sweet music video!

By Clara C and JayessLee. Enjoy!

Spring sundays

Gorgeous weather greeted us this weekend!
Sunday afternoon we headed to the park with our friends. We brought
our blankets and books and camped out under a tree only to spend a
majority of our time playing every combination of sports with our
little friends! They are adorable and we had a grand ol time! Timon
practiced frisbee with them, then we all played softball for a while.
When I say soft ball, think of a whiffle ball bat and a plush ball. We
were making it up as we went along so 1st base was about 1 meter from
home plate, 2nd and 3rd base were spaced out much further like 10(?)
meters... it was funny! Since we were only 3 adults and two kids we
ran out of people so the "Bean out" rule was called into place,
meaning the outfielder could throw the ball at the runner to get them
"out". I beaned andrew in the face as he hit home plate! lol the
spectators got a kick out of it.
Timon is making up balancing-games-plus-try-to-knock-the-frisbee-off-
my head game.
And the last picture is... yes... a couple taking their cat out for a
walk. At some point the cat decided to stop walking and he was just
DRAGGING it along the sidewalk for 10 seconds then he stopped and
talked to the cat!

Behind Gucci

behind the scenes at Gucci, Italy.

Check out this fascinating tour behind the scenes at Gucci in Italy. The leathers, the hardware, the craftsmenship. I'm not super into handbags - I just appreciate well-made goods and wow- I can't even imagine how long it takes to make the hardware from real bamboo. (Dealing with tolerances in a natural materials is tough)

Hat tip to the Materialiste for reporting it. (Image credit)


I interned with a leather craftswomen while in college, witnessing the the craft firsthand of inspecting hides, cutting the leather by hand and by steel rule die, then stitching the pieces carefully- with each puncture of the needle. You can see the goods we produced here: Acme Baggage

East china fair 2012

I visted the East China trade fair this past week for work with my
sourcing partner. We usually go to see trends in other trading
companies or if we can find any unique vendors.
It was my second time at this fair organized by 9 provinces (From
Shanghai, Nanjing, Fujian, Anhui, etc)
Quick stats:
3,600 Exhibitors
50,000 Attendees
Venue: New Int'l Expo center (Longyang rd, pudong)
When we arrived, it was chaos. Less of the normal lots-of-people-in-
china sense and more in the mass exodus akin to the last day of
university. It was the last day of the fair and exhibitors were
already scrambling to escape after 5 sun-less days in a cubicle. Hand
trucks of boxes blindly passed us, trucks were being loaded, and it
was muddy.
Since it was the last day, they only charged us 25 rmb to get in,
instead of the usual 100rmb. They quickly snapped a blurry photo of me
for an official badge, and camera in hand we headed in for battle. We
only had some vague idea of our strategy.... introduce me as an
American representative, and hope they aren't a trade company. When we
got inside the first of some 8 halls... half of the booths were empty
or packing up. We climbed over crates and bubble wrap trying to catch
as many booths as possible.
Is it export quality? What experience do you have with exporting? Can
you do custom manufacturing? Is this really 100% cotton? How much does
this TPU bag cost? The small size?
Since it was the last day, it meant that some exhibitors were also
looking to get rid of their samples- so they wouldn't have to haul
them back. Mostly big heavy stuff like suitcases and ceramics. I
scored a metal bread box (roll top lid) for 25 rmb and a teflon cookie
sheet and pan for 5 rmb EACH. They were desperate to get rid on them,
and I was one of the few foreigners who would want such a thing.
Each section was more or less organized either in the textiles or
gifts wing, then by region (i.e. ningbo) then by type (crafts,
apparel, bags, etc). Its completely overwhelming and underwhelming at
the same time. Every square inch is covered in one type of object-
Straw handbags, LED wall decorations, sandals- the eyes are overloaded
with info. And then we'd look at each other- it didn't have to do
with bath ensembles or home organization we passed it by. Home
organization is funny category. It's not really a gift per say, and
not really a textile (curtains, linens, fashion). Its just a somewhat
practical product. We found maybe 5-10 vendors of interest. I liked a
stacking wooden stool, that you could store stuff in. Worst of show
had to be the resin owl infested post boxes.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Enchanting.
That's the best way I can describe our trip to the aquarium. I've been
there many times in the past for school and family field trips- and
every time I am glued to the tanks with amazement and wonder of the
swiftly swimming sea creatures staring back at me. I don't know how
they navigate so well in such a busy(?) medium. I imagine it'd be like
flying on a crazy windy day.
One of the volunteer docents asked where we were from, and upon
hearing we were from China launched into a 15 minute story telling
about when he was in Beijing during the Tianamen square event. It was
fascinating... he had just arrived with a delegation of professors to
see the city and meet with people, and they were under lock down, and
the American consulate was trying to get people out as fast as they
could. His group was moved to safety, though they didn't know exactly
what was going on- only hearing rumors.
At the wharf all the restaurants had representatives standing outside
offering samples of their clam chowder- yum! We tried about 5
different ones, from "the fisherman" in a cable knit sweater (very
rich and dense), another man in a pin stripe suit with a mustache (His
was lacking in the clam area) an artistc hoarse voiced lady (lots of
potatoes). We went with "the fisherman" and got seats by the window
overlooking the sea lions sun bathing. A pelican came and sat next to
me! Ok, he was outside the window, but it was the closest I'd ever
been to Pelican! I tried hard not to make sudden movements.
We also saw a butterfly migration- which I remember from my childhood
as well. It was AMAZING. A Monterey pine just covered in clumps of
butterflies. Clumps like in those mascara commercials that show
"tarantula eyes". Their wings sparkled in the sunlight. Apparently no
one has really been able to figure out why they migrate to Monterey,
but they said it might have to do with the temperature, climate, and
magnetic pull. Or moon. Interestingly, even after a generation of
butterflies has died, the next generation will know how to get to
monterey during chun jie. That is an amazing design- like so many
other creatures (sea turtles) who somehow know where to go, following
a path during different phases of their life that all sea turtles just
"know". And I can't even find my way to baggage half the time. (JFK,
ahem- and I wasn't the only confused passenger)
If you ever decide to head to Monterey bay, hit up monterey craigslist
for discounted tickets.
On Timon's request, I'm working on a painting of the big school of
fish swimming right now,

