Spinster Farm

Big Cartel Blog: Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:14:36 -0600

Big Cartel Blog: Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013:

Here we are again, another year down and we’re already so focused on 2013 that we almost forgot to reflect on how awesome this last year was. 2012 marks 7 years for Big Cartel, and, now that we’ve scratched that itch, we can comfortably settle in for the long haul. Here’s a rundown of how the…

Big Cartel Blog: #Shopindie this holiday season

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:07:00 -0600

Big Cartel Blog: #Shopindie this holiday season:

bigcartel:

As the holidays, once again, breathe down our necks, we’re raising our banner and declaring independence from corporate chains, mass-produced products, and uninspired junk.

Support the #ShopIndie movement.

“Death of a Cyborg”, (2010) by Shorra The First Mourning,...

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:09:16 -0600

“Death of a Cyborg”, (2010) by Shorra

The First Mourning, (1888) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Photo

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:14:40 -0600

drawthisdress: Evening gown by Charles Worth, c. 1887 from The...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:33:26 -0600

drawthisdress:

Evening gown by Charles Worth, c. 1887 from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute.

wendymacnaughton: Here we go.

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:51:15 -0600

wendymacnaughton:

Here we go.

tomorrowville: After a string of living room recording sessions...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:46:33 -0500

tomorrowville:

After a string of living room recording sessions and late-night audio mixing, my new band The Diabolical Machines is proud to unveil its first track, a little DIY demo called Up To You. Give it a listen - stream for free, buy it for a buck. Easy!

Outsider Art: From Alley Tagger To Creative Entrepreneur at Streetcraft

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:40:05 -0500

Outsider Art: From Alley Tagger To Creative Entrepreneur at Streetcraft:

Each year, the program provides roughly 60 new students—ranging from 16 to 26-years-old, some products of the foster-care system, others on probation—the opportunity to learn valuable business skills. The first step is a training period with an urban arts curriculum led by two local street artists, that helps taggers rethink of themselves as artists. The students then learn business skills by working in Streetcraft LA’s brick-and-mortar 10,000 square foot store, which strictly sells work produced by Streetcraft’s artists.

The young artists are paid with commission and have their own studio space with access to full woodworking and silk-screening machines. They partner with the creative line, learn about the supply chain, and apply their creative vision to the products. The final step before graduation is “Launch”, where students access capital and create a business plan for their venture. The store then gets turned over to them to solely feature their products.

Teaching the art of hustle.

Give a Girl a Guitar

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:35:00 -0500

Give a Girl a Guitar:

So this is my suggestion. Dads (and moms, if you’re lucky enough to be among the guitar-slinging few): give your girl a guitar. Show her that it’s okay to rock. Teach her the chords to “Ana Ng” or “Still Alive” and perform it together. Instill a love of music in her while she’s young and proud and unfettered. Guitars are one of the most portable, accessible instruments in the world. She’ll make friends, get smarter, and have a gift that will last her entire life. I know it continues to enrich mine, and it will enrich my daughter’s when she’s old enough.

-Natania Barron

Cross-stitch of all 150 original Pokemon.

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:47:49 -0500

Cross-stitch of all 150 original Pokemon.

"I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just..."

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 00:14:52 -0500

“I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”

- Toni Morrison (via forestembers)

LabNet E-mail Systems: an interactive story

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:58:55 -0500

LabNet E-mail Systems: an interactive story:

I’m a new initiate to this type of interactive story, or what used to be called “hypertext stories” in ye olde nineties, but I did enjoy a good choose-your-own-adventure yarn as a kid. (Didn’t they all involve circuses and hot-air balloons, or have I only read two choose-your-own-adventure books? Maybe I’m overselling my appreciation for the genre.)

Anyway, there’s not a lot of choice or sophistication involved in this one, but the e-mail simulation is compelling. Looking forward to the next installment.

On a related note: Why the book’s future never happened [Salon]

Photos of abandoned Olympic sites around the world.

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 10:22:42 -0500

Photos of abandoned Olympic sites around the world.:

[image credit]

Kill the Blockbuster

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:20:00 -0500

Kill the Blockbuster:

viakylemeyer:

The following was written by Matt Wigham, one of the co-founders of the company I work for, Big Cartel. It was initially written for a book—which was never published—on the topic of entrepreneurship. After speaking with Matt about it, I’d love to share it with you.

Link: Kill the Blockbuster