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SWAP-O-RAMA-RAMA
DIY Clothing Recycling
Swap Event Returns to NYC
Transforming Consumers Into Creators

Friday, October 8th

Brooklyn, New York - Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a multi-city, international clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores reuse through the transformation of used clothing, will be hosting its third New York event on October 8th, 2006. Swap-O-Rama-Rama began in NYC in Oct 2005 and has since grown to over 25 cities throughout the world. The event will take place from 1pm to 8pm at Brooklyn&39;s 20,000 square ft art venue, The 3rd Ward located at 195 Morgan Avenue ( http://3rdwardbrooklyn.org ). Attendance is expected to reach 1500 or more as NY&39;ers make their annual recycling pilgrimage. An expected 10,000 lbs of clothing will be recycled. Admission to the swap is $10.00 and each participant is required to bring one bag of unwanted clothing. All of the materials for creativity are free once inside the event. Left over clothing from Swap-O-Rama-Rama is donated to local charities.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama beings with each attendee&39;s contribution of one bag of unwanted clothing. Collectively this produces a 5,000 to 10,000 pile of free clothing that is saved from landfill and made new as it is redistributed and then transformed by each participant through artist taught how-to workshops, thematic workstations and with the assistance of a gathering of skilled local re-use designers, artists and do-it-yourselfers who are there to share their knowledge. Each swap also hosts a fashion show that features the recycled designs of local designers who are exploring re-use as well as a fashion show for attendees of the event in which they are invited to show off the modified wearables that they made earlier in the day.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama workshops are taught by local artists of all calibers. They cover a wide range of skill sets and material uses and range from technology based workshops such as Mike Sklars how-to in which he demonstrates replacing ordinary clothing pockets with metallic fiber pockets for the purpose of creating a wearable faraday cage to block RFID tag readers to explorations of new textiles such as playable sonic fabric created from recycled cassette tape or Kate Sweaters recycled plastics used for wallets and bags created from ironed plastic grocery bags. Traditional crafts such as embroidery, knitting, beading and appliqué can also be found. If guests want to be hands-on they can slide over to any number of do-it-yourself work stations and get started: sewing stations with sewing machines run by knowledgeable clothing and costume designers; silk screening, and decoration stations for working with beads, buttons, and a variety of accoutrements. This coming NY swap will feature a team of FIT students offering "styling" to those who want to create a new look from recycled materials. All attendees are offered labels to use to cover up existing branding on clothing so that clothing will no longer reflect social divisions created by broadcasting the spending power of the individual offered by traditional branding. These are replaced with labels that read "100 Recycled" and "Modified By Me" and thus celebrate the expanse of ones creativity.

Craft magazine will be launching it&39;s first ever issue at the event. The first 250 people to attend will receive a free copy and many subscriptions will be given out as prizes at the event. Craft is the first project-based magazine dedicated to the renaissance that is occurring within the world of crafts. Celebrating the DIY spirit, Craft's goal is to unite, inspire, inform and entertain a growing community of highly imaginative people who are transforming traditional art and crafts with unconventional, unexpected and even renegade techniques, materials and tools; resourceful spirits who undertake amazing crafting projects in their homes and communities. We call them "Makers". Craft is published by O'Reilly, publishers of Make Magazine.

Following years of small swaps held in NYC apartments, creator Wendy Tremayne produced the first public Swap-O-Rama-Rama in New York City on October 9, 2005 with the help of a grant from Black Rock Arts (http://www.blackrockarts.org ). The first event was attended by over 500 people and recycled an estimated 4,000lbs of clothing. A second even larger swap was produced in NYC on February 20, 2006. Swap-O-Rama-Rama&39;s have since sprung up in over 20 cities around the world including Jerusalem, Israel. Each of these splinter groups are supported by Swap-O-Rama-Rama creator Wendy Tremayne through an on line email list for the exchange of information and resources. She also supplies free web space, email lists and art and materials. Grants are being sought to help Swap-O-Rama-Ramas develop and grow.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama has captured the attention of many with media coverage that includes Treehugger TV, Fiber Arts Magazine, Women&39;s Wear Daily, and The New York Times Style Section to name a few. This coming NY swap will be shot for a segment of Green Home Today.

The spirit of the swap is an extension of artist Wendy Tremayne&39;s feelings about consumerism and waste in our culture. The swap is an effort to turn consumers into creators by uniting individuals with DIY (do-it-yourself) skills and by taking creativity back from industry. Attendees are encouraged to resist the marketing efforts of the fashion industry and the marketing that perpetuates a need for new amongst a giant textile surplus in the US during a critical time in which recycling is necessary for the health of the planet. Swap-O-Rama-Rama offers a way to obtain new/used clothing and learn and create without the use of newly made resources.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama is licensed under a Creative Commons deed that allows others to copy and perform the work with exclusion to corporate entities.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama is fiscally sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). Organizations that donate to 501Cs can make a tax-deductible donation to Swap-O-Rama-Rama through NYFA (nyfa.org).

Swap-O-Rama-Rama: http://www.swaporamarama.org



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