Filed under: BirdDog Press,Bozeman Collaborative,Craft Biz,Design,Feedsacks,Handmade Revolution,Letterpress | Tags: Depression, Julia Vandenoever Photography, press kit, media kit, Recession
After two photoshoots at the end of last summer, a pow wow or three with my wonderfully smart entrepreneurial woman-friends, a test-market run to my marvelously smart media professional friends, and countless hours the think tank, at the sewing machine, glued to the computer, among piles of crafty ephemera, on the press, … I am finally ready to send out my first batch of press/media kits – Recession got you down? Let the Depression cheer you up! These feedsack inspired bags of goodness are far from gloomy even though the vintage fabric comes from that era. They are pattern filled, colorful, overflowing with flattering photography {by Julia Vandenoever} and best of all they tell a story, the tale of my greatest inspiration and what makes the BirdDog Press tick.
Filed under: BirdDog Press,Feedsacks,Green,Inspirations | Tags: Depression, earth week, feed sack, Feedsacks, Library of Congress, packaging, recycle, reduce, reuse, upcycle
At the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.
Topping the week of with one of my very favorite things in the world : Feed Sacks. I love them for their patterns, obviously. I love them for their stories, their history, their perseverance.
Most known for the depression era, people were poor and quite resourceful. They used EVERYTHING at least thrice. Animal feed came in reusable cloth sacks so families could feed the farm, and then make clothes and linens, hence the feed sack moniker “chicken linen”. Upcycling is a buzz word today – the cool and responsible thing to do, back then it was absolutely necessary. In this photo, you can see three of the sisters have a dress of the same pattern. Women would collect and trade feed sacks in order to get enough of one pattern to complete their projects.
All of this and sheer brilliance in packaging. Packaging today needs to become this smart once again. I’d love to know the percentage of packaging that contributes to our landfills. I’m sure it’s staggering. Recession got you down? Innovate.
