2 down 1 to go!

Whew! Just got back from a GREAT show at Crafty Wonderland in PDX! Way to go Portlanders!

Next up:

Hope to see you there!

R&L at Seattle UCU this weekend Dec 4/5th!

This holiday season, both  R&L goods and Ladies & Gentlemen Studio will be rockin' it at the winter Urban Craft Uprising show in Seattle this weekend!

Date: December 4th & 5th, Saturday & Sunday

Time: 11am-5pm

Where: Seattle Exhibition Hall

We'll have some new track jacket & hoodie designs & linen scarves with hand-printed Piano Nobile designs!

Check out this post on UCU to find out what we're looking forward to this holiday season.

Come by and see our new things and say hello!

R&L Blank Canvas Line

As much as we LOVE patterns and prints and color and texture around here, sometimes the visual equivalent of toast + butter can really hit the spot.

Ahhhh, so restful and satisfying.

As always - handmade in Seattle by our Right&Left hands

R&L Goods + Wooly Bison Bags = Velouria Trunk Show-stopper!

This Thursday and Saturday - get a double dose of Fall's best! I'm not talking about a farmers market - I'm talking about the seasonally appropriate bounty to be found at our trunk shows this week!

You'll see our notebooks and wallets - featuring the lovely hand printed textiles of Piano Nobile. I don't want to ruin the surprise - but we're working on something that just might revolutionize the accessory world as we know it! Not to oversell it or anything - but... it's shaping up to be pretty nice. And we're hustling to finalize some new hoodies and track jackets!

Also:

Ingrid from Wooly Bison Bags has cooked up another glorious set of satchels and cases from repurposed wool. She transforms old coats, pants, and skirts into timeless accessories for you and your gear!

It's like a little sleeping bag!

Slumber Party!

Ah yes, the details:

Thursday 11/11/10  ~  5-8pm

Velouria on Capitol Hill

1521 Melrose Ave. 

In the Melrose Building next to Sonic Boom

AND

Saturday 11/13/10  ~  6-9pm

Velouria in Ballard

2205 NW Market St.

Also next to Sonic Boom ~ Part of the Ballard Art Walk

We'll be there - hitting the artichoke dip and sipping Rose-ay-hay! Hope to see you there!

Where to find us in Austin TX

If we were ACTually there - in our physical form - we'd be found ordering "dos carnitas por favor" at a taco truck, shopping at Spartan, cannonballing into Barton Springs, and catching a movie and some fried pickles at the Alamo Drafthouse. And eating BBQ.

What's the next best thing to finding us within Austin city limits? Finding our notebooks at Spartan on South Lamar! You'll also find the work of our fellow NY Gift fair booth buddies - Plainmade and Grain!

The Spartan Shop blog has been a regular visit for me of late. A fresh (to me) mix of fashion, art, photography, and music mentions. Just enough for a quick blog break when I'm wondering what's hot in Texas.

Crafting a Meaningful Book Party!

If you're in San Francisco tomorrow evening - get yourself to this book party! It's sure to be packed with stylish designer/crafters, food, drinks, demos, and an installation!

Plus our very own Jean Lee will be there in person to demonstrate her super-sized crochet technique! Look at the flier above - that's her! And she's on all the promo materials for this party, AND the back and inside covers of the Crafting a Meaningful Home book! Total money-shot!

I'm going to be a little lazy here, and link over to Jean's well photographed entry on our contributions to this book. In addition to Jean's mega-doily, we teamed up to create a family crest to symbolize our home and the interests of its inhabitants!

This party is sure to be off the book!

(I'm totally cringing about that terrible joke - but I'm not deleting it!)

New York City, here we come!

We're just about ready to head to the big time - the NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL GIFT FAIR!

And boy-oh-boy are we running with a pack of winners!

JOIN: Design Seattle has an entire booth (#3912), in the Accent on Design section of the show - and we (lucky-ducks that we are) - are showing with a power posse of Seattle designers.

