhabitat.)

MAKE MISCHIEF
MAKE Magazine is doing TV! Maker Channel is on PBS and online with great stuff like the TV-B-Gone (pictured) that switches off TVs in public places, and the hilarious "Screambody" that absorbs your screams until you can release them outdoors.

SWING FROM A CHANDELIER
One of my favorite ceramics artists, Jeanne Quinn creates other-worldly sculptural installations. We New Yorkers are lucky because she's having a show at the Jane Hartsook Gallery at Greenwich House Pottery in the West Village (thru Feb. 5). Read the review on American Craft Magazine's blog. Looks beautiful!

GET YOUR HOPE ON
The Obama Art Report tracks the recent explosion of art inspired by Obama. I especially love this Hope in a bottle. (Via Murketing.)

MOISTURIZE
I've been on a quest for a great eye cream for quite some time. Several weeks ago my sister-in-law hipped me to straight vitamin E -- just prick a hole in a softgel with a pin and squeeze out a little dot to dab around each eye, then de-shine with a tissue. It's awesomely moisturizing, doesn't clog pores, and costs about nothing. Straight olive oil (yup, right from the kitchen) does the trick remarkably well too. Thanks, sis! (Images sourced here and here.)

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Multigrain Pancakes to Fuel the Furnace

When it's ghastly cold like it's been these days (it's 13 degrees in NYC right now), all I want to do is EAT. Gotta keep the furnace fueled to stay warm!

One of my favorite recipes this time of year are Jane Brody's Multigrain Pancakes. They're super easy to make and full of good-for-you ingredients, so you can totally carb out without feeling guilty.... Yum!


Multi-Grain Pancakes
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 egg whites (or 2 whole eggs)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix milk and lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use 1 ¼ c. buttermilk.)

Mix dry ingredients together.

Add eggs to milk mixture and whisk. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Whisk until just combined. Griddle up!

Great with butter and maple syrup, sautéed apples and pears, or even lentil soup, though maybe not for breakfast.

Adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Book.

(Enjoy, Monica!!)

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Handmade Nation on Tour!

Handmade Nation, the highly-anticipated documentary project and book by Faythe Levine, is coming to a city near you!

To see the full schedule of screenings, talks, and book signings, visit Handmade Nation blog.

Here's what's coming to NYC:

Feb. 11 (time TBA)
Powerhouse Books (Dumbo, Brooklyn)
Book Signing
Event includes a panel discussion with Andrew Wagner (editor of American Craft Magazine) and Sabrina Gschwandtner (author of Knit Knit)

Feb. 12 (@ 6:30)
Museum of Arts and Design (Manhattan)
Documentary Screening (NYC Premiere!)
Event includes director Q&A and panel discussion led by Callie Janoff with Faythe Levine, Mandy Greer and Kate Bingaman-Burt.
Advance tickets on sale please call 212-299-7790 for reservations $15 General Admission, $12 members, students, seniors.

Feb. 14 & 15 (@ 2:00)
Museum of Arts and Design (Manhattan)
Documentary Screening
Advance tickets on sale please call 212-299-7790 for reservations $10, $7 members, students, seniors.

I can hardly wait -- hope see you there!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image sourced here.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Correction and Apology


I must proffer a burningly red-faced correction to my previous post:

West Elm did not plagerize Roger Benton's design of the three-tiered side table. It was, quite openly, somewhat the other way round.

It's all explained in this interview with Benton for the blog Brooklyn Modern from September 2008... an interview I read, obviously not with great care, months ago.

"BrooklynModern: How did you arrive at this particular design?

"Roger Benton: I came up with this design while flipping through an old West Elm cataloge out of boredom at my laundromat. There was a table with three stepped tiers, but it was very square and boxy, made of m.d.f. or something. I kind of adapted the basic shape to a solid wood format, and I wound up drawing about five different versions of it. I finally settled on a plan, but as soon as I cut the first piece of wood I started changing features, adjusting things; the final product looks way different than the final drawing."

Great thanks to "Pia" for posting the comment to my blog and setting the record straight.

My apologies to West Elm for the insinuation it was stealing design ideas.

And to Roger for any unwanted attention it might have drawn.

Next topic: "Are Brooklyn Craft Bloggers Too Quick to Judge Corporate Design Stores?"

