Anti-Factory RESTOCK: The New Regime!

Whew! I'm in the process of upgrading my whole site, and instead of waiting until it's finished I'm opening the store with a new division: check out VINTAGE items alongside the handmade ones! Trust me, I come across some pretty darn amazing things in my search for vintage fabrics, and most of the time I've had to sadly put back some lovelies due to my not being able to use them in my own sewing. BUT! Now that has changed as they'll be offered up in the vintage section :)

I was an ebay seller of vintage ladies' clothes for a few years under the name "roto-pop" (2003-4, do you know me???), so it's sort of like a flashback all over again. My lovely guy Kurt is helping me manage the vintage division as there is NO way i could do all this alone.

PLEASE NOTE: VINTAGE ITEMS ARE NOT RETURNABLE! We do our best to only sell items that we ourselves would wear and think are really cool. Feel free to ask questions if you have any about an item--we're real nice! There IS a full return policy on all handmade items, however, so don't you worry your pretty heads over that :)

So! Look and browse and hopefully snag a goodie or two...Am I silly to not keep some of these??? Eegads!







On another note, I have not done the photoshop guillotine trick on my head (you know, where sellers who are modelling their wares cut off their heads). I'm trying an experiment to see if i can stand seeing my face in these shots. I think it's actually pretty embarassing, since I have goofy expressions a lot of the time (i cut *some* of those!). Kurt thinks it's fun to have faces, but I'm not necessarily sold on it. We'll see...I may go incognito after all! ;p

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more skating outfit trainwrecks!

Last week it was about the men's figure skating outfits (eegads!). Today it is all about the ladies. Yes, the ladies. But rather than repost all the images here in this ole blog, i direct your attention to the ever up-to-date Shangri Law, complete with funny commentary. It just gets crazier and crazier, these outfits. I do have to say that in general I am warming up to the new pantsuits the gals get to wear.

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yowza!

whew, the last batch sold out real quick-like! thanks to those of you who just happened to be in front of their computers when the post went up--you all have fast fingers and reflexes to match :)

i'll be putting a few more items up later this week furtively (i.e. no announcements) so check on back later. i didn't have time to quite finish up a few things but they will be done soon. and for those who have asked about more kimono sweaters and dresses, YES they will be back--it's kinda hard finding all the material for them, since they take more than usual, so that's why they've been a bit far and few between. but they'll carry through the spring season, so don't worry!

on another note, i'm putting together a new vintage division of anti-factory which will feature some really great hand-picked clothing that i couldn't bear to cut up. sometimes things are too cute on their own, and i've been realizing that all these gems that i pass up from buying because somehow they don't fit into whatever i'm sewing can actually find good homes in another way. hopefully this will come about soon, but it all depends on my extra time (yeesh! is there such a thing anymore?). i have BAGS of vintage goodies that are waiting to be "adopted" :)

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Anti-Factory RESTOCK: Kimono Style!

Yep, the new batch is here! Lots of lovely "kimono" style sweater tops that mix up patterns and textures. Drapey fronts and plunging necklines, oh my! It's still cold here in San Francisco so it's funny to be thinking towards spring with the chill in the air...Please stop by and check it all out :D

Oh, and my email announcement list has gone AWOL for a while--it seems I've maxed out my daily quota on eudora, and now i'm in the process of hiring someone to implement a mailing list function for me. So if unfortunately you don't get an email about this restock batch, I'm soooo sorry but it will be spotty until i get the real thing up and running.

xoxoxoxox to you!

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happy late valentine's day

Nope, it's not over...carrying forward the Valentine's day theme is this here little online video my lovely boyfriend, kurtie, forwarded to me. It's complete and utter inanity/insanity, featuring a cat named otto, walter benjamin, bronson pinchot from the 80s sitcom "perfect strangers", and a quick cameo by christo and jean-claude.

You cannot resist. You must watch.

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aesthetic trainwreck

I have just discovered my new favorite Winter Olympics Sport: men's figure skating! I found myself squealing with delight and yelling at the TV "Aesthetic trainwreck! Aesthetic trainwreck!" as the skaters would come out in their most gaudiest of outfits. Oh, those Russians--what a fashion statement--one wore a black sparkly outfit and a jaunty red cravate-like thing around his neck! And the Swiss guy dolled up in black and orange tiger stripes with blue sleeves...And Johnny Weir. He takes my breath away in floaty blue shades of chiffon that stream from asymmetric points of his body, along with white mesh accents. I am stunned into silence.

