Life Craftwork: The Remnants
posted by on November 17 at 15:13 PM
As part of Craftwork: The Stranger’s Tribute to Cool People Making Cool Crafty Shit That You Can Purchase and Give and Thus Not Be an Asshole Who Shops at Urban Outfitters, we interviewed some pairs of items, one made far away (generally in China, as is the case with the Piece of Crap below) very likely under unspeakable circumstances (by children being waterboarded, probably) and one made right here at home by a cool person under appropriately ventilated/lit/etc. conditions. We call this Piece of Crap Vs. Piece of Craft. Here’s one (interviews by our own dear David Schmader) that was left on the cutting room floor (due to space considerations only!).
Piece of Crap
You’re part of the Gap sub-brand “1969.” What’s that meant to signify?
I celebrate the very important year that saw the Beatles release Sgt. Pepper, Castro lead the Cuban revolution, and Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I have a dream” speech. I am a classic yet revolutionary bag [$39.50, marked down to $19.99 at time of purchase].
Actually, Sgt. Pepper came out in 1967, the Cuban revolution began in 1953 and ended in 1959, and Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated before 1969 even began.
Oh.
Speaking of lies, I totally love those Audrey-Hepburn-as-dancing-corpse commercials. What’s next?
The Gap’s Christmas ads will feature the socially conscious hiphop artist Common, who’ll rap the self-penned “Holiday in Your Hood.”
Are you fucking kidding me?
No.
Piece of Craft
You’re described as being “recycled.” What does that mean?
My body is made of inner tubes procured from Seattle bike shops then cut open, washed, and stitched together. My strap is a seatbelt from the junkyard. My actual percentage of recycled materialthe highest possibleis featured in my Alchemy Goods logo.
So you’re made of junk.
Yes, but really good junk. My seatbelt strap is super-strong, wide, and comfortable. And not only is my rubber body thoroughly water- and stain-proof, over time the tubes develop a finish that gives them the feeling of fine Italian leather. I am a bag of virtue and of beauty [$148, alchemygoods.com], for reals.
I actually like this one even more than most of the ones left in. Nice. If I had $150, I honestly would buy that bag. It's pretty gorgeous for what is normally deemed "garbage."
My messenger bag is made from the %100 recycled remnants of somebody else's messenger bag.
Freitag: the real deal.
Freitag: the real deal.
In defense of the ugly gap bag, 1969 is the year that sweatshop was founded.
that's all well and good, but most people can't afford to pay $150 for a bag...And if i had that kind of money, i don't think i'd pay that much for something to haul around gym socks, bottled water, and paperback books...I think I'd rather buy a cheaper bag and loan the rest of the money to kiva...
I lurves my AG bag (the one shown here is a larger model), which is incredibly well designed, durable, stylish, environmentally-friendly, and just darned practical to boot. And really, paying $150 for something that is almost literally indestructible, and will probably last for as long as the person owning it, isn't really such a bad deal when you amortize the cost. Also, it's locally made, so your money isn't going to China, and thus you are actually contributing to the living wage of a citizen in your own community; not that Chinese sweatshop workers don't deserve a living wage - they do - but they ain't going to get it at no $40 price-point.
And while the Freitag bags are way cool too, and designed along the same principles as the AG bags, I'd still prefer to have my $$ circulating locally.
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