Local DIYers

Today I took a couple of field trips around town in order to talk to some Minneapolitans (& St Paulitans...Paulites...Paulers?) who are themselves taking part in the DIY movement.

First up: Steve of BlackBlue on Selby in St. Paul. He's not exactly a typical DIYer, he's not selling little knick-knacks that he himself made. He actually sells pretty nice upper-line clothing for mostly men. But the DIY part came into play with the way in which he started his business. He had a small amount of business training at the U of M, but he's more interested in the artistic part of his business. When I went in, he was rearranging the store's racks and pallets, looking for a more feng shui feel to the space. He even asked me for my opinion! But his main background stems from a degree at MCAD. He would like to take that back up again and design his own fashion line, which he has a bit of experience in, but would like to further explore.



He had an interesting take on design and the DIY movement & culture. He believes that formal training is no longer necessary with all of the access to information we have today. It was very refreshing! And exactly what the DIY movement encompasses. Knowledge, & general capability is no longer limited to an elite few to hand out, we all can be responsible for our own knowledge & creativity. It's a nice way to look at things.

Next up was Angela, from I Like You in Northeast Mpls. She was very sweet and had her young daughter with her. She shares a similar story with Steve, because they both started their shops independently & from a small idea, and with a lot of motivation were able to create impressive businesses. She started about 5 years ago, and has been in her current building for 2.

The shop carries work (DIY) from local artists, and is mostly Minnesota-related, which is cool. Magnets, T-shirts, prints, you name it. They carry it. Great for gifts around Christmas she said. And people are more than willing to spend money if they know it's going to a local artist, she said Minnesotans are very supportive of local art. That's pretty evident in NE particularly, what with Art-A-Whirl!

Unfortunately for her though, she is not able to concentrate on her own crafting due to the stress and time running her business takes. I find this unfortunate, because without people like Angela, none of the people whose work she sells would have that exposure. It takes one person sacrificing almost in order for others to be successful & be able to sell their art.