I had no idea I needed to pay more attention to men's figure skating, but at this point I have decided that it is my new pet hobby. Oh, and "ice dancing" (whaaaaaaat?) comes in at a close second due to the *pairs* of gaudily dressed people, but it's more boring since they all have to do the same damn routine. A bit weird, if you ask me.

Come see the paradise:








So happy is he...

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bloggedy blog blog blog!

it's so thrilling to be blogged about...cat from microrevolt calls it "re-blogging" which is great, because in essence that's what I've generally been doing myself: culling bits of internet flotsam and jetsam into this little here blog o' mine. i like the idea--it reminds me of recycling, actually.

so here's the scoop: microrevolt did a little featurette on anti-factory on it's "re-blog" (awesome!). I do so love the whole point of microrevolt and it's an honor to be shouted-out in-kind!

Shangri-Law blogged my art and my clothing (thanks, La Retrosessuale!). those ladies are such a damn hoot :) yep, that's me and Badgley Mischka and the Olsen Twins sharing blogspace. Only on the internet, I tell ya...*on a trivial note, the "Badgley" guy of Badgley Mischka is the son of the landlady of an apartment that I grew up in here in San Francisco. My mom and i had the top unit and lived above theirs. i remember being a little girl around 6 and going downstairs to visit the landlady and her 20-something son would sometimes be around. They would chat about how he was studying fashion, and I remember that i thought it was funny that a guy was studying fashion. Oh, how little did i know then...

On another note: did everyone watch yesterday's episode of Project Runway??? It was totally expected that Kara would get cut. As wonderful as she can be as a person (nice), she was sort of hit or miss about the clothing she designed. Plus, it does NOT look good when the outfit the designer wears looks better than the dress she had on the runway (like, so obviously a miss-step!). I would wear one of Kara's blue and black dresses in an instant, it looked awesome. OK, so now we are left with bighead Santino, Chloe the "i dunno if i wanna be a big fashion designer" girl, and Daniel, Mr. "I just got out of fashion school but design much better than you'd think I would". I am totally looking forward to the final showdown on the runway whenever that happens. In the meantime, let's all try to send out psychic vibes to both Daniel and Chloe to KICK IT UP A NOTCH and stop designing such BORING dresses. Yes, they're "tasteful", but boooooooo-riiiiinnnnnnnng. My boyfriend Kurt is still moaning about how it was a mistake to cut the other Daniel (the one who was on the show two seasons in a row) when they did.

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Globalization Film Festival

What happens when you are stuck at home feeling sick and thinking of thematic film festivals? Why, you come up with a list dubbed "The Globalization Film Festival" of course! Thinking about a few movies that have been circling my mind lately, here's a lineup of releases that are linked in perhaps gentle but interesting ways.

Syriana
George Clooney, you are my Hollywood sex symbol. It's not only cool that you produce and direct movies like "Good Luck and Good Night," but your new baby, Syriana, is a Middle East version of the film Traffic, interweaving stories from various perspectives: a young Pakistani laborer who is saved from poverty by a religious madrassa and swayed to become a suicide bomber; a CIA agent who has a change of heart about what the purpose of his life's work has been; the prince of a fictitious Mid-East country who is working towards democratizing his people only to be assassinated by US agents. A bit rough in terms of full character development at times, it still makes a good parable for today's situation.

The New World by Terence Malick
Malick has a thing for gentle female voiceovers and lots of extended shots of fields flowing in the wind. Witness Badlands and Days of Heaven (both of which had a really interesting subtext of labor issues and land rights, the latter of which is one of my most favorite of all-time movies). The New World fictionalizes the Pocahontas story to create a metaphor out of her--a "native" who moves between two cultures and ends up a world away. While still a bit romantic about the "natural state" of pre-colonization, it ends on a very interesting note, with "Rebecca" (Pocahontas) becoming a true hybrid of past and present, embodying the change that one cannot turn away from and forging her life no matter.

The Constant Gardener
If you can bear the over-strenuous editing and stylistic cuts that wind up being more of a distraction than a plot builder, this film is worth watching for what it attempts to do: tackle the touchy subject of global pharmaceutical empires and how Africa has fallen off the radar of the West in terms of a people's humanity. Ambitious, it disappoints from being all that it could be, but a valiant attempt and I laud the producers and director for daring to make this film when it can be so uncool to be political.

