Last week I visited the Museum of Art and Design - affectionately known as MAD - and saw one of the most enjoyable exhibitions I have ever seen! It is called "Second Lives" - which references the fact that all of the art is created from everyday materials and items that have been reinvisioned and refabricated into a new existence. Many of the exhibits are simply beautiful or fascinating because of their forms and the way the materials are used, but many of the works of art are also making social or political commentary based on the relationship between the materials used and the finished product. For instance, there is a powerful necklace that has almost a tribal feel to it, which upon inspection you find is made of gun triggers. Similar to the way tribes might have created headpieces and necklaces out of animal teeth or feathers, this necklace is like an urban war piece. The same is true of a jacket made entirely of military dog tags. I don't want to give away much because the surprise of discovery is part of the fun and strengthens the impact. But I must mention one other piece because it holds special significance. On one wall is a giant wallhanging that has an almost photographic representation of a garment worker at her sewing machine. It is all in grey scale, but as you get closer you realize that it is made up entirely of sewn labels. My daughter, who is 14, suggested we should look to see if there were any Echo labels from our scarves - and to our enormous pleasure we found many! It was like "Where's Waldo" as we all searched for the Echo scarf labels! The exhibition has tremendously broad appeal for both young and old, and even people who aren't particularly fond of art museums will find this fascinating. "Second Lives" closes April 19th - it really is a must see! - Meg