Events

Learn to Embroider at Trade School Los Angeles

Mr. Homegrown
Design, Domesticus, Events, Fermentation, Food
3 Comments

Due to my ostentatious Facebook embargo, now in year two, I rely on comrade Lee of nearby Mixville Heights to pass along important notices via an awkward but mostly reliable chain of semaphore stations and carrier pigeon relay. Brother Lee spotted my post on embroidery and informed me that the barter-based Trade School Los Angeles is offering a free embroidery class on November 17th. In addition to embroidery, they have a zero waste sewing and mending class on the 16th and a class on fermentation on the 23rd. For more information on these classes head to their Eventbrite listing.

Here’s how it works according to their website:

Step 1) Classes at Trade School LA are taught in exchange for barter items provided by students. For example, if you teach a class about building a website, you might ask students to bring 1 of the following barter items: a pack guitar strings; a paperback novel; a bag of local fruit; help with finding an apartment. Every class’s barter will be different, as each instructor sets their own class’s exchange.

Step 2) Students sign up for classes on our website, and, by signing up, they agree to bring 1 of the barter items requested by the instructor.

Step 3)  On the day of class, the teachers & students meet in a space that is made available by Trade School LA. Students give their barter item to the teacher, and the class begins!

Perhaps brother/comrade Lee and I will offer a semaphore class on the hilltop above the Red Lion in the near future in case any of you would like to explore Facebook alternatives.

For the Locals . . .

Mr. Homegrown
Animals, Events, Thoughtstylings
5 Comments

On that foot sign
Alissa Walker, one of my favorite journalists, covers urban design here in Los Angeles. She wrote a great piece on our nieghborhood’s iconic podiatrist sign. Walker agrees with me that we need much more than kitschy signs to mark our neighborhoods. She concludes,

We need more reminders of what history predates our presence. We need more streets that are designed to connect us instead of being fast-forwarded through in cars. We need more parks. We need more bus shelters. We need more actual village oaks.

Signs will come down, businesses will move, but it’s the places we create to welcome everyone that truly strengthen our neighborhoods. Let’s build more of them.

Amen.

Medieval manuscripts at the Getty
While we live in the allegedly hippest neighborhood in America, home of the Silver Lake Shaman (Please read Jenni Avins hilarious article on the Silver Lake Shaman phenomenon), Kelly and I are more Medievalists than fans of the straw hat, $10 juices and hanging houseplant accoutrements of the SLS. So head thee to the 405 freeway adjacent Getty for two exhibits of (mostly) illuminated manuscripts. We were there, in part, to look for source material for a new Root Simple publishing concept. Stay tuned.

Bats and Brews
This Wednesday we attended Friends of the LA River’s second Bats and Brews event. The evening began with a beer and taco at the Frogtown brewery followed by a stroll down to the LA River with a wildlife biologist armed with a bat detector. The river was beautiful at sunset and I got to see a bat skimming the surface of the water. I think that there will be another Bats and Brews event in August though they haven’t listed it on the website yet. Check back on the FOLAR website and come down to the river in August! Thank you Chelsea and James for the tip!

Clean Your Home Without Toxic Chemicals

Mr. Homegrown
Cleaning, Domesticus, Events
1 Comment

Kelly and I will be leading a green cleaning for your home class at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral on May 19th, after the 11 o’clock service (roughly 12:15 p.m. give or take a few minutes). All are welcome and the class will be held in the historic Lady Chapel, a room entirely covered in gold mosaic tile. Come for the tile alone which we promise not to make you clean!  We’ll talk about non-toxic cleaning products that really work and bust some Internet myths along the way. More than just a white vinegar soliloquy we’re throwing in some church coffee for free. St. John’s is located at 514 W. Adams Blvd in Los Angeles near the corner of Adams and Figueroa.

Choral Evensong This Saturday March 16th at 5pm

Mr. Homegrown
Events
2 Comments

The Choir of St. John’s Cathedral will present Solemn Choral Evensong for the season of Lent, featuring music by Buonemani, Howells, Bridge, and Ešenvalds. The Rev. Michael S. Bell, Chaplain to Good Samaritan Hospital, will be the guest homilist. There will be complimentary valet parking starting at 4:30pm, and a warm reception following the service. All are welcome. Historic St. John’s Cathedral is located at 514 West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Lessons and Carols this Saturday

Mr. Homegrown
Events
3 Comments

I have a recurring daydream that the beautiful and just world envisioned by William Morris in his novel News From Nowhere is what we get instead of Costco. When it comes to Christmas, in place of shopping and Jingle Bell Rock, we’d have a winter festival of light and timeless, beautiful music. If you’re in Los Angeles this weekend and would like to get a taste of what the Christmas we all know is possible would look and sound like, drop by St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral at 5 pm this Saturday December 15th for an evening of Lessons and Carols.

The Choir of St. John’s Cathedral presents beautiful lessons & carols for the season of Advent and the Vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The service begins in darkness and moves toward resplendent light at the high altar, featuring music by Palestrina, Willcocks, Tavener, Howells, and others. Complimentary valet parking and warm reception to follow. All are welcome.

The Cathedral is located at 514 W. Adams Blvd. just across the street from the Metro Expo Line LATTC/Ortho Institute Station. Come if just to see the interior one of the most stunning buildings in Los Angeles.