space savers abound!

I've been meaning to post this because I thought it was too funny to pass up - It has nothing to do with our work, except maybe indirectly, as it's something we absolutely enjoy talking about and making fun of.

Our alderman, Gene Schulter, has an eblast that goes out every week, more often if there's a storm/funky weather, etc. Mostly about going's on in the hood - And I full of glee when I saw the term 'space saver' being used in his email - I like it way better than 'street furniture', and it conveys the purpose of these installations perfectly! They have been really noticeable as of late, though - It seems like there are at least 3 on every block.

So, we're going to take pictures of the more creative space savers we've seen before they get dragged away by the city :) It is such an odd practice - Part of me can kinda understand why you'd want to save the space, all of the shoveling, you have this perfect, clean spot for your vehicle - But another part of me is like - "what the hell happened to being a good neighbor and just giving up the damn space when ya leave?" It's kinda like holding the door open for the person in front or behind you - You don't let it slam in their face. Simple manners and little bits of courtesy! [eor]

n.

recently read: apartment therapy: chicago 1.4.09

We came across this Apartment Therapy entry for today, in and out predictions for 2009, and though we had our chuckles, some of the reader comments were far more interesting and disturbing - Especially the China bashing. I think people forget that we pretty much invited and embraced lower priced goods, not just from China.

I have this fear that all these people who've developed a conscious are going to run to things like 10,000 Villages, Cost Plus, or the newest Ebay project, World of Good, rather than seeking out their local artisan, supplier, etc.

Read the post, then read the comments!

-Nancy

Oh, happy new year!

Today I've decided to do a huge Flickr image dump - Very cathartic.

We document all of our mis-firings, our new projects, our wholesale orders, odd/special orders, selling events - And it feels great to look at them now and think of all the events that took place prior, during and after, and learn from our experiences - Now in hindsight, not in the heat of the moment, especially for any of the not so happy accidents - And these images provide, at least for us, a great visual diary with our memories serving as silent narrator :)

So that's what I'm doing today - I hope you're doing something that makes this second day into 2009 a good start for you!

-n.