Relying on user submissions and declining to link to the actual artist in question, as "that wouldn't be funny," the Regretsy crew wants to make it clear that they aren't out to "shame" anyone and that they site is simply a means of poking fun at those who aren't necessarily up to snuff. It's a bit like Cake Wrecks for the craft crowd, though some of the crafts featured don't seem all that bad, just a bit weird or a bit corny.

As for the "we don't link" policy, it doesn't really hold up, as I found these Twilight sneakers on Etsy in about 2.1 seconds. The seller has already sold several Twilight-related items, including a pair of sneakers to a customer who claims "i knew i would love these shoes, and they came so quickly after i ordered them! they are truly AMAZING!!! they are well done and are perfect!" Regretsy might think the shoes are "hideous," but the customer, it seems, has no regrets at all.

[Regretsy]

The sari has been worn on the sub-continent since at least 2800-1800 BCE (from which era the first known image dates.) But in recent years, hand-loom cotton saris, which used to be standard daywear, have fallen out of favor with young Indian women, who see them as special-occasion clothing. And fancy versions, the expensive Banarasi and Kanjeevaram silks which can take weeks to hand-weave, are faring no better. Although saris are still de rigeur for fancy occasions, younger women tend to favor designer, rather than hand-loom, models. The result is devastating for India's hand-loomers, many of whom have been in the business for generations. And as a result, fewer young weavers are learning the art.

While we may mourn the loss of such a stunning traditional craft, to many Indian women, this sartorial sea-change is a positive one. Explains one student, "There is a general perception that you would consider a woman in western formal wear more empowered than her more traditional counterparts." Below, a gallery of sari images - both functional and, ahem, special occasion.


Dust storm, New Delhi, May.


Miss India World Pooja Chopra, in a sari by designer Ritu Kumar, at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India Contest 2009.


A woman and her child, July, New Delhi.


Director Deepa Mehta at the 2007 Academy Awards.


Dressing a statue of the Hindu Goddess Durga for the Durga Puja festival, Bombay.


River bank behind Taj Mahal, Agra.


A model wears a traditional sari in a show designed to promote the work of south Indian designers, Madras.



A Bangladeshi woman shops for saris in Dhaka.


Images via Getty

The Dying Art Of The Sari [Time]

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Sadie,

Having read Sara Mosle's takedown of Etsy.com on Slate's "double x,", I have to profess myself quite surprised with the specious conclusions drawn by the author. [Megan translation: For fuck's sake, Sadie, did you read this shit on double x about Esty?] It seems that Mosle has decided that since the people that use Etsy to sell their handmade products are prominently women, but the founders are men, that the men in charge are peddling a "feminist fantasy" of making a living through doing what one loves to a bunch of irrational women who don't know any better. I am forced to wonder when it was that engaging in artistic endeavors in the hopes that some day enough people will find value in your art became a predominately feminist fantasy, and that men became too rational to ever attempt to start down such a path. [Megan translation: Seriously, what the fuck?]

Yours,
Megan

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Megan,

I have to agree. But what I also found problematic was the implicit condescension of the argument; there's a definite sense that these educated women of means are wasting their time, and that the work they do, if not renumerative, can't possibly be fulfilling in any other sense. [Sadie translation: I got this awesome spyglass necklace at an Etsy craft fair over the weekend.] Then too, Megan, doesn't it seem like she ignores the fact that Etsy functions as a community as well as a selling site? If one reads the boards, it's clear that Etsy is a real support network and intellectual forum for any number of like-minded people. [Sadie translation: also, these really neat magnets covered in calico.] And in any case, the question comes down to, does DIY have value? It's easy to dismiss - part of what rankles is that Etsy seems like low-hanging fruit, and an unfair target - but its larger cultural import is of a piece with a lot of progressive movements which Mosle would be hard-pressed to dismiss. [Sadie translation: Ooh, and some notecards!] The bottom line, Megan, for me is that unless we're defining "harm" in the most paternalistic of ways, Etsy harms no one - and brings a great many people a lot of pleasure. Indeed, because the satisfaction of such enterprises cannot be quantified does nothing to invalidate them. [Sadie translation: *goes to start Etsy page.*]

Yours,
Sadie

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Sadie

I absolutely agree [Megan translation: My roommate has an Etsy store and takes a great deal of pleasure and pride in creating and selling her hairpieces as a creative outlet that is somewhat financially remunerative. Upon hearing my description of this article, she said, "What the fuck?"] I think what I found problematic with the analysis is the idea that a site to which women of their own accord flocked in order to start engaging in entrepreneurship with their artistic endeavors is referred to by Mosle as "a female ghetto" — but without the corresponding male-dominated alternative environment from which women are isolated. One assumes that Mosle wanted to contrast it to eBay or another marketplace, but somehow failed to look for or find comparative statistics. Furthermore, I think it problematic because at no point does Mosle touch on the buyers on Etsy, which might well track with the gendered selling against which Mosle inveighs — or not, in which case, it turns the entire concept of Etsy being a ghetto-izing influence on its head. [Megan translation: Did she look up the meaning of the word "ghetto?" Do any other research?]

