New West Network

My Page: Marley McKenna

on the Hip strip

After six weeks and three rigorous challenges under their belts, three design finalists prepared to strut their stuff on the runway and prove that they were the next best thing in Missoula fashion. On Friday, May 4th, Betty’s Divine was packed with art walk goers, fashion freaks, curious passersby and clothes, clothes, clothes. Without much breathing room, a path was laid out through out the store and the stage was set for Jackie Priess, Mariele Williams, and Candace Romero to present their final work: Three to five garments designed as a line to potentially sell in Selvedge Studio, the newcomer fabric store on Missoula’s hip strip.

Mary Ryan and Leah Morrow, co-owners and mother daughter duo, buzzed between Selvedge and Betty’s working out last minute kinks, chatting with people, caught up in the excitement of the pinnacle of this first project.

“They really nailed the Selvedge look,” Morrow said of all three finalists. However, she and her mother would not be doing the judging for the line that would become a part of their store. Instead, they had chosen three judges to deviate the big decision for them. [more]

University News

On Tuesday morning, Students for Economic and Social Justice (SESJ) staged a “dance-in” at the University of Montana's Main Hall as a call-to-action for the administration to ensure no university apparel is produced in sweatshops.

After almost nine months of having meetings with President George Dennison and Vice President Jim Foley, the students said they felt it was time to take action.

“Their indecision is a decision,” says Sam Schabacker, a leading member of SESJ.

SESJ has been promoting a plan to affiliate with the Worker’s Right Consortium (WRC). This organization acts as an intermediary between universities and corporations that produce university apparel. [more]

'Project Selvedge' Design Competition Starts Friday

Drinking a mug of Evening in Missoula tea Mary Ryan and Leah Morrow look around the new fabric store they own on the Hip Strip of Higgins and talk about their aspirations for the business.

They are in love with what they have started and it shows.

Ryan and her daughter, Leah Morrow have both lived in Missoula on and off since the '70s and both say it is easy to see how creative the town is.

But, they both felt Missoula was lacking a fabric store that met that young creative spirit with an opportunity to challenge it. The idea was: "How do you take an activity that is assumed to be just grandma’s quilting and turn it into something that fuels the artistic mind?"

Walk into Selvedge Studio and the answers abound -- stacked up in all colors and textures. [more]

Home brew Competition

“It’s my favorite beverage…after water,” says Mike Hoffer.

Naturally, Hoffer, the winner of this year's Big Sky Brewery home brew competition is talking about beer.

Hoffer's beer is now on sale at Big Sky after being selected in early December by a panel at Big Sky Brewery and later that month re-brewed at Big Sky. Hoffer brewed the beer with partners Amber and David Blake for the Zoo City Zymurgists home brew club. The crew first brewed its winning beer for the Montana State Fair to promote the Homebrew Club. It’s simple to become a member of the club: just attend a meeting and pay five dollars for membership and you’re in. Blake and Hoffer both agree that most people in the club just love beer, drinking it, talking about it, and yes, brewing it. [more]

First Friday Openings

Sitting inside the Gold Dust Art Gallery with Missoula artists Jonathan Marquis and Adelaide Every it is easy to see why the space has its name.

It is tucked away on the northwest side of town, close enough to the train tracks for the place to shake when the eight o’clock goes by, and deep in the heart of buildings so industrial and colorful you feel romantic just walking by them. Large glass doors make up the front wall of the building, giving the art audience a preview of the art inside before even stepping foot inside the gallery.

But Marquis says this kind of art on display is just what he and Every are trying to get away from -- especially with their collaborative project “Subject to Gravity” opening at the Gold Dust this Friday, February 2.

“Put it on the wall; you’re dead, you’re done,” Marquis says. Stepping out of this common approach to an art show, these young artists are recreating the space and changing the environment for the dramatic effect of truly creating experience through art. [more]