Last Life in the Universe, or "Ruang rak noi nid mahasan" (2003)
Thought I was only going to talk politics? This film is a joint Thai-Japanese production and tells a dreamlike love story of a quiet Japanese librarian living in Thailand who gets involved with a young Thai girl. Lapsing into atmospheric surreality at times, it's a beautiful film and combines languages and cultures in a thoughtful and lush way. One of my favorite recently viewed movies...

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suck on this, retail!

I was pleasantly tickled when I opened today's newspaper and saw a story in the local section about a San Francisco group of 50 teachers, engineers, executives, and other professionals who have formed "the Compact"--a vow to not buy anything new except for food, hygiene and health items, and underwear. Ergo, they find everything second-hand. One member describes her shock at weaning herself away from the retail experience and the withdrawals she went through. The only think I can think of is "hasn't she ever run amok among the thrift stores?" I personally am one of those people who regularly sublimates the shopping urge by just hopping into my local thrift store and usually scoring some awesome knick knack or another...Either way, it's great to hear others are consciously doing this as a group thing!

From the San Francisco Chronicle:
"Out of the retail rat race: Consumer group doesn't buy notion that new is better"

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link it up!

More links! More fun! That's what ya'll get when I can't post new stuff up--at least you can peruse the web while you wait :) I also think it's important to put the spotlight on others who are making and trying to make a living and a difference from it.

Still can't shake the cold/flu thing that has been making my head hurt daily, as well as just knocking the wind outta me. At least the weather has been wonderful here in cali (!) as opposed to the chilliness that I've heard the East Coast has been experiencing lately. I feel for you out there, I do...

So, without further ado:



Rose Deniz Handbags is based in Turkey and was started by an American gal who relocated and had the vision to create a small business model that would employ fairly-paid Turkish women to sew and design stylish handbags using local materials. I really love her focus on local labor and think ya'll should check it out.

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Curious Bird is a one-woman bag and accessory designer who also sells hand-picked vintage, sweet little owl-shaped pillows, and lovely little fabric shadowbox collages.

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Based in Germany, Frau Liebe is another vintage purveyor and handmaker. I love her little clutch bags, totes, and wristcuffs like the blue and white ones here...it's all in the details!

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no rest for the weary

OK, I've been totally distracted by being super sick and having to do all sorts of things like teaching moldmaking and casting instead of resting (argh!), thus haven't been as attentive to posting as regularly as I would like. This will change as I start to get better, of course!

In the meantime, keep your eye out on Frecklewonder, who seems to be posting the most adorable vintage clothing this side of the universe about every other day or so. I go visit and --bam!-- a whole new batch of goods has been sold out before I could even lay my eyes on 'em. Trust me, they are cuuuuuuute. So go now, before it's too late because you will beat yourself on the head over it.

And Valerie of dear birthday is have a SALE, letting go of winter stock to make way for the new season. More goodness and loveliness! I have a top of hers and the makewomanship is stunning.

Over and out--send me some good psychic vibes to help me feel better, ok? :D

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what the ???

dude, what is wrong with blogger??? for some reason it's not letting people post comments anymore (or just a few actually get through). that sucks! is this happening all around or is it just me? if you've tried to reply to a post of mine recently and it hasn't worked, shoot me an email at ssyjuco (at) hotmail (dot) com. i know this is a lame thing to blog about, but argh, it's lame and there's nothing written about it on the blogger website. it started since last friday...yeeeeeesh!

ADDENDUM: ok, duh. i looked more on the blogger website and it seems like they're having some kind of major issue since last friday, so i'm assuming that's what's been affecting my site. sorry for the inconvenience and i'm sure it'll all be up and running in a bit, eh? eh!

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mailing list service?

whew! i'm just now starting to come back from the land of the dead (or the land of the extreme cold, whichever you prefer to call it). needless to say the journey was not pleasant but i think i've started down the exit ramp already...

HEY, i have a business question for all you other website crafter/seller/blogger people out there...what mailing list service do you use? it has come to my attention that i have completely maxed out my mail limit when i send out my anti-factory email announcements on eudora, so i need to find some other kind of service to handle my email lists! i want to avoid the free services that tack on weird ads at the end, because personally i just think this is irritating and annoying.

any suggestions? what works for you????
much appreciated!
xoxoxoxo

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4-4-U

"4-4-U" equals "Four for you," get it? ha!

