Cluster by Lila Burns

WEEK 1

PUMPKIN SEEDS & COOKIES

Our first sell day was based around snacks that everyone could love; seeds and cookies with chocolate chips. We were totally unsure of how it would go, we worked up to the last minute: cutting and folding our publications/packaging, creating the display, scrambling to get change, and dragging everything upstairs to the cafeteria. We were up there by 11:00, ready to go.

graphic from the stamp used in the pumpkin-seed packaging.

WK No.1

MATKING

The night before, we crammed into my tiny kitchen, trying to find all of the right supplies (like what to actually bake them on), carved the pumpkins, washed the seeds, made the batter, tried to abstain from eating too much of the dough, and then transporting all of the goods to school the following morning.

Jazmyn checks on the pumpkin.

Tiffanie assembles the cookies.

Gabby washes the seeds.

The seeds are washed.

Tiffanie, Gabby, and Elizabeth wash the seeds, while Jazmyn dutifully carves the pumpkins.

WK No.1

ADVERTISING

GATBBY / ELIZABETH For the first week, they designed invitations to the first Cluster day. Instead of making a poster that gets lost on corkboards and walls, they created something a little more personal with the intent to distribute them through the mailboxes. The mailroom, upon hearing about the project wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow us to distribute them this way, and instead the invitations were left in bathrooms, under studio doors and around the school. Because of this, it felt even more personal, and a few people even brought the invitation to the stand!

The invites in action.

The multi-fold invitation to all of calarts.

WK No.1

PUB

The first pub was a total smash, it was free at the stand, included the recipes as well as our manifesto. Additionally, it folded out into a small poster as a kind of added bonus for anyone who took one with them.

TIFFANIE

Augusto is engrossed in the pub. The multi-fold publication, folded out into a poppy free poster.

WK No.1

PACKAGING

COOKIES: JATZMYN / SEEDS: LILA For the packaging, we both found cheap materials that would best compliment the product. Jazmyn created boxes, so it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be like a typical bakesale with cookies on a tray. I used a transparent fabric (basting) stapled to a stamped label to give them a classy look that was very affordable (buying it by the yard instead of tiny plastic bags).

I got stamped.

Delicious salted pumpkin seeds.

Jazmyn's pumpkin cookie patch.

WK No.1

SELLING

We sold out! It was great! We got the typical people who just glanced, people who just wanted a snack on their way to class, and even better, people who really wanted to know what we were all about. Each of us was there to answer questions, handle purchases, and make sure people got their pub with their purchase.

Pocket mans the stand.

Mitch loves Cluster.

Happy customers.

WK No.1

Claire & Violet pay us our first $2.

The stand stands alone.

WK No.2

WEEK 2

HUMMUS & PITAT

On our second sell day we chose to make Hummus & Pita, and sell the pair for $1. The cooking was a bit complicated, but it all tasted great, and a bunch of people left with a healthy snack and some reading that day. For this week, we also worked a little closer on the overall display of our products.

Hand-painted flags made by Tiffanie and I.

WK No.2

MATKING

Jazmyn and Gabby went to Val Verde to get started, and Tiffanie, Elizabeth and I made it over later. They had been cooking Pita all day. Some were finally making pockets by the time we got there, and we started a tiny assembly line to get all the food packaged.

Pocket works real hard making pita & hummus

All the tiny hummus containers are ready to be sold

These pitas have pockets!

WK No.2

ADVERTISING

JATZMYN She went all out for this week's advertising. She created a system of "found" flyers advertising pita and hummus. Instead of slits to rip off a phone number she created smaller advertisements with beautiful vinyl stickers. These were attached by string. They went pretty fast.

Looking for hummus in all the wrong places. Andelee is looking to get a sticker!

Closeup of the individual flyers strung to the posters.

WK No.2

PUB

She created another multifold publication with our manifesto, and recipes for both products. It was filled with her very-Gab illustrations.

GATBBY

Learn how to make it yourself!

"This week's special"

WK No.2

PACKAGING

ELIZABETH Instead of the usual type and imagery associated with Hummus, Elizabeth went far more polished for her design with slick plastic bags and matching stickers (stuck on appropriated condiment cups).

A classy pita packet

Each hummus got one sprig of cilantro.

WK No.2

SELLING

We sold out yet again for our second week. We started at 11:30 instead, because there had been a lull before.

