It's a little specific to Boston but here we go:
1. The MBTA ticket machine.
There are 2 types: the card only machine, and the one that accepts cash as well. If you don't commute often -- meaning you usually add money to your Charlie card -- this might be a good way of getting rid of pocket change. The machine will accept up to 20 coins at a time. For me, it's perfect for emptying my wallet when it starts to weigh on me. I mainly use it for nickels and dimes since my quarters go to laundry.
2. TD North Bank
Now that they are opening branches all over Boston, this has become feasible. If you sign up for an account with them, you can use their Coinstar-like machine. It sits in their lobby, and looks and works like a Coinstar machine, except the money goes into your bank account. And you don't lose a cent.
Let me know if you have other ways of avoiding Coinstar.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Independent Designer's Market
It was back in the summer that I first came across a poster for the Boston Independent Designer's Market. I was really excited and could hardly wait for September to come.
I got interested in fashion and making clothes last year around March, when I first saw Paradise Kiss. It was then I realized that fashion was something to seriously think about. Making clothes is not that easy, and textile production was a part of the First Industrial Revolution that changed everyone's lives. Before that, 90% of a woman's day was knitting socks. But Paradise Kiss was not the reason I started making clothes.
The prelude to Paradise Kiss is a lesser known manga called Gokinjo Mono Ga Tari. It's the story of Miwako's sister and how she became a designer. Mikako got her start in a flea market, and learned from scratch -- like you have to make clothes in S, M and L, not just your own size. The first thing she sold was a Happy Berry bag.
(Borrowed picture of a homemade Happy Berry Bag from some girl called redsky1978.)
Earlier this year, I attended Anime Boston, and I was awed by the little tables of people selling handmade jewelery, hats and scarves etc. Cosplayers are probably a big part of the sewing community these days. Replicating elaborate costumes from anime is no joke. With the weekly Independent Designer Market, I would have a chance to experience the vibrancy every weekend.
Not really. I was probably one of ten people who showed up to the IDM that day. It was housed in the lobby of some school, located in the South End, which really doesn't have much traffic. There were maybe 8 - 10 vendors -- a couple of stands selling designed t-shirts, one offering tailor-made wedding dresses, and some other posh looking thing. I pretended that I walked in by mistake, and left. I was disappointed.
To be disappointed means I had expectations. I was imagining something like the Harvard Square fairs, which attracted a good number of craft people selling handmade jewelery and random clothes (like tie dyes and such). Maybe throw in a fashion student eager to kick start his/her own designer line (something like the lady offering to tailor wedding dresses).
I hope the IDM improves. I really think the location sucks. I guess the price attempts to be reasonable ($100, compared to $300 for a Harvard Square table), but there is no traffic. I'm looking forward to Anime Boston 2011 for my dose of independent anime-inspired craftsters.
I got interested in fashion and making clothes last year around March, when I first saw Paradise Kiss. It was then I realized that fashion was something to seriously think about. Making clothes is not that easy, and textile production was a part of the First Industrial Revolution that changed everyone's lives. Before that, 90% of a woman's day was knitting socks. But Paradise Kiss was not the reason I started making clothes.
The prelude to Paradise Kiss is a lesser known manga called Gokinjo Mono Ga Tari. It's the story of Miwako's sister and how she became a designer. Mikako got her start in a flea market, and learned from scratch -- like you have to make clothes in S, M and L, not just your own size. The first thing she sold was a Happy Berry bag.
(Borrowed picture of a homemade Happy Berry Bag from some girl called redsky1978.)
Earlier this year, I attended Anime Boston, and I was awed by the little tables of people selling handmade jewelery, hats and scarves etc. Cosplayers are probably a big part of the sewing community these days. Replicating elaborate costumes from anime is no joke. With the weekly Independent Designer Market, I would have a chance to experience the vibrancy every weekend.
Not really. I was probably one of ten people who showed up to the IDM that day. It was housed in the lobby of some school, located in the South End, which really doesn't have much traffic. There were maybe 8 - 10 vendors -- a couple of stands selling designed t-shirts, one offering tailor-made wedding dresses, and some other posh looking thing. I pretended that I walked in by mistake, and left. I was disappointed.
To be disappointed means I had expectations. I was imagining something like the Harvard Square fairs, which attracted a good number of craft people selling handmade jewelery and random clothes (like tie dyes and such). Maybe throw in a fashion student eager to kick start his/her own designer line (something like the lady offering to tailor wedding dresses).
I hope the IDM improves. I really think the location sucks. I guess the price attempts to be reasonable ($100, compared to $300 for a Harvard Square table), but there is no traffic. I'm looking forward to Anime Boston 2011 for my dose of independent anime-inspired craftsters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)