Tag Archives: kitchensisters

The Making Of… the Homobile

6 Comments

A Story of Transportation, Civil Rights, and Glitter.

Homobile is a noncommercial, 24/7, queer car service created by Lynnee Breedlove for the LGBT community and others around San Francisco who need safe, dependable rides. The volunteer collective operates with a suggested donation $1 a minute. People text their address with cross street and name to 415-574-5023.

Lynnee Breedlove, founder of Homobiles, was the frontperson of the first American out dyke punk band Tribe 8, which has always stood for queer, transgender, multiracial, and working class visibility,

 

 

Produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva)
with Julia DeWitt & Nathan Dalton
Mixed by Jim McKee & Andrew Roth

Special Thanks: Armistead Maupin & Christoper Turner, Lynnee Breedlove, Justin Vivian Bond, Lance Horne, Becka Shertzer, Godiva Chocolatier, Pop-Up Magazine, Donna Summer, Le Tigre, Tribe 8, and all the Homobile drivers and their supporters across the Bay Area.

The Arion Press

The remarkable folks at Arion Press, Diana Ketcham and Andrew Hoyem, sent this note after they heard the first story in the series. Their type is composed and cast on the premises by M & H, the oldest and largest type foundry still operating in this country.

“How about fitting in the people who make their own metal type for handcrafted books. If there were ever “makers” we are it. Arion Press and M&H typefoundry in the Presidio–unique in the world and one of the most unusual treasures of the Bay Area. The Press and its foundry should have a place in any treatment of unusual crafts in the Bay Area. We stand ready to talk with you if there is any interest.”

Here are some sounds and photos from our visit to the press:

The Making Of… Kimchi

Hi all, We launched The Making Of… on KQED on Tuesday and the calls and notes and tweets and videos have been pouring in. This email caught our eye and we thought it might catch yours as well:

kimchi is at least 4000 years old — I am proposing the making of kimchi by sunhui chang of fusebox in west oakland — kimchi has traditionally been women’s work — men rarely entered the kitchen and were usually not even allowed in the area when women make kimchi a time for them to share knowledge and gossip. sunhui (this is a female name chosen for him after his grandfather visited a fortune teller) is breaking many traditions with his name, and his work with kimchi absolutely hands on and hands deep in the process which takes hours he makes his own gochu jang also time intensive and a lost art — korean women are now coming to try his kimchi and remark how wonderful it is — in korea kimchi is spoken when taking a picture to get the big smile like us saying cheese — kimchi is it a pickle or a salad? sunhui is a humble but amazing storyteller especially about kimchi — kimchi in west oakland, ca.
-ellen sebastian chang (Sunhi Chang’s wife)

The Call for Stories

Story #1: The Call. Today, The Kitchen Sisters & KQED launch The Making Of… what people make in the Bay Area and why. The Making Of… is a community documentary project, that chronicles the art, creativity and invention going on in backyards, workplaces, cultural hot spots and public spaces throughout one of the most diverse and innovative regions in the country.

What are YOU making? How about your grandmother, your next-door neighbor, the guy you sit next to at work?

Call our listener phone line and tell us your story. (415) 553-3362.

Produced by The Kitchen Sisters with Nathan Dalton
Mixed by Jim McKee / Studio Engineer: Ceil Muller
Project interns: Maggie Johnson, Nora Kroopf, Lauren Benichou

Special thanks: Dana Yares, Doug Haut, Katherine Forrest, Paul Kangis, Theresa LaQuey, Laura Sydell, Elliot Gann, Sherry Franklin & Muttville, Mike Beatty, Forrest Lewinger, Ann Hatch & The Workshop Residence, J.D. Beltran, Scott Minneman, Lynee Breedlove, Sherry Olsen, Cecelia Chang, Marie K Lee, Phil Cho, Kevin Cooke, Julia McEvoy, Jo Anne Wallace, Lindsey Wagner, Kara Oehler, and Zeega.

