Getting Our Hunger On for Portland!

Hello! This is Jean!
Chika & I are getting ready to head down to Portland pretty soon to catch some cocktail hour at the ACE with all the vendors that will be at the Remodelista Market.
But besides all the excitement of the market itself, I'm also really excited about getting some awesome food in Portland!
I'm hoping with any downtime before & after the Remodelista Market that we'd just eat our way through Portland....

I saw this Remodelista post mentioning Olympic Provisions where they make homemade cured meat & etc all that goodness...this is why it got me started thinking about food!!
All this also got me thinking that I really want to try Tasty n Sons. My friend have been telling me about this place since they opened last year...and every time she talks about the all the dishes she tried for dinner & brunch there, we both would start to get hungry again.... all the while we're talking about this over dinner....
And THEN there's Le Pigeon ... for the past 4 years since I saw this place, I've made several attempts where it all failed since they were either closed for vacation or we just went at the wrong time. :(
would love to try their amazing looking dishes one of these days!!!
On top of all this, even at the day of the Remodelista Market there will be food by Koi Fusion, Oregon Ice Works, coffee by Ristretto Roasters and Bakeshop by Kim Boyce!!

I'm getting a food coma just looking and thinking about all this food...
I'm thinking that I need to come up with some major plan to hit all these places, and perhaps even do back to back meals...
So don't be surprised if you see a person lying on the side of the road in Portland at some point this weekend...most likely that will be me passed out from all the food that I'll be consuming....and there's no need to call 911....just stay calm and walk away....simply walk away...

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!)

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!

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.

LiT's Holiday Bazaar TODAY!

Isabelle of Piano Nobile will be doing a Holiday Bazaar at LiT Shades, Today Thursday November 19th, starting at 5pm with refreshments.

As you know, Chika & I have started a wonderful collaboration with Isabelle in creating some new printed notebooks and card cases since this summer. They will be available at the LiT shopl!
We're also currently working on some even more exciting stuff.....which we'll have to wait to share the full detail in a later post...so, stay tuned! I know....the anticipation...

1906 E Prospect St - Capitol Hill

Save 30% on gifts for the home byKaarskoker, La Rousse, LiT Shades and Piano Nobile

Store hours 10am - 8pm

Chicago, Here We Come!

Up late packing as usual before a show! Jean and I hop a plane to Chicago tomorrow to give the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair another go.

Last year we survived some brutal weather, and still did pretty well. Those Chicago shoppers are tough - willing to come out and support their crafters in flooding rain! Jean and I were impressed by the locals while we shivered in wet socks and tried to keep our books dry.

Not to jinx it, but the weather report is calling for the good stuff - so here's to dry socks and Fall Hoodies, and we hope to see you in Chicago!

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

Chikabird is going on tour!

Any volunteer roadies out there? We compensate with snacks, grateful smiles, barked orders and frazzled misdirection. Ha... ha... just kidding! I think we're all set with fantastic hosting and helpers for our 10 day tour of Southern California, and have plans to meet up with friends along the way. 10 days feels like a long time to be away from Seattle in the Summertime, but here we go!

This weekend we'll be in Los Angeles for the Renegade Craft Fair! Come see us and our new sweatshirts, Patch Kits, wooden buttons, and Plant Pals(tm). These haven't made it to Etsy yet, so get 'em while they're hot! The following weekend, we'll be in lovely San Francisco for Renegade, where I'll try to set a personal record for burritos eaten in a 5 day period. Sorry Jean.

Side missions: Jesse has give us the assignment to scope out the new Intelligencia "concept store" on Venice Beach. Visiting our fave shops in the Mission - Little Otsu here we come! Any other must-do recommendations?

Green Festival in Seattle!

March 28 & 29, 2009
Seattle, WA (March 2009): Green Festival, the fastest growing green consumer event in the country, returns to Seattle for the second year on March 28 & 29, 2009. The Washington State Convention and Trade Center provides the space for the festival to take its platform and bring the most cutting-edge people, ideas, and organizations on the green scene to Seattle residents and the surrounding community. Co-hosted by the city of Seattle, the 2009 Green Festival will introduce sustainable options for a transitioning economy, growing consumer consciousness, and evolving environmental policy. This year, the Green Festival will have specialized programming to address the current state of the economy with extensive discussions and information on the growing sector of green jobs.'

The Green Festival is taking place at the Seattle Convention center this weekend. It's gonna be huge! It cost $15 to get in for the day, but if you rider your bike, carpool, or take the bus, you can get in for $10. Obama will be proud of you! :D

Jean

Good stuff in the air...

Not just the cherry blossoms starting up in Seattle, or the trips ahead of us in the next month, or our recent return from Hawaii (aloha, and don't hate me, mahalo).

I'm talking about great efforts made by some local folks trying to help out fellow indie biz owners in Seattle!

Jean and I attended a great workshop last night all about how to use blogging in an effective way to help and promote your business - and it got me fired up! See? An entry!

Kristen from Schmancy and Megan from Not Martha gave a talk about the dos and don'ts and good habits of good bloggers as part of an ongoing meet up/networking/workshop series in Seattle. I think it's so great that they have the desire and energy to help create this platform in our city. It's called the Grassroots Business Association, and I'm hooked! A big thank you to Kristen and Megan, and the Association for their efforts!

If you're in pdx this Sunday...

Come check us out at Crafty Wonderland!

I don't know if your eyeballs are sharp enough to read the back of this postcard - but the vital info is - the Doug Fir Lounge from 11am-4pm this Sunday and every 2nd Sunday for the rest of the year.

We'll be selling new/fun/Springy/unisex variations of our patch kits, notebooks, and our hoodies and jackets will be on sale!

See us at Renegade SF!

If you're in the Bay area this weekend, come check out the Renegade Craft Fair - San Francisco edition! You're sure to see some goods by the best & brightest in DIY, and the latest from us. We'll be sharing a booth with Nam Kim - who is always GREAT company. We're also looking forward to squeezing as much shopping and dining into the hours we're not (hopefully) selling.

We pretty much booked an extra day in town just so we could visit the Heath Factory Store in Sausalito. I've promised Jared to only get one small thing. We're trying out this "budget" thing I've been hearing about. It sounds like a smart thing to do but is such a shopping buzzkill.