Good afternoon, pals.
It's a gorgeous Fall day in NYC and I'm happy to have had a glorious weekend.
I got to go to two fabulous events, one in support of Badass Brooklyn, an animal rescue organization I follow and who happens to have some very cute little doggies up for adoption. They had a great little block party in Gowanus and Khan had the time of his life. Not only did he get to have homemade dog ice cream from Shake Shack (I was scared his eyes were just going to completely pop out of his head he was so excited), but we got him the cutest little coat from local brand Billy Wolf, a fabulous bespoke dog line consisting of the most adorable little bandanas and coats all made from recycled fabrics right here in the US of A. Here's a pic of the coat from the site and here is Mr. Khan man in his new neckerchief. Yes, I said neckerchief. How cute, right? He's such a mcnugget.
Then we went to the Renegade Craft Fair, an awesome outdoor market full of the most incredible handmade stuff I've seen in a long time. Not only was everything reasonably priced, but there was an incredible bounty of beautifully made and appointed items- I discovered this awesome bag line called Vaalbara, which is a cool brand that does vintage Mexican fabrics with leather bags- I bought an oversized envelope clutch to house my computer because neoprene is just so meh. And the woman who makes them is a rad chick from LA, who donates a portion of all sales to the Surfrider Foundation, so double bonus for not only shopping small, but shopping with purpose.
We saw so many good things, and also fell in love with Sean Mort's super cool graphic prints from the UK. We bought this New York bookshelf print (he also sells frames right there which is very clever) , as well as this super cool print from the Salt and Sea that will be great by our record player.
There's no place where I feel more inspired than to be surrounded by people making their own designs. Martha Stewart, who coincidentally sponsors the fair around the country, had a great quote recently that stayed with me. Instead of women trying to "lean in", more women should really (and this is my wording) "step out" as in step out on their own. Why bother climbing an endless staircase to some boring glass ceiling? Why think about getting older vs. getting better, why not just make your own way and steer clear of endless corporate BS?
As I stood surrounded by so much great stuff, I realized that maybe we're all a bit fatigued by the whole maker/Brooklyn thing, but today's next gen of entrepreneurs is an absolute force to be reckoned with; and it gives me so much hope that so many people are making stuff, doing stuff, and selling stuff. I think if we get it right we may just re-establish a middle class, wherein the middle class is a happy class of people who just want some freedom from the corporate world and just want to be creative and make a living. It seems that now more than ever, that may not be too much to ask. I love this and am going to try and channel this into my very own maker future, wherever that may take me. Even if I may never make necklaces or batik dyed tunics or bags made of old Honduran blankets, I'm going to channel that spirit in my work- where everything I do has my own personal signature and it's done with love. Can't fail that way, can you?
I hope we get to make some stuff together, by the way. But in the meantime, be aware of all of the great things being made around you- for you, for your puppy, for your life. DIY as the photo of these two awesome, happy people tell us. It's the only way. And that's what's up this makin' it happen of a Monday in the 212. Yours, in good stuff. You gotta make something to be something. XO