Two big projects.

Today was the opening day of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.  The annual event in which the masters of steel and geometry meet to show off their fancy-pants works of art.  This year, Mr. Hunter had a special project in mind and I was lucky enough to collaborate with him on some custom bolt on frame bags.   Rick Hunter is an idea man.  Everytime he asks me to make him soft goods it’s something a little off the cuff – classy yet cool.  He leaves room for my imagination to roll with his open-ended projects giving me just enough information to create without too many restraints or requests.

Originally, Rick mentioned he’d do a tinted clear coat on the frame which prompted my color choices for the bags.  Grey X-Pac™ laminated ripstop for the steel, brown waxed canvas as a homage to the patina steel acquires over time and brass grommets to highlight Rick’s fine brazing work.

Here’s the non-drive side with the outer map case.

The upper tool boards are supported by thin sheets of aluminum.  Each side bolts on to four braze-ons and makes the boards appear as if they’re floating in the frame.  Each side has pleated pockets to house the necessary tools for any given adventure and a waterproof zippered rain fly.  Don’t forget your toothbrush!

A NAHBS show piece for sure.

I also whipped up a small batch of waxed canvas musette bags and 36 caps in various handsome colors and fabrics for the show.  If your happen to make it to the show, stop by booth number 729 and get yourself some Hunter swag.

My other big project was growing another big ol’ baby.  Here’s our wonderful midwife and Beck listening to the baby’s heartbeat at our last prenatal visit.

If any of you frequent this blog, you may recall that our first child was very very overdue and only after an 8 mile bike ride did he decide it was time to greet the world.  All ten pounds of him.  This time, we were working on a week past our due date and I figured I might as well start with the labor inducing bike ride right off the bat.  I only did four miles but it was a hilly four miles AND on a single speed.

On Sunday we went for our daily walk around the beaver marsh (we have a beaver marsh in our backyard with real beavers!) and picked some daffodils.  Beck and I both decided today was the day this baby needed to come out.  We thought we’d entice her with some birthday cupcakes. Experimental pumpkin chocolate chip frosting-less cupcakes.  Well, she must have her Mama’s sweet tooth because that did the trick.  That night at 11:20 pm I gave birth to a 9 pound baby girl.

Watching our wonderful midwives hard at work (even when it means a hour drive out to the sticks and a quiting time of 2:30 am) gives me even more reason and thirst to continue to work for and with people who love what they do and know their craft like their own child.

Beck spent most of the first week asking me to put her back in my belly but was satiated by some new Star Wars Legos and his adoring and patient grandpa. (Thanks, Dad!)

Eric and I spent the whole week searching for her name.  We finally had our ‘ah-ha’ moment when Eric said, “What about Coe?”

Yes.  It’s perfect.

Coe Helene Reichmuth

2/19/2012

9 lbs     20 1/2″ long

Three days late and counting…

In case anyone was wondering, I’ve got a baby cooking in my belly and currently it’s three days overdue.  Not surprising since our first was nearly three weeks late.  We’ll see if this one will need another eight mile fixed gear ride to coax it out or not.

Here’s the view I’ve been looking at for a while.  I can’t decide if this baby will be soothed or irritated by the ker-klunk of the auto backtack and thread trimmer of this machine.   Beck grew listening to a softer sounding Bernina.  He also enjoyed Bach’s Fugues before bed.  This little one listens to Shel Silverstein poems, Richard Scarry anecdotes and made-up stories of “The Dog and the Boy” nightly.

While waiting on this babe to arrive, I’ve been busy with top secret NAHBS goods (a show I won’t be attending because I should theoretically have a new little one) and most recently, a flurry of (mostly) saddle covers for riders of the fine Brooks saddles.  Here’s the latest batch.

  The process has become pretty well polished in my own unorganized kind of way. First, I scribble a name and cryptic notes about each item ordered.  Then I find the fabrics & notions and begin cutting with my big ol’ Ginghers (The 9″ Knife Edge Tailor’s Shears to be exact).  Thereafter is the sewing interspersed with chocolate eating and lemon water drinking (insert more exciting beverages here after this baby is born.)  Then the packing.  I love seeing all the wrapped up packages ready to go.

Thanks for helping me do what I love to do.

  And a note about orders in the upcoming weeks:  This baby will be arriving and I will be away from the sewing machines for at least a week or two after the baby is born.  You can continue to place orders and I will do my best to keep up and/or let you know an ETA for your goods.  Capisce ?

When we were in California just over a week ago, where you can hang out at the beach in the middle of winter with no pants on,

we stopped in to say hi to the fine folks at the bicycle company Rivendell.  The camera wasn’t handy, so we worked with Beck to come up with this drawing of our visit there.
As you can see Rivendell is a magical place, that’s why we make a point to stop in when we’re travelling south.  I don’t need to say what is really at Rivendell, whether there are ponies or fairies, or whether the UPS man rides an elephant.  It doesn’t matter, because that’s what you feel like when you leave.  So who am I to say which of these things depicted are ‘real’.

You will notice that in the center is their fearless leader G. P. (who doesn’t wear a crown or carry a sceptre, but Beck gave those stickers to me and they seemed like the best place to put them) who is handing Beck this book:

It was a great read that I recommend to anyone, though Beck didn’t understand most of it so we had to summarize it for him in terms he could understand,  

You know how Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader?  Well, you don’t need to do what the evil Emperor says to get the treat you want.

Thanks Grant.

Here’s a picture we pirated from Riv’s website

They were actually some of first inspiration for the first products we made, hauled up in our Olympia abode reading Rivendell Readers, geeking out on steel and wool by the light of the sewing machine lamp.  They are a super group of folks with great bikes and a well thought out selection of goods, we love ‘em.   Just look at that photo up there, who wouldn’t want to be out there right now?  Check them out.