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Is West Elm Ripping Off Indie Brooklyn Furniture Makers?

NOTE:

PLEASE SEE CORRECTION TO THIS POST! WEST ELM DID NOT COPY ROGER BENTON.

While surfing blogs today I came across this little number (at right, in white) by West Elm in design*sponge's side table round up.

It looks mighty familiar. Remember this great design (at left, in walnut) by Brooklyn furniture maker Roger Benton that we showcased in our Fall Furniture Festival at the Brooklyn Flea in October?

Yeah.

Not only do they clearly resemble each other, but the dimensions and proportions are almost exactly the same. The knock-off is offered in "chocolate" too.

Of course, Roger's has quite a bit more soul, style, and substance, but c'mon, really?? Like I needed any more reason to dislike West Elm.

Stuff like this absolutely makes my head spin around. I need to learn more about how designers and craftspeople can protect their intellectual property. Anyone have some suggested reading for me?

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Top image sourced here. Bottom image courtesy of Roger Benton.

Next Frontier for Brooklyn Artists: Sunset Park

Several months ago I was down in Sunset Park, and driving along block after block of huge active industrial buildings I thought, "wow, I wonder if there are artists working down here?"

Well, (no) surprise, there are!

New York Magazine reported recently that Sunset Park is the next frontier for Brooklyn artists.

The area may not have the mixed residential/work appeal of Williamsburg or even Bushwick, but it does have an enormous amount of loft space and is right on the water.

In a city that is rapidly losing space for light industry to condos and other development, Sunset Park might indeed be the promised land.

Anyone out there have a studio in Sunset Park or know anyone who does??

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Images sourced here and here.

Monday, January 12, 2009

"Handmade Quality" at Ikea More Hand Washing?

I was at Ikea in Brooklyn the other day and noticed these logos festooned throughout the glassware display advertising "Handmade Quality."

It looks like Ikea is getting into the handmade game now, and their display and glassware designs reminded me somewhat of Simon Pearce.

I didn't investigate too deeply to find out where this glassware is being handmade (or as the labels said, "mouth blown," a phrase that always makes me laugh because it begs the question "as opposed to what?")

So while I am tempted to label this another example of hand-washing, my inner jury is still out. Because maybe it's to do with a fair trade project or something.

I will try to find out more about this handmade line. Because the prices are insaaaanely low and some of the pieces weren't half bad...

Posted and image by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Friday Snacks!

It's Friday, enjoy the snacks!

OBSESS
I am currently enamored with the photo blog Advanced Style that offers pics of seniors in fabulous outfits (tho can't remember where I first saw it... oops!).

OUTFIT
A detail from Emily Martin's "Trophies" series. This handknit-assisted sculpture was part of Hard Twist: The Gladstone Hotel's 3rd Annual Juried Textile Exhibition in Toronto (via Hrag Vartanian).

REUSE
A very clever use for an Altoids box: a little travel sewing kit! (via Hodge Podge Farm -- good luck with your move, Cal!)

RECYCLE
I want one of these possibly comfortable Adirondack Chairs made from recycled DWP roadblocks by Syracuse U. design students
Jeffrey Gerlach and Andrew Stanley. Redolent of the McLeod Wine Barrel Folding Chair, too. (via Inhabitat).

LinkDIY
Looking for something to do? Check out The Long Thread's Top 100 Tutorials of 2008 for scads of ideas (via Craftzine).

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Get Your Craft On in Brooklyn


The essential-reading Brooklyn events guide Brooklyn Based posted a great roundup of craft classes and workshops today.

Learn woodworking in Bushwick, sewing in Gowanus, or book binding in Williamsburg.

Because when the going gets tough, the tough get crafting!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image sourced here.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Prius Power

During the ice storm in New England two weeks ago, a Massachusetts man used his Prius to generate power in his home.

He ran his fridge, TV, and lights for three days using only FIVE gallons of gas.

Read more here.

What an eco-genius!


Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image sourced here.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Origami Christmas Tree is Best of the Year


On Sunday, after brunching at Barney Greengrass and taking in a show at the Hayden Planetarium, Jae and I came across the best Christmas tree we'd seen all year.

There it was, in the atrium of the Museum of Natural History. Decorated with 500 origami animals and stars, all folded by the talented members of Origami USA, it totally delighted our inner children. There's a Stegosaurus! Look, a Praying Mantis on the stem of a flower! Ooh Butterflies! Panda Bears! Baboons! Aw man, T-Rex!

