an aggregate of all things Johnson

I’ve already written a lot about my trip to Alt Summit last week (you can read even more about it here), but I still had to share this photo of me and author, Margaret Atwood, that was taken in Park City on Saturday.

By the end of the day on Friday I was exhausted. After being totally “on” for two and half days of conference going, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow through with my plans to head up to Park City on early Saturday morning… but man, am I glad I did! The road trip up the mountain to the home of the Sundance Film Festival was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

I stumbled on Margaret Atwood signing books at Dolly’s Bookstore on Park City’s main street. I was sort of blown away. The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my very favorite books — a futuristic story with a strong, central, female character long before the days of The Hunger Games — and I plan to read ALL of her fiction. So, I purchased The Blind Assassin and got in line to have it signed. Atwood was lovely and kind and didn’t even seem too annoyed when I asked for a photo. I am impressed by her seemingly grueling speaking and promotional schedule. She was in Park City because her non-fiction book, Payback, had been adapted into a film being premiered at Sundance.

Sundance proved to be an art adventure in more ways than one. I did indeed see a film (which I hope to write about in its own devoted post) and I also ran into this Banksy mural on the side of an ice cream shop…

Very cool. I was told that Bansky made the art while he was in Park City for Sundance when his film Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered in 2010. The store owner put the protective glass and metal bars around the piece after poachers tried to steal it. I think Banksy is trying to say something about how documentary filmakers make an adverse impact even when they are trying to be helpful… what do you think?

Oh, and did I mention that the whole time we were wandering up and down Park City’s main street, it was pouring snow? It was basically a blizzard and apparently the highways had to be closed later in the evening! I was stomping through mounds of snow and trying not to fall on my face in front of movie stars and paparazzi. (BTW: the only stars, besides Atwood, that I saw were Will.I.Am and Robin Weigert, from Deadwood.) Thankfully, I was wearing two items that made the snowy trek totally possible: my No.6 store clog boots and my Brooklyn Industries puffy coat. Both performed wonderfully! I recommend them.

Also, I posed with a moose:

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This post was originally published on the FaveCrafts Blog. A version also appeared on the Ace Department Gazette.

BurdaStyle.com is an online community for people who like to sew. The website, which has more than 600,000 members, offers free and inexpensive sewing patterns, step-by step sewing tutorials, skill sharing, and inspirational project ideas. On November 10th, they launched their very first book, The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook.

BurdaStyle co-founder and author of the new book, Nora Abousteit, and her staff hosted a large and exciting book launch party last month at the Housing Works Bookstore in New York City. Examples of finished items created using sewing patterns from the new book were on display throughout the loft-like space. There were snacks and drinks, craft tables with make-and-take projects, and a photo booth from HaveBoothWillTravel.com. There was even a cake printed with the Sewing Handbook cover image!

My first stop at the event was at the Singer make-and-take table. I used a Singer sewing machine and Spoonflower fabric printed with the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook cover to make a quick, little, drawstring bag. I was nervous to put my sewing machine skills on display since I was surrounding by so many talented and creative seamstresses, but the project was easy and basically error-proof.

Next, I headed over to the glitter tattoo table. Megan Nicolay of Generation T and ILoveToCreate.com was applying sparkly designs to any willing party guest using stencils and Tulip Body Art Glitter. I played it safe and got an abstract flower on my hand.

Copies of the The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook were available to purchase at the event. The 200-page, spiral-bound book contains over seventy step-by-step variations of five basic patterns: a blouse, skirt, dress, bag, and jacket. It has a large intro section that can help those new to sewing get started using patterns. There are also plenty of full-color photos of the finished projects, plus profiles of BurdaStyle.com members from all over the world. The full-size patterns are also included in an envelope inside the back cover of the book.

It was exciting to meet the people behind the huge BurdaStyle community and to see much of the creativity from the website translated into book form. The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook is a fun project book for both beginners and experienced seamstresses that will help you endlessly customize your wardrobe.