Barry McGee

When you walk by the Berkeley Art Museum, your eye is immediately drawn to the word, “Snitch” spray painted in huge letters on the museum’s Bancroft side and just like that you are swept into the world of Barry McGee. His current midcareer exhibit at BAM/PFA is open until December 9th and gives us a look into the complex and creative mind of McGee. Using various materials such as empty liquor bottles and surfboards and his extensive collection of drawings, paintings, prints, and installations, it seems like this man never stops creating. Here’s a look at what other street artists have to say about his work from the 2008 documentary, Beautiful Losers, directed by Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard. Hopefully, we will be talking to Barry for The Making Of… in the future.

-Nora

Chinese Tamales

2 Comments

From our friend and former intern, Patty Fung:

My grandmother has been making Jung, or Chinese Tamales, in her home in San Francisco’s Sunset District for a long time. It was a recipe passed down by her husband’s mother and I had a chance to learn all about her way of preparing Jung while I was living with her. Jung is made for certain occasions with a history revolving around the death of a famous Chinese poet and patriot named Qu Yuan. It can now be found daily around Chinese eateries in the Bay Area or made with age-old recipes in home kitchens like my grandmother’s.

The backstory, history, and her own recipe can be found here.

Treehouse and Surf Boat

We were recently turned on to the Mollusk Surf Shop in San Francisco. It’s part surf shop, part art gallery.

We missed the Jay Nelson exhibit that closed this weekend, but check out the video above of a custom treehouse and camper boat (aka “surf vehicle”) that he built.

And while you’re at it check out all the great surf videos on the Mollusk site.

Lots of cool making going on in the surf world.

Update: We got word from Mollusk that Jay’s show is still up. Go check it out.

Tell Us Your Story

We’ve heard stories about the conductor of the San Francisco Symphony who is even happier making curry than he is making music; about what’s being made by the Death Row Knitters at San Quentin; about the Silicon Valley industrial designer who is revolutionizing the making of prosthetic limbs; about immigrant stone masons from Oaxaca; rappers in West Oakland; women’s surfboard designers in Santa Cruz; guerrilla fruit tree grafters in San Francisco…

Who should we know about? Call us. Send us a photo. Share a video. Help Make this community documentary.

The Making Of… a List

Here are some of the story ideas we’re already chasing down for The Making Of… Please add to the list in the comments section below.

The Making Of… the Bay Bridge
The Making Of… the iPhone
The Making Of… a jar of jam
The Making Of… an opera
The Making Of… a surfboard
The Making Of… coffee
The Making Of… trade secrets
The Making Of… a street
The Making Of… sugar skulls
The Making Of… home ceremonies
The Making Of… a warden
The Making Of… Muttville
The Making Of… PUBLIC bikes
The Making Of… adobo
The Making Of… BART
The Making Of… a musical
The Making Of… an athlete
The Making Of… Dutch Crunch
The Making Of… a college graduate
The Making Of… arrangements
The Making Of… the Homobile
The Making Of… Clorox
The Making Of… 4th St
The Making Of… a drug deal
The Making Of… Lucky Peach
The Unmaking of… Cody’s Books
The Making Of… Darondo
The Making Of… the San Francisco Bulls
The Making Of… Cisco Systems
The Making Of… the San Quentin Death Row Knitters
The Making Of… the Knitbomber
The Making Of… Bullitt
The Making Of… a titanium limb
The Making Of… the salt ponds
The Making Of… Good Eggs
The Making Of… bonsai
The Making Of… a museum
The Making Of… a Pixar film
The Making Of… a dress
The Making Of… culatello
The Making Of… a bed
The Making Of… a school play
The Making Of… Surrealistic Pillow
The Making Of… The Bayview Boys & Girls Club
The Making Of… ANZFER Farms
The Making Of… a map
The Making Of… wine
The Making Of… an escape
The Making Of… a parklet
The Making Of… Fusebox
The Making Of… a farm
The Making Of… a hair do
The Making Of… a scent
The Making Of… a collection
The Making Of… a zine
The Making Of… the Cinema Snowglobe
The Making Of… Creative Growth
The Making Of… a motherboard
The Making Of… an argument
The Making Of… a spectacle
The Making Of… a beat

What stories do you know about these topics? What else should we know about? Call the story line: 415-553-3362. Or submit online here.