Category Archives: Cuban

Flick This!

Clothes, crafts, Cuban, Ecuadorian, Etsy, Fashion, Jewelry, Latina, Lesbian, Photography, Queer, Stuffed Animal, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ladybug
Ladybug Love

We here at Mushpa y Mensa had an Instagram (which is owned by Facebook), but decided like Facebook, it is a tantamount waste of time and a way for a large group of people to convince others that their lives are more exciting, interesting, happier than going out and making it true. Not only that, but people should be aware how Facebook makes most of their money is by selling your information. Not through ad clicks and charging people with business pages money to have their posts reach ALL their “Fans” and “Friends” as you may believe.  Listen, I want to live my life not spend hours stalking others’ make believe life or promoting my own better than reality life. Been there, done that and every time it left a bad taste in my mouth. Thanks to Mensa pushing us we have been Facebook free for almost a year now and I have yet to miss it. Not surprisingly, I accomplish much more without it, so to my friends who tell me things like, “You would have known I was out of town if you had a Facebook“. I say call me, email me, hangout with me as I am never going back!

Next, people are always asking us if we have a Facebook so they can “Like” the Mushpa y Mensa page or link back to us. When we answer no they seemed shocked like for sure we will never be a success without Facebook or it will be soooo much harder. I find that to be a misnomer. We have already had movie stars, a big time movie producer and a composer of modern day operas among multitudes of other amazing human beings love and buy our art in the last 8 months since opening. We believe in ourselves, our art and the idea that if you do the work and right thing the Universe will always reward you and thus far it is working. I have asked other people with businesses and Facebook pages how much business it has generated for them and the results are nil to nothing. That says more to me. Honestly, you can’t use something bad to achieve good, that’s just the way it is.

Let me stop and get to the real point of this blog entry. Maria Emilia and I want to be able to take pictures and post them somewhere instantly, link back to them in our blog posts and document our journey through photographs of the making of Mushpa y Mensa, without using Instagram, so how can we? Flickr!!! Yes, ladies and gentleman we have a Flickr account now full of our fantastical photos!!! :] There are photos of our amazingly unique organic tees, of the fleas, fairs and markets we’ve worked, photo shoots, crafting, us and whatever else our little hearts desire. Go look at it and tell us what you think? I am so excited!

Never forget in life there is always a workaround, so don’t get stuck.

Such Love

With so much love!!!

– Mushpa

Funny Che

Activism, Clothes, Cuban, Fashion, Gay, International, Political, Politics, T-shirts, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When I see advertisements like these, a couple of things happen…

1. I laugh-cringe which is not giving me any joy particularly, but rather has the same effect as when you see someone hurt themselves really bad in those funny home video shows….it sucks and it’s not funny, but the human being sometimes handles it with laughter.

2. I get angry, because this is not a joke. Holy shit, this is real.

3. And finally I get scared…because the “activists and revolutionaries” are getting 15% off the entire store, and they are buying it…….

Ironic and funny che

Let’s keep fighting against this surreal funny home video until the end.

Hasta la victoria siempre…

Mensa

Love is Love

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0]

I can’t change, nor do I want to. Love is love, strangers may judge, but family should stand by each other in times of struggle and change, not just for the times when life seems easy, but for those times when we need them most.

Label me as I do and as you label others. Just as we have pride in being a Latina, Black, Brown, Greek, Jew, left-handed can we not have pride in who we love. I am truly blessed to love who I love and trust me I am loved by the universe as well. I see it everyday.

My love keeps me warm.

I am free.

-Mushpa

Here’s To Making It

Art, Clothes, crafts, Cuban, Ecuadorian, Etsy, Fashion, Gay, Lesbian, Queer, T-shirts, Woman Owned Business, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maria Emilia and Cara Elaine

What you want to spread the word about out amazing, magical shop of art? No problem, here is a blurb that you may post away on your Facebook if you so choose…

Mushpa y Mensa, is a small eco-boutique that moves around the city’s outdoor (& at times indoor) markets, advocating for local, eco-conscious, women-owned, queer-owned, small businesses all over the world, and of course to spread our art, messages, laughter, & love! We (Cara Elaine (Mushpa) and Maria Emilia (Mensa)) hope people see we love what we’re doing (making a living selling our art), and get inspired to make small changes in their lives. Small moments become large movements.  Mushpa y Mensa is a small team with really big dreams.

Come check out our cute shop here: www.mushpamensa.com

Wanna tweet some love as well? We’ve written something for you…

Small moments become large movements. Mushpa y Mensa is a small team with really big dreams. Come check us out http://www.mushpamensa.com

No, but seriously thanks to everyone that has supported us over these last few months. To family, friends and the multitudes of strangers we’ve met and not one of them we haven’t genuinely liked. People who have really made us feel good about our decision to do something different, doing what we love for a living.

Here’s to making it.

