E.T. the extraterrestrial is sure to approve of this kind of frog dissection. Knitting in Biology Frog by Crafty Hedgehog, $95. Available at CraftyHedgehog.etsy.com
Not only for display and study, the Knitting in Biology Frog can be unpinned from his frame, “so you can take him out and cuddle him if you wish,” says Emily Stoneking of CraftyHedgehog. How often one wants to cuddle a sliced open frog I’m unsure, but at least the option’s there.
The frog sits in an 8 x 10 frame. He is hand knit out of a silk/wool blend while his entrails are needle felted out of 100% wool.
Seeing this sparks in me the desire to see an avant-garde, macabre exhibition of Kermit the Frog along with other muppets splayed open like science experiments. Too far? Sorry, I’ve been watching movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Midnight Meat Train as of late.
He even has little Xs for eyes to signify his eternal sacrifice for your education.
Art as Christmas gift that could be in your hands within the hour
"Call Me Ms." Photograph by Amanda Linn, $45 unframed with matte. Available at Gallery 26.
Are you freaking out because it’s four days until Christmas and you’ve yet to find a spectacular gift/ you don’t want to waste 2 hours of your life driving to West Little Rock to search for one? You may remember this photograph from Sync’s gift guidea couple of weeks ago. It and others like it are still available at Gallery 26.
Amanda Linn photographs scenes she builds with figurines, dollhouse furniture, kitschy objects and anything she can get her hands on. The results are bright, bizarre and completely desirable. I vote yes.
Locally crafted gifts galore = The Green Corner Store located on 15th and Main Street.
Until today I had never visited theGreen Corner Storeon 15th and Main since its opening in July. I was uncertain if it was an organic coffee shop, a small grocery or an art gallery. It wasn’t really any of those things to my pleasant surprise. Rather, it was something new altogether for Little Rock. Self-dubbed as Arkansas’s first eco lifestyle store, it’s more versatile and less granola than it sounds.
I don’t want to call it a gift shop, but there are certainly gifts for everyone here. Of course, I’m featuring the fun, funky products from the store but they carry a slew of other things including personal care products, candles and a few used books. If you’re in want of unique, locally made, environmentally conscious gifts for people on your Christmas list, be it your boyfriend, best friend or your mom, this is an excellent place to visit. Now let’s get down to checking out the goods.
It's by Callie mixed media necklaces, $35 each. Perfect for: Best Friend.
Melty record bowls, $8 each. Perfect for: Boyfriend.
Felt sushi roll rings, $12. Perfect for: Niece.
Laura Fanning jewelry dish, $40. Perfect for: Me! I can't get over how the doll arm is ideal for holding rings.
Erin Lorenzen Heart Little Rock sweatshirt tee, $48 and canvas tote, $32. Perfect for: Brother's girlfriend
Lisa James Upcycled Notebooks, Range $10-$20. This one is $15 (Left image is the front cover and right image is the back cover). Perfect for: Everyone. The pages are made from old mail, greeting cards and notebook paper. Some pages are good for writing on and some aren't. That's the fun of it.
Korto Momolu at Box Turtle for Korto Momolu Day. Uh-oh. Someone got a new haircut and looks cute. Photo by Shannon Sturgis
To celebrate Korto Momolu Day I thought where better to visit the designer but on my own stomping ground–Hillcrest’s Box Turtle. I see Bruce Brown outside of the boutique with a camera, exuberantly chatting up departing customers. I sneak past him and make my way into the buzzing store.
“Hey Shannon.”
“Hey Korto.”
We proceed to chat about this season of Project Runway and how it’s not as good as last season, the uproar of Little Rock fashion shows and her line of jewelry that’s being released in 70 Dillard’s stores in February 2010. Of course, as you may have already heard, she’s paired up with Tre Vero to make a line of handbags for Dillard’s and a clothing line is also in the works but with so many things going on, I had to concentrate on one thing at a time.
The jewelry is set to be priced with each piece under $100. All the designs are inspired by pieces handmade by Momolu. In fact, she was wearing a pair from the line today.
Earrings available in February 2010 at select Dillard's, $28-$35. They were inspired by Momolu's original design as seen here for the Korto Momolu Day trunk show at Box Turtle, $400. Photos, again, by yours truly.
"The Ex" 5-piece Stainless Steel Knife Holder in Red. Available at Overstock.com for $69.99
True, some people skip straight to Christmas after Halloween, but call me a traditionalist. I like Thanksgiving. And what better product to feature than jazzy cutlery to carve the Thanksgiving turkey?
Raffaele Iannello designed this clever/sinister knife holder available in the most literal of colors, red (pictured) as well as silver, gold, black, white and green. Christened “The Ex,” this voodoo doll design goes beyond utility of functional storage. Now removing and replacing your kitchen knives becomes a healing, cathartic practice sure to cut that certain someone out of your heart for always and forever.