Yep, there are four items available in the store now--one of which was the "Charcoal Finch Cascade" that I had put on hold for someone but never heard back from...and two others--"Gothic Gardens" and "Prairie Girl Mix" that were purchased as Christmas gifts but didn't fit their recipients, so they were returned unworn and are ready to be relisted! The Gothic Gardens one is especially fetching, because I made so very few of these tops with the pattern before I ran outta the fabric! And both these last two are size large, for those of you who have been requsting I make a wider range of sizes :)

Ch-ch-ch-check it out!

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blogging to limbo

oof! i'm not sure what's going on, but blogger has for some reason decided not to show the comments i have received on the last post...hmmm, weird! hopefully it'll iron itself out. just wanted to let you know that it's not like i deleted your post or anything :) You guys are always so great and supportive with your comments, i really appreciate it! i'm not sure what type of limbo the comments went to...

on another note, i am sick. really yucky sick. the kind of sick that isn't productive or fun. you know, "productive sick" is when you are just sick enough to avoid doing your usual routine and it's actually kind of neat to sit around and read magazines and watch tv. unfortunately, the sick that i have is the "feel really crappy and blow your nose and sneeze all day with your head stuffy and body feeling fatigued, can't sleep at night" type. i am wracked with guilt when this type of sick happens, because it means i am "not getting anything done". i'm not sure why i feel this way when things like this happen, since everyone needs some down time, but i have an almost overbearing sense of always needing to "do" something and use my time wisely.

i guess i have to convice myself that it is extremely wise to just be sick right now, with no "goal" in mind other than to get myself better! sigh!

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RESTOCK: Dress You Up!

Ack--! I am sick and was a bit droopy this morning when I woke up to post this new batch up online...Not much is left already, check it out! It's a small bunch, but has some new patterns that i've been going on about for-evah, so now they are actually available in person. (valerie, you have snagged my #1 favorite of the bunch--i almost kept it!)

Little jackety-like things are tons of fun to make, not to mention the dress and tunic styles with little pleats at the shoulders and back...there will be more of these, so watch out! I'm gonna spend time this weekend sewing (if i feel better, that is), so perhaps early next week will be more? heh heh.

In the meantime, i am alone this weekend (kurt went to LA to see some friends) which means I get to quietly hole up with TV, tea, Netflix, sewing machines, and lots of books recently checked out from the Stanford Library ("Radical History Review," "The Socialist Register, 1968," etc.--wow!). All I can say is I better come out smarter after this weekend is over...

Hope everyone's doing well this winter--stay warm, y'hear?

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internal dialogue

Today's internal dialogue, ACT 1:
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YOU: (grimacing) Yo! What up? You gettin' lazy over there, Ms. Anti-Factory? Where's all the goods these days and why has your clothing store been, like, dead and all?

ME: (sheepishly) Uhhhhh....Yeah. I know. I feel like a jerk. Last week I said I was gonna put new stuff up...

YOU: (interrupts) Yeah. I remember. Liar.

ME: (defensive) Oh, no, no, no! I mean, well, yeah. I was getting kinda ambitious about it, but in reality I got a bit overwhelmed with other things. I wish I could do this full-time but I have other stuff...

YOU: Like?

ME: You know, things. But come on, don't be mad at me, I think about it a lot--like, how I should just put this stuff up.

YOU: So what's the story now?

ME: Well, I know I have at least thirteen new items to add. A few jackets, a dress (maybe 2), and little wrap sweaters and such. Cool stuff, don't worry! I have to take pictures of them tomorrow or maybe Friday morning, and then spend the time getting the webpages in order so I can post 'em up.

YOU: (placated) Oh, OK. So it's coming soon...

ME: (excited) Yeah! Trust me, it's been REAL hectic lately. I had a big studio visit last weekend and spent an entire day--ten hours!--setting artwork up to show. The visit lasted only an hour, and then after I spent another five hours re-boxing and packaging things up again. Lord, it was brutal, but necessary. I had what looked like a mini two-year art retrospective happening for a short while. Anyhow, i'm happy and more relaxed now, so I should be getting the ball rolling soon!

YOU: (smiling) Awright! So, lemme know when it happens, y'hear? Make sure you send out your little email announcements and stuff.

ME: Of course! (smiles) How could I forget about you?


--YOU and ME hug as the curtain falls and lights dim.

--END SCENE--

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