– Mushpa y Mensa

Happy Photoshootin’

Art, Clothes, craft, Cuban, DIY, Ecuadorian, Etsy, Fashion, Gay, Green, Homemade, How-To, Latina, Lesbian, Photography, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

easy photoshoot

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…

easy photoshoot

Here’s a sneak peak to our latest photo-shoot….

easy photoshoot

cute….

easy photoshoot

boom!
-Mensa

What, You Want to Be a Rockstar?

Cuban, Gay, Latina, Lesbian, Music, , , , , , , , ,

BC Rich Warlock

That’s so funny because I am selling a BC Rich Warlock, NJ Series on eBay! Go check it out!!!

Here are the specs!!!

Details:

– Includes Free Sabine ST-1000 Chromatic Guitar Tuner!!!

– Includes Free New Strings!

  •        Sit Power Wound- Nickle set, extra-light (.011-.016-.024-.032)
  •        Sit Royal Bronze (.042RL-.054RL)
  •        Sit Phosphor Bronze (.042)
  •        Sit Plain Steel (.016)
  •        D’Addario Guitar Strings–.011(2 string set)-.016-.032-.042(3string set)

– Also includes, a used B.C. Rich soft case. Has some paint on the case (see pics on  eBay), but in good condition otherwise.

– Green Heart tour cloth sticker on back plate

Product Description

The Warlock features an aggressive body style, dual B.C. Rich humbucker pickups, and a 24-fret neck. The body is built from agathis wood, the neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard, and all hardware is chrome, including the one-piece adjustable bridge. A number of B.C. Rich guitars use a classic bolt-on construction. On these instruments a neck (typically maple) is bolted on with 4 screws to the body. This construction offers some added flexibility in the instruments adjustment and provides the option to change the neck in the future.

B.C. Rich BDSM Pickups

B.C. Rich designed their BDSM humbucking pickups to provide a solid sound and to be durable while delivering high output. BDSM stands for Broad Dynamic Sonically Matched. Which simply means that the pickup is designed to reproduce a wide range of frequencies accurately (broad dynamic). Then they are tested and matched in pairs (Neck and Bridge) by their inherent individual and signature tonal and output characteristics to give a solidly balanced tone (sonically matched).

Beveled Top

Most of B.C. Rich body styles employ a beveled edge around the shape. In many ways bevels on a top are similar to facets on a cut stone. They catch the light and reflect at different angles giving the instrument more of a three dimensional look. Some of the B.C. Rich top bevels are extreme and wide while others are subtle and narrow. Occasionally the shape of the instrument is accented by painting the bevels a contrasting color.

Specifications

  • Construction: Bolt on
  • Body wood: Agathis
  • Body thickness: 45mm
  • Top style: Beveled
  • Body binding: No
  • Headstock style: 6 in-line pointed
  • Headstock color: Onyx
  • Headstock binding: No
  • Tuners: Diecast
  • Neck wood: Maple
  • Back of neck: Natural satin
  • Neck binding: No
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Inlay: White pearloid dots
  • Frets: 24 jumbo 2.7mm
  • Factory strings: 9 – 42
  • Nut: 43mm
  • Scale: 25-1/2 inches
  • Bridge type / Tailpiece type: Wraparound adjustable
  • Pickups: 2 black humbuckers
  • Controls: 2 volumes, 1 tone and 1 three-way toggle
  • Tremolo: Floyd Rose Original tremolo
  • Hardware: Chrome
  • Finish: Painted glossy

The time is now!!!

– Mushpa

Art in Action.

Art, Clothes, craft, Cuban, DIY, Ecuadorian, Etsy, Fashion, Gay, Latina, Lesbian, Queer, T-shirts, Woman Owned Business, , , , , , , , , , ,

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!

tumeric dye fabric

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.”

tumeric dye fabric

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.

Let’s Go On An Adventure

Activism, Cuban, Gay, Latina, Lesbian, Queer, , , , , , , , , , ,

never

I see so many unhappy people around me stuck at jobs they hate, to pay mortgages (or rent) on houses (or apartments) in towns (or cities) they hate, trapped by debt they hate, with spouses (or significant others) they hate (or aren’t who they thought they were) and kids they use as an excuse to why they can’t live the lives they desire. No thank you. I want adventure. I want to live in a society not fearful of taking a risk, one where people have faith and are strong even when it would seem so much easier to be weak. That my friends is a lie. Fear will fuck you if you let it, understand this. No matter what you think the risk is, no matter who tells you to give in, to be safe and take that $70K job don’t believe the hype. Stop and take a look at the person’s life telling you this, then gauge their happiness. I bet you that safety they chose at the end of the day, did not reward them with the life they dreamed of, not even close. If this was the case people would be a lot healthier and happier, not to mention a lot of shrinks would be out of business.

We need to help each other fight against this brainwashing that only rewards corporations with employees and consumers. I have fought my whole life not to give in on many levels and I still fight, because at the end of the day I choose to  live not survive. It can be lonely, yes, especially when the people you love fight against it and you, but don’t give up. Lead by example and others will always follow, I promise.

I love you world and only want the best for all my fellow earthlings…on the real.

Let’s go on an adventure together.

– Mushpa