This was the best tree not only because of the genius origami animals, but because of the movement. Festooned all over the tree were delicate three-tiered mobiles strung with origami stars folded from prismatic silver paper, which bobbed and swayed in the air current animating the whole surface of the tree. And above the very top of the tree were two motorized rings from which origami pterodactyls and other forms encircled the whole tree. Mesmerizing!

My bad cell phone pictures don't do it justice, but you can see more on the museum's website here.

Rad tree, Natural History Museum!

Posted and images by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

John Zentner 1951-2008


It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of potter John Zentner, who succumbed to cancer on December 12 at his home in Northwood, New Hampshire. We'd mentioned about his illness here earlier.

As reported to me by his partner Michele, he passed away peacefully during the ice storm in the light of the full moon. She was with him through the last six months of his life, caring for him and helping him maintain the good spirits that carried him along.

John was working with sculptor Jane Kaufmann on a collaborative story piece, and he had just completed the text. The piece will be completed with one of John's pots affixed on top. I love the words he wrote. They capture his earnestness and kindness:

"My biggest influence was Byron
Temple one of Leach's last
apprentices. And Mingei. Always
wanted to make functional pots and
never got too far away from that.

"For me form comes first, glazes
second. I am looking for simple,
strong, direct and bold. I love
throwing and testing glazes. I love
the smell of wet clay.

"I'm a three guitar man. Music came
before clay. I love movies and good
storytelling too. I have never chased a
dollar. Decided if I was going to be
broke I might as well be broke doing
something I love.

"I have always had my hands in clay.
My partnership with Michele freed
me to work full time. For the last four'
years I've been on a mission and it's felt
great."

John was a good man and a valuable potter. We are very sad he is gone, and very grateful for every cup, bowl, piggy bank, and pitcher he created. The world is worse without him.

Read John's obit here (scroll down). See his blog here. And read more about his work and philosophy here.

We wish Michele and John's family comfort and peace. May John's spirit be with us always.

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image by Michele Hastings.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Top 10 Highlights from 2008

As Jae and I drove through the ice and snow on our way back from New Hampshire on New Year's Eve, we reflected on 2008 and drew up our Top 10 Highlights for the year. We still need to set our 2009 priorities and have many bits of news to share, but for now we wanted to join the throngs of bloggers offering up reviews of the past 365 days.

In no particular order, here are our Top 10 Highlights from 2008:

10. Under-Cover, the exhibition of small quilts and bed sculpture by Jane Kaufmann we organized at Greenjeans. It was so gratifying to bring together the work of quilt makers around the country, and very exciting to have Jane and several quilt makers come for the opening.

9. Having the honor to present on blogging and craft at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore.

8. Gaining free admission as a legit press person to review the Martin Puryear exhibition at MoMA, the Shaker Design show at Bard, and the Louise Bourgeois show at the Guggenheim. It's good to blog!

7. Taking Greenjeans to the Brooklyn Flea. When we had to close our location in June, the Flea became our saving grace, where our loyal customers could find us and we could meet new customers. Who knew taking the show on the road could be so fun?

6. Meeting dozens of wonderful local furniture makers while organizing the Greenjeans Fall Furniture Festival at the Brooklyn Flea. We are hoping to work with you all again in the future -- stay tuned!

5. Traveling out to East Hampton to meet Bebe and Warren of the esteemed studio furniture gallery Pritam & Eames, and finding great inspiration for our plans for a future furniture gallery of our own.

4. All the time we got to spend with artisans over the year, including dinner with the Braskie's, lunching with Dan & Missy Dustin, tea with Kit Cornell, and coffee and cookies with Dick and Jane Kaufmann on New Year's Eve.

3. The surge in discussion about the nature of craft sparked by Bruce Metcalf's presentation at the SNAG conference and perpetuated on blogs and later a the July ACC salon. I hope we can reignite this passionate dialogue in the new year (maybe at the ACC's conference this October)!

2. Launching our new feature, Friday Snacks!, in September to share quick links and fun images, bringing a little lightness to our blogging week.

1. OBAMA!!!
Wishing all of our readers health, prosperity, and productivity, and a very Happy New Year!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Images by Greenjeans, except bottom image sourced here.