A dream is a wish your heart makes

When I was a child I had a record player and I think I had almost all of the Disney movie sound tracks to date, oh and Pete's Dragon (Pasama-what?) I actually had not seen the movies. This was back in the day when there was no VHS, DVD, or BlueRay. The only Disney movie I remember seeing in the movie theater was Bambi. Oh, and don't tell my cousin Tracy, but Bambi's mom dies. Even though I had not seen the film, I knew the soundtracks not just by heart, but down to my wee tippy toes.

In those days I had so many dreams, most of which I have forgotten, and I think somewhere along the way I forgot how to dream. Or I simply stopped allowing myself to dream. I was reading a blog post by Danielle LaPorte, the author of 'The Firestarter Sessions' and she said "You are capable of holding two states of consciousness at once: presence and longing, gratitude and desire, contentment and hunger. This is what it means to become whole". I highly suggest you read the whole post here (still longing for an internet Chicago Manual of Style!). 

I'm not sure if this is the response she was looking for but I had a huge slap my forehead moment- holy crap people buy stuff I make. Duh! I created Meandering Design to make things and then sell them, but I do not think that I recognized how overwhelming the feeling is that someone bought a skirt I made for their mother for Christmas. Or that a friend bought a scarf that I made out of fabrics I love and lined with a men's dress shirt that I had upcycled. Or that there are people in far flung places who are taking picnics on a Meandering Design picnic blanket.

Yet, at the same time, there is that tension of living life and living a dream, and still wanting more. And you know what, it is a wicked great place to be.KMC

The Focus: aesthetically beautiful utilitarian crafts

In my opinion, the driving force of many local businesses devoted to upcycling, such as us here at Meandering Design, is the mixing of beautiful aesthetics with utilitarian elements.

When mass production of poorly made “stuff” took hold of the market, aesthetically beautiful utilitarian crafts, which last for a long time, got more and more expensive and less approachable to the larger part of the population. However, more designers and craft people are bringing back their creations to their community. This is mostly possible because of the refocus of a set of awesome concepts including reusing and upcycling.

As many individuals, advocates, environmentalists, and common sense thinkers have pointed out, it would be very beneficial to our lives on this planet if we lay off the disposable mentality and find more and more ways to reuse what many, sadly, consider trash. The more ways we find to reuse those discarded products to make aesthetically beautiful utilitarian crafts, the more we will close the cycle of consumption which in turn, helps our communities and the people in those communities in a very big way.

That is my dream and my inspiration.

-KQ

Quiet time

I hope that you have a delightful weekend. While I wish I could spend more time here this weekend-

Photo Credit Kandy M. Christensen

I am ecstatically happy that Meandering Design will be participating in the Crave Holiday Party. It is from 10AM-3PM on Saturday, December 1st at Belle Plaine Studio (2014 West Belle Plaine Avenue, Chicago). There will be a ton of fabulous fashionable vendors and food trucks. I lurve food trucks. If you are interested I have some VIP tickets available and I can add you to the list. Drop me an email at meanderingdesign@gmail.com. KMC

Ethical consumption

I believe in human rights. I spent a year in Iraq working for human rights, so they do mean a lot to me. I have a firm belief in the United Nations. I believe that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document that should inform how all governments treat their citizens.  That includes the United States.

A fire broke out in a factory in Bangladesh and killed over 100 workers. This, unfortunately, is a normal occurrence. There were no emergency exits and people jumped to their death. Working conditions are very very poor and there are little to no regulations to protect peoples rights.

There is something you can do about it. First please recognize the true cost of consumption. When you buy a $20 shirt you aren't getting a good deal, you are taking away someone else's right to a living wage and safe living conditions. A shirt does not cost $20 to make.

Buy from companies that pay a living wage. Make your dollars count for something beyond money in a  corporate suits pocket.

Buy less. Really, you can do it. I spent a year not buying anything new, well, except for some underwear. I should have made underwear out of old tshirts. 

I recognize that it isn't always an option because handmade can be more expensive, but buy handmade. There are so many artisans out there with beautiful goods. Plus if you are buying less, you will have enough money to buy handmade goods.

Upcycle! Change something worn out or something from the thrift store into something delightful. Oh and we have a class for that. 

There are so many fabulous holiday markets in Chicago. Come check out the Crave Holiday Craft Fair Saturday, December 1st from 10AM-3PM at Belle Plaine Studio, 2014 W. Belle Plaine Ave. Meandering Design will be there with bells on. KMC

In case you are interested here are the Articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights related to right to work-

Article 23.

• (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
• (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
• (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
• (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. Article 24.

• Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.                                                                                                           Article 25.

