The Independent Stitch

On connecting with local foods (and other things)

I was in Denver on Thursday doing some errands, including buying a tripod so I can take photos of the swatches for the book that's coming out this fall (statement made with force and a determination to catch up, because I have to catch up).

For previous books, I've been able to put the swatches directly on the scanner. For this one, some of them are too big . . . and I've tried knitting them with finer yarn, but the results just don't look right . . . the finer yarns would be terrific for a knitted project that's to be used as knitting, but they don't meet the needs of the printed page.

So I need to be able to take perfectly square, clear photographs of swatches, some very long. Thus the quest for a tripod with a reversible center post, the ability to steadily support a minimum of 9 pounds/4.1 kg and some other attributes. I'd done a bunch of research online, but it was impossible to tell whether what I saw would do what I needed without examining an array of possibilities in person.

(By the way, the colors and specific yarns used to knit the swatches have been chosen to work well in black-and-white print reproduction. Also by the way, if the computers had not messed up repeatedly for just about four months I would already have printed advance reading copies of this book, which means I'd have already resolved this and a bunch of other challenges. Moving right along, there's been little posting around here because I've been making swatches. And doing a few rows on my dark-blue cardigan now and then, just to keep it fresh in my mind.)

Anyway, while I was in the city I didn't have time for WaterCourse or Jerusalem (or to make a new discovery), so I stopped for a salad-bar-and-muffin lunch at Whole Foods and picked up a copy of a brand-new magazine about local foods, called Edible Front Range, shown below with the tripod that promises to save my sanity and one of the swatches that's propelling me into solving yet another technical problem (because in the appropriate yarn it's about 3 inches/7.5 cm longer than the scanner bed).

A series of Edible publications is apparently springing up as part of a franchise operation throughout the U.S. Magazines are just being released or are in the works for other places I've lived (in no particular order): Seattle, Iowa, the upcoming Pioneer Valley, and close-enough-to-where-I-was Twin Cities and Chicago

Hmmm. I've been to all the places covered so far by Edible Communications publications except the Hawaiian islands, and I'm not sure I've been in Austin, although I've definitely traveled across Texas by car. Traveling across Texas (or Montana, or Kansas, or Saskatchewan) by car is something you don't forget (it's quite far across Ontario, of course, but there's more readily apparent variety en route; same with Quebec). The drive across Texas was so many years ago that I don't remember whether Austin was on the highways we traveled, and the city would have changed since then anyway. . . . The highways were still mostly two-lane. . . . I think I've been on Texas-crossing trajectories both farther north and farther south than Austin. . . .

These magazine launches all appear to be new. What a massive enterprise. It will be interesting to see when and how the variants develop their own characters within the format. These would be great resources for traveling, too.

(Here's how to get started with an Edible Your Place publication for an area that isn't being served yet.)
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My analysis of the first issue of Edible Front Range: Interesting articles and unusually good writing (by the estimable Claire Walter, among others). I actually read the whole magazine (I usually read like a skipping stone . . . ).

They need to work on their photography. Even the custom photos look like stock, and I definitely wanted to see more. Food is sensuous, but I didn't perceive much of that through the photos that were used, although they did a good job with composition and cropping on the images they did include. The personality and individuality of the foods and people just didn't come through, and the apparent lack of captions didn't help (if there were captions, I couldn't find them). My guess is that this preliminary issue was put together quickly, and photos can be challenging to acquire and process (see tripod discussion above). Fine writing goes a long way for me, and it saved the day here.

There's a whole cluster of local food-related businesses in a part of Denver that I've driven through many times. I wouldn't have known they were there. Now I do, and we'll be able to explore next time we're in the urban area. There's a winery, a bakery, a coffee roaster, a candy factory, and more. . . . All on north Washington. . . . I know where there's a winery closer to home, many excellent breweries (if I liked beer I think I would be blissed out by the alternatives), and several cheesemakers, and a bunch of dog biscuit outfits (I wonder if the Edibles will include critter crunchies?).

It would be fun to get involved in the Slow Food movement in this area, if I weren't spending so much time working on the Slow Fiber movement (I just made that up . . . it sounds a little odd).

On missing BookExpo America, and on the new IndieBound

This is the first year since 2002 that I haven't been at BookExpo America, the massive annual convention for the book industry. I like going, not so much for the mobs of people and the free books and the "scene" (which are all overwhelming) as for the people and the ideas. There are many people I don't see elsewhere that I won't be visiting with this year.

The convention opens today in Los Angeles, and I'm at my desk in my basement office, just as if today was a normal day.

The massive computer problems I've had this year ate up both my time and any cash I might have diverted to pay for the trip. I usually find a local hostel to stay in, so the big-ticket items are airfare and the pre-BEA educational gatherings sponsored by what used to be PMA and is now, more appropriately, The Independent Book Publishers Association. So it's a lot less expensive trip for me than for many attendees, but still out of reach this year. I need to be here working on the book that will be published in October (Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland, by Donna Druchunas).

Nonetheless, I can read about what's happening at BookExpo.

This morning, Bookselling This Week, which arrives in my inbox on a more regular basis than I have time to keep up with, let me know that the American Booksellers Association has announced a new program called IndieBound, connecting independent booksellers to the "live locally" movement. Here's the gist of what they said about it:

• "Following a year of study and planning, ABA designed IndieBound to tap into the growing national localism movement, with fresh ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better convey their core strengths —independence, passion, community—to customers. A community-based website, IndieBound.org, has launched today as well, and will serve as the gateway for the entire indie community, with access to The Declaration of IndieBound manifesto, book-related related content, and more functionality planned for the coming weeks and months."
• "The program is designed to unite booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances, and others in support of local activism and local economies and to lead an Independent Revolution."

Anything that brings independents together is a good thing. It's too easy for any independent business to feel like it's the only one swimming against the corporate tide, and sometimes our arms get tired and we want to rest for a while, but if we do that we'll end up being swept out to sea and drowned.

The project's website talks about the title and focus of the endeavor:

• "Each page of a book carries something totally incredible and unique, but when they are all brought together, they build something infinitely greater."

And here's a quote from a bookstore owner about the project:

• "An integral part of IndieBound's purpose, to bring together local businesses of all stripes, is what appeals to Kelly Justice of the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia. 'The most exciting thing to me about IndieBound is being able to officially partner with my neighbor businesses in our pride and passion for the city of Richmond and the things that make it unique. . . . [T]his flexible, modular revolution allows me to focus on relationships with my fellow merchants and customers. . . . I'm ready to save the day in my hometown! Are you?"

I think, in lieu of a trip to BookExpo this year, I might splurge on a t-shirt. But which one?