ReadyMade Magazine - November/December 2009

Zen state, and how at the end of the workshop it felt like we had all really gotten to know each other,” Moyer says. “The first thing I wanted to do was set up a networking event where people would make things and see where the conversation went.”

The Bureau of Friends encourages a dialogue about a “pursuit of beauty that endures and enriches,” according to its Manifesto. Members believe that individuals can make an impact through thoughtful consumption. “We would like to see more conscientious discretion around the things we put in our shopping carts,” Moyer says. “We want people to value what they purchase and to know where it came from, who created it, and how it was made.”

As the attendees at the Friends’ first event hand-stitched squares of fabric and embellished them with Heath ceramic beads, they discussed the shifting from careless consumption to a more mindful consumer. “These were many well-respected professionals in the creative industries, and it was our thought that we should start with the people that understand making,” Moyer says. In the future, she hopes to see the Friends leading meetings at corporations and having CEOs solve strategic problems while otherwise engaged in making something—together. bureauoffriends.com

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Friendly Inspiration

Cathy Bailey and Natalie Chanin have a lot in common. They’re mothers and manufacturers with respect for artisan tradition and environmentally friendly production practices. We asked both women: What inspires you?

Bailey: “I’m inspired by everyone in the Bureau of Friends. Everyone has solid values that drive their pursuits. We’re all interested in creating beautiful things and stories, but it’s the integrity and uncompromised values that really energize me.

I’m often inspired by simplicity—the simplicity of a line drawing from a talented hand, a beautifully crafted joint on a piece of furniture, a nicely thrown pot. There are impressive, complicated things going on in our lives these days, but I don’t find them as inspiring as simple things done well. Maybe it’s about that contrast.” Chanin: “I think my need to create a ‘holistic’ company [where products are handmade locally using traditional techniques] is inspired by my upbringing. My mother’s mother told me she had t wo dresses growing up and she would alter them by adding a collar or changing the hem. She never bought something she didn’t want to keep in her life as a general rule. Our grandparents are the greenest people we know.”