Well my friends it is the end of the Summer of 2013. I hope for all it was a fantabulous one! I know for us here at Mushpa y Mensa it was inspiring and wondrous! This entry goes out to those who are looking to do something creative with their old flip-flops of summers past. Check out this video!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHUwmrOpFE&w=560&h=315]
Thanks Ocean Sole!
– Mushpa
Mensa and I are always talking about consuming less, needing less, getting rid of excess. Things that anchor us to one place be it literally, monetarily or mentally.
We do little things like take our worn out old clothes, wash them and then cut them into a million little pieces to stuff our Plush Pets…
…or make some deeelicious seitan from scratch, while whipping up some organic, coconut oil based mayo… I personally am extremely gifted in mixing alcohol with almost any “leftover” liquids (frozen or flowing) and it tasting like nothing you’ve ever had before (in a very good way).
Some bigger things are Mensa creating an amazing backpack out of an old bag, after her million year old bag disintegrated right before our very eyes. The very backpack we packed with soy milk (something we have talked about learning how to make since we consume so much of it…stay tuned) and such this weekend after working in the co-op (don’t ask). We biked over 8 miles and this revitalized beauty made it through like a champion!
We also made our fantastical Mushpa y Mensa cloth sign out of old pillow cases and fabric pieces. See below…
We are making it happen more and more every day, but we need a challenge….something to keep our momentum soaring towards our destiny. What we came up with is…well let’s start slow, why don’t you get to know us first…see what we mean when we say “from scratch”.
We are here for a reason, all of us. Let’s make some stuff together, see what we think, then figure something out. Let’s connect as they say, in a good way.
This is our 100th blog post and the start of something gargantuous! :] Life, as La Mensa would say is, “pretty bad-ass.”
– La Mushpa
A nice afternoon, two cold and delicious ginger lemon cocktails, a bright colored wall, some nice shirts and your everyday fire escape was all we needed for an amazing photo-shoot.
To make something beautiful pop even more, I really feel like you only need a couple of essential things. And that’s all we used:
Amazing light, music, and a nice camera…
Here’s a sneak peak to our latest photo-shoot….
cute….
We applied for Pridefest today. They asked us 2 questions, we have them below to check out if you’d like. It may help you get a better idea of who we are and how we think. Enjoy…
What are your group’s major accomplishments?
i.e., are you the longest running, oldest, largest of any kind?
A major accomplishment, well starting a business in January of this year for one. Secondly, people really loving our raw attempt at different types of art forms than we’re used to working with. Maria Emilia, being more of a painter, sculptor and I, a film major who fixes computers and builds websites. Nevertheless, people love our jewelry, which we design from a force beyond our own brains into our capable hands, magic felt dolls made out of recycled plastic bottles, 100% organic cotton tees with fantastical original designs like Binary Queer, which is Queer spelled out in binary code (check it out here http://www.etsy.com/listing/150007505/binary-queer-organic-cotton-t) and whatever else our maniacal minds may come up with. We didn’t really think of the selling part so much, but jumped right in after opening our Etsy store, www.mushpamensa.com. Markets we have done thus far are, The Market NYC, Fulton Flea, Astoria Market and we are doing Saint Anthony’s Market over on Sullivan and Houston this weekend. Maria Emilia and I really like being mobile. We also like meeting the people who buy our art. We tend to strike up conversations about their career choices, life choices, they laugh, relate, appreciate our shirts and generally are really good, interesting people themselves. These good people are drawn to our stuff (and us). That gives us hope in humanity. It sounds dramatic, but riding the New York City subway during rush hour, well that changes a person, people are at their worst then. People on a Saturday or Sunday walking in the sun, well they’re alright.
Give us a brief description of your main goals, functions, and/or mission.
We are a small eco-boutique that moves around the city’s outdoor (and at times indoor) markets, advocating for local, eco-conscious, women-owned, queer-owned, small businesses all over the world, and of course also to sell and spread our art, messages, laughter, love, et cetera! We hope people see we love what we are doing (which is making a living selling our art), and get inspired to make small changes in their lives. Small moments become large movements. It’s true. Mushpa y Mensa is a small team with really big dreams.
Come check us out tomorrow at St. Anthony’s Market in the city from 10-8PM.
See you then!
– Mushpa
Remember in science class we would do random experiments that would ultimately teach us something about our elemental world. Salt crystals, freezing flowers with liquid nitrogen and then shattering them, testing liquids and forming chemical reactions? Well, quite accidentally we did an experiment when dying a shirt this week and it was totally cool!
We dyed a batch of shirts with organic turmeric. Note that this was our first time using this specific natural dye for cotton fabrics. Pretty straight forward dying technique. Hot water + a good amount of turmeric + a natural mordant, like salt, y listo, we had yellow shirts. We rinsed them with water until no more dye came out, like three times. Perfect!