The other vendors

The health inspector came by briefly... he didn't seem to like what we were doing, but he never took any action, and we stayed there till it was all gone.

Christina!

Danae!

Tiffanie finishes setting up the display

WK No.2

BRANDING

TIFFANIE & LILA Tiffanie and I took on the responsibility of the overall display/ branding for this week. We already had the logotype by this point, but since we had at least one sell-day under wraps, we could focus a little bit more on how it would all look. We bought butcher-paper style wrapping paper for the table, stencilled the logotype onto a chalkboard (like you would see in a cafe) and created hand-painted custom pennant flags to be hung wherever we set up. This was by far my favorite task during Cluster.

Sell-day No.2

The flags in action. (Above: All the flags have been painted, and Tiffanie tries them on)

WK No.2

WEEK 3

BATNANA & SWEET POTATTO CHIPS

On our third sell day we chose a slightly more junk-foody (but still homemade) option: chips. We had planned on baking everything but because of a few setbacks and time constraints we ended up frying them. We almost sold out, and they were still a hit. We definitely learned a lot about the physics of frying, and how difficult it is to do it right. Definitely one of our most challenging endeavors.

Online flyer advertising this week's treats

WK No.3

MATKING

We used Tiffanie's house for this operation. We sliced all the sweet potatoes and bananas. There was a batch of each that went into the oven (for several hours) but because we didn't have enough time that night, we ended up frying the rest. We found out how difficult it was to do everything right with frying. Also, we learned about how much oil it takes to actually fry something!

Frying sweet potatoes

Jazmyn cuts the sweet potatoes

Preparing the bananas

Packaged chips ready to go

WK No.3

ADVERTISING

She created some B-E-Autiful silkscreened flyers (a little bigger than postcards) to be hung around the school.

TIFFANIE

She designed them, cut the paper, printed all the layers herself, and hung them around the school. After the sell day, i made sure to get a few copies myself because I loved them so much.

Chips, they're everywhere

WK No.3

PUB

The pub was another multiple-fold document, but this week had a twist. It had two different sections for the two different kinds of chips, but it had several ways of opening/flipping through the content. It was unusual for the kind of food we had that week, but it folded down to almost the exact same size as the chip packaging.

JATZMYN

Jazmyn's complex folding pub

WK No.3

PACKAGING

GATBBY For the packaging, we decided as a group that we would use wax paper that week (since the hummus packaging had cost a little moreâ&#x20AC;Ś.) and to iron it together. Gabby designed small tags for both kinds of chips to be stapled within the packages themselves.

Gabby's tags ironed into the packaging

WK No.3

SELLING

This particular sell day went a little slower, but we sold almost everything. The highlight for this week was one of the barters we got: a poster (from Peter in critical studies who had been running a free-chilli booth at school) in conjunction with the occupy-calarts activity that had been manifesting at school more and more.

Today's special

Peter's poster

Jazmyn mans the stand

WK No.3

WEBSITE

LILA

Since each week got slightly easier, we kept adding additional tasks (like the display design the previous week). For this week, I was tasked with setting up a web presence. I started a tumblr (clustershop.tumblr.com) that had recaps and pictures from previous weeks, copies of the publications/recipes, promotional material, and what would be expected the following weeks.

The most recent posting on the website

WK No.3

WEEK 4

PICKLES & KIMCHI & D.I.Y BEETS

This was one of the more delicious weeks in my mind. It had a few setbacks in the materials needed (specifically the jars) but the results were delicious and very very cute. It was our final sell day (but not the end). We had raised the prices to $2 for the pickles and kimchi, but the beets were still $1. Still, everything sold out!

Our menu was extra full of goodies on day no.3

WK No.4

MATKING

The making stage was the easiest for this sell day. We split each over a few days. The hardest part was tracking down jars (which apparently were out of season at most places). The pickle seasoning smelled something awful, but both the pickles and kimchi tasted delicious. We had the help of healthy-hipster Becky Song to guide us in the kimchi-making.

Kimchi-eye-view

The goods are ready to go

Becky helps us make Kimchi

WK No.4

ADVERTISING

JATZMYN For this week, she created a modular system of square tiles (advertising Cluster, Kimchi, and Pickles) to be placed in different arrangements around the school. They could work with only a few, or in whole assemblies in larger spaces. They even got us invited to a K-pop party in L.A. (what?).