• (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
• (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Sunny side of the street

I am not by nature a glass is half full type of gal. If I were to pick a song lyric to appropriately describe my mood it would be "I'm only happy when it rains, I'm only happy when it's complicated". I scoff at puppies, kittens and unicorns. I was jaded by the time I was 14. When someone says to me "believe in your dreams" I wonder what their agenda could possibly be. Yet, I'm having to let go of that attitude because I'm starting to believe in my dreams. There has been a seismic shift in the way I view the world. It did not happen overnight and it also did not happen without going through some of the most painful experiences in my life and crying a river of tears, but I'm starting to see that life is full of endless paths and possibilities. KMC

Photo Credit Kandy M. Christensen

The coming out of a "localcycler"

I must confess!  It has been brewing little by little inside of me since I was quite young growing up in Puerto Rico.  It is time for me to come out and share with you that yes, it is in my nature, it is what I am supposed to be, I, I am a... LOCALCYCLER!

The blame and inspiration goes to: all of the trips to buy produce and meat at the local markets; watching my mom sew some of our clothes; the radio that my grandfather rigged up and managed to power with a car battery; buying cheese from the guy who would ride his bicycle by our apartment building yelling out the types of cheeses that he had for sale; the smell of the carrot cakes that my mom sold to friends and friends of friends; eating freshly pressed tofu and watching how it is made; eating at small restaurants that members of my family owned; and so much more.

I blame it all on the experiences that life has brought me, and I am grateful.

Localcycling is not new, in fact, it is old-school remixed!  Buying local, in my opinion, is at the heart of localcycling.  Supporting local businesses is not just a sound choice for the economy of your community, it is also a way to strengthen that community. There is much more to locacycling than meets the eye.

Remember to...

... buy local!  It gives you the opportunity to meet the people who make what you are buying, harvest what you are eating and who are proud of their products.  Working at the farmers market here in Vancouver and talking to small business owners has given me the opportunity to appreciate the people who are passionate about what they produce and create.  Those exchanges have guided me to channel my love into producing quality locally made products.

... reduce!  Reduce what you throw out in the trash.  Composting is a great way to get raw material for gardening.  Now a days, even people living in small spaces can compost.  Look in your community and online for information.  I have a compost bin outside and I am looking forward to using the composted soil next spring for the garden.  For information on composting indoors, here is an example... http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2010/02/kitchen-compost-bin-minus-the-worms.  Also, for those of you in Chicago check out the Urban Worm Girl (http://www.urbanwormgirl.com)  

... reuse and upcycle!  Before you throw clothes, furniture, and everything out in the dumpster, see if you can use it to make other things that you have in your "to buy" list.  You can also donate instead of throwing things out, or list it on Craigslist or Freecyle.   If you are not sure about how to upcycle, you can always take classes like those offered by us at Meandering Design (http://meanderingdesign.indiemade.com/content/classes) and/or look online.  There are many instructional videos and great ideas out there. Like Meandering Design on Facebook because we are constantly sharing upcycling ideas. https://www.facebook.com/MeanderingDesign

... recycle!  Separate your trash and make it easy for yourself and others to take recyclables to the recycling plants in your community.  Here in Vancouver we have two great groups working on recycling, FreeGeek (http://freegeekvancouver.org) and Our community bikes (http://pedalpower.org/our-community-bikes).  I have volunteered in both, donate to them and buy stuff at their shops. In Chicago there is a great group called West Town Bikes that works with youth in Humboldt Park and they can always use donated bikes (http://westtownbikes.org).

... barter and trade!  A great thing about being involved in your community is that you get to know who produces what, so talk to them!  You may be producing or about to throw out something that they can use and may be willing to trade.  I have traded vegetables, cooking herbs, almond croissants and much more. 

It has and it still is an awesome learning experience.  One that I am happy, thrilled and proud to share with you.  

-KQ

Stockings- not those kind!

I have to make a disclaimer. I am not the type of person who puts up their Christmas tree at Thanksgiving or finishes her Christmas shopping early and I would rather not hear Christmas carols until Christmas. With that said, when you are making things by hand you have to start early!

I made Christmas stockings and they were fun to make. If anyone is interested in taking a Christmas stocking class drop me a line at meanderingdesign@gmail.com. I wanted to tell the story behind these stockings. I made them because a friend of mine was interested in making one for her son's first Christmas. I was going to make one to give her, but instead she's going to come over and sew one herself.

These stockings were made with joy and they were also made out of materials that people gifted to me. For example, the turqoise blue and silver fabric was given to me from my ex-boyfriend (we're still friends!). He was a mover and someone was getting rid of this large bolt of fabric and he brought it home to me. I have had it for almost ten years now and I did not know what to do with it. I finally made myself a Christmas tree skirt out of it and I love the turqoise against my silver tree. I figured it would make a great Christmas stocking too. It is lined with a bit of fabric that Margie from Red-Belly gave me (check out her handmade belts and belt buckles because they are wicked cool).

The grey and green plaid is another piece of fabric from Margie and it is lined with fabric my friend Carey gave me when she was cleaning out her craft closet.

The final stocking is a bit of 1970's plaid that Kate from Strong Wear (she has fabulous hats) gave me and is lined with some more of Carey's fabric.

You can find Christmas stockings in the shop.

KMC