What I Haven't Been Blogging About

I have been so overwhelmingly busy the past couple weeks with freelance work and Greenjeans work, I feel that I've totally neglected blogging (not to mention drinking enough water and working out). I have a million ideas of things to blog about, but haven't had enough time!

For example, I am becoming more and more disgusted with attempts to commodify the green movement by selling crappy "reusable" goods. I received the latest issue of Vanity Fair yesterday, their third "green issue," to find a red plasticy shopping bag from Target inside, presented in a recycled paper envelope (shown here). Great, I thought. Something else to feel so guilty about throwing away that I'll stick it in the closet along with the 50o other reusable bags I have, even though I'll probably never use it. What a waste! And what's up with marketing synthetic products made in China as "green?" How does that add up exactly? (And please don't tell me I should use it to like knit a belt or something. I love that some people are great at making things out of unwanted fabrics. But why should I spend my time to come up with arbitrary uses for stuff I didn't want in the first place?! Like I'm not already strapped enough for time.)

Something else I haven't blogged about but meant to: I've noticed that some of the major art fairs have stopped using their opening night galas as benefit parties for deserving non-profit arts institutions. SOFA is no longer benefiting the Museum of Arts and Design, and the recent Armory Show threw it's big opening, but not to raise money for its usual beneficiary, MoMA. So they're charging huge fees to attend the opening night previews, but then pocketing the funds? It's like breaking some sort of unwritten code. What gives?

I've also been dying to respond to the craft debate that I mentioned here a while back. I started writing my own response but haven't been able to finish it, and so haven't said a thing about it. I still intend to. One of these days...

Ditto for the fantastic new issues of American Craft Magazine which completely inspired me, but that I've not been able to respond to here. Yet.

All this is not to mention the wonderful new things that have arrived at Greenjeans recently, including some killer new jewelry by Connie Verrusio and Melle Finelli, and FINALLY wooden blocks by Frank Ridley, none of which I've blogged about.

So, there's a little taste of what's been on my mind, if not on the blog! Hopefully now that the freelance project is over (as of literally a half hour ago), I'll be able to spend more time here.

Meanwhile, hope you have an excellent weekend, and maybe we'll see you at the Brooklyn Flea on Sunday!

Posted and photo by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.