Modular flyers

WK No.4

PUB

I focused on the fermentation aspect of this week. I made a folding publication/poster similar to the first two (in form) and used the idea of bacteria to make ornaments in the pub. It was reversible so they would look custom for whichever product was purchased (but they would also get the other recipe).

LILA

Fold-out poster

Reversible covers

How the pub was prited

WK No.4

PACKAGING

PICKLES: GATBBY / KIMCHI: TIFFANIE Since both products were to be put in jars, they each designed adorable stickers for the jars (and to pass out).

D.I.Y BEETS

The beets were planted a few weeks prior, and in the mean time, she had designed little holders for the seed cups and a corresponding booklet (with instructions and beet-centric recipes) that was placed inside. There were about 7 or so total, and it was the first time Cluster branched out into a non-snack realm.

JATZMYN

9 beets to go

Gabby and Tiffanie's stickers

WK No.4

SELLING

Our final sell-day was a total success. We had the two main products, the DIY beets, as well as a questionnaire Gabby had designed (aligned with the Student Council's involvement with occupy) that she passed out with each purchase. One of our favorite barters was a song that had been written for/ about Cluster (and we got the notation and lyrics as well!).

Augusto, a subscriber

Mitch love's Cluster! One of everything

WK No.4

Elizabeth starts her own personal project, but Cluster stays strong

WK No.4

The Cluster jingle given to us as a barter by Matthew Clough-Hunter

WEEK 5

B.Y.O.B.B.Q

We wanted Cluster to end with a BANG!POP!KAPOW! So because it was towards the end of the semester and the (usually annual) AIGA BBQ had not yet happened, we decided to take it on. We decided we wanted it to be a sponsored BBQ as well as a potluck, and to plan additional activities to get people talking and out of their studios. We faced some logistical problems trying to hold an official event at the schoolâ&#x20AC;Ś but we eventually got it to work out and it was a blast! (well I heard afterâ&#x20AC;Ś I was only there briefly since I had an awful cold at the time).

The party moves to the table to work on Tiffanie's book

BYOB = party BBQ = food

"Bring your own barbecue"

WK No.5

ADVERTISING

TIFFANIE & JATZMYN They designed an awesome hotdog poster with a beautiful splitfountain; each had a different "quote" from various designers in the program (to create buzz about the event).

The poster in full

Each poster had a different (fabricated) quote from one of the future-attendees

WK No.5

MAKE.IT.TOGETHER.BOOK

TIFFANIE

All at once, everyone picks out their different sheets and a bag to assemble them in

WK No.5

She created/designed one of the activities at the BBQ that would be both collaborative and rewarding. She created a selection of collaborative projects (along the same lines as exquisite corpse, etc). Each had their own loose-leaf page, and were all placed in a single bag (to be bound after). There was a space on

the cover for each participant to sign their name. The idea was that everyone made their books at the same time and so everyone took home a bit of everyone's work. The little I saw seemed super fun, everyone was crowded around their different pages drawing/coloring/collaging/etc.

A different kind of party; a designer party

WK No.5

TREASURE.HUNT

LILA

For my contribution, I created one of my favorite things on the plannet, a treasure hunt. I thought of AIGA bbq's in the past where even within the program, several people would end up gravitating to the people they knew and there was a lot of "meeting new people" that actually happened. With a treasure hunt, each team would already have a common goal and something to talk about. Each team had the same kind of clues but the specifics were different and throughout several places around the school. The prizes were modest (candy and confetti poppers) but equal across the teams and they seemed to love them regardless. Mitch told me later that they had been running through the hallways screaming in-between clues trying to find the next one!

In conjunction with Tiffanie's book, the treasure hunt was another loose-leaf page to fill out. The first clue pointed to a magazine in the library

The second clue was a typographic riddle which completed a webpage: clustershop.tumblr. com/bottomsup (+ coffee break + hot potato + half baked)

WK No.5

The third clue was a coded message found on a website

I hand out the first clue

The fourth clue pointed to a specific point in the sublevel based on quantities of floor tiles

All four teams eventually made it

The final clue was found on a bulletin board around the school, it had different quizzes that eventually equalled the room number (to our crit room where the prizes were)

WK No.5

("Big Cheese")