bittersweet genevieve does it again...

genevieve has done it again...this time with lots of hoodies and tops that zip up and are silkscreened as well as embellished. Reconstructions galore! Check out these beauties at www.bittersweetgenevieve.com

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Anti-Factory RESTOCK: Prairie Land!

Whew! Here's another batch of goods in the store...Inspired by visions of fall-hued Little House on the Prairie episodes (not to mention a vintage Gunne Sax calico skirt I scored the other day), this round of items has a variety of patterns and textures. A little bit of this, a little bit of that!

I've also added a "kudos" page where you can see some happy anti-factory customers in their duds, plus some shout-outs and comments in general. thanks, everyone!

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just little note...

...that i'm getting together new Anti-Factory items to post in the store--probably by tomorrow (saturday)...maybe if i'm lucky, later tonite (friday). hang tight!
xoxox
-s

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forthcoming...

hi ladies and germs,
i've needed a short break...haven't posted new items to the store in about a week or so, but have been busily sewing at the studio. I have about 15 new things that i hope to get up by the weekend, so sit tight! in the meantime, here's a pic of my strange new "Bauhaus textile" made on my knitting machine. It's sort of an homage to teenage music posters, as well as the German 1930's art movement, only incredibly "handmade". It's weird, but I like it...it was originally going to be art, but maybe it's better as a bedspread, ha ha :) it's about 7 feet wide and super cozy!


and i love watching tv and using the knitting machine!
<

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shopping overload

Dude, shopping is hard! Yep, that may sound like an oxymoron (shopping, hard?). But the truth is that I am sitting here exhausted on a Friday night after spending a good part of the day driving up and down the San Francisco Bay Area going thrifting for new Anti-Factory fabrics--whew! No, really, it was tiring!

I will let you in on a little secret: San Francisco (the City proper) is totally picked-through in terms of good vintage threads. The trick is to go outside of the city to the other outlying towns to find the catches! I drive out pretty much as far down to Redwood City (35 minutes, highway) and then work my way to about a good half dozen different thrift stores on the way back up to SF. There are so many rich suburbs where *amazing* deadstock vintage items get thrown out (alas, it's also probably because some poor old lady has passed on and her vintage collection gets donated to Goodwill--ack!). PS--always skip the Salvation Army. It's a total waste and everything is usually really dirty (at least the ones around here). I'm not sure what kind of people actually buy things from them or how they stay in business.

Anyhoo, my muscles are achin' from all the clothing racks I've pushed against. Oh, the sound of plastic clickety-clack hangers bouncing against each other, bad 80s music rockin' out in the background, and the fluorescent lights strobing up above...This Friday night is totally toast because of a full day of this. But I have three GIANT bags of stuff to work with now--huzzah! Looks like my weekend will be busy...

;)

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nouveau musique

So, I'll be making some mixed CD's for Katherine G's CD swap and I've been thinking of what the hey I'm going to put on them! I've been totally surprised at how all-consuming this has been in my head--the types of mixes, the "flavor" of stuff, not to mention trying to decide on a "theme" (makin' art mix, hot new tunes mix, eccentric all-over-the-place mix, tunes from SF mix, etc.).

Which leads me to wonder: what's on your constant rotation? Here's mine:

albums:
"Misery is a Butterfly" Blonde Redhead
"Get Behind Me Satan" The White Stripes
"Late Registration" Kanye West
"Heart and Soul" Joy Division ultimate compilation

singles:
"Deceptacon" and "Eau de Bedroom Dancing" Le Tigre
(unknown title) song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Shoot me any recommendations--I need to hear new music!

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RESTOCK: Gothic Gardens!

Whew! Next batch is up in the store--I feel like I've been working like a machine lately...sew sew sew sew sew...lots of whirring noises in the background, fer sure!

Some notes: there will be only a total of 6 tops made with the "Gothic Gardens" pattern (I did the space count and realized I have enough fabric for only that many). Three of them are up now, with more forthcoming in the near future. The last of my "Florette" tops are up, too (goodbye, lovely pattern)...

Today I spent some time working on a new belted top design with bell sleeves and cowl necklines--really nice and looking forward to having some of them up in the next round! In the meantime, enjoy what's up!

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...another furtive post

ps--just posted another Florette top in the store...sneak attack!

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upcoming: gothic gardens!

