I don't mean to overwhelm you with videos, but I really wanted to share this. This Saturday, you can join the world to celebrate Pangea Day. The concept is really amazing. Here is some info from the Pangea Day web site...
Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.
Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.
More than 1,000 Pangea Day events worldwide will transmit photos, video, and text messages, to be incorporated in the live broadcast and the pangeaday.org web site.
The 4-hour Pangea Day program will include visionary speakers and live music in addition to the featured films. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among the presenters taking part.
So get some buddies together or check out this map to find put where people will be celebrating near you.
Heather at the home office recommends checking out this Philly photographer this week before his show ends! Manuel Dominguez Jr.'s photography is currently on display at Benna's Cafe in South Philly. Heather also recommends trying the most delicious coffee and tea beverages she has ever tasted, especially the Open Fire made with soy milk.
Heather bought a print of the photo above! Her favorite part is that they are watching Rock of Love on the TV!
A comment on uwishunu (a Philly happenings blog) claims Manuel is the modern Norman Rockwell, so get there this week to check it out (show ends May 8).
It's the anniversary of our first ever Free People craft swap! Valentine craft swap 2008 starts now.
For those of you who have not swapped before, here's how it works...
You sign up to swap and are sure to give me you correct mailing address and email. I hook you up with another swapper anywhere in the world (or just in the US if you prefer). I email you all of your partner's information. You have a few weeks to make your partner absolutely anything you want based on the theme of Valentine's Day. Then you mail your gift to your partner, and they mail you one in return. And everyone has a happy Valentine's Day!
Just wanted to show some love for a local philly band and their fp lovin singer. Exreverie is playing a show on February 2nd at the Tin Angel in Philly, to celebrate the release of their new record. Check out their website and myspace...
Camille from Kissing Knees Craft wants to invite all you creative fp girls to participate in a project she's putting together. Share you love stories. Ya gotta love something! check out her blog for the info...
There are some cool events happening this week in NY that I thought I'd share...
One is the Bust Holiday Craftacular. This is one of my favorite spots for holiday gifts and new crafty ideas for stuff to make myself. It keeps getting better every year, so check it out this Saturday, Dec 8th at The Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City, 125 West 18th Street.
Also this week, is GenArt's SHOP NYC, full of amazing designers selling their wares for amazing prices. This Wednesday at the Puck Building from 6-10pm.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, enter MAYFLOWER in the promo field at checkout, and get your Free People goodies shipped FREE on all orders from freepeople.com through November 26th!
Let fiber keep you warm during the Etsy Fiber Art Street Team sale, trunk show, online events … and all year round!
Who: The fabulous independent spinners, knitters, crocheters, weavers, felters, and fiber artists of Etsy.com, your place to buy handmade!
What: A giant event, online and in person, celebrating all things handmade and fiber!
When: Sale in online shops from Nov. 1 - Nov. 16. Trunk show date is Nov. 16, online and at Etsy Labs 6 - 8 p.m. EST.
Where: Etsy Labs, 325 Gold Street, 6th Floor, Brooklyn NY 11201 , and also online at www.etsy.com and www.etsyfast.com
Why: Warm up your November with our great fiber artists! Great sales on items for the holidays, supplies, and more! Interact with our members, learning more about these products and techniques! Buy handmade.
How: RSVP at labs [!at] etsy.com, check www.etsyfast.com for more info, and be sure to visit us during our sale and show Nov. 16!
Our Dark Fairy Swap flickr group is filling up with photos of the amazing crafts you all made! Check out the photos, read about the swappers in the discussion page (come on swappers, introduce yourself!) and leave the crafters some comments. And FYI, if you have a flickr account, or want to set one up, you can view ALL of the photos in the group. If you don't have an account, you can only see a limited #. Not sure why...
I'll be featuring some individual photos from the swap in the sidebar to the right. So check back to see yours featured!
You're invited! Our Boston Free People store celebrates its one year anniversary this weekend! Come visit this Saturday and get a free gift before they're gone. Party goes on 10am to 10pm.
One of our own home office FP girls plans this scooter rally in Philly, so if you gotta bike, check out the Rabble Rouser Scooter Club. Rally happening this weekend!
