social studies design

the swap o rama rama that took place in june was a smashing success, and we had loads of fun participating in our first one.
aldo manned one of the silkscreen stations ("silkscreen stop"). here is one happy customer with one of the designs created for the event:


donna, one of the organizers, also helped aldo at the silkscreen stop when things got busy!



meanwhile, sean helmed the make your own plushie station (called "monster madness"). here he is in action:



and a satisfied customer with one the sean's favorite creations of the day:


and here is the group that brought it to you...the after crafters:


we are a bit dismayed that we won't be able to participate in the upcoming swap taking place sunday november 16th at the shrine expo center here in LA because it will be happening in conjunction with felt club, where we will be vending at our booth!
so mark your calendars because november 16th is gonna rock!! you can go to hipline media to sign up for the swap news updates, and while you are there and itching to make something, take a look at their instructional DVDs that teach you how to make things like purses and PJs!

check out the bag we made featured in an l.a. times article to illustrate the upsoming swap-o-rama-rama event this weekend! too bad aldo didn't get credit, but that's okay. it was made out of a denim skirt and a dress shirt.

the online version of the article used one of sean's t-shirt plushies!

shhh, don't tell anyone i'm posting some sneak peek photos of special silkscreens designed especially for the swap this coming saturday, the 27th. see the previous posting for details...
trust me when i say that the best is yet to come, and will be unveiled at the swap. hope to see you there!

that's right, we're going to be participating in l.a.'s second swap-o-rama-rama (a.k.a. "s.o.r.r.") taking place in venice beach on saturday, june 28 from 11-5.

what's s.o.r.r., you ask? it's a gigantic clothing swap for guys and girls...you bring your unwanted items, we add them to the pot, and you can walk away with new-to-you items. but the best part of it all, you can customize or alter your garments, or you can turn it into a completely different item altogether. the first swap we attended, aldo turned an old woman's sportscoat and a pair of jeans into a cool messenger bag. don't worry, there will be designers ready to help you create your vision, so you don't even have to know how to sew.

sean will be helping people make plushies out of old clothes, and aldo will be unveiling a whole set of new silkscreen images to print on your garments.

other stations scheduled to be available: stencil bleaching, tote bag making, t-shirt alterations, and many more.

it'll be at the venice center for peace with justice and the arts.
the address: 2210 Lincoln Blvd, Venice CA
(one block NE of Venice Blvd/Lincoln Blvd)

trust us when you say that it's a lot of fun! we hope to see you guys there!!

for the third straight year we've been blessed with particpating in our favorite event of the year: bazaar bizarre at the maker faire in san mateo, ca! it's two days of fun-filled shenanigans. where else can you see cupcake cars zipping around the grounds, while a gigantic metal sculpture of a woman bursts into flames, and the fabulous devilettes dance their cute asses off to oldies?



again, the maker faire just keeps growing in size, scope, and attendance. amazingly, we got to sneak away from out busy booth to check out some of the weekend's events. some highlights:



we got to hear ryan scott, of the current season of top chef chicago, talk to his native bay area folk about his experience on the bravo show. tidbit: he was beat out for a spot on last season's show by the guy who won it all, hung.



our friend matt, whom we gave a subscription to make magazine last year, was finally able to come out to the event. he brought his lovely wife nicole, who just gave birth to the most adorable big-cheeked child, chloe!



there was a magical sandbox that had a marble making pattern in the sand. okay, maybe it wasn't magical but magnetic, and it was still mesmerizing nonetheless.



we were lucky enough to be back-to-back neighbors with the ladies of nifnaks, led by the unique and talented nifer (center, with the blue hair). she makes the most amazing felted creatures and creations. we pre-ordered some felt mustaches (yes, you heard that right) and can't wait to get them in the mail. they were a great group to spend the weekend alongside.



our booth was visited by none other than bay area talk radio host karel, who hosts a show on kgo. he's actually a friend of ours, so we knew he was coming, and he brought his neice heather and his dog angel, whom he pushed around in a cart like a baby. it was very cute and made us miss our dogs back home.



these folks looked like expressionless zombies staring into their glasses that you can customize to read messages on the lenses. it made us chuckle.



one of the coolest vendors at bazaar bizarre had to be the postcard machine, which dispensed postcards through a slot if you put in money. there was a clever girl sitting inside and she spoke to passerby in a monotonous robot voice.



one of our friends from l.a. made the trek up the coastline to visit friends in monterey, and then stopped in san mateo for the maker faire. he said he had a blast and spent all day there.



the cracked out knitter who "drums" at the same time was there again.



kate durkin makes really cute bags, pillows and paintings. she silkscreens and hand embellishes a lot of her products. we got one of the little painting and are searching for the perfect place to display it.



on her way to relocating to l.a., miss alison stopped in san mateo for the weekend to sell her neat vinyl accessories. since she's moving to our neck of the woods, we are sure we'll get to see her more than just at craft shows!




at the end of the day, we even had a chance to take silly photos in those wooden cut out things.

now we are just counting the days until next years' event! thanks to all of you, both new and repeats, who stopped by our booth. we love meeting you guys and really, that's why we enjoy doing events so much.
and finally, thanks to jamie chan et al for organizing a great event.

while in san mateo for maker faire, we were approached by a nice woman named cynthia who owns and operates a cute shop in oakland, ca called urban indigo, specializing in home decor, accessories, and art, cynthia carefully selects goods that her appeal to the hipster shoppers of oakland, and we are very proud to be represented in her store. now you bay area folk can get some of our vinyl wallets, checkbooks, totes, scarves, and plush monsters at her shop.



urban indigo is located at 3339 lakeshore ave., oakland, ca 94610

someone at boingboing loved our pen shirt enough to put it on the website! how exciting!
thanks boingboing!

as usual, we had a blast at maker faire this year. it was great seeing all of our customers face to face, mostly new, but a lot of returns! thank you, thank you, thank you!

we're still in san mateo, but will return home to l.a. shortly, so we'll have an updated blog entry with lots of photos of the weekend. and we are also planning on putting up a bunch of new merchandise on our etsy shop, so for those of you who regret not getting that vinyl wallet or pen shirt, you can check back in a few days.

thanks again for making our maker faire experience totally worthwhile, and we can't wait to come back to the bay area!

well well well, we're coming back up to the bay area with our arms full of new items and smiles on our faces! we're very excited to be coming back to the maker faire, so please stop by and say hello!!

our 3-pack of limited edition shirts is now available from mailbox tees. they are available for both men and women and they are super limited to only 100! they're even stamped!
we are super excited with how they turned out, so please take a look. not only do you get 3 never to be printed again social studies shirts, but you get a special tote bag that goes along with them.
they are not available individually; for those for those of you who might only want one of the shirts in the three pack, we suggest keeping the one you love, and then gifting the others for christmas!
we'll have them with us at the pull my daisy event, but they are also available on the mailbox tees website.