Set includes: 5 stainless steel knives: 8″ Chef Knife, 8″ Bread Knife, 8″ Carver, 5″ Utility Knife and a 3.5″ Paring Knife that each slide into their specific magnetic plastic casings.
Max "LP Label" Skate Deck. Designed by Isaac Alexander
Local music label, Max Recordings, is now offering a limited edition skateboard deck with the price tag of $40. Paige Hearn manufactured 25 of these guys, each the 8.0″ Fun Size. If you know what that means, good for you. If you don’t and are curious, here. Go to the Max Recordings website to order yourself one. Or three.
For those of you familiar with xkcd.com, a self proclaimed “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language” then this headline means a lot to you. If you are not familiar with xkcd.com then hurry up, click here, get obsessed and come back to see me. xkcd: volume 0 is available for purchase at the xkcd store for a mere $18 and includes selections from the first 600 comics published. For those nerds–like someone I know who I’ll refer to as Kyle–who would be thrilled to know, the mouse-over text revealing hidden jokes within the comics are included in the book.
OrigAudio's eco-conscious Fold and Play Recycled Speakers, Flowers style. Photo provided by www.origaudio.com
OrigAudio created what may be the new 80s ghetto blaster of our time. Anyone with an iPod shuffle can bump his jams for passersby via OrigAudio’s Fold and Play Recycled Speakers. Any device with a headphone jack is compatible with these speakers made from recycled materials that offer 1 watt of power each. Coming in a set of two, these speakers fold into cubes of a mere 3.15 in³ that require zero batteries to function. A set goes for $16 with six different styles from which to choose, as well as a make-your-own option that seems to be more directed at companies in desire of promotional material than the individual buyer. Watch the video for a quick demo of the product.
“i am trying to please you because i care about you”
The chapbook is available for purchase at The House for $5. Last I heard there were 7 copies left so get on it.
Local poet/whatever, Michael Inscoe published the chapbook, “i am trying to please you because i care about you” this past July. Inscoe filled the chapbook with poems, blog posts and short stories from his website entitled quickly; this is like leaving. Kissing/not kissing girls, Otis Redding and nonchalant self deprecating humor are some common themes in his writing.
I attended the chapbook’s release which was held at a poetry reading on the patio of The House in Hillcrest, July 15. It was a sticky, hot evening for sure. Not a seat was vacant leaving people to stand with their beers clenched in hand, sweat dripping from the insides of their elbows.
Inscoe read his poems in near darkness. At one point, he unsuccessfully tried to light his notes with a cell phone. This failed attempt only made him say something like, “Nevermind. That was a dumb idea.” Which is precisely the kind of material he can use for his next poem.
Inscoe reading at The House.
i’m not sorry
untitled
the song made me think of missing a ‘girl that is now getting married’
I walked into the bathroom and dramatically/ angrily kicked the air
I sat down at my computer
I ‘dramatically/ angrily sipped my coffee’ and some went into my nose
I changed the song to something else
I made you a copy of one of my favorite poems by one of my ‘favorite contemporary poets’
I changed the ‘copy size’ to ‘30%’
It was hard to read but the poem was still really good
I was carrying a copy of another one of my favorite poems by a contemporary poet I like a lot in my pocket all week
folded in my pocket it was still a really good poem
I unfolded it and made a ‘55% copy’ of it
you could see the folds in the paper on the copy and you could read the writing better than the ‘30% copy’ of the other poem
both poems were really good and “made me think of missing” a ‘girl that now lives in Minnesota’ and “a ‘girl that is now getting married’”
I changed the ‘copy size’ to ‘20%’ and copied the ‘30% poem’
the poem was tiny and ‘illegible but I could still make out the shape of it’ and it still “made me think of missing a ‘girl that now lives in Minnesota’”
a new song came on
I felt numb
I felt ‘like I never wanted to feel human emotions or anything ever again’
I felt dramatic/ angry and thought: “oh yeah, those are human emotions or something just kidding”
I felt stupid and alone and kind of numb but now in a calming way
the windows were open and it was warm outside and I thought about riding my bike to go get coffee somewhere
A portrayal of Inscoe by Phillip Huddleston from the back cover of iattpybicay.
Create a t-shirt design inspired by the central Arkansas area and win$500!
Sync wants you to use Little Rock and/or the surrounding areas as inspiration for a design to be used as Sync’s official t-shirt. We’ll narrow down the entries to a choice few to be voted on by the public as well as the staff. No need to include Sync in your design. I believe we’ll just put a logo on the back tag area of the shirt. These shirts won’t be sold, but handed out free at events by Sync staff.
Design can be formed for any color shirt (we may or may not be able to use the color you specify but suggestions are welcome)
Feel free to include your signature somewhere (tastefully)
Entries are due by midnight, August 29
Email entries to melissa@syncweekly.com (number of entries is unlimited)
Rights to the design will be owned by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Employees of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are not eligible to enter
$500, y’all. And I can’t enter, but YOU can so do it!