Then we wanted to double test the fabric so we warmed up some water with soap, dipped the shirts in the water….and…sayyy whaaaaaaaat? The water and shirts immediately turned red!!!! We had no idea what had just happened. Magic!?!? : ) It brought us back to doing those experiments in science class.
After a quick research we found out the following
“Turmeric has a pigment known as xanthophylls, which lends the yellow color to it. It also has a pigment called as carotene, which is reddish orange in color. When turmeric comes in contact with detergent, it reacts with the fatty acids present in the detergent and hence the carotene pigment gets more active than the xanthophylls and turmeric turns red. When turmeric is combined with any base liquid like soap it turns red in color while when turmeric comes in contact with any substance like that of vinegar, that is acidic in nature, it turns yellow.”
We had no idea, so for those of you who have bought our amazing turmeric shirts I would say make sure you wash them by hand, separately, just in case of any bleeding.
On to future discoveries.
– Mushpa y Mensa
p.s. – Come check out these amazing turmeric shirts today at The Fulton Flea (located at 650 Fulton Street between Fort Greene Place and South Elliott Place (near the intersection of Lafayette Avenue) in Brooklyn, NY.). We will be there from noon to 8PM. The market is right next to BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) http://www.bam.org/, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens http://www.bbg.org/, the Brooklyn Public Library http://www.bklynpubliclibrary.org/, good food and many other amazing Brooklyn sites! Make it a great day.
We here at Mushpa y Mensa have been working the last few weekends at The Market NYC. It was a great few weeks, but now that the weather is getting nicer we have decided it is time to hit up the outdoor markets. We applied to a few other venues this week for this weekend and the next few throughout the summer. Once they get back to us we will let you know. If you have any ideas or suggestions where you would like us to sell, feel free to comment away. This is our first few months of business and our first experience at markets so let us know. Also, any insider tips from other vendors are welcome as well.
One upcoming market you can come and chill with us at is Astoria Market in Queens. It will be in the garden at Bohemian Hall (aka outdoor beer garden) on June 2nd from 1-6PM. What does that mean???? It means come, drink, be merry, buy awesome, organic, original, hand printed, fantabulous t-shirts in the sun!!!! That sounds awesome!
Thanks to everyone for their support and love these last few months. We appreciate it.
Besos,
Mushpa
We here at Mushpa y Mensa wanted to wish everyone in the know and unknown universes a Happy Mother’s Day!!! We hope it is filled with much love and fantabulous brunches. If you don’t fall under the Mother’s Day umbrella then we wish you an amazing Sunday of fantastical brunches. You’re welcome. :]
We honor our Mothers and our dear Mother Earth at Mushpa y Mensa with our “No More Stitches, Mama Earth Needs a Cure” shirt. You may pick one (or a fafillion) up for you, your mom, your mom’s mom, or anyone really since it is about honoring Mama Earth today at The Market NYC (159 Bleecker Street) from 12pm-8pm!!!
In other news, Mushpa y Mensa got a shout out this week by Jeffrey Hartinger of Generation: (WH)Y?. Check out the story here.
– La Mushpa y La Mensa
Be sure to check us out at….
Mushpa y Mensa Website – http://www.mushpamensa.com
Mushpa y Mensa Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/musphamensa/mushpa-y-mensa
Mushpa y Mensa Twitter – https://twitter.com/mushpamensa
Mushpa y Mensa Tumblr – http://mushpamensa.tumblr.com
What only one day left to catch us at The Market NYC (159 Bleecker Street)? You still have time! Mushpa y Mensa will be there from 12pm-8pm tomorrow live and uncut. If you live in the city or are visiting, make sure to stop by and show us some love.
-Mushpa
We have a newsletter that rocks. Scan this QR Code above to read our latest one, Cara Elaine and Maria Emilia (Mushpa y Mensa) Are Getting Serious!
Subscribe to our newsletter!!!
– Mushpa
We would love to share with you this fantabulous Mushpa y Mensa Earth Day extravaganza!!! It is happening this very weekend!!! What? Yes!
La Mushpa y La Mensa will be selling wares in the flesh at The Market NYC (159 Bleecker Street) all weekend long (Friday – April 19th 12pm-9pm, Sat – April 20th 11am-9pm, and Sun – April 21st 12pm-8pm).
Please, if you live in the city or are visiting, make sure to stop by and show us some love. We are unveiling our much awaited 100% organic cotton shirt designs (“Put a Bird on It” designed by Mushpa and “Mama Earth” by Mensa). These shirts are printed using water-based eco-friendly inks (301 ECO-Series by Matsui), free of PVC, phthalate, heavy metals, azo compounds, nonylphenol and formaldehyde. We clean up after ourselves using mostly water. When necessary, we may use a citrus and soy based eco-cleaner from Chemical Consultants Incorporated. We also do everything by hand from the design, to printing transparencies, exposing the screens and lastly, printing them on the shirts.
It’s exhausting, but we are making art!
-La Mushpa
p.s. – We also have an official web url, www.mushpamensa.com. So official, check it out!