Get-Pop Cultured month at Barnes & Noble!

READ.

I had a blast working all of the Get-Pop Cultured events at my local Barnes & Noble in St. Petersburg this past July!  Like my creation of Stand-Up Librarian in 2010, it was a terrific opportunity to combine my love of creating literary outfits inspired by my favorite books while spreading the importance & fun of reading.  And to think the only reason I became involved was because the community relations manager had called me back in June asking me to participate in some discussions about To Kill a Mockingbird and to be a celebrity reader for their Read-A-Thon!  I just knew within moments of walking in that door and meeting the exceptionally kindhearted and cool staff, I wanted to spend more than one or two days at the store, I had to work with them every weekend and event!  And that's how it all began...the librarian soon became a bookseller too.

Now over a month and a half later, I have a new set of literary friends in the bookseller community and my already full closet is now filled with an additional 13 costumes I created just to tie-in to all of the events at B&N.  And if my time wasn't limited enough (yes, I am still working at the library & volunteering at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium), I just had to write a few articles for Creative Loafing Tampa to help spread the word on how much fun we were having.  A huge thank you to the great staff at Barnes & Noble for welcoming me aboard despite my very busy schedule and of course, to all of the customers that came to our events and had fun with us!!!  

#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #GetPopCultured events
1950/Marilyn Monroe; 1960/Audrey Hepburn;
1970/My Mom's Leather Jumper
1980/Madonna; 1990/Hedwig Harry Potter

Doctor Who; Magic Treehouse Dinosaurs After Dark;
Outlander; To Kill a Mockingbird; DC Comic Days/Batgirl;
Minions

Dr. Seuss! I made the dress, bow tie, bow headband, purse
and a hat honoring all of Seuss' characters but especially
the one and only The Cat in the Hat!

Here's the links to my articles for Creative Loafing Tampa:

July 2nd, 2015: "Get Pop-Cultured at Barnes & Noble this month"

July 13th, 2015: "Mockingbird all day today, sequel out tomorrow"

August 6th, 2015: "A ship-shape celebration of Dr. Seuss with Evan Longoria in tow"

***For all of my photos from Get-Pop Cultured at Barnes & Noble, please like my FB page here.

With the awesome staff at Barnes & Noble St. Petersburg
on the very 1st night of Get-Pop Cultured #tbt #1950

Our Seuss Spectacular on the very last night of Get-Pop Cultured
celebrating What Pet Should I Get & Dr. Seuss!

Express Yourself with Baseball & Endless Activities

It has been a very busy couple of weeks!  At the beginning of the month, I went up to New York City to see Madonna in concert at Yankee Stadium.  While the show was enjoyable, I still think my “Librarian Gone Wild” book cart drill should have been incorporated into the show somehow. Call me, Madonna!

"Librarian Gone Wild" seeing Madonna at Yankee Stadium!

While I was up in New York City, I had a meeting with my favorite bookstore, The Strand, and they loved my literary purses and cosmetic bags and will be carrying them in the store this fall!  I was also booked to perform in their rare book room for an event on December 6^th!  When I used to live in NYC, I spent just about every weekend wandering through the stacks and now I get to perform in them.  So thrilled! 

The Stand-Up Librarian at The Strand December 6th!

Just after getting off the plane in Florida, I had to turn around a performance in just two hours for a benefit honoring a friend moving back to NYC.  Inspired by Madonna’s show at Yankee Stadium, my love for baseball, and the song “Express Yourself,” (which I hadn’t done since high school), I  did a baseball-themed number that the audience seemed to enjoy – especially since I pulled off that Yankee shirt & revealed a Tampa Bay Rays t-shirt!  Watch the video here:

"Express Yourself with Baseball"

I have also been sewing a lot – preparing for The Strand order but also my holiday items that are available on a made-to-order basis, just ask me and I will make them for you!  I also decided that I needed to have a website entirely devoted to my designs so StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com is now operational and links directly to my Etsy Shop!  I am in the process of updating all of my websites but that is such a major job that it is taking longer than I expected!

It's the Great Pumpkin purse & hat, Charlie Brown!

