LA Weekly

I'm still away from home, now in Knoxville Tenn shooting holiday specials and promo shots for the network. Meeting all the amazing DIY hosts and all the sweet and talented behind the scenes people here at Scripps. Today I filmed a Holiday Wish List segment which will air around Christmas and I was pleased as punch that I got to chat about my friend Jenny Hart's sublime Stitching and Claudine Hellmuth's Poppets.

Nothing really new and exciting to report besides the fact that Naughty Secretary Club is mentioned in the current LA Weekly. Take a peeksie at the article.

Fashion ConscienceSweet Charity — where giving looks as good as it feels
By LINDA IMMEDIATO
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 12:00 pm

“That’s what that place is?” a friend’s voice rises with incredulity. “I drive by it all the time. I had no idea.” We’re talking about the orange building on Sunset, just east of Micheltorena, with the mirrored sign that says “Sweet Charity.” It’s kind of in Nowheresville, caught between the funky shops and restaurants just east and west of it. People tend to drive, not walk, by it. But the boutique is worth stopping for; it’s been called “a mini Fred Segal without the prices.” The upshot of its discreet locale is you can always find parking, unlike shopping trips on Vermont or Hillhurst, where the search for something to wear comes with an added, fruitless circle-the-block tax.

But what really separates Sweet Charity from the retail fold is that it gives 10 percent of all sales to charity. Every six months, co-owner Hilary Lawson chooses six beneficiaries. After every purchase, customers receive a heart voucher that they can place inside one of six mirrored hearts (one for each charitable organization) by the register. Until August, those groups are Caps for Cancer, Habitat for Humanity, Hollywood Heart, the Humane Society of Louisiana, M.A.C. AIDS Fund and Race to Erase MS.

Lawson will also lend the store’s outdoor patio to organizations for fund-raisers, and she’ll keep the shop open into the wee hours and give 10 percent of the night’s sales to that specific charity.

Sweet Charity looks more like a Robertson Boulevard boutique than a Salvation Army outlet. The store is packed with indie labels (more than 100 designers) from all over the country, hand-picked by Lawson. Nothing is mass produced (except maybe Born Unicorn, actress Taryn Manning’s line). So not only does your money help kids with AIDS go to camp (Hollywood Heart) or fund MS research, but you’re also helping a budding designer — not to mention that you’ll look amazing in duds no one else will have.

A few of my favorite items are Canita’s line of one-of-a-kind women’s ties, with a coral beaded sea horse or lacy trim, great for dressing up a simple white tank; a horse bracelet and Holly Hobbie earrings by Jennifer Perkins’ line Naughty Secretary Club; Pretty Trashy tees featuring tomboy designs like moths and flies; and Suzabelle’s frothy postmodern antebellum frocks Scarlett O’Hara would break hearts in today.

Lawson loves finding unknown designers — even some who do it as a hobby: She has a lawyer who designs cotton dresses and an accountant who makes ’60s shifts in layers of satin and silk crochet. Not long ago, Lawson was just starting out too, with a handbag line called Lottie Dottie. Her signature fringy flapper purses eventually made their way into glossies, onto the arms of red-carpet walkers, and into TV shows and movies. Now they’re sold in more than 300 stores nationwide, including Sweet Charity, and Lawson just wants to give back.

What catches Lawson’s eye when she’s looking for new talent? “I like clothes and accessories with a sense of humor,” she says, pointing to a tee that reads “Burt & Ernie” (the Burt is Burt Reynolds, with his arm around the orange Sesame Street character). Look at the earrings with little monkeys and, upon closer inspection, you realize they have their wieners out; a double take at a New York designer’s miniskirts reveals that they’re made out of men’s undies. One of Lawson’s favorite lines is the New Orleans–based Persona (she went to Tulane) — each dress is a different character. “Art Tart” has a cute girl with cat’s-eye glasses; below her are the words “Intellectuals Ruin All the Fun.” “She Cooks As Good As She Looks” is a takeoff on the ’50s housewife. On each label is a full description of the character.

