I spoke this morning with Lindsey Newkirk, a Principle at Elysium Events, which specializes in eco-friendly productions and consulting with other producers & companies to green their events. To most Portlanders, she is also known as the founder & organizer of the Junk to Funk "Trashion Show," where artists and designers make elaborate outfits out of all manner of, well, trash... all part of a message about consumption, the environment, perceived obsolesence and the life cycles of our "stuff." The show has become wildly popular and has played to packed venues, usually occuring in November. Despite its popularity, the show devours nearly 1/3rd of Newkirk's annual work hours, and for so little profit that the event, as-is, has become un-sustainable, at least economically. With the added factor of sponsorship money right now being so hard to come by, Newkirk has cancelled the traditional JtF show indefinitely, but has some very intriguing plans in motion to broaden JtF's impact in the community.
Junk to Funk now joins a growing list of popular annual Portland fashion shows either calling it quits or hibernating through 2010. Basic Rights Oregon, which harbored the well-produced and popular benefit show "Strut," has, according to producer Jonny Shultz, said farewell to the show in order to concentrate its resources on upcoming ballot measures and other core activities. And that's not all (read on...)
Lindsey Newkirk broadens Junk to Funk horizons even as fashion show goes on indefinite hiatus
Loss of the show not-withstanding, stay tuned to Junk to Funk over the next few months. Newkirk has just applied for a grant from the City’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for a pilot program that will take Junk to Funk into schools to combine fun and experiential learning with lessons about, as she puts it, “the life cycles of our stuff.” The curriculum will also include lessons on conscientious consumption, where products come from, where the resources come from, the communities that are affected, and pollution. Phase I would fund the pilot, a 6-class program for 8th graders at the Harriet Tubman school, a public school with a focus on science and leadership. Phase II, which would rely on a second grant from Metro, would take the existing course and make it 2-3 months long, culminating with students and teachers working with Junk to Funk on their own ‘Trashion’ shows. Newkirk hopes that eventually, the revenue from those shows can make JtF profitable and get the program transitioned from grant-dependence to self-sustaining. If the grant is approved, Phase 1 is required to be carried out before the summer. While the JtF show as we’ve come to know & love it is gone, depending on how things look as the year progresses, there mmmmmight be some sort of JtF exhibition or gallery-type show featuring old & new work on mannequins. Whatever the case may be, good things inevitably come from the hard work of community-minded business owners like Lindsey.
CALL TO ARMS--Portland Mercury fashion show considers shelving annual show in 2010
Whisper on the wind is that the Portland Mercury's annual fashion show will sit out 2010 for lack of sponsorship. This economy officially <fill in blank w/expletive> . A call to the Mercury this morning yielded confirmation that the hunt for sponsorship is hard-pressed, and that the show's yay or nay is likely being decided on tomorrow. One of Portland's anchor, annual fashion events, it would be a blow to this year's Portland fashion scene if the event has to take a 2010 nap. Any interested sponsors out there? Contact Mercury at 503-294-0840 or salesinfo@portlandmercury.com. It's a no-brainer in terms of eyeballs on your company, as the Mercury show packs 'em in with a loyal following. I would probably advise readers to refrain from barraging them about it with anything except money at the moment. :-$
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