Hi Swappers! Just wanted to let you know that sign up time is over for the Dark Fairy craft swap. It is a bit of a process to match up partners and email you, so I will send you a message sometime later this week. Thank you all for participating!!!
There's just a few more days to sign up for our Dark Fairy theme craft swap! The more swappers, the more fun. So can you help spread the word? Post about it on your blogs and email all your crafty friends!
Fellow FP girl reccomended this event and I thought it highly appropriate now that we have a store in Austin!
Check out Stitch 2007 on November 10th, and get tickets because they sell out! Indie craft fair and fashion show goin on, so go and support the community. The money raised benefits the Stitch Grant awarded for Indie and Craft Upstarts. Woohoo.
Our next craft swap theme is inspired by this month's catalog, Dark Fairy. Think about woodland creatures, fairy tales, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and gothic stories (or whatever else you can think up...). Feel free to comment with inspiration ideas!
Sign up will be from now until next Wednesday September 26th. We will have a month to make the crafts and can ship to partners the last weeks of October. Let's get our gifts swapped so that everyone receives theirs before Halloween!
Sign up here. PLEASE double check your info and make sure your email address is correct. If your partner emails you, please respond so they know you are still swapping. If something happens and your gift will be late, give your partner a heads up. If you decide not to swap after signing up, PLEASE email me so I can match up your partner with a different swapper.
So I'm sure you've already come across notcouture, fashionable offspring of favorite design site, notcot. Well this week notcouture is celebrating their official launch! Be sure to check out both of the sites, and take notice of special discounts for notcot readers from some of your favorite retailers (hint hint hint). And start submitting some of your favorite items on notcouture!
PingMag just did this entry featuring Japanese wind bells. Every July in Kanagawa, people visit the Kawasaki Taishi Wind Bell Market. Can you imagine how magical and peaceful it would be to walk through an entire market filled with these bells? These photos are my favorites, but check out PingMag for more pics and info...
Urban Outfitters Inc. has a building called 543 in the Navy Yard that is the center of employee life. This building is shared by the three brands and is also open to the public. 543 houses our restaurant/cafeteria, gym, yoga studio, coffee shop, and magazine shop among other things. Since it is a space the employees visit so often, we thought it would be a great place to set up an art gallery to display the artwork or collections of the employees. Our company is filled with creative people and we want to showcase all of their hidden talents...
So to kick it off, Free People employee Kris Chau set up a show of her art work with her best friend Brielle. You might recognize Chau's style from a few illustrations that have been posted on the blog. Check out the video of Kris and Brielle and the gallery opening, and Kris Chau's website!!
Our store in Garden City, NY (Roosevelt Field Mall) would like to invite you to celebrate their one year anniversary! The girls are super excited. They're decorating the store, bringing in sweets & treats and even making little gifts for you.
Visit the Garden City location and receive a gift with your purchase on Saturday, June 30th from 12 to 7pm.
Did you miss the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend? Or maybe you're thinking about checking out the Chicago scene? Poppy Talk did this cool guide to the fair that can catch you up on what you missed... Above image from rock paper scissors
Etsy has teamed up with Instructables for this Sew Useful contest. So you know that Etsy is all about supplying a marketplace for the independent artist and crafter, and Instructables is a community created to share the how-to's for useful projects. I love how Instructables encourages the sharing of finds and ideas. I mean, that's what blogging is all about, right? Anyway, combining these two ideas, you get the ultimate way to support the handmade community. And there's prizes...
So our travel themed craft swap is coming to a close. These photos are just a few of the amazing crafts the particpants have exchanged. Check out our flickr group to see the rest, and leave these guys some comments! The creativity of all you swappers is seriously incredible. Hope you all had fun!!!!
Anyone ride a scooter? One of our own FP girls is responsible for planning a rally in Philly at the end of the month. Join in on the rides, BBQs, scavenger hunt and Philly fun. Check out the site for the schedule and details!
It's coming up, so clear your calendars, and make that road trip to NY! The Renegade Craft Fair is sponsored by Bust Magazine and is seriously awesome. This year is their biggest yet, with over 300 artists participating. And I'm sure some of our favorite craft bloggers will be there. Leave a comment with your link if you're going! It looks like this year there will be vendors set up in the pool instead of the park. I guess that lessens the chance of getting hit with a baseball. See you there!