“Everything in here I responded to in some way,” says Lawson fondly. “This tee with paper airplanes reminded me of making paper airplanes with my grandpa. Every item tells a story, like ornaments on a Christmas tree.” Lawson also exhibits a featured artist of the month; right now driftwood sculptures by Rubin Grell are on display and available for purchase. Sweet Charity has price points for everyone, ranging from $40 to $320. “I’ve had money and I haven’t had money,” Lawson says. “You can always find something to fit your budget here.”

Lawson’s been an actress, a wardrober, a set costumer and a handbag maven. When she was approached by partner Stephanie Graniero last September to open a retail shop, she said she’d do it, “but it had to be a little bit more. A little bit more than just selling stuff.” Imagine if Fred Segal thought that way . . .

Sweet Charity, 3318 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 644-8861.

The Carpenters

There is something very depressing about the Peoria airport. Is it the rundown 70's look of things? Is it the muzac that seems to play a lot of The Carpenters? Maybe it is because this is my 3rd flight in less than 2 weeks that has been delayed. There is not even wifi here I'm blogging from my Blackberry again.

Cool Beans Cafe

So I'm not blogging much because I am currently residing at my grandmothers house in Illinois which is nestled between the cities of Morton and Washington right outside of Peoria. I'm at the Cool Beans Cafe, the one place in town with wi-fi.

my first blackberry post

So you can't hold my spelling against me. I'm still learning this type with your thumbs thing. Right now I am at gate g21 at O'Hare airport in chicago waiting to board a plane for Peoria where my grandmother lives. The CHA convention was awesome and I'll blog more about it later with the full details. Lots of amazing crafts and awesome guests for Craft Lab. Right now I'm so tired I want to collapse.

I heart 31 Corn Lane!

I was so happy to get my eblast from Fred Flare today because there smiling back at me was my friend Amy Sperber sporting one of her awesome new 31 Corn Lane bags. Amy and her adorable sisters make tons of cute bags, totes and purses. Lucky me when I went and stayed with the girls in Brooklyn this June for Renegade they loaded me up with tons of cool bags. You should go and snag your own oh and add them as your My Space friend. I have been getting tons of compliments on my Carrie bag and am actually using my red Carry All as my carry on for Chicago today.

Oh wait I am not going to Chicago. Or maybe I am? Or I don’t know. After I ran off to get my eyebrows taken care of this morning I am having flight issues. I was supposed to leave at 3, then it changed to 6, then 7:20 and now my flight has been cancelled. I don’t know what this means or when I will be getting to Chicago. I was supposed to be filming at like 8 tomorrow morning with my friend Traci Bautista, but looks like this might not happen. Eeeek. I’ll keep you posted on all the late breaking updates.

my fingernails are a jagged mess and my eyebrows – well let’s not even talk about my eyebrows.

I am borderline hysterical about my trip to Chicago tomorrow. I don’t feel like I packed that well at all. For instance I am going to be gone almost two weeks and I realized I had packed only 4 pairs of socks, I am not so good at this. I also suddenly realized yesterday that my roots were downright embarrassing and had to beg my hairdresser to see me today, my fingernails are a jagged mess and my eyebrows – well let’s not talk about my eyebrows. If I didn’t have to film all this TV stuff in Chicago and Knoxville it would not be a big deal, just a trip to see grandma in Peoria. However, the trip has been book ended with these TV thingies. Love my job, totally grateful, I am just used to working from home sitting in my jammies making jewelry all day and then I remember at the last minute oh ya I guess I need to get my eyebrows threaded.

