The Office of Kate Bingaman Burt. Lots of art stars were here with us that day…Chris Bettig, Clifton Burt, Charlene Liu, and Nicole Lavelle. We got lucky, for sure.

Kate’s studio is is as colorful and bright as she is. It’s called Team Projects, a shared space with Kate, Clifton Burt, Nicole Lavelle, and Will Bryant. Team Projects is within an even bigger facility called ADX. ADX is a makers dream, a 10,000 plus square foot space with a wood shop, laser cutter, CNC milling machine, and more. In my next post, you’ll be blown away by all of the pics I took at ADX, you’ll see an incredible space where people go to work with their hands and literally, make just about anything. Now, be blown away by OKBB… The Office of Kate Bingaman Burt.

We got some radness brewing with Kate this year… Angie and Kate, going through the details here.

Wow… Charlene Liu, Kate, and Chris Bettig.

Kate and our old friend, Chris Bettig who happened to be in Portland at the same as us. We get lucky.

The adventurous, Nicole Lavelle. She rode across country last year on a hand built bamboo bike.

The awesome, Clifton Burt.

You know Kate Bingaman Burt, I know you do. Maybe it was from a picking up one of her zines, hanging an art print, a textile, or possibly wearing one of the many things she has done for Poketo over the years. Or, maybe you know her from Obssessive Consumption, Kate’s ingenious (and disciplined) project of illustrating all her daily purchases since 2006! We love Kate and it’s always a treat to get surprise greetings in the snail mailbox… and, even more of a surprise to see some sneak peeks of future Poketo x Kate Bingaman Burt projects in the mix! Stay tuned for that…

We’ll be up in Portland over this long weekend, hanging out with Kate and a lot of other awesome folks. As always, we are instagr.am-ing on the go, find us there!

Poketo collaborator and friend Kate Bingaman Burt kindly took some time out of her hectic schedule to answer some of our burning questions. To introduce Kate very briefly, she has been making art about consumerism since 2002. Her efforts culminated in the 2010 release of Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, a book that meticulously documents all of her purchases through daily drawings. Kate, now quite the busy bee in Portland, is an active member of the DIY community and craftivism movement, teaches at Portland State University, and is of course a prolific art-maker.

What inspired you to begin documenting your purchases? Could you explain to our unfamiliar readers what the Daily Drawing project is?

I have been documenting my consumption in many different ways over many years…photographs, installations, zines and the Daily Drawing Project started in 2006 when I decided to draw something that I had purchased each day. (Readers, click here to watch a movie that shows Kate’s daily drawings)

Could you draw some of your Poketo for Target creations in the spirit of your Daily Drawing Project?

Has drawing your purchases everyday curbed your consumption?

Drawing hasn’t curbed my consumption…photo documenting EVERYTHING that I purchased from 2002-2004 and then drawing all of my credit card statements from 2004-2010 helped me become a bit more aware of what I was purchasing.

Do you have an emotional connection with each drawing?

Not with each drawing…but as a whole, I am connected to the visual journal that has happened over the years. A lot of the time, the drawings remind me of stories, memories and events that happened along side the object that was purchased. These are the things that are important to me.

What does “craftivism” mean to you?

Short answer: Making with meaning.

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How do you envision your Daily Drawing Project evolving?

February 2011 will mark the 5th year of my daily drawings…I am pretty happy with how it evolved. It started small and then grew pretty rapidly over the years. The book with Princeton Architectural Press was a pleasant surprise that I am very thankful for. I will probably continue these daily drawings. I enjoy it. Who knows where it will go?

What the next big project you’re working on?

I just finished curating a show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft with my husband Clifton Burt called Collateral Matters. We have been busy giving talks and scheduling programming to coincide with our show.

Kate’s bright, playful artwork made for some fantastic Poketo for Target accessories! You saw her drawings of her pouch design, and her luggage tag above. The real things below are not to be missed!

You can keep up with her many projects at katebingamanburt.com.

If you still can’t get enough of Kate’s fantastic art, you can purchase a fine, letterpressed edition of Kate’s Chase Credit Card from Poketo!

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There is no better way to get together and catch up with our artists and friends over some good food. From Portland to Eugene, we had the best time ever and lots of good eats. Thank to everyone that gave us their suggestions on our Facebook and Twitter, we hit most of them!

Broder Cafe with Kate Bingaman Burt…. an incredible Swedish breakfast joint.

Thai appetizer at Pok Pok with husband and wife duo, Aaron and Ayumi of APAK. I was a bit skeptical of this Thai joint at first… but, it was surprisingly authentic and delicious!

Portland had tons of little cluster food trucks. This in the Alberta Street area…. a wonderful little burger with JD Hooge and Betsy Walton.

This was probably the craziest of spreads on our trip. Thing you need to know about artists Charlene Liu and Isami Ching… they are foodies and amazing cooks. Don’t judge by the home made spread you see here… it’s an amalgamation of our leftovers from the weekend we spent with them. To break it down, we had smoked ribs, oysters, biscuits, and potato salad the morning before we left. Sounds like a funny mish mosh… and I admit, it is. But, it was so darn good and worked in a weird left overs kind of way.

Below are also a couple of pictures and video from where we originally got the oysters and the fine day at the beach we enjoyed them. We bought 48 oysters between us. Bring me back.