portrait of Timon working hard #2

I have enjoyed watercolors a lot since childhood. Inexpensive, slightly less messy, and easily transportable. I esp just love the drippy effects with the hue'd edges on puddles of color.

In college we had live models all the time... right now my best (and only) model is Timon. I've taken to capture his details- the multi-hued beard with bits of red and white and his inquisitive intense expression. He doesn't even know I'm writing this about him! yet.

below is "portrait of Timon working hard #2"

Integrate conference

"Why do you work?  What if the work you do every day is bigger than you, your company or your institution? What if it has a much greater impact as part of God’s plan to redeem the world.  What does this even mean?"

This past week I ramped up and prepared to get creative for the Integrate conference put on the international church here. With over 200 attendees, it was a full day of lectures, laughter, and making new friends. The theme of the conf was faith in the workplace. How does it play out?

Main speakers: Dr. Jeff Van Duzer and Landa Cope

There was a cafe time with silent auction, and concert into the evening.


In the artist's co-op, which ran simultaneously (1 floor below) and the lectures played on a loudspeaker for us. We worked all day on our art pieces. There was a variety of mediums, and a variety of backgrounds that contributed. Some people collaborated, like the opera singer and the composer, while others worked independently (the majority). I chose two mediums: painting and sewing- since that was what I felt comfortable with. (And I couldn't decide!)

I went to the conference with two main ideas in mind:
- Community collaboration
- Taking waste and redeeming it into something function and beautiful- satin washing labels I found at yuyuan.

The community collaboration was for the conference goers who visited us during the breaks. (The lectures were broadcasted into our room while we worked) I wanted to create an opportunity for them to really take part and make something- so I provided zippy pouches for them to paint. Other ideas I had were a quilt, blanket, painting.... maybe later... (a la Geoffrey Raymond)

There were illustrators, fashion designers (depicting two dresses- origins of fashion design, when God made Adam and Eve clothes from sacrificing animals) Collage of "What is truth?" print maker, writers.

May-yi's clip art piece

Anna and viv. First dress made of business cards: ubiquitous, accesible, and disposable. The second dress, had fur

Chels and Faith and their paintings (switched respectively) They took an old table cloth from when they lived together and painted them, and switched.

y ditty bags

Visitors participating- giving one words summarizing last year.

Tats and Corrie painting their bags

Sunday walking

>
> Hi!
>
> Sunday we hit Kaiba on jianguo rd to check out the Design Jam
> results. The event was called the "Global service design Jam" - like
> musicians that jam- they put together 6 teams of designers (in
> shanghai), and others to collab for 48 hrs on the theme of "Hidden
> treasure". globally teams also begun at 6pm their local time with
> the same theme! The presentations were 30 minutes each, so we left
> half way through. Honestly, the first preso was awesome and the
> third one's presenting skills were putting us to sleep. When you
> find yourself saying "why are you telling me this?" more than three
> times your brain starts to check out. The idea was great, but they
> chatted on tangents and I couldn't figure what is it they were
> really trying to tell us.
>
> Then we strolled around the neighborhood and took the bus home.
>
> Tomorrow we're going to the integrate conference put on the
> international church here. About faith in the workplace.
>
>