As for shopping, don’t even get me started. The mall was a sea of black and white stripes. It was awful I could write a whole diatribe on it. Don’t get my wrong I own my fair share of striped goods, I was actually wearing my striped Pretty Girls Make Graves shirt while I was in the mall, but I mean everything was striped. Well that’s not totally true if it was not striped it was an oversized tunic like shirt that had either small skulls, cherries, apples or anchors on it. Again, totes cute – but on everything? I was on the quest for TV ready tattoo covering top and really they were non existent, maybe because it is July and 104 degrees here. I ended up putting together some outfits with what I had here at the house and all worked out, but good lord 6 long sleeve outfits that are in a certain color palette and don’t have a small pattern is a tall order. So anyway I should be packing or filing my nails or something instead of ranting. I will try and blog while I am on the road for the next couple of weeks.

Leah of Craftster in Austin!

HOLY MOLY CRAFTY AUSTIN LADIES...

Leah Kramer, owner of Craftster.org is in town tonight at The Workshop doing a book signing of her wondermous book The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty and Kitschy Crafts. Check out my pseudo review here. And check out the info about Leah at the workshop tonight here!

Don't live in Austin but perhaps LA, San Diego or Portland? Never fear Leah and her book will be at a craft store near you this month too. Help spread the word.

I got so excited I even signed up for a Craftster account. Way back in the olden days I used to post like a mad woman on places like Get Crafty and Chick Click. Those were the good ole days talking about crafts and feminism all day when I was supposed to be filing papers and making copies. I remember once we started the most impressive girl band list, it got huge. So anywhoo, maybe I will start posting again. I signed up too because I saw this awesome beaded curtain made out of pom poms that I am in LUV with! I want to beg this girl to come on Craft Lab as a guest and show the world how to make this awesomeness.

People pick up your dog poo.

Late last night while you were sleeping 19 new one of a kind hand painted purses by HOT PINK PISTOL were added to Naughty Secretary Club! Does my younger sister have the skills to pay the bills or what?

When I was not adding new purses to my web site Chris and I also went swimming and made our second attempt at watching Dr. Strangelove yesterday. The park where we went swimming is really geared towards bringing your dog, which is fine and dandy, but walking along the trail it is like a video game dodging land mines. People pick up your dog poo. The whole park really smelled bad too. Again in the dogs defense I think the park was meant more for them to run around and swim than it was for Chris and I to sit on a bench and eat sandwiches. After swimming we came home and made it through the movie this time around. I don’t know why I found it rather hard to sit through and boring. Oh well, I sat and made jewelry the entire time anyway (look for some holy crap those are cute revamped vintage rings coming soon). Today I am having lunch with my mother in law and grandmother in law. I need to start packing for my 2 week long trip I leave for Thursday. Chicago for CHA, Peoria to see my grandmother, Knoxville to film DIY Holiday specials. I just got an email this morning about all the different “TV Outfits” I need to pack.

Customer Gallery

Once upon a time I had a customer gallery, but it went away. With the new Naughty Secretary Club web site coming oh so soon, I am going to put this fun little section back into effect. In the meantime please start emailing me or My Spacing me pictures of yourself in your Naughty Secretary Club jewelry and I will blog all about it, love you forever and add you to the gallery when it gets added! I am even toying with the idea of using my very favorite customer photo in one of my next Bust Magazine ads. Think of it, you in Bust, all you gotta do is send that picture over.

Our first addition is the A-dorable Rachel from Vancouver, WA. She is sporting a pair of Ruby Duby Earrings.

So in other news nothing too exciting around these parts. The Beta Valentine / Misprint show went swimmingly last night. There were some odd Déjà vu moments throughout the evening. While sitting on the roof top patio at Flamingo Cantina a flying cockroach landed on my face. That is twice in a week I have had a run in with a roach. Then at the end of the night the DJ played “Age of Consent” by New Order. Oddly this is the other song by the band that is in the Marie Antoinette trailer. I love it so much I added it to my My Space profile which I also updated this morning.

25 new REVAMPED VINTAGE NECKLACES!

25 new REVAMPED VINTAGE NECKLACES at Naughty Secretary Club www.naughtysecretaryclub.com!

There are also 15 new NOSTALGIC NOTIONS NECKLACES and 6 new HOT PINK PISTOL PURSES - with more of both coming in the next week!

