Mark Your Calendar: Handmade Nation Screening in San Francisco

Making its San Francisco debut tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 11, as part of the San Francisco Film Society SF360 Film + Club: Faythe Levine's long-gestating, labor-of-love documentary, Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft & Design.

"Buying local for many means buying handmade objects that are designed and fabricated with ingenuity, grit, and love. Handmade Nation documents a movement of artists, crafters, and designers that imbue traditional handiwork techniques with a punky do-it-yourself ethos informed by modern aesthetics, politics, feminism, and art. The film explores the burgeoning art community of indie crafters that is fueled by creativity, determination, and networking. First-time director Faythe Levine traveled the U.S. to capture the tight-knit community, conducting interviews in the studios and homes of noted and independent artists. Levine also details how Web sites, blogs, and online stores have spurred a once underground movement and how crafts have expanded to connect with the greater public through boutiques, galleries, and fairs."

Following the screening will be a panel discussion with Lisa Congdon, co-owner of Rare Device; Derek Fagerstrom, craft and DIY co-editor at design*sponge and co-owner of the Curiosity Shoppe; Natalie Zee Drieu, senior editor at Craft magazine; and Stephanie Syjuco, fine artist and professor.

Several local crafters, artisans, and indie retailers will also be onsite to sell their handmade products, including Dutch Door Press, Diana Fayt, Cara Lyndon, Miss Natalie, Mittenmaker, Nous Savons, Sharon Spain, Woolly Hoodwinks, Zum, the Curiosity Shoppe, Little Otsu, Needles & Pens, and Rare Device.

The events starts at 7:00 Wednesday evening at Mezzanine. Tickets are $8 to $12. Click here for more info.