no room for hipsters

[ from a. addair who is listening to Arctic Monkeys (Humbug) ]

Now that the first issue of Good Packaging has been delivered to our subscribers, we’re going to let the rest of you in on what they got.  Hopefully enticing you to 1. order a subscription and/or at least 2. help us spread the word.  But I guess even if you refuse these requests you can (I hope) enjoy the pictures and get inspired to “make shit yourself”.  Ordinarily, I don’t use such banal language but it’s advice we should all follow (or at least make an effort to buy from people “making shit themselves”).

Anyway, back to the point at hand(icraft).  Here’s what you missed (or what those lovely subscribers of ours are now owners of):

Copy of Good Packaging spring 2010 letter-

“El Caracol significa fortalecer la resistencia de los pueblos para la construccion de su auctonomia, es un intento del EZLN para mostrar nuestras palabras.  Espocible construr un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos.”

“The snail symbolizes the strengthening of  the resistance of the people for the construction of one’s autonomy, it is an attempt of The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) to construct a world where many worlds can fit.”

Thank you for your subscription to Good Packaging. The theme of this issue is Mexico, because that is where we got the gumption to begin the undertaking. We have talked about it for some time.

The aim for Good Packaging is never to be a scrap book, but a systematic rendering of artistic endeavors. And because getting real mail is fun, we’ve chosen to spend time on box opening exhilaration.

Most importantly, we value you who enable us to do this. The motto for this issue is taken from a Zapatista saying: “It is possible to construct a world where there can exist many worlds.” The more people promote creative innovation and inspiration, well the more of that I guess there will be.

In your box you will find colorful materials backpacked by bus all the way from South Mexico to East Tennessee and then given over to the good ol US postal service to be lovingly carried to you. We’d like to explain why we included what we did.

Flags, fiestas, and sharing. Mexico is a country that celebrates; draping flags of paper or plastic is a way to signal in the sky that there are enjoyable activities taking place below. Your banner features traditional Mexican fabrics, paint chips from a paint store in Tuxtla, a vintage English textbook, and a found cookbook from a community in Virginia. Each banner is a one of a kind and original work by Ashley Addair celebrating the redefinition of cultural interactions and a nudge toward hosting our own times of “listening and learning” (a Zapatista objective) through the simple gathering of people. These fiesta flags aim to incorporate the dishes we know well here, like black walnut pound cake and corn pudding; hopefully reminding us that what we share is greater than our cultural differences.

Hecho en Mexico is the demo of Levon’s songwriting and recording at Don Pepe and Donna Escarlet’s. See the liner notes included for the full story on that. There’s also a generous yard of popular Mexican fabric with a book of DIY ideas and Spanish flashcards of some useful phrases. Finally we present our collaboration of the issue from the students of the American School of Tuxtla Gutierrez who created vegetable jungle creature post cards especially for the Good Packaging subscribers. Propogate your own snail mail.

We hope this package finds you well today. Put in the CD, hang the flags, cover the table with the fabric and have a fiesta.

Que les vaya bien,

levon walker and ashley addair

We are making some of the individual components of Good Packaging issues available for purchase at ashleyaddair.etsy.com.  The subscription is also available for purchase, its the better deal.

Tags: arctic monkeys, art and music subscription service, colorful, fiesta, flags, good packaging, hecho en mexico, humbug, make shit yourself, mexico, snail mail, the american school of chiapas, Travel, vegetable creatures