Beta Valentine and Misprint

My husband Chris's band, Beta Valentine, is playing tonight. You should come out and say hello.

How rigorous is the screening for this show?

Thanks to the nice girl who wrote me an email yesterday asking about the Revamped Vintage Necklace on Emmy Rossum in the June 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine. I had absolutely no idea until she wrote. Sure I have sent them samples tons of times, but most times when magazines are going to actually use something someone writes you an email to firm up the details. No calls, but they got it all right and I am happy as a clam even if you can hardly see the necklace.

In other news I am quite proud of myself for watching Project Runway last night for the first time. I am so bad about watching TV with any regularity and I had promised myself that I would try and watch this show this season. Yes that hat was God awful and stupid. I thought his outfit was worse than the lady who got kicked off, but at least he knew how to use a sewing machine. How rigorous is the screening for this show that out of thousands of people someone gets on that can’t use a sewing machine? I thought the navy dress that won deserved to win and was quite lovely. Not sure at all how I felt about the guy with the bows on the back of the dress that used to work with Isaac mizrahi.

Speaking of Isaac at Tuesdays Austin Craft Mafia meeting Vickie brought pictures from her interview with him for the next issue of Knit 1. As always Vickie that sweetheart was nice enough to wear a big Naughty Secretary Club necklace that you can see front and center right next to Isaac himself. Don’t worry I’ll keep you posted on when it comes out.

Marie Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette international trailer

I seriously can not stop watching the Marie Antoinette movie trailer which in turn is making me listen to New Order non stop. I remember being in my early teens and taking a trip to Corpus Christi, TX with my family to the beach. To appease my younger sister and I my parents took us to the local mall where I bought an Echo and the Bunnyman poster with the lyrics to “Lips Like Sugar” on it as well as Substance by New Order on cassette tape. My favorite song was always “Ceremony” which is on the trailer for the new Marie Antoinette movie. In case you have not seen the preview it stars Kristin Dunst and Jason Schwartzman (oh and let’s not forget Rip Torn). Speaking of we had a good giggle at the trivia that his (Jason’s) mother is Talia Shire as in “Yo Adriane” from the Rocky series and also the cousin to the director of the flick Sophia Coppola. If you wanna get technical about it Rip Torn is cousins with Sissy Spacek. Obviously Sophia is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola who of course has directed wonderful movies like the Godfather and Rumble Fish, but let us not forget Jack. Ya the movie where Robin Williams is a 10 year old boy. It was on at 3 in the morning today, I know because I woke up with a giant bug in bed with me and could not go back to sleep. Needless to say this blog post would be a sleep deprived ramble.

Craft Lab is set to start airing on September 25th!

Who wants a Hall and Oates purse by Hot Pink Pistol? 6 new designs just added to Naughty Secretary Club!

Seemed fitting to highlight the Hall and Oates purse since at lunch Lisa, Matt and I were discussing the Michael McDonald / Hall and Oates concert Chris took me to for my birthday a few years ago. That show rawked my face off.

In other news I just found out from DIY that Craft Lab is set to start airing on September 25th! Wow that is so much sooner than I thought. I need to start planning. I will be out in Los Angeles then filming the second season. I’ll keep you posted on all developments as I get them. I believe around the same time new episodes of Stylelicious will also begin airing.

VH1's The 40 Greatest Metal Songs

Since VH1 never calls me to sit and make snarky remarks for their “greatest” series I decided to type out my own responses to “VH1’s The 40 Greatest Metal Songs”. I watched the show Saturday night and thought sure I’m not a porn star or anything, but at least I have actually heard most of these songs.

10. MOTORHEAD – “Ace of Spades”
I think this may be most of the world’s only experience with Lemmy. Honestly, besides the cover of “Stand by Your Man” with Wendy O. Williams it is the only song I really know by the band. There was a tube station in London when I lived there that had a poster of Lemmy with Samantha Fox that always made me giggle, so I had some experience there. Anyway, Motorhead is indeed metal I once wrote a review of a band for a zine that said “Lemmy has more metal in his mole than this band does on it’s entire album”.

