HELP!!! Require assistance for an art project!!!

[Mia Lolita]

Hey everyone!
I've actually been a part of PostcardX for a few years now, but my
account has been deleted too many times to remember... last time I
checked, I'm still on there.. but... who knows?
Anyways, I've recently registered with SendSomething.net, so I'm super
excited about that!

But anyways, the reason why I'm making this post today is in hopes
that someone out there will be willing to help me out with an art
project I will be beginning sometime in December.
I'm in my fourth year of my BFA program, and the whole thesis
surrounding my art is based on the growing subculture of Western
obsession with Japanese culture -- so most of my art revolves around
the "superflat" style ((as made famous by Takashi Murakami and
others)) but for my final BFA show, I am going to be doing my first
ever installation piece which is going to be called "Tokyo Tower" --
and it is going to be made up of [hopefully] hundreds of cellphone
straps/charms which are suspended from the ceiling in a tower-like
structure.

Now where do YOU play a role in all of this?!
Well, since I come from a fumbuck-nowhere city in Canada, we don't
have many stores that sell Japanese-esque "kawaii" or "cute" cellphone
charms with caricatures and such on them,
So I was hoping that if anyone out there had a bunch of mobile phone
charms/straps/dangles lying around their house that they're not using
anymore -- if they could send them to me, I'd be extremely grateful!
Or if you want to be EXTREMELY nice... you could find some cheap ones
being sold anywhere near where you live ((nothing more than $1.00
each, 'cuz I'd feel really bad if you spent more than that)),
OR I'm even not opposed to you *making* any if you want to be REALLY
artistic!
I just kind of want them all to be about the same size, so maybe don't
do anything big and funky with the strap itself -- but whatever you
want to do with the charm is fine by me!

Anyways, I know this might be asking for much, but any help -- whether
it's one strap or 20 -- would be VERY much appreciated!
Or if you know where I can possibly buy some cute straps/charms in
bulk/wholesale, please let me know!

Thanks guys!!!
Please feel free to contact me for more information or any questions,
comments, or suggestions you may have about this!
scene_n...@hotmail.com
Anyone who sends me straps will receive a photo print image of the
installation when it is completed as thanks!

<3
Mia Lolita

[Sean Duffy]

Mia,

 

     That sounds like a really fun project!  I'm not sure I can help, but had a question anyway.  If the charms are made, can they be made out of paper, like, origami or something?  Or will that not survive the creation of the installation?

 

-Sean

 

Oh, and thanks for joining SendSomething.net, you are going to love how easy it is to keep your profile from being deleted!  Be sure to check out the sendsomething Facebook and Flickr groups, too.

[Vianna M]

A very good question, Sean. And Hello Mia Lolita!

I dont have any phone charms either, as I'm not part of that culture, but I may be able to make something out of polymer clay or metal, if that's acceptable. And what size parameters should we work with, those of us that might create a charm for your tower? Another question: does the charm have to come wit a cellphone strap, or is the charm alone acceptable?

My husband just asked if a metal "charm" that is part of a key chain is acceptable. Let me know - we have plenty of those - but no cell phone straps.
Vianna

[Mia Lolita]

Sean:

Thanks for replying! If it works out like how I hope it will -- charms
made out of paper should be fine! And even if that happens to change
in the process, I'm sure I'll be able to move some stuff around so
that they don't get squished or crumpled or anything like that. :) And
I don't have a Flickr account ((surprisingly)) -- but yeah, I'll join
the Facebook group fo'shoooo! Hahahaha


Vianna:

Hey! That sounds really great if you could do it!! As for the size,
the length of a normal strap is about 2 inches (not including the
charm) and only about a millimeter or two wide. It's a pretty itty
bitty thing since it's supposed to be able to fit in the little hooks
that most cellphones have. But I'm not toooo concerned about specifics
at this moment. If it ever gets to a point where I have more than
enough to be able to make more specific decisions, then I'll probably
make it more organized and whatnot, but for now it's going to be a big
random tower of whatever colors and sizes. If you don't have a strap,
that's fine, I'll be able to handle that. But if the charm can at
least have like a little hoop attached to it somewhere, that'd be
really helpful. And yes, "charms" that come on keychains would be
great too!

Thanks for your help, you guys! I can't wait to see what you come up
with!

<3
Mia Lolita