the indyish came over. by risa
we had a little at-home pre-launch premiere last night for our brand new website- indyish.com. we set up a a couple of laptops and outputted el’s main computer to the big tv. in our living room we had the site showing on five different screens.
i’m really pretty stoked about who’s gotten involved so far. We have a relatively small collective of smart makers right now, and we’re taking on new folks slowly but surely as we head toward beta. But these seventeen people are already company I’m terribly proud to keep.
These are they, our first brave crew of brilliant and talented independent (or indyish) artists. Lemme break it down for ya…
complexgeometries: clothing. independent montreal-based designer who is brilliantly busy turning down chichi stores who want him in, and stubbornly selling his wares himself at local craft sales. these clothes are ingenious distortions of garments, like the tshirt, that are so ubiquitous we almost stop seeing them until someone breaks the mold and makes them into something new. complexgeometries is that someone.
Damned Dollies: art, clothing. independent montreal designer who is well known around here and beyond for the hard edges and raw times of her handmade dollies. the dolls themselves are collectors items, and Smoking Gretchen Dollie is probably my favorite. Soon we’ll be getting new tshirts and sweatshirts from her, so you can be cozy and cutely kickass and support a bustling local business lady.
G-Eunuch Digest: literature. a semi regular periodical about masculinity in pop culture that had some very curious readers late last night. this brightly coloured publication is quite unlike anything else i’ve seen around. the topic they’ve chosen (masculinities) is endlessly fascinating because it’s a gateway question into the whole wide world of gender.
Hastings and Main: clothing. an increasingly popular line of gorgeous and cool stuff made by a montreal-based designer who is funny and goofy and cool. for now, we have her holiday line and it’s festive and sexy. lots of antique-feeling lace layered over comfy, stretchy blacks. lots of satin ribbons. lots of handmade love.
Kidnapper Films: art. we have the dvd of the live variety show these guys did for the Just For Laughs festival this year. these guys do comedy and it feels like something new is happening. they push an intense cultural critique through an audience’s brain with cinematic visuals and hyper real performances. i hope they’ll put up the rest of the films they’ve made so you can check em out.
KMC: clothing. our youngest artist. she designs prints at our local neighborhood printmaking studio, detention, and puts them on t’s made by complexgeometries. her first two deigns feature animals in a pet store and they’re sweet and nostalgic in one way, and intense and even sad in another. the bird’s cage is too small. these make me remember being sad in pet stores as a child.
Lickety-Split: literature. our only xrated items are the two issues of locally made and locally-celebrated Lickety-Split. it’s a sex zine. it’s porn, i guess, but it’s done in this way that makes me smile instead of turning me off. it’s got a wide open mind about different relationships, desires and past times; and smart politics; and a beautiful, illustrated aesthetic. I can’t wait to see the new one.
Literature in Transit: clothing. handbags- clutches, really- made out of hardcover books, like the biography of Jackie Kennedy. these are stylish and cute and handcrafted by another local chiquita who’s in architecture at mcgill.
Neale: art, clothing. designer, blogger, schemer, neale makes prints which are pop culture iconic and awesomely inexpensive.
Pearls Before Swine: art. jewelery that goes under the ‘art’ category because it’s stunning and intense and also the most expensive stuff we sell. lines of sterling silver chains, or gold spears are fitted with unique cultured pearls of different sizes, colours and quality. they look beautiful up against any skin tone and they feel gorgeous and sea-mysterious.
Re-Gen: clothing. brilliant clothing. “damnably clever” was the phrase used last after having Re-Gen’s concept explained. She builds patterns with a fascinating conceptual basis: all of her women’s clothes are made using the ‘divine proportions’ of the fibonacci sequence. hence they drape in perfect, natural, harmonious and innovative ways around the body’s own unique variations of this magical math.
Shoot the Moon: music. newish montreal band. longing, mournful, pop-y and sing-along-able. they’re good and they’re still getting better. we have their first-ever ep.
Telefauna: these kids might go from funky lil’ ep to huge in the blink of an eye, but so long as you stay tuned to indyish you won’t miss it. they’re ridiculously fun and danceable. they do that whole ‘playing with the sounds of technology’ thing wihtout being irritating or over-indulgent. they build up cacophonous beats and then break them down and you can’t help but smile and groove. apparently they’ll have a new single for us soon.
The Duck and Herring Co.: literature. the only non-montreal based production we’ve agreed to feature so far. because they make seasonal pocket field guides with short stories and suggested to do’s and recipes to get you through the season. these have a subtle, friendly politics and a bit of a shadowy sadness that may come from life in a pocket of leftward thinking in the heart of Atlanta. also: i’m their montreal correspondent. i write ‘language lessons’ for them, and in the next one there’s a piece by a short-story writer who wrote a language lesson back.
Vintage-ish: selected second hand clothing. the things we would sell only if we could get the price that they deserve according to our hearts. right now: two glittery holiday dresses and one light cotton black frock.
Worn Journal: Literature. A fashion journal, you ever heard of that before? this is a venue for the detailed and conceptual explorations that fashion deserves. it’s an unpretentious celebration of the things that have been worn. it’s glossy and bright and full of interesting voices and uber cool illustrations and one weird looking cover girl. 
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:34 pm
risa et al:
congratulations on what will surely become (is already becoming?) a communicative super-hub of invention, creativity, and vector-generating efficacy. to all involved and to those ever becoming-involved: thank you. it’s a feast for me; i think christmas came early. we here (nat and i) in the territories of toronto are (cue jargon) stoked.
you guys rock me softly with assembled elegance.
much love,
n
December 5th, 2005 at 12:35 am
thanks so much neil, it really means a lot. this is feeling remarkably good and right, albiet insane. i’m really looking forward to having some good conversations about what indyish.com can be. i’ll pull my ideas about it into a mini essay for Open soon.
but for right now, we’re counting down the details ’till we can send out the very first small batch of invites.
can’t wait to here what you all think of it.
there’s so much to do. ahh.
cheers to you, and thanks again
r