Friday, September 20, 2013

Five Friday Favorites: The Great Gathering Places


If you're a regular Inside Storey reader, you know we've been focused this week on the Mother Earth News Fair, which kicks off today in Seven Springs, PA. This got me thinking, as I perused the web, about the spaces and events that bring people together around a common need, a shared interest, or a continuing dialogue.

This week's Five Friday Favorites are all about bridging gaps, filling niches, and finding that particular confluence of people and ideas that broadens possibilities, at home...and (way, way) beyond. Happy Friday!  — Emily Spiegelman, Digital Features Editor 

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"Behind each door there's a comedy, a tragedy…and everyone came together in the kitchen. The kitchen was like the public square of this apartment." Even in the Soviet Union, where for many, the idea of food was more romantic than the reality, the kitchen served as the great gathering place and social equalizer.

"To appeal to the person who wants to romanticize farming and the person who is knee deep in turkey droppings 'is hard, and I think they're balancing that.'" The number of farms is growing for the first time since World War II, and so is the number of farming magazines. Modern Farmer speaks not just to those who work the land but to those who love and support the concept.

"'I am not sure that we would have taken the step into converting the farm from a normal production to organic if we had not started to work with artists.'" Speaking of Modern Farmer, I love this story (and these photos!) of a contemporary take on the symbiosis of the artistic and the agrarian.

"I thought about the kind of girl that her daughter must be…a human being who even at a young age feels the need to make." Nicole Stevenson, a founder of Craftcation, writes about realizing that her own maker roots go all the way back to childhood. Read about how she has poured that awareness into shaping a conference that honors the unvarnished desire to create. Registration for Craftcation 2014 is now open! More info here.

"'These partnerships represent a new way of doing business for NASA and a call to action for makers: join us to become a critical part of the future of space exploration.'" The World Maker Faire New York is on this weekend and offering even greater proof that the future of the planet is in the hands of those who do it themselves.

Storey bonus: If you're at the Maker Faire on Saturday, head over to the Meet the Makers Stage to hear Wendy Tremayne, author of The Good Life Lab, and her partner, Mikey Sklar, talk about their adventures in living a sustainable life.

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Inside Storey readers, what are you loving online this week? Share your favorites with us in the comments! 

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