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Earlier this year, I started an experiment. My friend Jessica and I were feeling a bit isolated running our small businesses from home and we thought it would be very helpful to have a place to gather with other entrepreneurs to socialize, network, get support, and ask questions. From this idea, Ace Department was born.

Today, I am excited to announce that we have published our first Ace eBook: 50 Steps from Wherever You Are to Owning Your Own Business. It is a step-by-step instruction manual that takes you from crystalizing your initial idea all the way through managing the day-to-day operations of a successful enterprise. We give you the steps, plus explain why they each matter and how to get there. All of the detailed, practical, clear instructions are based on our combined experience of launching multiple small business endeavors — both successful and less so — and they walk you through the process of laying the foundation for your dream business.

Learn more about the book and get your copy here.

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reading… Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body – A book I bought at the Mutter Museum in November. Since I have two doctors in the family now, I am trying to learn a little more about medicine. The technical parts of this book about genetics are a bit over my head, but it is definitely fascinating to learn about how amazing and complicated our biology is.

supporting… Link with Love – a campaign to promote the fair use of creative intellectual property. The basics? If you share art, crafts, photos, writing, or any content that was created by someone else, give them attribution and link to their site when possible. Do not steal art!

eating…Covered Bridge Creamy Dill Pickle Potato Chips – these Canadian chips have the best pickle flavor! Yum!

getting scared about… This Organic Avenue Love Deep juice cleanse. I am starting it on Wednesday and doing it for three days. No more potato chips – only raw liquids. It is an experiment. A vegan, liquid nutrition experiment. I don’t really endorse these types of “diets” but I wanted to challenge myself with this cleanse. (Plus, I got the program at half price with a coupon.) I am hoping it will break my addiction to coffee. I’ll report back…

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I was lucky enough to attend my second Martha Show taping yesterday. (You can read about my first taping here.) I follow TheMarthaShow on Twitter and they often tweet about upcoming shows that have seats available. If you live in the New York area and have a flexible schedule, you can contact them when you see a tweet about available tickets. As a single attendee, like me, I think it is easier for them to squeeze you into less than full audiences.

I attended the afternoon taping (they had taped a live show in the morning, too) and was at the studio for almost four hours. It took a big chunk out of my workday, but it was totally worth it. I love seeing Martha and her team in action. They are all so professional and nice. (They also all dress extremely nice – casual, but completely fashionable and neat.) They really work hard to make sure the audience has a fun time.

The show will air tomorrow, Thursday, February 3rd at 10 am on the Hallmark Chanel. I am sitting in the front row of the upper audience section and I think they caught me on camera a few times… I hope I don’t look too dorky. I think I was wearing too much blush and I really hope I don’t come across as someone desperate to be on tv….

Anyhoo, the show was great. The girls from Crafternoon were there to make vintage-inspired valentines and Grace Young, a Chinese chef, was there demonstrating two kinds of stir fry. The best part: we got to take home a bunch of free gifts! I try not to get my hopes up for free stuff, but it is definitely always welcome. We received the Crafternoon book (yay!), the cookbook, Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge, and a handy, little slicing tool from Grace Young, and a Sony Pocket eReader!! Martha had on Abraham Verghese, the author of her latest “Books I’m Reading” selection, Cutting for Stone — which looks very interesting — and we got an e-copy of his book on the eReader! Very cool! I am charging mine right now and can’t wait to play with it and start reading.

An exciting tidbit: I got to ask Martha a question after the show! They allowed a little time at the end to ask her a few questions and I raised my hand to ask about her lip. She had cut it pretty bad a few weeks ago and posted about it on her blog. She says it is pretty much healed and it does look fantastic — you couldn’t even tell she had been cut. One more exciting tidbit: maybe I shouldn’t share too much, but Martha used the word grandchild during the Q&A session!! Sounds like she may have some good news to share soon!

All in all, it was another great experience at The Martha Show, but I have a question: how many tapings do you think you have to attend before they put your name on the “crazy fanatic/groupie/stalker” list? I sure hope I’m not on my way down that path! I do love Martha, but maybe I should tone down all of the Martha tweeting and Martha blogging… what do you think?

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