MIT's Annual Festival of Arts & Science & Technology (FAST)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrates their 150 year anniversary this year, and as part of the celebration the had very exciting installations as part of their annual Festival of Arts, Science, and Technology (FAST). FAST is an interesting intersection of creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.

It was a mild spring evening, so my family decided to go out and scope my sister's alma mater's campus.



This "VoltaDOM" installation was reminiscent of the vaulted cathedral ceilings of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.


This "Unflat Pavilion" is the formation of something 3D from using only 2D flat plywood.

This "String Tunnel" is supposed to guide the way to MIT's Infinite Corridor. Looking up at them, it created almost a 3D view.

The "MIT Mood Meter" have these sensors throughout campus, to measure the level of "happiness" around campus. Apparently it cant tell if our little Maltese is smiling or not though.

"Liquid Archive" is a piece that's actually in the middle of the Charles River, which has an interactive moving projection that kept moving and changing across the inflated "MIT". In the background you can see the Mass Ave bridge (and if you see the glowing square behind that, there is the "citgo sign" near Fenway Park). The "Light Bridge" also was an interactive stream of lights symbolizing the connection of Boston and Cambridge.


Even though FAST were only temporary installations, they still have several pieces and architecture around campus to still be in awe of, such as their "Stata Center", where the building looks almost surreal with its sidings/walls appearing as if they are collapsing and defying gravity.

Thank You for your Contribution towards Our Donation Efforts!

Thank you everybody who purchased either our handmade pocket mirrors or keychain bottle openers during this past month of April, as 50% of all the profit from those items were collected to donate towards relief aid to the Japanese disaster relief efforts.



We are excited to report that we raised over $190 to donate towards Japanese Disaster Relief efforts!


To continue in your support of Japanese relief, here is a Facebook page that is dedicated to all the Etsy shops that are donating a portion of their proceeds/profit to various Japanese aid organizations as well. What Can You Do To Help Japan Page
Collectively, the Etsy shops on this page have raised over $8,000 for disaster relief!

Here we are given special mention: MaJenta Designs Donation


We also would like to extend our contribution - so if you make a purchase of any of our pocket mirrors of keychain bottle openers through the month of May 2011 - please mention "Japanese aid" in the "message to seller" and I will happily donate 50% of the proceeds from your sale towards disaster relief! :) Peruse all of our choices here: Pocket Mirrors/Bottle Openers Etsy Section.

If you'd like to order a larger amount for wedding or party favors, feel free to contact me and I can set up a custom listing as well!

Animals Left Behind Need Your Help

Saw this post on www.cuteoverload.com from the original blogpost

If this speaks to you, please repost it and spread the word as much as possible. Animals are dying every day and need to be gotten out of there.

Animals left alone in the 20 kilometer exclusion zone in Japan need your help now.
We are asking people to send a comment to this government link:　https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html
Please remind the government that the pets in the 20 kilometer zone are loved and wanted. They should not stay there to starve, nor should they be removed to go to animal control facilities. Rescue groups are being asked to help rescue pets for guardians that cannot get back to the area to retrieve their pets themselves. Please let animal rescue groups back into the zone now, to be part of the process of getting animals to safety.

You might also write your nearest Japanese embassy with the above request.

Wedding Favors for Guests: Asian-Inspired Gift Tin Pill Boxes with Magnets

Wedding season is just around the corner, and there is plenty of fun details to start to think about and plan.

Here at MaJenta Designs we have a custom order service for hinged gift tin / pill box / mint tins that are created with our delicate and colorful Japanese papers - great for those who want an elegant, classy, unique, floral, and/or Asian-inspired theme!

These tins are great for all kinds of other special events, occasions, or party! They've been used for bridal showers, baby showers, thank you gifts for staff, etc.

These gift tins make great favors for your guests, and look great displayed as part of the dinner reception table setting as well!

Here is how they looked displayed for our own wedding, set on each dinner plate.

The gift tins are perfect for including some tasty trinkets like mints, personalized m&m's, or other small candies! These are fun and functional and the guests can always reuse the tin later as a mint tin or pill box!

We are also EXCITED to offer a brand NEW service which includes the option of purchasing 2 magnets to include inside each tin as well!

Magnets are fun, as they symbolize the attraction of the 2 souls ;) They make a practical keepsake for each guest too!

We also have an add-on service where we can include a personalized label inside each tin with the couple's names and wedding date inside too.

PRICES:

(1) Tin : $3.00
(2) magnets: $2.00
(1) customized label: 0.10


Purchase a Sample Gift Tin:

To purchase a sample gift tin, click on this listing: 1 sample gift tin

To purchase a sample gift tin with 2 magnets included, click on this listing: 1 tin + 2 magnets


Paper Designs:

To peruse the current paper designs we have in stock, look here: Paper Designs


When considering paper designs for your wedding, you have the option of having an eclectic mix with several different designs, or choosing the tins to be all the same design or a few certain designs.

If you would like to consider other paper options that I dont have in stock, please let me know the colors you had in mind, and we can discuss potentially other papers that can be special ordered (an additional fee may apply).

Contact Me with Your Details

For those interested in a bulk order for a wedding or party, please convo me in my Etsy shop with:

-roughly HOW MANY tins you need
-what COLORS/designs you are interested in
-delivery LOCATION (so I can estimate shipping transit time and cost)
-DATE of your event
-if you'd like magnets and/or labels

Symbolic Cranes

I just completed a custom order to make 25 pocket mirrors and 25 keychain bottle openers as guest favors for a couple's 40th wedding anniversary celebration! The daughter-in-law picked this specific paper design because of the symbolic nature of the cranes as life partners in the Japanese culture. The colors red and gold are also very auspicious colors as well.

Not only were we fortunate enough to be a special part of this very special celebration, but 50% of the proceeds from this order will be donated towards Japanese disaster relief efforts too! We will continue to be donating 50% of all our proceeds from orders during the entire month of April towards relief efforts!

Feel free to peruse all designs at my MaJenta Designs Etsy Shop, or contact me if you are interested in your own custom order for a special event.

Upcoming Boston Handmade Show

For those itching to finally kick off the show season, there will be several of my fellow Boston Handmade members who will be showing off and selling their wares at the West Medford Open Studios.

Date: Saturday April 30th & Sunday May 1, 2011
Time: 12-5pm
Where: West Medford, MA

Check out the West Medford Open Studios website for more details, as well as the Boston Handmade website to see which of my fellow BH members will also be showing at this event.

How-To: New Spice Jars for Small Kitchens

One of the down sides to living in Boston is that houses usually dont have as much storage space. We live in a suburb outside of Boston so we are fortunate enough to have a bit more space than a smaller condo, however, our kitchen cabinet space is still minimal...we even opted from putting a fun spice rack on our wedding registry as there just isnt enough counter or cabinet space for a spice rack. However, it can still be tricky to find storage and enough shelf space for all these different cooking herbs and spices...which come in bottles that are all different shapes and sizes.
We decided to make a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond and found some convenient little glass spice bottles, and each cost only 99c. I then used some of the simple printer labels that I use for some of Etsy products. I could have probably made more decorative labels if I had more time, but these served their purpose. I also decided to print the titles in different colors to make things a little more distinctive at least.



I then created a paper funnel to help transfer the spices into the new jars. Trust me, when I first tried just pouring some of the rosemary in without the makeshift funnel, I ended up with rosemary all over the counter!


The jars fit perfectly inside the small spice rack that is build into one of our cabinet doors! :)