Roll call! (photos by the talented Kyle Johnson)

R&L Goods (formerly Chikabird Inc.) - who are those happy gals in that vibrant space? Well that's us - Jean on the Left, and Chika on the Right. We'll be showing a new line of notebooks and wallets - featuring some magnificent prints by Piano Nobile.

Ladies&Gentlemen Studio - well look who it is again! Jean and her fella, Dylan (a part-time model for R&L Goods) will be showing some vintage inspired originals that are totally on my wish list.

Iacoli&McAllister - organizers and designers extraordinaire! And makers of a certain coffee table that Jared and I are heavily coveting. I'd love to stub my pinky toe on one of those legs. Because that's what I do - all the time.

Grain - fellow RISD alums, and idyllic island dwellers! Their super clever and ecologically sound shower curtain hangs in my very own bathroom. With a well inked, but incredibly incorrect map of the world drawn from memory on it!

BlkPineWorkshop - these guys have their hands in so many great projects - I really don't know how they do it. Their clothing line and cafe are both stellar, and I know that's the tip of the iceberg with them. Makes me wonder if one of their projects is a time stopping device....

And PlainMade - I wonder if Jean would be mad at me if I ALSO got one of her gorgeous silk scarves... oooooh but they're so GOOD!

Urbancase - Nicest guy you'll ever meet! And one heck of a designer. His lovely pillows will be at the show... and will probably tempt me into a test run nap.... just kidding.

Free Time Industries - look at those fun loving gals! Their jewelry is sure to be a hit! I might have to borrow a piece to properly accessorize. I really need help in that department...

OK! There's still laundry to do, promotional materials to organize, and some business-chic outfits to coordinate!

Rebranded and ready for market!

Chikabird Inc. is now R&L Goods!

Isn't 2010 exciting?

Road Trippin'!

Come see us in L.A. and S.F.! We'll be showing new notebook prints and have tons of track jacket and hoodies just for you!

Wish we had time to write a snappier post - but we have to leave in 6 hours and are still packing.... zzzzz.....

This weekend in Seattle!

Come to Urban Craft Uprising this weekend at the Seattle Center! Swag bags, giveaways, and some great shopping!

We'll be on the left wall next to our buddies from Slow Loris T-shirts, and and aisle away from Wooly Bison Bags.

I can't tell you how much I love this show. The organizers are THE BEST, the shoppers are SO friendly, and there's something for everyone among all the vendors.

Hope to see you there!

Flock to these Shirts, Blocked Flock, Birch'n Birds,

or These Shirts are Flockin' Great! 

I know what you're thinking - I missed my true calling of being a Newspaper Dame. Good thing I've got this outlet so the world doesn't have to miss out on my bon mots.

Newly cooked up for Spring, a forest of birch trees and a spiral of crows - block printed on some cap sleeve T's for you! or a tree/bird/green/print loving friend!

Hand drawn and hand carved by me. And then hand inked and placed and printed by me. Yes folks, these were done the slooooooow way.
Above is the process of rolling the ink onto the stamp. In the upper right corner you can see our logo stamp and a couple of individual bird stamps. Below is the process of placing and pressing the tree stamp - 3 times across the front of the shirt!
Then they hang up to dry for a bit before I take my 6 little crows and ink and stamp them in various orientations and 2 different colors to create the spiral.
This process, though incredibly (and maybe foolishly) slow compared to silk screening - allows for some spontaneity in placement, and (what I think are) nice variations between prints.
Mr. Crow is on my shoulderrrrr.....!

Currently available at Velouria in Seattle, and our etsy shop.

Put this on your Radar!

Oh Boy, this year is more underway than I'd like to think! It's time to start making travel arrangements and stock estimates for our Spring shows!

First up, we'll be at Crafty Wonderland in PDX on May 1&2 at the Oregon Convention Center. We'll be hanging with our buddy Ingrid from Wooly Bison, so there might be some shenanigans.