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chicote

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Posts posted by chicote

  1. My thoughts on this have changed a lot over the last few years. While I do think that in any instance of cultural exchange it’s very relevant (perhaps more than anything else) to consider the colonial & imperial power imbalance between the two cultures, I think that traditional cultural objects—like jewelry, pottery, beadwork, etc, from indigenous cultures all around the world—and the living artisans who still produce and sell goods made traditionally need to be supported more than ever, along with traditional storytellers, holders of language, and shamans / witches / curanderos or whatever word you’d like to use for a holder of spiritual knowledge.

     

    It reminds me, in a funny way, of a John Berger documentary I watched several years ago, and then again a few weeks back, called Pig Earth (an old BBC channel 4 special). It’s about a number of years he spent living in a peasant village in France in the 70s, and what he learned to appreciate about the peasant way of life that he believes contains essential knowledge for those looking to return to a way of life more connected with our ancestors and with the earth. The first time I watched it, I felt he was being hopelessly nostalgic - something he even discusses feeling himself towards the end of the film. But more recently, I really understood the urgency of his message. Peasant life, and the hundreds of generations of ancestral wisdom, storytelling, craftsmanship and magic it encompasses, is one of the most fragile cultures in existence in any society, all around the world. It lives and dies with the people who carry on its traditions. As Berger illustrated, even back in the 70s, all but one young person from the village he inhabited had left the mountains for the city, leaving the town to crumble and decay beneath its aging population. In our present economic condition, this can happen in one generation.

     

    It’s one of the saddest memories I have from my time in the Ecuadorian Amazon five years ago, sitting under a massive, four hundred foot long casa comunal built from etched tree trunks and a thatched two-foot-deep roof made of woven palm fronds, observing a few dozen Shuar elders sitting together on one side, drinking chicha, barefoot, with their faces painted, joyfully telling stories they’d learned from their ancestors to one another in their native tongues — and on the other side, three dozen young kids, 5 to 15 years old, roughly, in sneakers and skinny jeans, hunched over cell phones playing some call of duty style war game in total silence. I feel so heavily impacted by that memory and consider it essential to the way my thinking has evolved around the topic of “cultural appropriation”. Rather, I think anybody interested in a culture, not for money or clout but out of genuine admiration and respect, needs to be encouraged and celebrated in pursuing whatever their interest leads them to.

    It’s an entirely different matter when H&M or Target starts selling stolen indigenous designs, obviously, but I think it’s equally pernicious that them and other large companies have made conditions such that the craftspeople and artisans who originated these designs have a dwindling number of people to pass their knowledge onto. And that’s something that I believe deserves equal attention when we talk about cultural exchange — that the overall attrition of economic and social power is forcing these deep, rich, beautiful cultures —that we’re supposed to be ashamed to show interest in — completely out of existence.

     

    anyway, here is that John Berger movie if anyone’s interested. It’s really worth watching, if just for the storytelling and photography alone!

     

     

  2. Thanks so much for the feedback, you guys. I am thinking of going the DIY boot polish route, at least to start. Three coats of Saphir Reno soaked nicely into the leather but didn’t make any noticeable difference in the colour of the abraded areas. I’ll look into the Collonil product that attractions carries; I’ve heard really good things about one of their leather care products in a green jar (called diamante something? Maybe?) but have no firsthand experience.

  3. Where I am living in the US, even at this point in the overinflated vintage market, I come across vintage, made in USA Type III jackets somewhat regularly in vintage stores for between $35-75 depending on condition. As such, I wouldn’t pay $45 for a non vintage jacket personally, but again, value is subjective.

    If you’re looking for a piece you’d plan to resell or show off to vintage denim collectors, this isn’t a good choice. But if you just want something to wear and find the unique details of this piece make it worth it to you, then don’t let us dissuade you!

    As for durability, between a new-ish Chinese made jacket and a 40+ year old vintage one, I might still give a slight edge to the vintage one, but that’s only because I know the denim will hold up. If the denim of the jacket you’re looking at is too flimsy it might wear through the elbows or tear a seam sooner than a vintage jacket would. But I am just speculating, and have no idea what sort of fabric is on the jacket you have.

  4. We have a community sale thread here, but otherwise I’d probably recommend the app Grailed - it has the broadest reach for brands like Kapital that bridge over into high fashion a bit.

  5. That sounds amazing. I’m in western Washington now but have some friends in the cascades who have a similar hope this winter. The goat became several meals because I didn’t realize I’d end up with about 35 pounds of edible meat… I learned from cooking alongside some achuar chefs in the Ecuadorean Amazon to make really rich broths with the blood, organs and ribs, so made a sort of improvised ground nut stew with potatoes and chard, then later made an osso bucco with the shanks, the front legs I roasted and most of the rest ended up getting frozen and then given to my neighbour a few months later… don’t remember what he made but he fed a dozen people with it! I’d love to see what you end up making with the rest of your venison whenever you get around to it.