Further to that, I feel that Mosle's entire piece rests on the basis of gender stereotypes: men acting "rationally" by not participating; knitting being something at which only women can or do excel; women being "preyed on" by Etsy's male founders. Even the "siren call" that Etsy holds for her is a sexist trope about women's supposed ability to prey upon men sexually.

But what I feel is most problematic is the idea inherent in the work that women should, in some sense, face the reality that their dreams of successful entrepreneurship will never be realized. In truth, most small businesses fail. Many people — men and women — engage in the marketplace with a unique product, idea or service and fail to amass enough profit to stay afloat. The difference between men and women is that men are more often encouraged to do so then women, and encouraged to try again. Mosle's piece attempts to convince women not to take a relatively risk-free wade into the entrepreneurial waters of the American marketplace because they'll "fail," as though economic failure is something with which women cannot or should not be expected to cope.

I guess I should also add that I find it a little ironic that Mosle's worries about women artisans being ghettoized on Etsy is printed on double x, where Slate has collected its women writers and separated them and their stories from their site at large. [Megan translation: There are plenty of things I find ironic about double x deciding who is a good fucking feminist]

Yours,
Megan

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Megan,

As ever , a well-reasoned argument. May I add that the notion of feminism (that which is "undercut" by the gullibility of the deluded sellers) on which this argument is predicated is a dated and simplistic one: the "having it all" ethos of 20 years ago, which most of us would agree has evolved. And Megan, you bring up the economics of small business, and rightly so: I'd add to this that the current economic situation adds another dimension to the discussion. Not only does Mosle fail to address the sizable population for whom Etsy is a sideline rather than a get-rich-quick fantasy, but fails to acknowledge that it might be, not just a source of modest income for those affected by the recession, but a means of empowerment in a demoralizing market. In this sense, the modesty and unique handmade nature of the typical crafts (and price-points) on Etsy are uniquely well-suited to this economy. If one were so disposed, one could certainly choose to regard the site's popularity as empowering, and such objections as manufactured. [Sadie translation: Megan's roommate's hair-pieces are amazing.]

Sincerely,
Sadie

____________________________________________________________________

Etsy.com Peddles a False Feminist Fantasy [double x]

Related: The State of the Cookie [Slate]

Earlier: Who You Calling A Bad Feminist?

[Image of Utera Maxima via VulvaLoveLovely, who is not my roommate]

The Matryoshka, or nesting doll, has long been both a major export and recognizable Russian icon, iterations running the gambit from the traditional nest of identical, diminishing sisters to a nested roll-call of Russia's leaders, often ending in a miniscule czar, or Lenin. It's as much a part of the kitsch landscape as the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, and yet, it seems the economic crisis, lax tourism and falling oil prices are posing a threat to the Matryoshka - makers and sellers report that sales are down more than 90%. So dire are the industry's prospects that the Kremlin has stepped in, stating that it would place a 1bn rouble (about $28 million) order for matryoshka and other traditional handicrafts, with an eye to giving them out as gifts. But given that the government is predicting no economic recovery until at least 2010, this may be a mere band-aid.

Despite its storied place in Russian lore, the nesting doll is by no means a traditional peasant craft: it's said to date back only to 1890, and to have been based upon a Japanese souvenir doll portraying Seven Gods of Fortune. A painter named Sergei Maliutin was inspired to create a Russian version, and working with a craftsman, created the first Russian nesting doll for Children's Education Workshop-Salon in Abramtsevo. The name "Matryoshka" is derived from the popular old Russian peasant name "Matryona," and her outift and sarafan mimic traditional festival dress. An industrialist presented the Matryoshka at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition, and the rest is history.

Whatever its antecendents, the nesting doll has become a true showcase of the turner's skill: truly fine Matryoshkas are valued for their thin sides and the number of 'nests,' and the best ones are painted with the precision of a Russian icon. To say that the industry has employed generations of artists is no exaggeration, and the appeal of the doll need not be explained to any child who's felt the familiar squeak of the wood under her hands and waited with baited breath to see just how tiny the dolls will get. And as devastating as the industry's death would be to thousands of artisans and producers, it's equally hard to imagine a world without the "Russian doll" metaphor. In addition to technical terminology -"Matryoshka brain," or the paradigm of Matroska media-container format - the Russian doll metaphor is a cottage industry amongst slapdash journalists and writers everywhere. A neat shorthand for many-layered complexity, the metaphor also manages to invoke the enigma-wrapped-question-mark appeal of the inscrutable east, with none of the earthy stench of the similar "onion" comparison. Will "nesting doll" somehow end up in the morgue of words that are used and not understood, its origins extinct and anachronistic - alongside "brass monkey," "Sam Hill" and "worth its salt?" Say it ain't so! The only upside we can find is the inability to describe any of Mel Gibson's various love interests as "Russian Dolls" - apparently a major challenge for The Media.