Ha! Patterns will be back with a vengeance...Here's a sneak peek at some of the new items that feature this *amazing* pattern which reminds me of a stylized gothic garden design. I scored several yards of uncut vintage jersey from the 60s (or 70s?) in this amazing print and will be making tops out of it. There's very little of it, so you can be assured that when these go up for sale they will be in small production! It's a really unique-looking print and a real eye-popper. Plus, I'll be selling the last of my "Florette" print tops (I got that particular fabric from a single giant vintage 70s shirt and it's finally been cut up into as many pieces as possible!). I'll be trying to post a new batch in the next few days, so check back or sign up for my mailing list...



Bonus for me: I bought about 20 yards of the grey speckle jersey fabric yesterday (I've been buying only small pieces of it, but found a motherlode of it--wow!). I get almost all my jersey fabrics from a place called SCRAP (Scroungers Center for Reusable Art Parts) which is a local nonprofit that takes donations from clothing manufacturers and resells uncut, unused, and unwanted fabric. Most of it are factory remnants or "rejected" dye lots (dyed fabric that doesn't exactly match a particular line of clothing). Hence, I get my greedy little hands on it, the fabric is technically "brand new" and would have otherwise wound up in the dumpster, and SCRAP gives all the $$ proceeds to San Francisco public schools. Win-win for all! I'm *super* anal about using recycled materials and buying from nonprofits, and SCRAP fits in with my groove...No more new crap! Think SCRAP!

BUT! because what I get are "scraps" (literally) it means that most of the time I can only make small amounts using a particular fabric, so when a pattern like this "gothic gardens" comes around, it won't last for long ;)

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mini couture

Rummaging around on Supernaturale (which I like to do, since it seems like I always miss something in their archives everytime I visit), i came across a posting of Mini Couture by Tsia. Thinking it seemed like a bit of a *slightly* pathetic effort, I clicked onto the "see the site" link right under the basic descriptive text and wound up cracking up when seeing the other "mini couture" on display. I think it's the text describing the clothes that makes the difference! ("mint condition" ha ha!!!!) It's also a sweet reminder that the limitations of wanting what we can't have sometimes doesn't stand in the way when you decide to just "do it yourself" :)

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more happy happy

Katherine G just sent in this cute pic of her in one of the "Botanica Patterna" tops she bought from me just last week (fast, huh?). In front of that red bike she looks like a little French schoolgirl about to go to market :) sweeeeet!

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iranian felt rugmaking (Peace Industry)

The other day when Kurt and I were wandering around Hayes Valley looking for new shoes for him, we stumbled across a little store, Peace Industry, off a side street and selling handmade Iranian felt rugs in both modern and traditional designs--they were quite stunning...

What impressed me so much was that the husband and wife owners, Dodd and Melina Raissnia were trying almost single-handedly to save a dying art. It turns out that felted rugs are becoming a rarity in Iran, as the demand for the traditional form is waning and few people are left who know how to make them. Melina commissioned rugmakers to create new ones with her modern and geometric designs, and the combination of the "old" form with new imagery is a beautiful melding of contemporary and traditional. These "fine-art felt rugs" are each handmade by several craftspeople over the course of about a week for the large types.

I was super impressed by the Raissnia's endeavor and really hope it makes a difference in supporting the rugmakers and giving them a chance to sell their wares and survive as craftspeople. If we had the $$$ to plunk down for a new rug, we would. I can imagine that the price is justified by the hours of labor invested into each one.

Above and below are images of the "modern" versions, plus a photo of how they are made...In person the colors and textures are amazing and they are such a thing of beauty!

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happy people

Two pics sent to me by peeps wearing Anti-Factory!


Valerie of Dear Birthday sporting an "Acorn" style top with a multitude of other fabulous duds


Kat in lovely Tokyo (ah, how I wish I were there!), modeling her blue wool cropped bolero

thanks guys! cheers from sunny San Francisco :) no, really, it's been sunny...

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"Past Lives" exhibition opening Saturday!

In my personal quest to tire myself out and run myself ragged, I have finished installing work in another group art exhibition...It'll be a great show! I know pretty much all of the artists in it and can vouch for their utter coolness (below will be my own little musings on each artist, ha ha!)...Rebecca, the curator and space owner, is the best--she puts these shows on out of love. Records will be spun, and a good time will be had by all :)

Past Lives and Personal Exorcisms at Blackbird Space
Oct. 15 to Nov. 15
Opening reception: Saturday October 15 6-9pm
2642 Third Street, San Francisco CA 94107

