I haven’t had much to say lately because I haven’t had much to do. I made some new wrist cuffs & set them up in Subdivision & I’ve got some good designs for two smaller projects & one larger project. The two smaller projects are simple things that, even in their simplicity I have managed to draw out way too long. I’m also starting designs on the first ish backpack which really is a big project. The designs are good but I haven’t had any studio time lately and my supplies & money are running on low right now. I expect to get back into it pretty hardcore in a couple weeks.

Overall everything’s going pretty smoothly, but I do wish that whenever my business enterprises took a bad turn that someone would take a picture of me looking distressed, concerned and/or displeased & with my hand on my head. They do it for wall street traders, why not the rest of us?

Oh wait… I guess it’s because my entire life isn’t dependent on a whole bunch of numbers.

So yes, I’m back in NY, still trying to get back into the proverbial groove (what proverb was that again?). I had some great meetings with some Denver boutique folks & got a chance to visit my old haunts. Once I got back, I got to get in some studio time & made a few new wrist cuffs. Even more exciting, though, is the new designs I’ve been working on. Jayson at Subdivision requested an ish backpack, so I’ve been putting some sketches down on paper. I’m really excited to see how it could turn out. I think it will be stylistically similar to the standard v.5, with more room & more pockets. This is all to happen when I get back into the rhythm of ish work which is as elusive as the last ice cube at the bottom of a tall glass. Please don’t ask why I haven’t quit my job to work solely on ish stuff, ’cause it’s not like I haven’t thought of it already & I might just start to cry. If I were more committed to being even broker than I am now, maybe, but apparently I’d like to be able to keep paying rent for a while.

Surprisingly enough, you are not the only person to whom I’ve related my tales of woe. Certain select people have also heard it, as well as just about anyone who asks. As frustrating & laughable as my situation has been lately, I’ve been equally happified by how some people have responded.

A couple weeks ago, my boss came into work with a camera bag & told me it contained my “newest expensive hobby.” That’s fuh sho! Inside the case was a Mamiya 127mm lens with a Polaroid back… geek speak for an awesome camera that I have lusted after before. This camera is the wonderful antithesis to my poor, jailed digital SLR. Every shot costs about a buck, it does nothing for you whatsoever… no light meter, one of those silly parallax focus systems, etc… but after 60 seconds of developing (& the 300 seconds it took you to set up & focus the shot) you have an actual, physical picture in your hand. It has showed me a lot already about how I take pictures, and has reaffirmed my film camera skills. It’s a great feeling to get all the settings right by intuition & experience rather than an idiot-proof couple of buttons & dials.

When I related the same sob story to the woman who owns the building where I work, I was surprised 20 minutes later by her husband leaving a sewing machine with me. Apparently it’s an “extra” that he has no use for anymore (did one of the kids in his sweatshop die?) which will make a handy backup for me.

I know it isn’t just a NY thing when things you need find their way to you by chance, but it seems more… something here. I guess it’s something about having a bigger network or knowing more people who have had equally as many diverse interests/desperate means of making rent throughout the years. And believe me, I’m not trying to pull some tough-as-steel-New-Yorkers-come-through-with-hearts-of-gold crap, I’m just psyched that people actually listen to sob stories anymore. We hear them so often I figured we just classified them as matters of the heart/financial/success & used the appropriate stock answers for the remainder of the story. Maybe I should shut up & stop giving away my secrets.