And then there are performances!  I am preparing for my part in The Vagina Monologues at American Stage on September 30^th - something I have never done in my life is say the V or P or C words on stage or out loud, so this should be interesting (especially for my very conservative family members!)  Then the very next week I am booked to do my literary comedy show at a library staff day and since I love to write new material, not to mention choreograph new dance moves with that book cart, I am very excited about doing some of those parodies!

Plus, everyone needs a social outlet, so in addition to my acting classes that I do two days a week, I have now joined a book club that meets once a week & I have joined the St. Petersburg Shell Club that meets monthly!  Yes, we discuss seashells!!!  Oh, it is a happy day when you can show your latest beach treasure with a fellow conchologist who can appreciate it!

Seriously, nobody talks about Shell Club - ever!

Wow, a lot is going on!  So I need to get back to sewing, writing, reading, dancing, oh, - eating!  I always forget to do that one.  I hope all is wonderful and cooling off in your worlds, I just LOVE the fall season, don’t you?  Express yourself!

Stand-Up Librarian / Meredith Myers Designs!

"So the Stand-Up Librarian sits down at a sewing machine and decides to sew something..."

I am writing from New York City, the fashion capital of the USA, and the place where I first developed my sense of style and love of fashion when I moved here in 2000.  It only seems fitting that I launch my newest passion project in the place that started it all...seriously, I am sitting here in the middle of the Fashion District!  My old office at Vivienne Tam is around the corner…(but that is a whole other story.)   

For the past month, I have spent most of my time sitting in front of a sewing machine, reconnecting with my love of designing and assembling fabrics into wearable art.  Sewing was one of the last things I ever expected to do once I moved back to Florida but I have learned numerous times over the years not to question where my journey sometimes takes me. 

Should something bring you happiness…go with it. 

I originally launched Meredith Myers Designs in 2004 after moving away from NYC and finding my grandmother's sewing machine collecting dust in the garage.  She had passed away the weekend I moved to NYC, so it was odd that when I returned to Florida four years later, it was like she wanted me to know that things were going to be okay. 

After years as a publicist, struggling comedian, and now a failed author with an unpublished manuscript sitting on my desk, sewing gave me something fun to do while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  Nothing seemed to be working but her sewing machine from the 1970’s.  Since I'd always had an eye for fashion and fabric, it made sense that if I couldn't find what I wanted in stores, I might as well make it myself!

I got in some newspapers, and sold some purses through friends, but my heart wasn’t in being a fashion designer.  A bag is a great accessory to looking good, but what truly makes an outfit fabulous was the knowledge on the inside of the person wearing it.  I wanted to focus on that path.  Which was unpaved at this point, so I went to the library for information and to conduct some research.  Next thing I knew, I was in grad school studying to be a librarian, and then moving to Los Angeles.  So the poor sewing machine that I loved so much went back to collecting dust in the garage. 

However as you already know, after five long years in LA, I am back in Florida...and now sitting at that sewing machine again!  I am once again unemployed, however, this time I know what I want to do with my life!

As the Stand-Up Librarian, my mission has always been about educating and entertaining people about the importance of libraries.  I believe each and every one of us can be an advocate for libraries whether we work in them or not.  So in addition to my literary comedy performances, videos, and witty commentary on StandUpLibrarian.com, I am now promoting literacy in my DESIGNS!  An example that nothing we ever do in our lives is a waste of time.

I say the only thing cooler than reading a good book is WEARING IT, so please help me share with the world the importance and necessity of our libraries and books by carrying one of my literary designs!  I am making cosmetic bags, wristlet purses, and the cutest fanny packs you will ever see since the awesome 80’s!  Seriously, I live for these literary fanny packs because when I have my arms full of library books, I don’t want the annoyance of a heavy purse on my shoulder!

All bags are made to order and sewn by me (when I am not on stage or at the library.)  The fabrics are also chosen by me depending on season, availability, and whether I enjoyed the book (sorry, no Jersey Shore or Paris Hilton books will be included here.)  All bags are fully lined in coordinating fabrics and contain strong zippers so you won't lose that library card.  I offer various price ranges so whether you are a library student or a library director, you can still own a Stand-Up Librarian original!

My Etsy shop is now officially open, so GET SHOPPING!!!!  The link is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeredithMyersDesigns

I hope you will enjoy my "book" bags as much as I loved making them.

Meredith,

The Stand-Up Librarian Designer