We’re hosting a Make Something Ugly space at the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver!

These will be mini versions of our longer workshops – all the crafts fun, not so much the deeper thinking. We’ll be making wee ugly creatures that may (or may not at all) make for great stocking stuffers. A perfect break from your handmade holiday shopping! No crafts experience necessary

The workshops are free with admission to the show. Since space is limited, registration is required. Sign up today! And bring some friends. All the sessions are listed on our Upcoming Events page.

I had a blast making a creature, photographing it, and writing up the decisions I made for a tutorial post over on the CRAFT blog. If you’ve been a little intimidated about making an ugly creature, maybe this step-by-step will help you out!

So try it out! We’re now taking registrations for our Saturday, October 8th workshop at Plush on Main in Vancouver. I know, fall seems far away. But just think how psyched you’ll be in two months to have a good weekend activity already set up for yourself.

To celebrate this shiny convenience, we set our schmancy online shop to give you a $5 discount when you buy two registrations. So bring a friend! Bring a date!

(And if you hit a snag during registration, please let me know. It’s a new system, after all, and I’ll appreciate your help working out any bugs!)

Come say hello, and get your ugly on!

Here I am with Shoshana and another ugly doll at CBC Vancouver, after doing a wee interview for The Early Edition about the event:

Go, Portland, go!

Bobbie put out a call last week for DIY (do-it-yourself) projects involving upcycling – using materials that might otherwise be thrown out, and using them in new and interesting ways.

Here’s the email I sent her and her producers, which will also sum up the project for you:

Hi Bobbie and The Today Show,

A couple of months ago I started a project that’s a lovely compliment to upcycling old stuff into new stuff. It’s called Mighty Ugly, and the gist is that you take a couple of hours and some supplies that would otherwise end up in the trash, and you make a totally hideous creature. Why? Because we put so much pressure on ourselves to create beautiful (cute, pretty, attractive) things, and that pressure can be totally paralyzing.

By using scraps, we remove any inclination we may have to consider our materials precious. By making something ugly, we challenge our general crafty mindset but also set ourselves free – which is especially awesome for people who don’t consider themselves crafty in the first place.

There’s no pattern, and you can use any materials you want. Just make an ugly creature. It’s pretty amazing that almost everyone who’s taken one of my workshops ends up saying they’ll keep their ugly creature. The people who come in saying they’re intimidated by making stuff leave with a spring in their step, and the crafty people overcome feeling threatened and end up feeling inspired.

You can see some examples and hear some stories from crafty people at http://mightyugly.com. Attached is a photo of Shoshana, the mascot of the project.

Thanks for your consideration!

Cheers,
Kim

Take a look around the site, and set aside a couple of hours to make something ugly. Then take some photos and drop us a line and tell us about your experience. We bet a hundred ugly crocheted scarves you’ll enjoy yourself, or at the very least you’ll think about crafting from a new perspective.

Keep up with people’s stories and our musings by subscribing to this blog, or by following us on Twitter and/or Facebook.

If you live in the Vancouver, BC, area, we’ll be starting up with workshops again in September.

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

This is so what I’m talking about, people. The trailer gave me chills, after all I’ve been thinking about after the Summit of Awesome (more on that soon!), and about where I see this project going (to great heights, that’s for sure!). I’m going to see this as soon as I can. Have you seen it?

Here’s what they say on their Facebook page:

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990′s a loose-knit group of like-minded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the “establishment” art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture.

And dude, the Summit really was awesome. All of it. Every part of it. Y’all should go pay some love to the people at Hello Craft, who put on the conference. They’re amazing.

I have so much to write about my trip that I’ve decided just to keep it thematic. Mighty Ugly stuff here, the other stuff on my blog. Sorry to make you go to both places, but it was too daunting to do all in one piece!

Ok, so. Shoshana met some famous crafters.

1. Kelly Rand from Hello Craft; 2. Heather Mann from Craft Fail, Dollar Store Crafts and Croq Zine; 3. Ok, no famous person here, but check out Shoshana and her swag; 4. Diane Gilleland from Craftypod; 5. Susan Beal, author, blogger, and jewelry-maker extraordinaire; 6. Kari Chapin, author of The Handmade Marketplace

Participants in the workshop session really seemed to enjoy themselves. I can’t wait to process the videos. When I do I’ll blog about them here, so for now, take a look at some pics from the session (clicking the link in the caption will take you to that full photo on Flickr).

1. Lee Makin’ Mighty Ugly, 2. Vanessa’s creature wasn’t looking very ugly…, 3. Kelly Draws a Face, 4. Kelly’s Creature, 5. Monica’s Creature, 6. Miranda’s Creature, 7. My Ugly Creature, 8. Mighty Ugly Workshop: Class Photo, 9. Mighty Ugly Creatures from the Summit of Awesome

On Friday, I gave a talk titled Taking the Pressure Off: When Ugly Is Mighty. Lemme tell ya, so many things fell into place for me during the session. So a huge thank-you to all the participants who journeyed with me through that. I loved talking with you all about how we hold ourselves back and how we might benefit from some ugly in pushing ourselves forward. I hope you’ll keep me posted on any adventures you embark upon! And stay tuned here for some fleshing-out of ideas. I have lots to write about.

The post I write on my blog is going to be longer and more rambly. Head on over there for more on the Summit of Awesome. And say hello if we met there! I miss you already.