Curated By Rebecca Miller

Participating Artists:
Ulrika Andersson (crazy swedish girl with lotsa style)
Cliff Hengst (SF fixture and known for his out-there performances, biting sense of humor and gently disturbing watercolors)
Scott Hewicker (lover of black cats, painter of landscapes-gone-wrong, fellow Stanford grad, and Jack Hanley Gallery/Deitch Projects NYC artist)
Xylor Jane (witchy-poo psychedelia-meets-minimalist linemaking)
Bob Linder (bad boy video and performance artist. founder: independent school of art)
Brendan Lott (meticulously conceptual and rigorously hard-line videos and objects)
Cheryl Meeker (obsessed with foodstuffs and their innate aesthetic qualities, as well as co-founder of the local online art-crit rag stretcher.org)
Jill Miller (?)
Dr. Foxglove (?)
Marina Shterenberg (?)
Stephanie Syjuco (I hear this girl makes clothes as well as art. hmmmmmmm.)
Margaret Tedesco (something about whipped cream writing on the walls, plus a video)

From the press release:
Blackbirdspace is fortunate to announce a group show of 12 talented Bay Area artists elaborating on the ideas of Past Lives and Personal Exorcisms. This group of artists is known for enriching the San Francisco art scene extensively as well as exhibiting internationally. Through mediums of painting, sculpture, drawing, and performance, the artists muse on the idea of past lives within this lifetime. The work ranges from product photography of long shelf life cookies, when taken out of context alludes to ruins or premonitions of destruction, unearthed high school graduation portraits, a meticulously alphabetically ordered King James bible, and visionary paintings.

Live performance will shed light on individual personal exorcisms at the opening giving the viewer a window on the ritual practice of art and how it can be employed to exorcise deeply embedded ideas and feelings. The work in this show humorously reveals free associations in conjunction to the theme, encouraging a personal narrative experience for the viewer.

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buy at cut+paste!

Hey everyone! Cut+Paste is back up online with new fall DIY goods, and you can shop for some Anti-Factory tops there, too :) Check it out...if you feel you missed out on this last batch, you have a second chance!

Lazy and impatient? You can go directly here to see what Cut+Paste has of my inventory. ciao!

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is my color crazy????

quick question for anyone out there...does the color in my website look totally crazy and oversaturated???? My images look fine on my screen, but then on my boyfriend's computer it's all really dark and oversaturated, especially the skin tones. it's awful! so now i don't know if it's my problem or what!

help! shoot me an email at ssyjuco(at)hotmail(dot)com or reply to this post...thanks!

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RESTOCK: Botanica Patterna

Hi again, I just restocked the store "for real"! I had a lot of fun with the mixing of patterns and textures--some of the items are made up of five different types of fabric and meld together lambswool, angora, cottons, stretchy nylons, lace, etc. (WHEW).



The funny thing is that it starts to get really hard making up names for the garments, and especially making up the title of the overall batch. Like, "Botanica Patterna" is my made-up term for things that look botanically patterned in some kind of Latin language. Yep, that's the extent of my language creativity right now, but it beats naming things by numbers!

I also threw in a couple of "modelled" shots showing me in some of the clothes--I think it sort of helps in some cases figure out how it'll fit...I wish I could do them for all of 'em, but it's just one more thing to sit in front of a computer finicking over. Thanks to b-friend Kurt for being my fashion shoot coordinator :) love yas, babe!

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furtive postings #1

==> psssst! i just posted a few new items furtively in the anti-factory store...will be putting more up sometime between now and tomorrow, and then doing an email announcement later. so if for some reason you're spending your saturday night at home (like me, geez!), come and get some sneak peeks :)

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who's in control now?

So we all know that the world is being run by giant corporations--but did you ever want to visualize these interconnections? Here to bring us the lowdown is They Rule. Made by my friend Amy Balkin's husband, Josh On, it allows the viewer to see the myriad ways in which corporate power is both consolidated and overarching. Warning: beware looking at it right before bedtime--it's enough to give you nightmares or run out of your house screaming!

The They Rule links area and Josh's little blog attached to it are a supergreat resource for issues relating to art and political activism, too...

Amy's also done a great project: thisisthepublicdomain.com, documenting her attempt at creating a "permanent international commons"--akin to the British idea of the "commons" (public space) that is slowly being eroded away be private property laws. It's also in line with the idea of the "creative commons"--an anti-copyright movement in which makers/writers register their works as being available for use or modification, similar to how the UNIX programming language is available for all.

