Show off your stuff and get rewarded for your creativity! There are always design and crafting contests to participate in. A quick search pulled up the following two:
Keeseh Studio is inviting students and design enthusiasts to celebrate the pursuit of ecodesign through an international upcycling contest. The goal of this competition is to promote the use of waste material. Digital or mail deadline is October 1st. One cash prize of $1000. Top 3 entries will win media coverage of their product or process.
Craft Skills Contest over at Instructables. For this one, you’ll have to present your know-how along with your design. Even though it’s sponsored by stitching and yarn companies, any craft is welcome. You won’t get rich from the prizes, but it sounds like a fun competition. Deadline is September 27, 2008.
Hmm, this started out as a serious real estate post but I found some fun listing mistakes that I needed to share.
Award for spelling goes to:
Beaytifyl Brownstone on Hancock
I don’t get it. The rest of the listing is fine. Was this a joke?
Runner up:
Semi Detuched Walkin Apartment
And another thing: How is it even possible to take blurry photos these day? Enlighten me.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mouse were bludgeoned to death while lying in their beds. The bodies of the young couple were discovered by a neighbor. ”
“TWO BEDRROOM APARTMEN ON 2ND FLOR.PARKET FLORS , EXTRA LARGE KITCHEN, ALL TILE BATHROOM.HEAT INCLUDENT.”
I know, I know. I shouldn’t make fun. It’s an ESL person or someone who is kind of dim. But here’s the thing…If you can post an ad on Craigs, why can’t you figure out the spell check??
Laying out the panels.
Non-profit arts organization, Collaborative Concepts is now in it’s third season at Saunders Farm in Garrison, NY. Approximately 50 artists will be participating in this year’s outdoor exhibit which opens this Saturday, August 30th at 10am. The show runs through October 31 and admission is free.
Among the artists are my buddy James Westwater with his Plywood Chateaux and my neighbor Gary Jacketti, so you know I’ll be there!
Hike With Your Dog offers camping trips for people and their furry companions. For $119 per person, you get an all inclusive 2 night trip. When I say all inclusive, I mean they provide the tents, sleeping bags and food. And even the poop bags!
They are located in Delaware, so many of the trips are in that area. There is a Catskill hike that covers Kaaterskill Falls and Minnewaska. If you want to go it alone, these folks have written the book on it. “Doggin’ America” guides list dog friendly and not so friendly hiking areas. Separate books include beaches, Poconos, The Berkshires and plenty more.
The trips usually includes 6-8 dogs.
Check out Katie the dog’s travelogue.
I’m sure we’ve all chosen our Presidential pick already but it’s always fun to look at comparative charts to assure ourselves we’re making the right decision. Grist charts Obama, McCain, Nader, McKinney and Barr. And here’s a fact sheet on Biden. Obama has been accused time and again of making vague promises. Interestingly enough, the O Man is a lot more specific than his opponent on this subject matter.
Ooh, I love this! Birger Juell’s Cobbleblock Flooring is fabricated from antique beams and sliced cross-grain. The pieces are then sanded & oiled thricely. The flooring is available in oak or pine and needs to be grouted.
I want.
I want.
I want.
At $40 per square foot, it ain’t gonna happen. Cobblewood is just as lovely and half the price. Still out of my budget though.
Birger Juell founded the flooring company in 1946. A Norwegian immigrant, he learned the art of hand scraping wood as a young apprentice to a master craftsman. The showroom located in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.
Via Materialicious
Brooklyn street artist Swoon’s latest project is currently floating down river to a dock near you. Swoon and her buddies created seven boats from salvaged materials to take on the road sea. Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea started out in Troy on August 15th and have already hit Albany, Saugerties and Kingston. I don’t see Beacon on the official list, but here they were last Sunday. Guess we were hard to resist.
Musical and theatrical performances take place from the boats, which themselves are works of “art”. Oh, did I use quotations? My bad. Actually, Swoon’s prints are real perty. It’s the pile of crap I have a problem with.
They’ll be stopping in Croton on the 27th, Nyack on the 28th and finally landing at Deitch Studios, LIC September 7th through 13th.
Performance collaborators include Lisa D’Amour, Dark Dark Dark and Sxip Shirey.
I’ve been following “The Amber Show” for the past week now. Gal moves to NYC. Someone is shot and killed outside her apartment within the first week of living there. Gal stays holed up in apartment.
Well, she finally got out! Good for Amber! But she’s still terrified of the neighborhood (Bed Stuy) and needed to be transported by car to another area. Now she’s thinking of packing it in and moving elsewhere.