9. OZZY OSBOURNE – “Crazy Train”I do love the diabolical laugh and the Randy Rhodes guitar work in this ditty, but Ozzy’s hair in the video makes him looks like he was sharing a hairstylist with the cast of Dynasty. “Crazy Train” is on my favorite Ozzy albums, Blizzard of Oz. Not because I think the record is great, I just love the name. I think the cover of Ultimate Sin is way better, that chick with the red eyes always scared me as a kid. Not near as much as the “Bark at the Moon” video, but that is a different story all together.

8. SLAYER - “Raining Blood”I think I must have been watching “Pants off Dance Off” during this part of the show. Slayer scares me, they seem like they might legitimately like the devil. Also the title of this song is just all out creepy.

7. IRON MAIDEN – “Number of the Beast”Anyone singing 666 over and over again is truly metal. Given I always thought Iron Maiden had two things working against them. First there is something about Bruce Dickinson’s falsetto vocals that were never that metal to me. There are the metal guys that can sing and the metal guys that can growl, somehow the ones with God given vocal talents always seemed less metal to me. The other thing Iron Maiden has that makes them just a little less metal to me is they have a goofy looking monster named Edie as their mascot.

6. KISS – “Detroit Rock City”Is Kiss metal? Can they be considered metal ever again after “I Was Made for Loving You”? I love that song, more than “Detroit Rock City” and not quite as much as I love “Lick it Up”, but it is disco. I understand “Detroit Rock City” is about some metal kids that died on the way to a Kiss concert and it is touching, but it’s kind of like a metal version of “Candle in the Wind” / “Goodbye England’s Rose” when you get right down to it.

5. JUDAS PRIEST – “You Got Another Thing Coming”If it were me, I would have had “Breakin’ the Law” in the top 10, but this is a damn fine song and I do feel in my heart of hearts that Judas Priest is as metal as they come. I also love that unbeknownst to the metalers Rob Halford got the whole genera dressing in fetish clothing that looks like it came straight out of the Blue Oyster Bar in Police Academy.

4. AC/DC – “Back in Black”I do love AC/DC so. They skipped the leather and silly devil antics (ok Angus does wear a funny outfit) and still manage to sound tough as hell. I find it interesting that a song without the original singer makes the top 10 (“Dirty Deeds” was #24 on the countdown). Don’t get me wrong I do prefer Brian Johnson to Bon Scott vocally, but I wonder if any die hard fans were miffed about it. Remember when they did the soundtrack to that Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive? That was awesome.

3. METALLICA – “Master of Puppets”Not my very favorite Metallica song of all time, but it is damn metal. I think maybe I am biased against the song because once when camping out in a mall parking lot to get tickets for the Guns and Roses – Metallica – Faith No More show at Dallas Cowboy stadium the metal heads next to us pumped this song out of their car over and over and over and over. It’s like “dude, the band has other songs I swear”. No denying the guys are kings of metal. I am glad I skipped the night that my husband watched “Some Kind of Monster” because I think watching them all go through therapy might have made them a little less metal for me. There’s no crying in Heavy Metal.


2. GUNS AND ROSES – “Welcome to the Jungle”Truly and awesome song. Oh how I loved GnR and played this CD over and over. I even drew a picture of Axel Rose in art class that won some stupid contest and got to hang in an administrative building. Of all their songs this might be my favorite. I did love “My Michelle” from this album and “I Used to Love Her” from Lies, but after that I started to loose interest when they got into sprawling songs like “November Rain”. Oh and this picture is Dave M, Johnny M, and myself with Slash several SXSW ago.

