Category: Blog

A Knitty Doppelganger

Posted on July 24, 2007 by Anna

If you haven’t yet noticed, the mid-season surprise patterns are now up on Knitty. That is exciting news in itself, of course, but another surprise awaited me in the photos of Amy’s Everlasting Bagstopper pattern: my seemingly complete and utter doppelganger!

This is more or less exactly what I look like, especially if you take a step back and view the photo from a distance of a few feet. Medium-blond hair, light skin, attached earlobes, dark plastic frames—take away the earrings, and it’s basically me you’re looking at. (Also maybe take away the army green Crocs please?)

I’m not crazy about the idea of putting photos of myself on the web, but I realize that this can’t be interesting to many people unless I provide some evidence. So here is evidence, in the form of a not-good-but-not-bad photo of me taken about three years ago:

evidence

There are a few more photos of the Knitty model Emma Jane here, which prove that the above photo is pretty much where the uncanny resemblance ends. Still, the world would probably turn inside out if Emma Jane and I ever met.

Cute Pollution

Posted on July 23, 2007 by Anna

Isn’t pollution adorable? It’s like, “Hey! Lookit me, being unsightly and unhealthy all over the place—aren’t I just the little scamp?”

Ha ha, yes you are, pollution. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Just check out these unhappy clouds of pollution (CO2?) from plush toy artist BYTEDUST (aka Dennis Douven):

Or the “Greedy Gas Guzzlers” series of sculptures by Matt Campbell:

I love the way his plastic clouds are so billowy-looking.

Which brings me to my most recent little knitted toy, which will be polluting nuclear chimneys! My first prototype looks kind of like a worm crawling out of a clay pot, so I won’t be sharing a photo of it until it looks more like what I’m imagining. But the nuclear power plant from The Simpsons is one of my inspirations.

simpsonsnuclear

By the way, I realize that nuclear cooling towers are not actually spewing pollution up into the air. The idea is that it’s an iconic image that might work well as a knitted toy. (I hope!)

Trust Your Style

Posted on July 23, 2007 by Anna

I was so excited to see Mochimochi Land featured on Trust Your Style last week!

Trust Your Style is the blog of designer and fashion writer Mary Jo Matsumoto, who profiles her favorite artists and designers and dispenses extra-helpful style advice all on one page. Where else can you read about the new Gary Baseman show AND learn how to correctly pronounce “Louis Vuitton” at the same time? (Probably nowhere.)

I’ve become acquainted with Mary Jo and her blog over the past year or so through my work at CWC International. As you can see from her art-savvy posts on TYS, Mary Jo is a big supporter of young artists, and she has featured many of our artists in interviews. I love how she really does her research before interviewing the artists and designers she profiles, and how she asks them to send her photos of their life and inspirations in addition to samples of their work. It’s a refreshingly in-depth approach to blogging that is rare in the Land of Links.

In addition to her wonderful blogging, Mary Jo also has her own line of designer handbags, which look very yummy!

Public Toilets

Posted on July 19, 2007 by Anna

Walking through Red Hook in Brooklyn yesterday (at least I think it was Red Hook), I noticed a curious preponderance of shrines. Flowery statues of the Virgin Mary, flashy-but-sad-looking patriotic window displays, and then this homage to the mundane:

toiletsinbrooklyn

What’s not to love about these cute toilets all in a row? It’s like the one on the right is the mama toilet, and the rest are her babies that follow her around and have learned to freeze in a line when people walk by.

Bonney Wants to be a Millionaire

Posted on July 18, 2007 by Anna

wwtbam Ever dreamed about trying out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? My mother-in-law was living the dream yesterday!

She came to New York to take the test and audition for their upcoming TV Week, for which we all think she would be perfect. (She claims to watch 80 hours of TV a week, but that’s surely an exaggeration. We hope.)

I asked Bonney to share a bit of her experience with those of us with less glamorous lives. Here is how she described her big day:

Johnny dropped me off at the studio to wait in line. I stood next to a lady with a suitcase. She was very nicely made up and dressed and looked so normal. I said hello and here was our conversation:

Me: Did you come right from the airport?

She: Oh, well, oh, I really don’t want to talk about it. I’ve told so many people and it’s a long story.

Me: Okay.

She: Yeah, I really don’t want to talk about it if you don’t mind.

Me: Okay.

She: Isn’t this exciting? Would you take a picture of me standing against the building? (no signs or anything – just a brick wall)

Me: Sure.

I take the picture and she then proceeds to take a picture of the line of people, the security guard and me.

Me: Where are you from?

She: Chicago. Where are you from?

Me: New Hampshire.

She: Where is that?

Me: Next to Vermont?

She: (small shake of no)

Me: Above Massachusetts?

She: (the shake)

Me: Maine.

She: (nothing)

She: OH!! Is it next to Georgia?

Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Me: Above New York?

She: OH!! Next to Canada?

Me: Yes. (I gave up)

She tells me she knows Canada because she was driving to NY once when she was stopped at the border of what she thought was NY, and they started looking through her car and trunk. She finally realized she was at the border of Canada, not NY. Apparently nothing exists if she hasn’t been there.

