The Week in Craft: March 21, 2013

Although it's still chilly up in the Twin Cities, this week's edition of "The Week in Craft" begins with a celebration of spring! A bit of greenery goes a long way in lifting the spirits, especially in the middle of Tokyo, where mini urban farming cubes are sprouting up to give city dwellers a bit of the great outdoors and chefs access to fresh fruits and vegetables for their restaurants.

Speaking of sustainability, industrial designer Joshua Harris has been developing a 3D-clothing printer that will not only make the latest designs from fashion firms and stores, but also recycle your old clothes into threads for reuse.

If clothing wasn't astounding enough, a Dutch architecture firm is working on the first 3D-printed house in Amsterdam!

The promise of warmer weather in the coming months means trips to the beach. If you live on the east or west coast, be on the lookout for Grain Surfboards' mobile surfboard-building classroom.

Fans of contemporary wood art should be turning their heads toward the Museum of Arts and Design, where the new exhibition, "Against the Grain," opened on March 19.

Writer and critic Alexandra Lange has teamed up with curators from 13 American museums and cultural institutions with design, craft and architecture collections to create a Multi-Museum, Multi-Curator Tumblr project: MetaMuseum. The MetaMuseum project is meant to evaluate the concept of American design by exploring works from the collections of the 13 institutions.

Planning on traveling to Marfa, Texas soon? Be sure to stay overnight in El Cosmico, where you can rest your head in a crocheted vintage trailer.

The Hand Papermaking Community Documentation Project is an effort to create a database that traces the ongoing history of hand papermaking in the 20th and 21st century. Any and all hand papermakers should take the survey to enrich the knowledge of the community.

After admiring the sculptures of Miami-based artist Augusto Esquivel, you will look at your boxes and drawers of loose sewing buttons in a new light.

Calling all filmmakers: the 9th International Film Festival on Crafts in Montpelier, France is looking for submissions for 2014.

The Week in Craft ends almost where it began: on the topic of plants and vegetation, but in a slightly sinister tone. Ceramic artist Linda Huey's installation at the Fuller Craft Museum, "Dark Garden," consists of 40 large, surreal plant forms made of clay, steel, and debris, all arranged in a garden of earthly, and industrial, delights.

The Week in Craft is your weekly dose of links about craft, art, design, and whatever else we're excited about sharing.