Where Almost Everything I Used, Wore, Ate or Bought on Monday, April 1, 2013 (That Had a Label) Was Manufactured, to the Best of My Knowledge
2013
On desktop, mouse over an image to see its origins. On mobile, tap any image. If using a screen reader, access a text-only version here. Linked captions on this page lead to factory tours, StreetView, and other further information. Only photos whose captions have asterisks are mine; the rest are product photos.
Sprint® LG Remarq™ cell phone
Martha Stewart Everyday cotton towel (green)
InterDesign® towel bar
Simply Shabby Chic® Capri Pants Stripe shower curtain
Speakman® Anystream® shower head
Juniper Ridge Siskyou Cedar Soap
Collective Well Being® Flake Fighter® shampoo
Living Proof® Full Conditioner
Gillette® Daisy® Classic disposable razors
GapBody® low rise bikini underwear
Alba Botanica® Natural Hawaiian Hand & Body Lotion- Replenishing Cocoa Butter
Degree® Body Responsive Invisible Solid Shower Clean Anti-Persperant and Deodorant
Michael Graves Design® under bed bag
Kevin Murphy Hydrating Lotion (hair)
Scünci® No Damage® hairbands
Scünci® roller pin
Almay® Amazing Lasting 16 Hour Eye Pencil
Happy Socks™ zebra print socks
ByCorpus Varsity jacket
Clarks® Orinoco Hop boots
IKEA® stainless steel teapot designed by Anna Efverlund and Maria Vinka
De La Paz Coffee Roasters Mission Blend coffee beans
Bodum® Chambord 8-cup french press
Kenmore® 18 refrigerator*
Clover Stornetta Farms
half and half
Oneida® Rockford teaspoon
Calphalon® Contemporary Stainless Steel 1-QT saucepan
Dexas® Silicone Pinch Mitts
ceramic blue bowl, unknown*
Hedge Your Bets ceramic salt shaker
Tools of the Trade teaspoon
Seventh Generation™ Natural Dish Liquid
ScotchBrite® Greener Clean® Natural Fiber Non-Scratch Scrub Sponges
Oggi™ Stainless Steel Composter
Bright Green™ Bathroom Tissue
Mrs. Meyer's® Clean Day Lavender Liquid Hand Soap
wooden bookshelf, built half by a friend and half by someone from Taskrabbit
St. Martin's Press, Hannah Arendt: The Recovery of the Public World, ©1979
MUJI backpack*
ZARA Basic knit scarf, unknown (tag removed)*
Y card and keys, unknown, some cut at Cole Hardware & Don's Key & Lock*
Kensington® MicroSaver® Keyed Laptop Lock keys
RSA SecurID® SID700 key fob
MUJI wool wallet*
Forever 21® knit hat*
Galleria® "Spring Run" horse umbrella
Clipper® Card reader
3rd generation Apple® iPod Touch®
HID Global® Smart Card*
HID Global® Smart Card reader
Apple® aluminum keyboard
Workrite Ergonomics Banana Board Keyboard
Apple® USB cord
Allen Tel Cat5E patch cord
Proxima® ProLine 20 surge protector*
Carlisle® Crystalon®
Stack-All Tumbler
Moleskine® journal
Papermate® mechnical pencil
Polycom® SoundStation 2 EX
Global Steel Products Corp bathroom stall door lock*
Rubbermaid® / Technical Concepts TC OneShot® Counter-Mount Touchless Automatic Soap Dispenser
Bobrick® B-359 ClassicSeries® Recessed Paper Towel Dispenser
Rubbermaid Commercial® LLDPE 23-Gallon Slim Jim Trash Can
Wells Fargo® debit card
Tafelstern® square ceramic bowl
Bon Chef® Manhattan Seriessalad fork
Marin-area bakery artisan sourdough bread
Zoe's Meats Dry-Cured Applewood Smoked Bacon
Sierra Nevada® Stout & Stoneground Mustard
G.E.T.® Bahama™ Clear SAN Plastic 7-oz Rocks Tumbler
Tablecraft® 3-Gallon Beverage Dispenser
AT&T® / Avaya® / Lucent® Definity 6416D+M Speaker Phone with LCD Display
Staples® 8.5"x11" copy paper
Kensington® MicroSaver® Keyed Laptop Lock
FIJI® Artesian Water
NCR (National Cash Register Company)® Wells Fargo® ATM
(1) 2004 ten dollar bill
Pabst Blue Ribbon® Beer
Anchor Hocking® martini glass
American Standard® toilet
San Jamar® 2-Roll Black Pearl Twin Jumbo Toilet Tissue Dispenser
San Jamar® Classic Bulk Liquid/Lotion Soap Dispenser
Kenwood® RXD M33Mini HiFi Component System
Apple® 13" Macbook Pro
