Volume 124 Issue 128
kansan.com
Thursday, April 5, 2012
COMMENTARY
Reno as
FEATURE
--from practice because of a physical week that they had endured. The players will be in full pads for the rest of the spring, except for the April 13 practice. Instead of full pads, players will wear only helmets and shoulder pads.
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Handmade and Etsy-purchased products for sale at Made on Mass, 737 Massachusetts St.
PHOTOS BY ASHLEIGH LEE
STITCHING, SCULPTING, CASTING AND EVEN GLUING ITS WAY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY // RACHEL SCHULTZ
Gathering the Materials
Channing Taylor has admired handmade items since she was young. From vintage Victorian rings to trinket souvenirs carved out of shells, she loves anything that an artist's hand took time to make. Now, as a senior majoring in metalsmithing, she's grown from a crafty, art-driven child into an entrepreneur, selling handmade and repurposed jewelry on Etsy.com, an online commerce site dedicated to vintage and handmade products.
Innovative websites like Etsy and Pinterest have opened doors for young artists like Taylor to showcase their work, bringing a true revival of the handmade to a younger generation. Taylor opened her Etsy shop in 2008, after years of selling her handmade jewelry at craft fairs and at her mother's antique store in Wichita. She appreciates having an outlet where she can sell without having to give a portion of the profits to a retailer.
“It's more individualistic and unique in a world where everything is mass-produced and run of the mill.” Taylor says. “It's nice to see these things that are created out of the mind.”
Her own creations emphasize a mix of eras, with a variation of metals, shapes and colors always adding to a piece's history, but still clearly in Taylor's personal style. Some pieces are asymmetrical, one with metal flowers and an orange chain, another featuring a hanging pendant shaped like the helm of a ship.
"I looked at older pieces but it was hard for me to wear them because they were outdated," Taylor says. "I saw that there was a way to mesh timelines and eras together to make something contemporary and new."
Taylor admits that many pieces she wants to keep because she likes them so much, showing that handmade items aren't just for selling, they're a hobby too. Pinterest, the online pinboard used for content sharing and organization, allows users to explore these hobbies, find what they like and bookmark it as a favorite to a pinboard. With more than three million users since its launch in 2009, Pinterest, in addition to Etsy, has popularized the revival of handmade items.
"It feels good to be a patron, and with Pinterest and Etsy's treasures, people can feel like patrons without even spending any money,"
Eden Detrixhe, a stay-at-home mom and Etsy shop owner from Lawrence says. "In some ways those sites are about the hunt for the coolest new item, like, 'Look what I found!'"
Crafting Your Creation
According to a recent study by RJ Metrics, an analytic company for online entities, Pinterest has grown from having a modest fanbase to a 'Top-100 website' in just the last six months. The website boasts connecting people through 'things' they find interesting; a favorite book or recipe can provide a link between two otherwise unknown people. From planning a wedding to decorating a home, Pinterest synthesizes websites and images into a virtual bulletin board for you, your friends, or even strangers to reference and "re-pin," or pin to their own board, if they like your style.
"I find a lot of really good resources and creative ideas for my lessons," Casey Busch, a senior from Dallas, says of Pinterest. "I really like that you can keep track of things that you maybe want to try later so you don't forget them."
Busch, an education major, has created a hobby of crafting and her house reflects her own handmade decor. From a yellow canvas decorated florally with scrapbooking paper, to a penil holder made from an old tin and clothespins, she says that her crafting is fueled by a desire to save money but is also a love she inherited from her mother.
"It's more of a personalization thing rather than a necessity," Busch says. "I like the idea of owning something individualized that no one else has an exact copy of"
According to the RJ Metrics study, Busch reflects the statistic that the Do-It-Yourself categories of "Home" and "Arts and Crafts" top the charts as the most visited pinboards on Pinterest, followed closely by "Style/Fashion" and "Food."
"Right now it's chic." Detrixhe says of the growing trend of handmade items. "There may have been a time when some people equated 'handmade' with unflattering acrylic sweaters made by grandmothers and aunts and other 'it's the thought that counts' gifts. Tastes have changed and there's wider access to better quality materials and quality handmade
04 8
05
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My life show. in the light of
watching a ball game.
I applaud the majority of Kansas fans who handled the loss Monday night gracefully. Losing in the National Championship game hurts, but Kansas fans took the loss in stride and turned a negative into a positive by showing united school pride.
Other aspects of life exist beyond sports. Sports are just games and sheer entertainment.Sports can be a way of life, but not the way of life Your life, which consists of family, relationships, finances, sustenance and career aspirations, is more important than whether or not your team wins a ball game.
The Kentucky basketball players and coaches deserve the NCAA National Championship, but the Kentucky basketball fans don't deserve it, even though it's only a pittance of bad apples that ruined a good tree. Their classless acts during Final Four weekend in Lexington, Ky., are an embarrassment to sports and society.
Edited by Jeff Karr
PLAYERS PRACTICE INSIDE MEMORIAL STADIUM
For the season's third practice, the Jayhawks worked inside of Memorial Stadium. The move from the practice field was because the team hosted recruits on campus for "Junior Day." The Saturday practice marked the first time the team practiced in full pads this spring and under coach Charlie Weis.
COACH WEIS RETURNS FROM NEW ORLEANS
Weis returned from New Orleans Tuesday. After Monday's practice, he flew down to support the men's basketball team in the National Championship game.
lation of team rules. He was a first team all-district, all-area and all-city selection his senior year of high school. Green redshirted last season.
DEFENSE WILL PLAY
A BASE 4-3
At his press conference last week, Weis announced the defense listed in the initial depth chart was a 4-3 base defense. He said this does not mean they will always play with four down linemen and three linebackers, but that they will also show some different formations. Most of the time, though, the personnel on the field will translate into the 4-3.
MAURA SWITCHES POSITIONS
Sophomore Brian Maura is the only player to switch from one side of the ball to the other now that Weis and his staff have moved him from receiver to safety this spring. Maura played in four
FOUR PLAYERS LIMITED IN THE SPRING
Sophomore running back Brandon Bourbon, junior defensive tackles Williamts and Kevin Young and Maura will be limited during this spring practice season. Weis said at last week's press conference that none of the players are out for the spring, but will be limited in the contact drills.
conference, Weis said he was informed that the case would be presented before the caseworker left his office last Thursday. The Jayhawks should have the result soon. If McCay's waiver request is granted, he will be allowed to play immediately. If he isn't, he will have to sit out one year before being able to play for the Jayhawks.
— Edited by Christine Curtin
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ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Running back James Sims swiftly moves to avoid getting tackled. Coach Weis has been changing things up during spring practices this semester.
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