  6. ^That’s amazing!! I attempted to butcher and roast a whole goat last december for some friends who were coming into town - needless to say, it was exhausting, both because it was gruesome and extremely difficult. gave me a lot of respect for the study and care that knowledgeable butchers devote to their craft… and got me to invest in a good whetstone for my knives, lol. Thank you for sharing and enjoy your meals!

  7. Got a question for you all…

    I just picked up this really nice 60s horsehide jacket off of yahoo auctions. The listing mentioned that the lining had been replaced and that the rest of the jacket had “general wear”. There weren’t any super close up photos of the wear, but from the overall shots I thought the patina looked nice and so sprung for it. And besides that, it was the first jacket I’d found in weeks of searching that had exactly the measurements I was after.

    I’m really happy with the fit, at least.

    89028771-8545-49E1-B66A-593D08755EEE.thumb.jpeg.aa19922a859689712f4bf3b93e481683.jpeg999C0943-8D21-4F62-9460-60CF63CE0EC6.thumb.jpeg.a86d78bf8e3070a4c71a03af6852f2df.jpeg
     

    The problem is that when I got the jacket and was able to look it over in person, I realized that the “patina” the jacket has was largely made by sandpaper. I confess to having been ignorant of the fact that people actually did shit like this, but I guess given what people were doing to their raw denim 15 years ago (and the many instances of sandpaper-“fading” denim in Japan over that same time) i should have been on the lookout for it.

    Anyway, I will still wear this jacket as is, but I’d really like to figure out some way to polish the sandpaper scuffs out of the leather. They’re not deep, but they’re really obvious in person and i don’t want to give the impression that I might have done this “fading” myself, lol. I’d rather polish or dye the whole jacket black and start all over than have the wear that’s currently on it. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on what to do, I’d really appreciate hearing. Here are some close ups - again, photos don’t show the scratches nearly as well as they show up in real life.4A9DFFC6-E417-4622-9307-9FF702C4AB4C.thumb.jpeg.0b7f20bcfe8f0d9e5eff5ab1a9ee5be6.jpegB8CA58DC-3F1E-48BC-ADED-F79AB042FBC1.thumb.jpeg.622acf5d1d7871bd9f8ab1b95a56206e.jpeg98E378FA-E15E-4410-86AB-D906D7B3BCC6.thumb.jpeg.54784cf5b1fcd0f3eceb34cd96050188.jpeg

     

  8. ^ As someone with a decent amt of knowledge of the labour movement in higher education, I’d argue that the California system is one of the best to work for precisely because of the strength and persistence of its union. And that goes for most industries, honestly! I know there are some major ongoing strikes in the UK as well, including one that was recently settled by a large union of university faculty. Wishing you and your coworkers all success in your efforts, @julian-wolf!

  9. Just received these Unmarked all-leather sneakers yesterday and have to say that so far I’m really impressed.

    6B4BF7A4-5DC3-4F64-A155-5E93C045F487.thumb.jpeg.0f680d7f5a17627cecdef3a0157e604e.jpeg

    The construction is on point; the sewing isn’t completely flawless but there’s very well done twin needle stitching holding every seam. The leather is thick and stiffer than I expected, but the sneakers are very light, maybe only a bit heavier than my non-leather new balances and very easy to move around in. I went mushroom picking in them yesterday and found they gripped well on the mud and slippery leaves, though I did slip once on a log.

    The inside of the sneakers is my favourite part so far. Really nice, soft leather used on the upper with a somewhat more solid insole.

    A3AC8967-7EF9-4486-B5BC-D5D823A8786D.thumb.jpeg.e05f7443dcc773039f5ad7e1623bbbaf.jpeg

    All said, for $180 shipped I’m really glad to have gotten these. I’m over burning through a pair of canvas sneakers once a year and am hoping that these will prove their worth over time. And although Unmarked’s branding is pretty obnoxious (to say nothing of their awful website), it’s at least minimal enough to not be noticeable while wearing, so I can look past it.

    Bonus shot of a handful of chanterelles:

    072AF332-C7A0-43B2-AF04-3957DFAAD752.thumb.jpeg.458706859d49bc44db8ef6662bf89192.jpeg

  10. Oh that’s awesome! Santa Fe seems like a great place to start a family - so much to do outdoors, so much art and history and places to explore. My friends who have grown up there have said the only thing they wished for was more of an opportunity to meet people outside their community, and that being a teen particularly can be really tough if you are stuck in the little town bubble. But people’s families seem to grow really close and trusting in that environment, and that’s so needed nowadays. I’m really glad for you all and wish you and your family so much beautiful, peaceful and creative time together.

  11. Ay that’s sick! You’re living in Santa Fe or just visiting? I’m back in olympia now probably til the end of the year, then we’ll see. Hope you’re enjoying it up in Santa Fe, i had some great times there!

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