Apple® 60W MagSafe Power Adaptor
Dynex® audio cable
D-Link DLink DCM-202 DOCSIS Cable Modem
Linksys® Wireless-G Broadband Router
STA® UL-listed christmas lights
Reverware® Copper Clad™ 3-QT saucepan
Brown-Halco® Conventional Stainless Steel Serving Spoon
Zwilling J.A. Henckels® paring knife
Wüstof® Bamboo Finish
cutting board
Trader Giotto's® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mt. Vikos® Sheep & Goat's Milk Blend Feta Cheese
Microplane® Zester-Grater Soft Touch
Fox Run Craftsmen® Stainless Steel Strainer
OXO® Sink Strainer-Stopper
Target Home® plate*
Gibson Home® stainless steel fork
Comcast® TV remote
Insignia™ 42" Class / 1080p / 60Hz / LCD HDTV
Comcast Xfinity HD Digital Set Top Box
IKEA® power strip
Bic® Bottle 2 Pen 0.7 mm Retractable Gel Ink Pen
TeNeus® Pets Rock Magneto Planner 2013
The Tea Spot Steeping Mug
Tom's of Maine® Simply White® Fluoride Toothpaste
Natural Dentist® Healthy Gums™ Antigingivitis Rinse
Burt's Bees® Radiance Daily Cleanser
Eucerin® Original Moisturizing Creme
Walgreens® Double Tipped Cushioned Cotton Swabs
GapBody® Pure Body tank top
Good Design® Nylon Mesh Cube (large size)
Pommes Frites Spiced Pumpkin Soy Candle
BIC® lighter
Safeway™ Drug Free Nasal Strips
Hearos® Sleep Pretty in Pink® Women's Ear Plugs
Spices® Bedroom Sage Platform Bed, Full
Onyx® Plush Eurotop mattress
Alamode Passport duvet cover and pillowcases
Pacific Coast® SuperLoft™ European Comforter With Pyrenees Down
Britannica Home Fashions® Royal Velvet® 400-count cotton black sheets & pillowcases
two Pacific Coast® SuperLoft® All Down Pillows
a note on method
For this project, I looked up everything that I could find that had a label. Things that had no label or no indication of origin (such as the shower handles in my bathroom, or the salad greens in my lunch) are not included in this list. Obviously it is often hard to draw a distinction between manufacturing and sourcing, and in some cases distribution. I tried as hard as I could to locate the actual site of manufacturing, but included information about sourcing when it was freely given (the Pyrenees down in the comforter) or when sourcing information seemed inextricable from the finished product (i.e. food products like juice and coffee beans). I tried for as much accuracy as possible given the information I was able to find online. But in the end, this is meant less as a fact sheet than as a meditation on our relationships to things, and the geographically schizophrenic path we trace through their use. This project was an important precursor to my later work at the dump. Over time, it has also become a portrait of myself in 2013.
I chose to use product photos and photos taken by others rather than my own in order to highlight the alienation that occurs when one realizes that all of his or her possessions were not only made by strangers far away, but are still afloat and available in the marketplace-- e.g. that an old teapot you've had for years has brand-new shiny cousins waiting to be ordered online, or that a wooden dolphin you bought at a flea market in a far away city (your most prized possession) is still being made by overseas factory workers who also make wooden snakes, wooden sharks, and wooden pigs. To me, a product photo (and, to a lesser extent, amateur eBay product photos) of your own possession is interesting in so far as the product photo is clean and lit from all sides, while yours may be dirty, chipped, or lost amid a pile of papers. The contrast between these two feels analogous to the distance between the place of production and the place of consumption.
An interactive installation of this piece was included in my 2014 solo exhibition at Intersection for the Arts (below). A different version was exhibited in 2017 at the Richmond Art Center.
