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!

Chikabird + Piano Nobile Line Debut this Weekend at UCU!

If anyone is around this weekend in Seattle, please come by and say hello and check out our exciting new line of notebooks and cardcases with Piano Nobile at the BIG holiday Urban Craft Uprising show!

December 5th & 6th, 2009
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
Admission: FREE!

Isabelle and Nickolas of Piano Nobile runs a multi-faceted design studio where they could be described as professional designers and colalborators. Isabelle has a painting and printing background with a great sense of material, color, and texture. Nickolas on the other hand has an architecture background with mad building skills in all realms whether it be funiture, design build or a large scale printing table. I'm pretty sure he can build a pyramid.... I remember reading that in his resume somewhere....

Not only do they have the perfect print studio with their self-designed and welded textile printing set up, they're also just a short bike ride away from our studio in Ballard! It's almost too good to be true!
(and yes, convenience does matter...)

Did I mention that they have a dog named Bauhaus, and also owns a sweet vintage Vanagon and Volvo?
Can you stand it?!....I can barely keep my composure thinking about all their awesomeness.

So here it is! Our collaboration line with PN! Okay, so come to UCU to see all the goods in person! You can also go to our shop to check out the entire PN collaboration line.

Meeting the Neighbors: Piano Nobile

Through a series of events and connections this Spring, we've been lucky to meet some nearby and very talented neighbors! Isabelle and Nickolas, founders of Piano Nobile are a short bike ride away from us in Ballard - and we have some exciting things brewing with them.

If you're in Ballard this Friday or Saturday, stop by Piano Nobile's home/studio for a Summer Studio Sale. Part of the City Stimulus event running all week to encourage folks to shop local - it's a great opportunity to do a little shopping and check out a stellar transformation in the Ballard industrial zone. Prepare yourself to get incredibly jealous of PN's space, talent, resources, furnishings, dog, Vanagon, and Volvo. The sale features handmade goods by some fantastic local designers and we feel flattered to be included in such a group.
We met with Isabelle last Monday. Over coffee, berries, and coffee cake - we decided to do some collaborating! Isabelle has been printing her own textiles for home and personal accessories, so her scrap bin contains a lot of high quality fabrics. The following pictures feature the various patterns and pieces she gave us, and what we did with them.



Anyone want a silk dupioni notebook? Perhaps taffeta or linen is more your style? These beauties make their debut at the Piano Nobile Studio Sale and are just the teaser for what we have in store for the Fall!

Piano Nobile Studio Sale
Fri&Sat July 17th&18th
11am - 6pm
908 NW 50th St
Seattle WA 98107

News!

We moved! To a great neighborhood in Seattle called Ballard. There's more to it than that - Jean and I, plus our steady fellas, bought a duplex together. Some say crazy, I say GENIUS!

We'll be trying to keep up a home improvement blog at http://www.thirtythirtytwo.blogspot.com/ - so far we've just posted an intro entry, with plenty of links to pics. Oh boy!

Now our studio is in the garage/basement of the new place. A little colder, a little less natural light, but it feels pretty cool to pay ourselves rent, and you can't beat the commute. Actually, I think I need to come up with a routine that forces me to leave the house regularly. Morning jogs to the beach? Unlikely. Afternoon walks to my favorite coffee shop? Very likely. Jean and I are highly motivated by treats, so the nearby world class pastry shop will offer some deserved (and not so deserved) rewards.