1.BLACK SABBATH – “Iron Man”Honestly this simple little ditty has never done a thing for me at all. It seems like the song you would learn day 1 in guitar lessons. I don’t hate the song, but do I think it is the most metal song of all time? Hell no. Growing up around Dallas there was a local record store called Bills that had a radio jingle set to the tune of this song “Bills, Bills’ Billis. Bills, Bills 21 18 Spring Valley”. Not sure what I would have chosen in place of this song maybe even “Paranoid”.


BANDS ON THE TOP METAL SONGS OF ALL TIME I HAVE SEEN IN CONCERT
Faith No More
Guns and Roses
Pantera
Skid Row
Alice in Chains
Vince Neil
White Zombie
Septultura
Metallica
Rage Against the Machine

Danger High Voltage!

Electric Six - Danger High Voltage

Yesterday was a full day of fun and excitement. Chris, Erin, Lisa, Cory, Matt and I all went tubing down the Comal River. I have not been tubing in forever and forgot how much I love it. We had some drama going over the shoots Lisa and Matt lost a pair of glasses, a hat and their towel which had a zipper pocket doubling as a wallet for their keys, credit cards, IDs and cash. By some whim of God with a million and one tan drunk bodies floating in the currents around us we found all 3 items.

After a relaxing tube ride that burned my shins we stopped in San Marcos for a Greek dinner and came back to Austin where we spent the rest of the evening lounging on the couch. Tubing takes a lot out of you plus we had been out late the night before to see Brothers and Sisters at Hole in the Wall.

One of the highlights of my night is Lisa and I stumbled upon a show on Fuse called Pants Off Dance Off where these people all strip to videos. It was really amusing. The best part was this one guy danced to a video by a band called Electric Six and the song was called “Danger Danger High Voltage”. I have been informed by my friend Jeff in London that this is an old song. To me it is brand spankin’ new and their song “Gay Bar” is also equally awesome. Here I uploaded the video so you could see it too. I heart it.

A Day in the Life of a Naughty Secretary.

Indie Quarter was sweet enough to feature me as the first person in their new series "A day in the Life of". Read about my daily routine here.

A party at my house is not complete without booty dancing.

Similar to my three sons, but different these are my three house guests. Matt, Lisa and Kate, all here from Los Angeles. Well actually Ms. Turnipseed has already gone back to LA. Lisa and Kate were producers on Stylelicious and Craft Lab with me and we just so happened to hit it off. They now work on That’s Clever so you might be crafty and know the ladies from there.

The Fourth of July shin dig went wonderfully, even the rain didn’t dampen our spirits (no pun intended). I went and bought a tent for my back porch that we all dubbed the V.I.P. tent. Kate made the most amazing “boob cake” you have ever seen. It is so PG-13 I am afraid to show you here. Looked like the top half of Pam Anderson complete with an American flag bikini. There was also 2 cute babies, home made salsa and of course the night ended in several of us dancing around my living room like complete idiots. A party at my house is not complete without booty dancing late at night.

Kate left yesterday and Tina, Lisa and I tooted around town. Today we are planning a full day of shopping, bat seeing, band watching and more. Plus it is First Thursday and Lisa’s birthday! I am going to go by and restock Parts and Labour today so if you are interested be sure and check it out!

Craft Work

My google alerts sent something to my inbox yesterday saying that Stylelicious was mentioned in the New York Times. There is a very interesting article about Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane called Craft Work by: Rob Walker. The article also talks about the amazing Faythe Levine and her Indie Craft Documentary which as mentioned the Austin Craft Mafia got filmed for at the Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn.

Anyway, enjoy the article. I know this is kind of cheating as a blog post, but I have house guests coming today and floors left to mop.

Heidi Kenney is a married mother of two, and she likes to sew and make things. The fact that these things include dolls in the shape of giant tampons is perhaps the first clue that she is not exactly a housewife in the 1950's-sitcom mold. Kenney, who is 28 and lives outside Baltimore, makes and sells a variety of stuffed, anthropomorphized objects — the tampon dolls are among her best sellers — like doughnuts, toast and toilet-paper rolls. She does this under the auspices of her one-woman brand, My Paper Crane, making her part of a wave of independent businesses selling handmade toys, clothing, soap, jewelry, housewares and other items.

