Pinching Pennies? Craft with Amy Sedaris

By Betsy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 11, 2010 9:20PM

Any time a Sedaris comes through Chicago, we get really really really excited. A lot of people know David and Amy for their humor, but we also find them to be quite insightful. Amy Sedaris’ new book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, which she co-wrote with Paul Dinello, comes just in time for the holly-days. How smart of her to release a book with homemade gift ideas during these tough economic times! In an interview with The Rumpus Sedaris said, “Being poor is a wonderful motivation to be creative, sort of a perennial carrot on a stick, but not an actual carrot because easy access to free food would only defeat the lucky stroke that is poverty.” See? Funny and smart.

Simple Times has glossy photos, how-tos on wacky recipes and crafts (The Measure the Pleasure Tickle Rod is sure to be a hit at your company’s holiday party!) and little illustrations and advice that is both practical and hysterical. Take the “Crafting for Profit or Turning Your Pompon Ringworm into a Cash Cow, for example:

Start a fad or trend. Create an item that immediately causes, on at least six of the seven continents, an unchecked fanaticism, especially connecting with the youth crowd.

And, on creating irresistible crafts:

Chicks and bunnies are small enough to fit in your pocket or underpants drawer. People enjoy small things because they make them feel powerful.

Really, we could go on and go about this book and its wonderfulness. But what you should really do, in this order, is A. Buy the book from your favorite local independent bookstore B. Go to see Amy Sedaris at the Michigan Avenue Borders on Saturday C. Have her sign it. And if you’re not super poor, consider purchasing extra copies and giving them as gifts to all your crafty friends.

Amy Sedaris signs Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People at Borders on Michigan Ave. on Saturday November 13 at 3 p.m.