🍄patches and punk🍄
I remember vividly the first time I discovered hardcore punk. I was a loner nerd in middle school and would spend hours at the local library looking for new good content. Mind you, this was before I had internet, or an iPod. I would comb the surprisingly broad selection of CDs and DVDs trying to find something cool. All the music and videos were donated, so there actually was a decent selection.
One day, I stumbled across a DVD, American Hardcore. It looked interesting. I had already been listening to some Bikini Kill, PJ Harvey and L7, courtesy of my mom's friend who would make me ~cOoL mIx CDs~. She encouraged my tween angst-fueled obsession with angry femme music.
Anyways, I brought home American Hardcore, and I was engrossed. Fully. The pure raw energy I felt when hearing that music was indescribable. I was jealous of the interviewees, I wished I had been there. Ever since I have been obsessed with that era, punk music, punk ideas.
The other day I remembered the greatest story of Wendy O. Williams. The Plasmatics were playing a show in my home town, Milwaukee, WI. Wendy was known for her wild, aggressive performances and sexually liberated outfits. At this particular show, she was mimicking masturbation with a sledgehammer as part of her act. The cops didn't like that. She was arrested, and beaten, the cops claiming she had attacked them. The story and her mugshot went down in history.
So fast forward 15 or so years and here I am, making weird shit that pleases my inner tween. I'm making my 14 year old self happy for once! Along the way, I have been inspired by so many other artists, musicians and weirdos that also indulge in the stink of punk. One of them is Kelsey Rubenstein, creator of Whatever NBD. She is an avid environmentalist, and strives everything she creates to be as sustainable as possible. She painted on recycled clothing, sells vintage, and sews her own styles with recycled fabrics. This is a pic of one of her jackets from her personal collection, featured on her instagram:
I love a good button-y patch-y jacket. It's like a wearable collage. An amalgam of stories, symbols and messages wrapped around your body. A badass, very punk, DIY beautiful ugly mess.❤️❤️❤️
There are a lot of people who have multiple jackets that look like this. People that collect patches, pins, and buttons (I may or may not be one of them). For those of you who are just dabblers, or just getting your collection started, I made this handy little video on how to care for iron on patches.
One day, I stumbled across a DVD, American Hardcore. It looked interesting. I had already been listening to some Bikini Kill, PJ Harvey and L7, courtesy of my mom's friend who would make me ~cOoL mIx CDs~. She encouraged my tween angst-fueled obsession with angry femme music.
The other day I remembered the greatest story of Wendy O. Williams. The Plasmatics were playing a show in my home town, Milwaukee, WI. Wendy was known for her wild, aggressive performances and sexually liberated outfits. At this particular show, she was mimicking masturbation with a sledgehammer as part of her act. The cops didn't like that. She was arrested, and beaten, the cops claiming she had attacked them. The story and her mugshot went down in history.
So fast forward 15 or so years and here I am, making weird shit that pleases my inner tween. I'm making my 14 year old self happy for once! Along the way, I have been inspired by so many other artists, musicians and weirdos that also indulge in the stink of punk. One of them is Kelsey Rubenstein, creator of Whatever NBD. She is an avid environmentalist, and strives everything she creates to be as sustainable as possible. She painted on recycled clothing, sells vintage, and sews her own styles with recycled fabrics. This is a pic of one of her jackets from her personal collection, featured on her instagram:
I love a good button-y patch-y jacket. It's like a wearable collage. An amalgam of stories, symbols and messages wrapped around your body. A badass, very punk, DIY beautiful ugly mess.❤️❤️❤️
There are a lot of people who have multiple jackets that look like this. People that collect patches, pins, and buttons (I may or may not be one of them). For those of you who are just dabblers, or just getting your collection started, I made this handy little video on how to care for iron on patches.
I always recommend stitching patches in addition to ironing for durability(and also its way more punk😘).