miss koco and the iladelph

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Upcycle Workshops @ Mew Gallery

I'm looking forward to the crafty workshops at Mew this month. May is focused on upcycling, and if these go well I hope to do some basic knitting and crochet workshops in June. I'm busy making kits that every person attending the workshop will go home with. There are still spaces available. See below for details.

Tuesday Night *Upcycle* Workshop Series

Workshop #1 Paper
May 12th from 6pm to 8pm
(get $5 off if you register for this one by Wed. May 6th)

Overwhelmed by Junkmail? Learn how to turn it into one of a kind journals and stationary! Upcycle all that extra paper in your life and learn how to create super easy journals, envelopes, magnets and stickers from maps, menus, and magazines.

Workshop #2 From Jeans to Jewelry
May 26th from 6pm to 8pm

It seems like everyone has a few pairs of jeans that just don’t fit right… or they have the whole sandblasted butt, low-rise thing you can’t rock anymore…or they’re just so worn they’re un-wearable… What can you do with them? Make them into jewelry! Miss Koco will show you how to give your old denim new life.

$30 per workshop
*includes all materials and light refreshments

Space is limited. Pre-registration is required no later than the
Friday before each class: 215-625-2424 or mewgallery@yahoo.com
Mew Gallery is located at 906 Christian Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

i'm workin on it...

"Nothing will work unless you do." - Maya Angelou

I know, I know!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Think Green

I'm showing Fresh Kills: One Man's Trash... in a show at the Plastic Club.

"THINK GREEN"
AN EXHIBITION ABOUT ECOLOGY
Opening Reception
Sunday, April 5th
2 - 5 PM

The Plastic Club
247 South Camac Street
Philadelphia, Pa 19107

View Larger Map

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

i'm new

Kutiman you are sooo clever. Thruyou is a collection of youtube remixes. I want more, I want to see live versions. I want a cd, a dvd even. Kutiman, make it happen.
I'm in love with I'm New. A jazzy space music sound mixed with occasional sultry female vocals gets me every time. The little drag queen in me that adores gay house anthems, wants to sit in front of a mirror and lip sync to Just a Lady all day in clear heels, big fake eyelashes, and way too much makeup.

And just look at how adorable he is:

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Philly Makes!

I've started to contribute to a new blog called Philly Makes! Check it out for my weekly project updates and tutorials.

Philly Makes! is a group blog for artists, crafters, designers, and makers of all sorts who live in Philadelphia. Participants commit to create and post one thing per week. A "thing" can be just about anything you might make- a piece of art, a scarf, a bicycle, a website, your dinner, whatever! It can even be a work in progress that you'd like to share and get feedback on!

Want to join? Send an email to Jen with a brief description of what you make and your web URL if you have one!

Friday, February 27, 2009

proud to be...

I loved the beaches in Thailand where I let the sun kiss my skin. I took a long long long train ride from Beijing to St. Petersburg and played in Mongolia. I found Japan to be one of the most delicious places on earth. However, dulce de leche ice cream is best in Argentina. Most of my dreams take place on Buck's Rock Road in New Milford, CT. NYC was my first true love. But... Philly, is where I'm from.

No matter how far I go, I always end up coming back, at least to visit. There is a wonderful community of creative people that keeps me here these days. The designers and artists around me keep me grounded and sane, inspired and excited to create new things. Through March 2nd, in honor of PA Pride, Handmade in PA organized a collection of sales and specials in HiP members' etsy shops.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Mew Gallery Annual Pay-the-Rent Event

If you didn't already know, I love Mew. They do so much to continue to help create community among local artists. They host fantastic events, they are open to having meetings for local collectives of artists and designers, they carry the work of people who live in the area, they make cool stuff... they're awesome! Mew has become like a second home to me. I love hanging out there. I donated the Benjamin Bangle for the fundraiser. I know it's a school night, but I hope lots of people come to support them, come to dance with me, and come to buy me lots of drinks.

All proceeds go toward keeping this place open and running. Please, help support local arts and join us for the fun!!

March 3, 2009 from 6 to 10 pm
at the South Philly Tap Room
1509 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia

Beer specials, silent auction, raffle, djs, dancing, and general merriment.

$5 suggested donation

Win fabulous stuff (photography, paintings, prints, jewelry, clothing, zines, candles, ceramics, and sooooo much more!!!) from participating artists:

Alina tees & zines, Anna Burke photography, Beck’s Buttons jewelry, Bell Buoy Press, Boto Designs, Faceplant Wasted, Flying Fox, Gray Nation, Isaac Bushkin, J.L. Schnabel, Jessica Liddel, Joy Stember, KnitKnit, Lana Heckendorn, Lauren Lopez, Leslie Albend, Megan Dorien, Mike Geno, Miss Koco, Nicole Rae Styer, Rebelle Couture, Sarah Myers, Shannon McLaughlin, Sideways E, Tiny Airplanes, Tranquility jewelry, Un De Six clothing, WabiSabi, Warren Veith, and COUNTING!!!

seriously. so much good stuff.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

the benjamin bangle

A curious case of a button stash gone wild.

The buttons were sewn to a felted merino band (still using pieces of that shrunken sweater!). Many of these buttons were sent to me from chickitout as a PIF (pay it forward). I will be donating this piece to Mew Gallery for their upcoming annual fundraiser at the South Philly Tap Room on March 3rd from 6 to 10pm. There will be beer specials, DJs, dancing (there should always be dancing), a silent auction and a raffle on art and merchandise from local artists and designers. $5 suggested door donation.

Friday, February 20, 2009

knithacker

I'm obsessed with flickr groups lately. I came across a group called knithacker that is dedicated to knitting projects that are a bit whacked out, have a certain flare, or are a combination of a couple of patterns combined together to make, as they said, "something gloriously unique and knitty-licious."

They also have a website--and they picked one of my projects from the photo pool that they featured. How fab! This knithack was part of my project Pieces of Koco. I wonder where it is now and how it's doing.

in the news

Channel 6 aired the story today to promote the craft swap tomorrow at Mew with the Sewing Collective. They presented it as a way to save money whereas the focus in the interviews was on community and creativity.

It's always strange to watch yourself. I was there, next to Amber, of PheaJean, for a few seconds giving my "I'm soooo interested" look. Hilarious. You can check out the video here.

I have to put together a bag of things to take to the swap that I can part with. This may end up being a difficult task. My yarn stash is out of control, so I'll probably bring some of that in hopes of trading it for some red buttons or cool fabric.