Food Swapping in Pittsburgh

Give-and-Take has been laying low in Pittsburgh during 2012. We’ve been out in the Bay Area sleuthing for new ideas around collaboration and resource sharing. One of our new favorite local socials is food swapping. We were lucky enough to score a seat at SF Swappers seasonal food swap and are sharing that process back to the Pittsburgh area.

Clothing socials haven’t disappeared but while we’re away, we’re happy to promote  PGH Food Swap, a first dip into food swapping in the ‘Burgh. There are still a few seats left, so check out the details and reserve a place if you’re interested in taking part.

New Dream Community Action Kit

The Center for a New American Dream has recently published a “How To“ kit for sharing within one’s community. Give-and-Take was included in their “Organizing a Community Swap” section, illustrating some of the tactics for hosting local swaps. Check out there toolkit for ideas around lending, time-sharing and other forms of collaboration.

Thank you Design for Social Innovation!

Thank you Constanza Miranda for the short profile on Give-and-Take’s effort to bring value to local communities by providing public services that take a collaborative approach to reuse. Check it out on Design for Social Innovation–a blog devoted to sharing ideas around the world for design and applied research that serves people first.

Give-and-Take shout-out from Pittsburgh’s City Paper

 

 

A big thanks goes out to the Pittsburgh City Paper and Abby Mendelson for profiling Give-and-Take in their Last Word.  Abby did a great job of introducing the underlying values fueling our community-based project.

Swapping Clothes for Fun, Creativity, and a New Economy

We were recently out in San Francisco and had a chance to cross paths with Sarah Brooks who is the Director of Social Innovation at Hot Studio. She’s also a writer with the online journal, Shareable. She wanted to understand how design methods and tools can be applied to  developing and building locally-based, informal economies. She was kind enough to write this article on Give-and-Take.

This article was taken directly from Craft Magazine:
This weekend, the Proper Business Attire Working Group set out to level the playing field at OWS. They outfitted the public in suits- complete with custom tailoring and haircuts. They used hula hoops with curtains as private temporary changing rooms, had sewing machines at the ready, and documented the whole process. In the midst of a crowded park, they transformed more than 120 people to reflect the seriousness of their message.

Our very own Becky Stern volunteered her time to help tailor and Max Cohn documented the entire process.

“I’m all about freedom and personal expression, but as much as I wish it weren’t true- it’s easier to be taken seriously when dressed in a suit. The principle applies to public speaking, job interviews, and even at social events, like weddings. The way we dress reflects how we want to be perceived- and a suit helps establish the wearer as someone who wants to take care of business. When I wear my Pearl Jam t-shirt from 1993, I’m telling everyone how much I love Eddie Vedder. When I wear a blazer and a skirt with heels, I’m telling the world that I’m filled with purpose, and that I know what I’m talking about.”

 

Thanks Pop City

 

 

Thanks Pop City for spending a few minutes with us to discuss Give-and-Take’s upcoming clothing social and to understand why we do what we do. Please check out Marty Levine’s brief article.

Update: Give-and-Take Mending Circle and Wood-Fired Pizza

One week until Give-and-Take’s clothing social, and we have exciting news:
We’ve confirmed sewing mentors for both days to support our mending circle (but happy to have more). So bring your small mending challenges and/or skills and jump into the mix. The station will also be self-service and equipped with machines and bric-a-brac. If you have your own tools that you prefer to use, please feel free to bring them.

Also, we can officially tell you that the outdoor pizza oven will be up and running from 3-6pm on Saturday, so please come ready for some wood-fired bites.

If you do stop by, don’t forget to bring some pre-loved clothing to donate. The project is fueled by your donations. If you have nothing to share, that’s fine too. We’re just happy to have you stop by.

See you next week.

 

Give-and-Take Clothing Social Weekend: October 8-9th, Braddock, PA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please join us at Braddock’s UnSmoke Gallery, 1137 Braddock Avenue, October 8-9th for a weekend long pop-up clothing social. If you’re interested in thrifting, repurposing or contributing clothes to the local community, please come and check us out. Over the weekend we will host:

• A clothing exchange where everything costs $1. Clothing comes from you, the public. All sizes. All genders. All seasons.          
• A drop-off for your clothing donations. Looking to clear out your closet or make a contribution to your community? Your clothes make the exchange possible. So bring your clean, gently worn stuff to us. For a list of what we’re able to accept, please see our donation page.
• A mending circle where we can help you fix or change clothes you bring from home or score at the exchange. We’ll have comfy couches, sewing machines, and most importantly,  mentors to help you do your thing.

Thrift. Donate. Mend. Or just hang out. The idea is for you stop by and be part of the mix. As a special treat, we’ll have the outdoor pizza oven up and going on Saturday from 3-5pm.

Would you be interested in contributing your skills? We’d love the help. We need sewing mentors; brave souls to make sense of all the donations; and all around ground troops to help us run the show. We have lots of opportunities. In thanks, we hope you’ll find some clothes you like at the social and fill up a bag for free.

Hours: UnSmoke Gallery, 1137 Braddock Avenue, Braddock
Oct 8   Saturday 1-6pm
Oct 9   Sunday 1-6pm

Please contact us if you have questions or want to volunteer. You can also email us directly at giveandtakepgh@gmail.com

A portion of the clothing social’s profits will be donated to support the The UnSmoke Gallery’s ongoing renovation and programming efforts.

September Sampler

 

 

 

 

Give-and-Take is gearing up to start a next round of public clothing collections to rebuild the clothing pile you all tore through at our kick-off event in Polish Hill. If you don’t feel like waiting to donate, send us an email and we’ll find a way to connect before then. In the meantime, head over to Recently Adopted and get a detailed look at some of these pre-loved items.

Enjoy!