I don’t know what to say about this. Part of me just wants to shake her and say “Snap out of it! You can’t hide in your house!” but I don’t want to sound like a stereotypical cold hearted New Yorker. Fact of the matter is, I don’t know what it’s like to have grown up in a place where crime and violence don’t exist. NYC was never the wild west, but it does tend to harden people.
The shooting was most likely drug related. Nothing actually happened to her, except that she had to witness it. If I was Amber, I would stick it out a few more months and see if I felt more secure. Running and hiding isn’t always the best way to solve problems.
Granted, this part of Bed Stuy can be sketchy even though it’s only about 8 blocks from my house. But as we all know, crime can happen anywhere. I knew two people murdered separately in upstate’s Sullivan County. Brooklyn: zero. 1 shootout, a rape, a drug dealer next door, some break-ins, 2 wife beaters and squatting pitbull fighters: Park Slope circa 1994-2004. Flashers wanking off: Several, every single neighborhood! They love me. The night we moved into Bed Stuy, my husband ran out and broke up a fight between 2 brothers, one of them mentally disturbed. I thought he was going to get himself killed. He didn’t, and the brother is now on his meds and says hello to us every morning. That’s about the worst thing we’ve witnessed in Bed Stuy.
So far.
My van was full of furniture for a week. I finally got up to Hudson Armory Art and Antiques to unload it on Saturday. The armory is owned and run by the Keegan family: Mom (Jean), Dad (Ed Sr) and Son (Ed Jr). They have an impressive selection of vendors with really decent pricing. A shame I didn’t have time to take pictures as the hubby was whining about needing something to eat after helping me unload.
Two Hudson dealers recommended I not go with the armory. They said it’s too far off the beaten path and I should stick to Warren Street. The other criticism was that the Keegans don’t try to sell the items because they’re not working on commission. Well, I gave them a chance anyway.
First of all, the monthly charge is $250 compared to the starting price of $600 plus commission at The Supermarket. Carousel came highly recommended, but has a waiting list. One dealer suggested The Coxsackie Antiques Center over the armory, saying it gets traffic from Hudson. I don’t get why something over the river, miles away would get more traffic than a shop around the corner. What am I missing?
What sold me on the armory is the space, number one. When we left, my husband said “I want to buy an armory.” Honey, say no more! I’m there! I also like the way my merch gels with everyone else’s. The items being sold aren’t stuffy expensive antiques. There’s an assortment of affordable eclectic offerings. A vintage phone booth for $450 was crying out to me to take it home for the brownstone hallway. “Add some coat hooks inside and make a little coat/brolly/mail closet.” It said. There was some decent vintage artwork for under $100. I saw architectural salvage as well as antique furnishings.
Hopefully next time I go, I’ll have the chance to shop and take pictures. And meet up with Hallie the Holy Hudson honey.
The NY Times did an article on the local Rescue Ink yesterday. These are the guys who look completely bad ass, but go around rescuing cute little kittens and puppies. Neglectful pet owners probably pay more attention when a 6’2 tattooed bald dude is threatening to take their pet away. A 4’11″ chick…not so much. Although I come off as 5′ when I try to act tough.
Read the article and please check out their website! There you’ll find information on volunteering, adoption, events and even an online store where you can purchase their adorable logo on t-shirts and totes.
But this is a public service announcement:
DO NOT leave your dog tied up outside a store or restaurant. DO NOT leave your dog in your car. Pedigreed animals are stolen all the time for resale. Non pedigrees are stolen for dog fights, resale to animal experiment labs and reward monies. Dognappings are on the rise.
The weather is cooling off, but NEVER EVER leave your dog in the car on a hot day without the windows being open. About a month ago, we had to call the owners of a Chihuahua out to their car because the dog was distressed. We parked at a Target in Newburgh and the dog was in the car with a jacket (!?), windows closed. We went in and came back about a half hour later. Dog was still there. We paged the owners and they were actually pissed off at us for interrupting their shopping experience! “We were only in there for 5 minutes.” sez she. That’s funny, because your dog and your car were here 30 minutes ago! Anyway, my friend’s dog died that way (someone else was watching him at the time) so I know it’s a serious no-no!
Pit bull fighting is still alive and well. If you see any suspicious activity, please report it. If you look like the guys above or have the chutzpah, confront these dog fighting bastards yourself. *Disclaimer: Don’t hold me responsible for what happens next.
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LOL!!! Especially the Creepy Photo Award!
Comment by The Changeling — August 29, 2008 @ 9:43 am
Good point – it’s not that easy to post on Craigs list! And kudos on the photo commentary. I just laughed out loud.
Comment by hallie — August 30, 2008 @ 2:06 am
I’m so glad I peed right before I read your post!
Comment by James — August 31, 2008 @ 9:32 pm