Natalie and Alabama Chanin partner with Zoe Turnbull and Krista Freibaum, co-founders of Serious Business digital media and PR agency, to host a series of events called Makeshift for New York Design Week. Beginning in 2012, the series occurs each May during New York Design Week for three consecutive years. The Makeshift conversations and events invite a dynamic group of participants to explore the ways in which the fashion, art, and design worlds are linked to the world of craft and DIY. Participants consider how each of these worlds elevates the others and can be used as an agent of change in the world.
Throughout the years, events include: panel discussions at The Standard East Village, DIY workshops at The Standard penthouse, a pop-up shop at Billy Reid’s Noho store, DIY chair workshops at Partners & Spade and Build It Green!NYC, a pop-up shop at Lisa Fox’s LF8, a workshop and fundraiser at The Lower Eastside Girls Club Center for Community, Alabama Chanin trunk shows, and a range of other gatherings.
Presenters, panelists, attendees, collaborators, and co-hosts include: Cathy Bailey of Heath Ceramics, singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash, Maria Cornejo of Zero + Maria Cornejo, Jessmayn Hatcher, NYU Professor of Global Studies, Andrew Wagner, design editor and New York Times columnist, Julie Gilhart, Sarah Scutturo, Sally Singer, Susan Cianciolo, Heath Ceramics, George Esquivel, Hugo & Marie, Imogene + Willie, Pamela Love, Leigh Magar, Maria Moyer, Billy Reid, Albertus Quartus Swanepoel, Tucker, Kenlynn Wilson, Tift Merritt, Partners & Spade, Susanna Howe, Kristen Wentrcek of Wintercheck Factory, Nathalie Jordi of People’s Pops, Father Andrew O’Connor of Goods of Conscience, Amy Devers, designer and Emmy Award-winning television personality from “Fix This Yard,” Ashley Christensen, James Beard Award-winning chef, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, musician Allison Moorer, author Mary Adams, creative director Gael Towey (read an entry on Gael here), and designer Waris Ahluwalia of House of Waris.
Slide 1: DIY chair from “Crafting Design: A MAKESHIFT Chair Workshop,” 2012, photograph by Susanna Howe
Slide 2: View from The Standard penthouse where DIY workshops were hosted throughout various Makeshift events, photograph by Peter Stanglmayr; Salvaged chairs for “Crafting Design: A MAKESHIFT Chair Workshop,” 2012, photograph by Susanna Howe
Slide 3: Tools and materials for “Crafting Design: A MAKESHIFT Chair Workshop,” 2012, photograph by Susanna Howe
Slide 4: DIY Tote Bag Workshop at The Standard penthouse, Makeshift 2014, photograph by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 5: DIY Tote Project, Makeshift 2014, photographs by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 6: DIY Tote Bag Workshop at The Standard Penthouse, Makeshift 2014, photograph by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 7: Panel discussions at The Standard, Makeshift 2012, photographs by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 8: “Crafting Design: A MAKESHIFT Chair Workshop,” 2012, photographs by Susanna Howe
Slide 9: Sketches from “Love and Raw Materials in Food, Fashion, and Design” with Chef Ashley Christensen at The Standard Penthouse, Makeshift 2014, photograph by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 10: View of New York City skyline (and Makeshift attendees) during the DIY Tote Bag Workshop at The Standard penthouse, Makeshift 2013, photograph by Peter Stanglmayr
Slide 11: “Crafting Design: A MAKESHIFT Chair Workshop,” 2012, photographs by Susanna Howe