All this writing on controlling powers is making me think of the striking French workers right now, where up to 30% of public workers have walked out, and it's amazing how the French have such a strong cultural understanding of worker's rights. They strike incredibly often and it's sort of a given that they may turn violent and aggressive. As opposed to the US where we don't have such a culture of labor dissent ingrained in our idea of what's possible. Our forms of picketing and strikes are childs play compared to how the French wind up totally shutting things down every so often!

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special delivery!

...just sent out a batch of new items to Cut+Paste and Sodafine boutique in Brooklyn--if you're in the area, check 'em out! just a small selection is shown below...lots of other good 'uns, too.

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bestest thing!

Last week I got my shirt from Valerie of Dear Birthday and it is such a thing of beauty! This lady will put any handma(i)de(n) to shame--the details are truly amazing. Yes, I've harped on this before, but I will harp again. The attention to detail--wow! I'm sharing a photo of me in it...sort of blurry and taken in a mirror, so my apologies, but can you behold it's loveliness???? oops, forgot to smile :)

ps--necklace courtesy of Pashupatina, too!

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more pashupatina

Natalie of Pashupatina has posted new necklaces to her website. My favoritest is already sold out (sob!) or else it would already be in my greedy little hands. I *love* her work!

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i heart Kanye West!

Yes, it's official. I'm smitten with Kanye West, almost in love. And it's not just because he told off George Bush on live television ("George Bush doesn't care about black people," remember?). Not just because he can wear hot pink on stage and really rock it. And not just because his song "Golddigger" is the BEST and really gets my bootie shakin'. Oh, and not because he has a song called "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" on his latest album "Late Registration." And not because he sings about government involvement with the crack epidemic, lack of health care, and poverty. Hey wait, what am I thinking? YES, this is why I'm in love with him!

Thank god for conscious hip-hop again. After the early 90s wave of Arrested Development, De La Soul, and even Lauryn Hill, I was beginning to wonder if all of hip-hop was going down the bling bling tubes! Thank you, Kanye. May you sell millions more albums...


Heh, and if that's not enough, there's an amazing remix of "Golddigger" using new lyrics using Kanye's censored George Bush utterance that is sooooo kicking it. I've been holed up not feeling well today at home, and this just so made my day. Thanks to boing boing blog for pointing me the way.

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an artlife of love

2 new friends I have met are Helena Keefe and Joseph delPesco, a couple I was introduced to separately in different circumstances, but at pretty much around the same time (convergences! wow!). Not only are they great and wonderful artists, but they are active participants in servicing the arts community with their time and projects. Joseph is a curator/artist at UCDavis and Helena used to work at Southern Exposure (a cutting-edge alternative artspace here in SF), and is part of the Independent School of Art.

Helena's "Tablecloth for Lovers" (above) sums up their artistc pairing nicely. Apart from sometimes making discrete objects, both tamper around in the realm of "relational aesthetics"--an art practice made of social situations and even ephemeral community activations in an attempt to go against the traditional gallery model of art production and consumption.

I gave Joseph a ride from UCDavis the other night from the opening of my "Paper Pushers" show and he started telling me about all these projects he's working on.

I like their work. I hope you do, too.

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swap-o-rama & skaen

This sounds like such a cool idea: invite people to come by with large bags of used/unwanted clothing, a donation of $5, and give them access and instructions on how to "re-make" and reconstruct their items into DIY clothing...if you're in NYC, then you're in luck! thanks to Supernaturale for adding a link to the October NYC Swap-O-Rama info...I can't vouch for it personally, but if I were in town, I would go. They are grooving my ethos, on the right do-it-yourself anti-label activist track! (If you rummage around the website, you can find info on a workshop that will be about metallicizing your pockets to hide items from RFID electronic scanners and avoid being tracked when you don't want to)

A few years ago when I was living in a warehouse, we hosted a similar deal (minus the modification situation) where we invited friends to bring bags of unwanted clothing. It turned into the most amazing pile of goods with ladies slogging through and finding treasures out of others' trash. It was crazy good!


I ran into my friend Sachi (Santiago) at American Rag yesterday and I learned that not only is he a graphic designer but he has his own fashion line, too--Skaen (image above). Skip Urban Outfitters and their wanna-be DIY aesthetics and check out some great silkscreened tops and sweatshirts for guys and gals. The Skaen website is a thing of beauty, too. By the way, Kurt and I were at the store looking for shoes, not clothes. It always depresses me to go to a high-end boutique/vintage store where things are way overpriced and there are "modified" clothes being churned out for exorbitant amounts of $$. More on this later...I have a HUGE rant against Urban Outfitters along the same lines... ;(

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