Happy Sunday, friends! It is always a treat to bring you this sweet dose of creativity & i hope it is just as exciting to be on the receiving end. scroll down for playlist recommendations, a silly romantic bingo card, some exciting upcoming NYC events and so much more. We might have lost an hour of sleep last night, but here’s to an exciting spring ahead for us all <3 Keep crafting!

Our Muse-ings

something to journal on: this unique journaling prompt came through my Substack feed the other day and quickly caught my interest. For those of us who have a regular journaling practice it can feel monotonous to dialogue in the same way we always do. This graph offers another way of exploring journaling themes but in a new format and with the simple invitation to reflect. enjoy!

Something to listen to: this playlist by RecCreate’s very own, Vyanka Sotelo<3 if you are somewhere between ambient sounds, dance music, and nostalgic tunes this playlist is the perfect accompaniment to your daily tasks, commute, or even your work out. the combination of sounds is oddly inspiring and might even encourage you to make a playlist of your very own. Might we suggest something that is your perfect blend of calming, igniting, and just beautiful. playlist as creative practice is totally allowed here.

Something to do: DANCE CHURCH!🕺🏾 If you know me (zibby) in real life, you have heard me on my dance church soap box & now i am here to bring it to all 5,000 of you! Dance Church is a community dance class where attendees can expect to dance energetically, freely, and with the benefit of light instruction and amazing music. If you are someone who doesn’t LOVE the gym, someone who is craving a night of dancing without a bar tab, or just looking for a new way to move your body, join me at Dance Church! And lucky for you they have classes all over the country (NYC, Seattle, Philly, Portland (both!) and many more!).

Something to Muse On: Friction-Maxxing ✨

In a session of Lost Wax Casting this January a group of attendees were discussing the trendy term friction-maxxing. They were discussing the relevance of the term as a very astute description of what was taking place just then in that room. 20 millennials and Gen z’s carving their own silver rings from a wax mold just to be cast in silver a day or so later and returned to them a few weeks after that. The complete opposite of ordering something of the same value on a highly popular marketplace such as amazon and having it delivered to your door in 2 business days (MAX!).

As a crafter, a third space enthusiast, and chronically online, you would think that the phrase friction-maxxing was a part of my regular vocabulary but it was that moment where I heard the term for the first time. Ever since I’ve thought more about the value of friction-maxxing and how i can be doing it all the time!

Friction-maxxing, for those who are unfamiliar, is a response to the popularity of the convenience economy and the collective realization that convenience might be harming our brains and our communities. Convenience culture shows up in many of our daily endeavors: buying groceries online and having them delivered to your door, ordering your favorite salad through an app so you don’t have to waste time waiting to order in line, and of course asking a robot our more challenging questions so not to spend time researching the answer ourselves.

We are losing our tolerance of inconvenience. Our obsession with convenience makes it difficult for us to handle uncomfortable situations. We are more likely to avoid human connection when we are trying to maximize our time and our comfort. And we are refusing the exercise the problem solving parts of our brains, which are often the more creative corners. Many of us share in the fear of what big tech might take from us the more we rely on it, and rejecting the convenience economy is one revolutionary way to respond to that fear.

There are so many useful ways to reject convenience and invite friction, and luckily for us craft spaces are inherently frictious! Making your own new favorite mug with some clay and your hands? Friction! Spending 2 hours crafting a necklace with beads you’ve thrifted and foraged for? Friction! Mending an old shirt by stitching a new design over an old stain? Friction!

Friction Maxxing has inspired me to think about ways i can make my life harder. Maybe that sounds crazy but i think it engages my critical thinking pathway and my creative mind in a new way. when everything isn’t at our fingerprints what are we encouraged to do? maybe instead of using my phone to read the news i decide to pick up a newspaper at the bodega. Suddenly I get the chance to connect with my bodega guy. Maybe instead of ordering my mom a last minute birthday gift i spend some time making something homemade. Now i’ve saved money and probably gifted something more meaningful to us both. More time is spent, but connection and creativity is tapped in the process.

I’m trying to reframe inconvenience and friction as an entry point, a muse, or a period of inspiration rather than a waste of time and resources. Inviting friction is a practice at connecting with my humanness and it is an opportunity to see the world with a wider perspective. Convenience is a privilege. Inconvenience is a guarantee. i would rather build up my innate resilience and see what wonderful lessons it has in store than pretend i am capable of evading discomfort.

<3

Goings On

Go to a poetry reading! The Poetry Project, operating out of St Marks Church in East Village has a series of public readings throughout march. You can find some of the upcoming dates on their website here. Tickets are around $10 <3 Enjoy!

Go on a walking tour! To honor Women’s history month this March join the NYPL for a walking tour on women’s suffrage. On Saturday March 14th spend the morning and afternoon learning more about the origins of the suffrage movement right here in NYC’s East Village. Learn more here

Parktake in a spelling bee! This Thursday in Ridgewood, the Ridgewood Commons Writing Workshop is hosting a public spelling bee in the style of bar trivia. come with a team to prove your skills at spelling some of the most complicated words in the english language! Entry is a $5 donation encouraged & there will be drinks and snacks for purchase. All funds go to supporting this communal space.

Manifest a Meet Cute <3

In the spirit of unexpected and unusual creative practices, I recently had the spark of inspiration to create a romantic manifestation bingo sheet. After a few hours on an airplane and some in-put from friends, this meet cute bingo card came to life!

i invite you to print/save this silly resource to be used however you please (time to start manifesting!). I hope it is also an invitation (reminder!) that creativity gets to be funny and flirty and totally random.

Join me in getting off the internet and into our daily lives and seeing what exciting abundance we can find when we start living!

In The Studio

Calling all textile lovers! We’re throwing a day-long textile art soirée inspired by the Hello Adrianne world. It will be choose your own adventure with the following textile and collage stations available: Customize a piece from your closet with one of Adrianne’s Italian food iron ons; Experiment with Adrianne’s iconic textile illustration technique, customizing a mini tote bag; Collage food inspired matchbooks for all your hosting needs with magazines and Adrianne’s washi tapes + stickers

This spring we are making incense! Join RecCreate and instructor Helen Yang to learn the wonderful history and practices of incense followed by a session of making your very own. Talk about friction-maxxing in the best way… <3

And to close out this first month of spring we are hosting our first ever Trans Day of Visibility craft night. Trans folks are invited to spend an evening designing custom shrinky dink earrings and/or carabiner keychains. Expect a sweet evening of community, and the opportunity to explore how craft can help us express our truest self and collectively imagine a more beautiful and abundant future.

Forever your Fans,

Zibby & Team RecCreate <3