Oh, and if you live near Chicago, the fair is held there too! Check out their site for more info...
Above are some photos from last year. Check out the rest on the RCF flickr site.
This is for anyone signed up to swap... You should have your partners by now. I'm still getting some comments trickling in about not having partner info. If you don't have a partner, then the message went to your junk box or you gave me the incorrect (or no) email address. So let me know asap and I can fix you up!!
Also, be sure to join our travel swap flickr group so you can share you photos and see everyone else's. I can't wait to see all the crafts!
I know this is late notice if you actually live close enough to Philly to go tonight, but I would like to support the artist anyway, so I thought I'd give her a shout out...
Tonight!!
May 11th, 7pm-9pm
At Benna's Cafe' (which is located on the north-west corner of 8th and wharton st in south philly)
Katie Henry will be having a party and you are all invited.
There will be mint juleps and miniature dinosaur cupcakes and miniature fruit tarts and wine and cheese and balloons and good people.
Oh and there will also be Katie's beautiful sewn drawings and handbags.
Please come if you can, and tell your friends to come as well.
Free People is in love with mixing it up... mismatched prints, soft feminine with tough boy elements, the pulled-together with the super care-free. How do you wear your Free People? I know there are some Free People girls out there with some serious style. Well we wanna see it!
I've set up a flickr group where you can post pics of your personal FP looks. You don't have to be in head to toe Free People, I think it's cool to see how everyone mixes things into their wardrobe. We'll be checking out the photos and the comments people leave. I'll post some of your photos that really stand out on the blog, and somebody might even get contacted to participate in a Free People catalog shoot!
The above photos are some of the girls that work in our store in Paramus NJ. So style up your Free People and post some photos here!!!
So there were seriously eight different FP employees in the home office yesterday wearing blue and white stripes. How ridiculous is that? And yes, we have an FP man! He merchandises the stores!
And about the swap...
There are just under 200 people signed up! woohoo! Thanks to all you bloggers that spread the word! So I'm gonna match up partners and email you info. There are about 10 people that didn't leave me your email address! If your name is listed, (I left out your last name for security or whatever) please comment with your email. I won't post the comments... This is gonna be fun.
Laura P
Cody F (male swapper! woohoo! he did the vday swap and the poor guy received a necklace, so this time I'll let his partner know he's an FP man...)
suzi b
Jessica G
Crystal-Ann K
Rachelle C
Natalie S
Claire B
Patrina F
Reethi J
Helen H
Heather R
Today is the last day to sign up for our travel themed craft swap! This is such a fun opportunity to share your creative talents with another crafty free people girl, and all of the blog readers as well. Check out details here and sign up here.
I was walking home from work last week and spotted this amazing trunk in my neighbor's garbage. It's made of metal and super heavy, but I dragged it home. All the straps are leather and its marked with all these old labels from its travels. I think I might use it as inspiration for the swap! How perfectly strange is that?
I want to thank everyone that's already signed up for the travel swap (probably about 150!) and encourage you to get even more people involved! I love the community the last swap created, and all of the back and forth in the flickr group was such a great chance to share your crafty talents with even more people. So the last day to sign up is Monday. Post the info on your blogs and let's get some more people involved over the weekend.
After Monday, it'll take a few days to get all the info together and then I'll email you with your partner's info and the link for the travel swap's flickr group.
I saw these globes and maps over at Terramia and it reminded to get thinking about what I'm gonna make!
Rocket St. George posted the above images of tents in the spirit of the upcoming season of music festivals. I thought the whole camping idea could be added onto the list of inspiration for the Free People travel themed craft swap. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out!
But the tents also reminded me of this past exhibit called "Shelter" by Saviour Scraps, a Brooklyn arts collective that makes installations re-using scraps of fabric to create their imaginative environments. One of the FP girls emailed me their link a while ago because her sister is one of the artists involved. You'll wanna check out their site and their current work on view at Monkey Town in Williamsburg.
