eat make read

Oh boy! There are two more excellent craft shows this weekend. This Saturday, December 13 head down to the Bell House in Gowanus for the Designer Holiday Trunk Show (11-5). You’ll find everyone from the Mast Brothers Chocolates (so good!) to lovely stationery from Sesame Letterpress. Of course you’ve read about the BUST craftacular which is this Sunday, December 14 at the Metropolitan Pavilian (10-7:30).

Woohoo!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of sitting down for coffee with Lisa Butterworth, associate editor of one of my favorite magazines, BUST. The main reason was to talk about the BUST Craftacular (which is this weekend!!!), but of course the conversation meandered as we discussed everything from feminism and domestic arts to our favorite places to eat in Brooklyn.

Here’s a snippet of our conversation for your reading pleasure. Don’t forget to stop by the BUST craftacular this Sunday, December 14 at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

EatMakeRead: How did you get to BUST magazine?
Lisa Butterworth: I started full time about a year and a half ago. I’ve been freelancing for a couple years, but then about two years ago when I was in living in San Francisco I worked at a boring corporate job in HR and did all my freelance writing on the side. It came to the point where my job was killing me and I had to do something. I called BUST and asked if I could intern for a few months. I took a leave of absence from my job in San Francisco and came out an interned. The timing just kind of worked out. When the internship was up, an editor was leaving and Debbie (Stoller, Editor In Chief) suggested I’d be a good editor. I was excited but at the same time I still had an apartment and job in San Francisco, so they let me freelance part time from California. I did one issue like that and they hired me after that.

EMR: Being a feminist and having a blog about the domestic arts has always been a little bit of a dilemma for me because I want to be progressive. I feel like a generation ago cooking was looked at as a chore but now I feel like my generation has reclaimed crafting and the art of making food. I think BUST has been really great at embracing that. How do you feel about crafting and women reclaiming these things?
LB: Early feminist cut cooking off completely because they’d been oppressed by it for so long.  It’s been long enough for our generation that we’ve never been oppressed by those chores and domesticity. Now we have to choice to choose it without feeling like it we’re succumbing to anyone. Now I feel like its a choice and a lot of women are actually able to connect with older generations like our grandmothers in ways that they hadn’t before.

EMR: Do you craft?
LB: I have lots of crafting plans but they don’t come to fruition as often as I like. I like writing letters and making cards and care packages, but I’m not nearly as crafty as I’d like to be.

EMR: Let’s talk about the craftacular, I’m super excited about it! How long has in been going on?
LB: This is the fourth year it’s been going on.

EMR: Has it been growing each year?
LB: Definitely. The first year I went which was three years ago, it was in Brooklyn at the Warsaw and it was super crowded. Last year we moved it to the Metropolitan Pavillion and it was still crowded in the larger venue.

EMR: This year the craftacular is going worldwide right?
LB: Yeah, this is the first year it’s going to be in London and LA.

Thanks a million Lisa!

BUST Craftacular
Sunday December 14 2008
10am-7:30pm
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street

I’m so excited for all the great holiday craft shows that are happening this month in Brooklyn. The first event, Park Slope’s Snowflake Celebration, isn’t a craft show but more a celebration of locally owned shops. Tonight and next Thursday, December 11, Brooklyn shops (mostly along 5th & 7th ave) will stay open late and offer discounts and snacks.

This Sunday is packed with three awesome craft shows. First, Lena Corwin will be selling her wares along with 8 other artists at A Special Holiday Shop (1-5) . Just a few blocks away the Brooklyn Flea teamed up with Time Out New York for Gifted (Dec 7, 17, 21 11am-6pm), a craft show featuring 40 vendors selling everything from vintage goods to homemade food. Finally, Brooklyn Based and Third Ward present the Holiday Handmade Craft Fair (12-7),  a show packed with music, tasty food, vintage cookware & handmade crafts. Whew, I don’t even know where to start!

Buy handmade!

Woohoo! Today is my birthday and I thought I’d share some of my favorite ways to celebrate.

margaritas are a must

cheese makes everything better

cupcakes never hurt

cheers!

I just spent too much time looking at Omnivore Bookstore’s web site. The shop, based in San Fransisco, recently opened and carries an assortment of food-related books ranging from rare out-of-print books to the latest releases. I want to be magically transported to San Francisco right now so I can spend hours browsing through the collection.

Thanks Lisa!

Last weekend we took a trip up to the Whitney Museum to see the Alexander Calder exhibit. On the way up we happened upon another exhibit that caught our eye. Artist Corin Hewitt has intalled what the Whitney calls “part performance art, part live theater, and part meditation on ideas about still life.” Three days a week the artist is in the space moving around creating things from canned jars of fruit to images of his space, all a way to comment on transformation. I thought it was a really interesting and intriguing idea. Oh and the Calder exhibit was spectacular.

Whitney Museum
Corin Hewitt: Seed Stage
October 3 2008 - January 4 2009

One of my favorite restaurants, Flatbush Farm just teamed up with Fleisher’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats to announce an exciting event. Next Sunday, November 16 they will host a 5-course Butcher Dinner featuring a nose-to-tail dinner using Fleisher’s beef and pork paired with beer from local Brooklyn breweries.There will also be a demonstration of how to break down a pig. It’s sure to be an exciting evening filled with delicious food and drinks.

I hope to see you there!

call for reservations
Flatbush Farm
76 St. Marks Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.622.3276

Growing up, once December rolled around my mom and I would start hitting the craft fair circuit searching for holiday gifts. My tastes aren’t quite the same anymore, but I still love to buy handmade and I especially love going to the annual BUST Craftacular. This year’s event will be held Saturday December 13 at the Penn Plaza Pavillion and will feature over 200 vendors selling their awesome handmade wares. It’s super fun and you’re sure to find a perfect and unique gift for all your favorite people. Check out this great little piece from Etsy featuring BUST editor Lisa Butterworth and some of her favorite picks from past craftaculars.

Woohoo! I can’t wait!

This is so awesome! Sculptures created with the help of bees.

Eleven Rivington Gallery
11 Rivington St., New York, NY 10002
nr. Chrystie St.