"Luscious skyscrapers sprout beside mosquito-prone shantytowns. This is at once a city of paradise and of hell. But Mumbai's paradox is that it is often the dwellers of paradise who feel themselves in hell and the dwellers of hell who feel themselves in paradise...Walking amid the polychromatic chaos of Mumbai, one might ask: What other city so concentratedly distills the human predicament, in the fullness of its tragedy, its comedy, its absurdity and its promise?
Mumbaikars, as they are known, cannot resist one another, cannot resist Mumbai. Those who crave departure could depart if they wanted. They are still here. The newly arrived could have stayed in the villages, basking in their certainties. They too, choose to invest themselves here.
Neither investment is total, unreserved. But Mumbai works on the agglomeration of these hopes: Because so many cast their lots here, it becomes a place worth casting lots. The longer you remain, the less you notice what Mumbai looks, smells, sounds like. You think instead of what it could be. You become addicted to the companionship of 19 million beings. Surrounded by hells, you glimpse paradise."
- Anand Giridharadas, New York Times (11/09/08)
Gocco-printed notepad for The Ostrich, inspired by and in celebration of his 
With three (count 'em, three!) craft shows fast approaching, I didn't get around to trying anything new last week since I'm trying to get stuff done for all the Holiday sales. First on the to-do list is more felted mixtape pins. They were a huge hit at Woolly Grooves in September, and they keep getting lots of love. In fact, this pin is the first thing I've made that's received more attention from the boys! (Which makes me wonder, how come boys don't like acorns? Why doesn't everyone like acorns? Weird.). So, in attempt to capitalize on this new demographic I seem to have attracted, I'm making some limited edition Robot Mixtapes. I assume boys also like robots? I first saw this fabric (robots printed on natural linen) on Etsy and put off buying it because it was expensive and would take a long time to get here (it was coming from Japan). Lucky for me, Karyn at The Workroom started stocking it and my problems were solved. The silver thread is my favourite part.