Do-it-yourself products are now at the center of everything from the DIY Network on cable television to Craft magazine, due out in the fall. All of this raises the question of what D.I.Y.-ism is really all about — is it an ethic or just an aesthetic? While the phenomenon may be on the brink of producing a few craft-world celebrities — the stars of "Stylelicious" on DIY, for example — stories like Kenney's open a window on a sprawling community of small entrepreneurs and consumers, which seems to have a completely different set of goals.

Kenney says that she has always enjoyed making things, and sold some of her handmade items on consignment in one store, but didn't see the business potential until a few years ago, when she started a Web site. Her timing was good: selling online made it easier for her to reach more buyers, and it also made her one of a legion of individual creators and online stores that have sparked all kinds of crafty "sharing" and "communing," says Leah Kramer, the founder of a site called Craftster. Kramer says that this online communing helped fuel the growing number of physical-world craft fairs, from the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn to the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta, whose popularity has in turn led to the founding of permanent indie-crafter stores. Kenney is among those who have used all these channels to reach her audience and now fulfills 100 to 150 orders a month (more closer to the holidays) for her home-sewn goods.

Kramer and others figure that many craft consumers have borderline sociopolitical motives, seeking in these alternatives to mass-produced, corporate-made goods not just something unique but also a product with no murky labor or environmental-impact back story. Still, the more popular crafting becomes, the more crafters see mass goods in mainstream retailers that mimic the handmade look. This is part of the reason that Faythe Levine, who runs Paper Boat Boutique and Gallery in Milwaukee and coordinates that city's Art vs. Craft fair, has begun filming a documentary that frames the contemporary craft movement as being partly descended from the indie-driven culture of zines and punk rock. Levine views the story of D.I.Y. crafting as one of building an alternative to mainstream consumption — not as a lifestyle trend. She also points out that this is an "art movement" that is dominated by female artist-entrepreneurs. "We're talking thousands of women," she says. "It's really impressive, and powerful."

This brings up the last striking point about the grass-roots version of D.I.Y.-ism. In the recent book "The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton," Kathryn Hughes, a scholar at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of a transitional cultural moment: in the industrializing England of the mid-19th century, manufactured products were replacing "the handmade world," and "new codes of gentility" suggested that "middle-class women should not engage in productive labor" but should devote themselves to being household managers — and, of course, consumers. As Hughes notes, many contemporary discussions of the supposed "new domesticity" trend exemplified by, say, Nigella Lawson, seem to imply that many career women secretly yearn for an idealized homemaker role. But that hardly describes Kenney, whose success with My Paper Crane allowed her to quit a cubicle job answering phones at an insurance company and spend more time being a working mom on her own terms. Her experience shows how the D.I.Y. craft movement offers a new way to resolve an old tension between traditional domestic skills and participation in the (economic and creative) marketplace: by combining them.

Gotcha, getcha getcha gotcha.

This morning I am just down right irritated that you can not download the theme song from the 80’s movie “Gotcha” on ITUNES. You know with Anthony Edwards when he had tons of hair and Linda Fiorentino where they get all involved in Paint Ball and espionage. The theme song by Thereza Bazar is kind of catchy and now I have it stuck in my head. This is going to turn into the same thing as when I went crazy wanting the “Popeye” soundtrack and Chris finally bought it on vinyl for me off of EBAY. We often sing “Everything is Food, Food, Food” or “Cuz He’s Large” around here. Anyway, after watching the tail end of Gotcha this morning now I am dying to hear that catchy theme song again. Oh well. The other song in the movie (barely audible when he first returns to his apartment from Europe and is unpacking his back pack) is a song by Nik Kershaw called "Wouldn't It be Good". I swear this song also plays at some point in Pretty in Pink. Again not on ITUNES. Oh the frustration.