So one of the show’s workers announces that we may not bring in anything that does not have a screw cap, and we may not use the bathrooms. If we need a bathroom, the nearest one is in the Barnes and Noble store on the third floor. (I wonder how Barnes and Noble feels about this.) I am tempted to ask if we may use the bathroom if we get on the show but decide to keep my mouth shut.

We then are admitted to a lunchroom and pass through a metal detector after security paws through our bags. I’m carrying my pretty pink Hello Kitty bag and the security officer says “Looks like a big spill of Pepto Bismol” Thank you!! I lose my friend here because of course security must go through her whole suitcase.

At our seats there is a brown envelope, a WWTBAM pencil, and a WWTBAM magnet. Both have numbers: the envelope is 95, my number when I was a telephone operator, and the magnet is number 13, Jenna (my daughter) and Anna’s birthdates. This could be lucky.

But first I get to meet the people at my table. A meek lady who later spends more time erasing than marking her test, a southern woman and a gal from southern New Jersey who talks more than me! She talks about what must be her favorite subject – herself. I never understand people like this. She just went on and on about how much she cares about her dogs, and how she works at a rescue place once a month, and how good she is to her mother, and on and on.

Then the timed TV test starts. Ten minutes each. It’s all multiple choice, so I do what I can and move on.

They collect the cards and hand out the regular Millionaire test. General questions. They collect the cards. We are told we may keep our magnets and pencils.

They will now announce the numbers of the people that passed BOTH tests: 38, 49, 27 and 13!!!!! Yes, that’s right. I passed both tests!! The four of us stand up and move forward while the rest of the numbers are called. I have a Polaroid taken – it’s not so bad – I look good when I’m in shock – and then a two minute interview about where I’m from, how did I hear about this audition, my lunch box collection, what I would do with a million dollars, then a thank you we’ll send you a post card in two weeks it was nice to meet you.

Out on the street I run into my “friend’,” who I see has just tried to get on a bus and stepped back off.

Me: How did you do?

She: I failed both tests.

Me: I’m sorry.

She: That’s okay. I think I’ll try out for Deal or No Deal.

(I hope they film that in Canada.)

She wishes me well, we hug and part.

I start practicing a sad face so I can fool Johnny and Anna. I am working very hard on that when I pass a potato sitting on the sidewalk. It’s not smashed or scraped— it’s just sitting in the middle of a quiet sidewalk. I think about that on the way home. New York: If it isn’t the people that get you wondering, it’s the produce.

So there you have it— a very stupid Chicagoan trying out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire (and failing), Bonney passing both the regular Millionaire test AND the special TV Week test, and a mysterious potato on the sidewalk.

Thank you, Bonney, for sharing your day with us. We can’t wait to see you on TV with Meredith!

Broken Lamp Update

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Anna

Remember how my lamp was broken? Well, it’s still broken, but now I have a lovely DIY solution to fixing a broken lamp:

makeshiftlamp

See, I took a clip-on light that I had lying around, and CLIPPED IT ON to my broken lamp! Genius, right? Actually, it’s taking a long time to replace the lamp because the discussion about what to replace it with has turned into an all-out war of aesthetics and lifestyle in this household.

I never expected that buying a new lamp could cause so much strife. Then again, I never expected to lust for a $10000 lamp, either, but this one from Moss is a must-have for me now:

Manufactured in Belgium, it’s made of wood and polyurethane-coated paper mache, and printed with little black bugs. So cool!

I’m a reasonable person, so I also found another suitable lamp for 1/10th the price of the bug lamp. This one’s a steal at just $1K:

Gorgeous curves, no? Available at the click of just a few buttons from Jonathan Adler….

Back on Earth, Crate&Barrel has this lovely table lamp, which comes in an even lovelier light green in store:

Unfortunately, the charming Charlotte lamp called into question our design choices for the entire apartment. Suddenly, tables would have to be bought, other perfectly good lamps thrown out, and large pieces of artwork replaced.

Dreaming about a stunning new lamp is fun, but keeping a marriage together probably has more potential for long-term fun. So for now, lighting is a taboo subject, and my little makeshift clip-a-lamp is serving me well.

Summer Sanctuary

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Anna

If you’re in New York this week, I encourage you to come to the opening of the “Summer Sanctuary” show at gallery hanahou on Thursday!

The summer escapes-themed group show will feature new, original artwork by seven ultra-hip artists. Here is our nifty invite (click for larger):

And here is some of the amazing artwork that will be in the show:

imakethingsss
Beautiful hand-painted skateboard decks by IMAKETHINGS

lotiess
Gorgeously intricate line illustration by Lotie

apakss
The CUTEST little paintings on wood by husband-and-wife duo APAK!

yukass
Dazzling line work from Yuka Katagiri

Also in Summer Sanctuary will be work from Chris Long, Marcus Oakley, and Team Macho.

Prices will range from $35 – $2100, and if you can’t make it to NY, all of the pieces in the show will also be available for viewing and purchase via the gallery website starting Thursday.

Here are the details for those who can come:
Summer Sanctuary
July 19 – August 31
Opening reception: July 19, 6-9 pm
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC (at the NW corner of Broadway and Houston)
RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com

Hope to see you there!