Can The Russian Doll Survive The Recession? [Independent]
Russian Bailout Covers Nesting Dolls [USA Today]

Related: History Of Russian Nesting Dolls [Russian Crafts]

As the Washington Post's Monica Hesse tells it, the January/February "sex issue" was found to be too controversial for Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts, which chose not to carry the magazine. And while this may seem farcical, a look at the content shows that it's indeed a far cry from the Double Wedding Ring.

Behold, seven straight pages of shocking quilts. We're talking fabric phalluses. Gun-toting Jesuses. A newborn peering out from his mother's lady parts (constructed out of lots of soft, embroidered orange cloth).Some of the images are disturbing — and moving — like quilter Gwen Magee's "Southern Heritage/Southern Shame," which depicts five lynching victims hanging in front of a Confederate flag...Others are whimsical. Consider "Helping Hands," a Charlottesville quilter's ode to Viagra. The work was inspired by a present from a friend: "A fat quarter of fabrics with all these itty-bitty penises and sperm," says Mary Beth Bellah, describing the pile of remnants with delight.

Quilters like Bellah see the traditional medium as a natural for conveying important messages: as she puts it, "People respond to quilts like nothing else." And as those who've been following the struggles of print media with increasing dismay, we can only tip our hats to any publication trying something fresh rather than running scared. In fact, this actually seems really smart: if, as we're told, the flailing economy means a return to nostalgic pursuits, now is exactly the time to intrigue a potential new readership who might be as intrigued by crafting's artistic potential as its anachronistic comfort. Frankly, we're beginning to OD on "comfort food" and same-old reassurance; if we're making lemonade, let's spike it. We're glad to see Quilter's Home agrees!

Uncovered! The Unseemly Side Of Quilts[Washington Post]

Earlier: Breaking Dawn: What To Expect When You're Expecting... A Vampire

Guerrilla knits have been spotted in Scandinavia, the US, Japan and South Africa. Litchfield calls the movement “absurd and feminine and fun,” and part of an effort to “redefine street art.” Emily Howes, author of a PhD thesis on “indie craft,” explained the motivation behind guerrilla knitting: "they see craft as a subversive and politically motivated act — a way of jolting people out of their comfortable reverie." [Sydney Morning Herald]

Marjorie Taylor, who makes "scientifically accurate fabric brains," describes the appeal thusly: "I thought the folds of the cerebral cortex would be great in velvet." She has since made three brain quilts and is at work on an MRI rug. Karen Norberg, meanwhile, knitted a wool brain so accurate it is now in Boston's Museum of Science, and is now making her own neurotransmitter quilt. Both women's work can be seen at the virtual Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art. [New Scientist]

• R.I.P. American Girls original, Samantha Parkington. May you rest in peace with the other overpriced, historically accurate plastic toys in the sky.
• Another American icon on the decline: Hugh Hefner's bunnies and balls are musty.
• Speaking of old balls, John McCain mocked women's health in an apocryphal argument against late term abortion.
• I can't believe we have two more weeks of this. At least the debates are over.
• Well, at least one contest of note is over this week: a Project Runway winner was declared, and her name rhymes with pee pan.
• It might burn when you pee if Cosmo gives you a "pear-fection."

• It would also probably burn when you peed if you had sex with a Don Draper type. Manwhores!
• You should apologize to your body for any pear-fections incurred by Don Draper-esque encounters.
• Seriously guys. It's Friday. So macramaé yourself a jumpsuit and throw down with Jane Winebox. You deserve it!

OK, let's start off with this:

What the fuck is it? And why? And how? Unfortunately, Woman Alive never tells us.

One of the big themes of this book is weaving, whether it's with beads, paper, straw. The only thing I know about weaves is what I've learned from Tyra Banks, and this isn't anywhere near as fabulous. Also, bead weaving looks like a waste of time, energy, money, etc. Especially because you have to build your own fucking loom from scratch!

To make what? A bunch of crap that's gonna end up at the Salvation Army?

This woman is supposed to be modeling off a patchwork bag. But she looks so out of place. She should actually be bitchily painting her nails while Al Pacino watches TV from his sunken bathtub in their opulent bedroom.

Patchwork is just gross. I think I rank it up there with ric rac as one of the most detestable textiles in crafting. Further more, I've never come across an outfit like this…

…that didn't smell of hoagies trying to be masked by patchouli oil.

Now it's time for something called "quilling," which in the '70s, was experiencing some kind of revival. i don't know why, because all it is is a bunch of twirled pieces of paper glued to wood.

The one I liked the most, and can actually see myself doing and enjoying is colorful canvas work. They actually provided a great detailed chart with specific instructions.