The Valentine's swap was a huge success and we've had lots of requests for another, so let's do it! A huge theme in recent FP collections is travel. We've had store displays and product inspiration from across the world (the last two collections focusing on India and Africa), and summer is coming, so think about vacations! Get inspired by maps, travel guides, road trips, exotic countries, you get the idea.
So this time each participant will be matched with a partner. You will make something beautiful inspired by the idea of travel and they will make something for you in return. (Last time I matched everyone with one person to send to and a different to receive from, and it got a little crazy.) The sign up will be open for two weeks, so get your friends involved! Then you will have
about a month to make you goodies and send them out.
Click here to participate, and make sure you fill out all your info! Your email and mailing address are super important. Oh, and make a note if you're totally against shipping internationally. Comment with any questions. Get to crafting!
Check out March's of KnitKnit . This month features the "Knitting Nation Manifesto" by Liz Collins. Remeber the radical lace & subversive knitting exhibit I posted about? Well, word has it, some of the girls here at Free People will be involved in a knitting performance/installation conceived by Liz Collins. It happens the last day of the exhibit in June. Check out the Museum of Art & Design calendar for details.
I know most of you are crafty, some of you even run your own businesses or sell your wares on etsy. In any case, I thought I'd pass along the info about Fred Flare's Next Big Thing contest. They're looking for artists, crafters and designers to submit products to be sold on Fred Flare. Get lots of exposure, new wholesale opportunities, and maybe a $1000 too! check it out...
ABC Carpet & Home is hosting a "month long journey exporing the essence of the spirit, culture, color and artistry of India". Judging by their website, they have put so much into this, and it sounds like it's going to be a truly amazing month.
They'll celebrate Indian foods as well as health and beauty traditions, but what sounds most appealing is the daily demonstrations of indigenous craft presented by celebrated artisans from India. Learn the arts of vegetable dying, stone carving, ancient weaving techniques, different embroidery methods, block printing...there's a huge list. The work of the artists will be displayed in a gallery within the store.
Like ABC, Free People has a certain connection with India, and believes in supporting the crafts that have been handed down from generation to generation. (Just look at our store interiors) And on top of that constant relationship we share, India is also inspiration for one of our upcoming trends. More on that coming soon...
The Free People Valentine's Swap is coming to an end. I just received my gift today! I can tell swapping is going to be addicting. I feel like I could start a mini art collection this way...
So above are some of the photos from the swap. There are a hundred more here... Leave the swappers some comments. They made really incredible stuff. And keep on the lookout for the next swap. We have to do this again. Anybody have any good ideas for the next theme?
The swap has started! Some crafters have even already posted pics in the flickr group and they look completely amazing. I'm sure everyone will be finishing up this weekend and getting their goods in the mail. So check back to see the progress.
If you're swapping and haven't joined the flickr group yet, please do! I know there's still about 100 people that haven't joined yet.Then everyone can see your swapiness and you can chat with other swappers!
If you live in LA, I am really really jealous right now. For anyone who has not heard of The Citizens Band, you want to check out their website immediately. A group of artists and performers making the most fantastical magical shows you can imagine featuring such beauties as Karen Elson, Zooey Deschanel and trapeze artist Sarah Sophie Flicker. Creating extraordinary works of art, the group expresses their concerns for our futures through reworking images of the past. So why am I jealous of those in LA? They are perfoming January 25th for $15!!!
This is for any one in the Boston or LA areas... Craft events this weekend! Both LA and Boston fairs happening tomorrow the 16th. Check out details here. Below are some pictures from past events.
I must say, the selection looks super creative, more diverse than some shows I have been to. So, if anyone goes, leave a comment and let us know what you thought! Have fun...
If you are in the NYC area, I highly suggest making the trek to Brooklyn for Bust Magazine's Holiday Craftacular this Saturday. I found loads of great crafty gifts last year, and it's totally inspiring to see so many talented people selling their handmades.
Here's a picture of last year's crowd. It's a serious party with with music spun by DJs Dirty Jean, Amylulita, Lady Byrd, Peppermintwist, Ultra V, Mahssa, and Miss Modular plus free drinks and a raffle with great prizes. See you there!