Holiday Hangover

We’ve returned to the land of rain from our California tour 2011.

Here’s a shot of our booth at the 3rd Annual Renegade Craft Fair.  Thanks to SF for all the patronage and a special thanks to all the bike geeks that stopped by for a chat!

 Eric updated our dress form with a beefy 24″ rim as a stand giving her much needed support and a little more edginess. We also introduced our felted wool crepe skirts, the Ingrid Bergman Riding Skirt!  (They’re pictured in the background)

  We sold out of our waxed canvas aprons and our waxed canvas M.U.T.s!

 And we brought along a dozen of our new bags, the Bartender.  These handy dandies are now available in our webstore and in our Etsy shop!

After the show we headed south to see good friends and eat good food.  Here we are at the beach behind Phil’s Fish Market in Moss Landing.  We had squid rings!

And we can’t go through Santa Cruz without a stop at Marianne’s Ice Cream.  So many flavors, all handmade!

Then the Christmas blur of wrapping paper, twinkling lights and sweets began.

Santa made it to California for Beck Otis.  He made out like a bandit too! Just look at the size of his stocking!

 Shel Silverstein kept us company on the long drive home on Christmas day.

 We returned home to a clean house (thanks, Mom!) and even more gifts from Santa and my family!   We also got a new wood stove to replace the pellet stove of doom (thanks, Dad!) and our dog, Gus gave us the best welcome home kisses.

HOLIDAY DELIVERY!

Hey folks. Just a little note to let you know I’ll be away from the sewing machines from the 16th – 26th of December. This means I won’t be making orders placed after the 15th until the end of the month. I will try to post inventory in stock on our Etsy store while we’re away for those last minute shoppers. Thanks again for all your patronage and happy holiday!

Randi Jo

Our new advent calendar I made this year… isn’t it swell?

Renegade Sewing!

Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have a booth at the 3rd annual Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco on December 17th & 18th. If you’re in the bay area, you should come check it out. We’re booth #20! Hundreds of vendors and free admission!

A Few New Projects

It’s been all hustle and bustle in the studio lately.  The holiday season has begun and my project list hasn’t stopped growing.  Here’s just a couple of the projects in the works.

I’m pretty excited about our new three panel cap for a client in California.  I’ve tried three panel caps before but they always looked a little too bunchy and misshapen and gave the appearance of a pinhead.

And then I remembered the wondrous dart.

I made a tapered and curved center panel with a dart that extends to the middle front of the cap.  You can’t drape a rectangular piece of fabric over a round object without some manipulation.   Take a look.

It’s pretty shapely and sophisticated for a cycling cap, I think.

Here’s the back:

And then I got an order from the illustrious Rivendell.

Somehow (I mean, finally!) my saddle covers have won the approval of a certain G.P. and I’ll be shipping them 30 on Monday in two sizes.  This run is in an exclusive Rivendell color of Ash Grey with assorted neutral underflaps.

And (!) in addition to the saddle covers, a new batch of Rivendell caps in organic cotton and hemp will be up for grabs!

Oh, happy day!

el día loco negro de perder nuestras almas

In case any of you would like to participate in the “crazy black day of losing our souls,” feel free to use coupon code “thanks15” at checkout for 15% off your purchase. Coupon good for this store and our Etsy shop www.bicyclerandi.etsy.com.

In case you participate in National Buy Nothing Day, the coupon is good through Sunday!

Happy consumerism!

Smorgasbord!

Without further ado or hesistation, I would like to introduce three fine prints for your saddle cover needs:

Aren’t they handsome?  Go order yourself (or a loved one) one of these dandies and feel that much more dapper.

It feels like fall in our neck of the woods.  The leaves are falling, the rain is falling and the rubber boots and wool mittens are at the ready.  It’s our favorite time of year!   We’ve had some rather large backyard visitors recently.  Unfortunately, they have a palate for Japanese Maples and grapes both of which resided happily alongside our little bike shop barn until their arrival.

Our first garden at our new place proved fairly bountiful with nine pumpkins, several butternut squash, carrots and potatoes.  We’ve been dining on various soups & stews with the occasional squash risotto.

Beck learned how to carve a pumpkin (or two) this year.  We made the classic jack-o-lantern and a Mouse Motel (how’d you guess, Martha Stewart!) that were both satisfactory.

Halloween costumes have been the topic of choice for Beck  for many months prior to the holiday.  His ideas ranged from a yankee doodle fox to an acrobat.  He has also become quite enamored with Star Wars ‘guys’ since he discovered Eric’s stash of figurines from his childhood.  He can tell you who’s who and which space ship they fly and will only let Eric or I play with one measly Luke Skywalker, the rest are for his use only.  With all the Yoda and Ewok talk, a Star Wars costume was bound to be at the top of his costume list. Thus, I introduce the Jedi Fox!

And what’s a Jedi without his safety tape wrapped bamboo light saber?

In sewing news, I rearranged and organized my studio which was in dire need of attention.  My dad made this awesome table for me about 6 years ago.  Since that time I’ve always had the long end pushed against a wall but I brilliantly decided to reorient it and now I have a walk around table that is the perfect height for my 5’10″ statue. Now if I could only get lovely looking boxes to store my enormous fabric stash.

Lastly, I would like to invite and remind all those in the CA bay area that the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale is quickly approaching.  This both excites and worries me greatly.  ”Yes, I got accepted into this awesome show and I get to make some non-cycling specific goods!” and “Holy smokes, when am I going to have time to make everything I want to make!?”  I see late nights in my future.

P.S.  I’ve also been making something much more extraordinary than woolen caps and dandy bags.  I’ve got another little munchkin in my belly!  I know, I know, munchkin probably isn’t the preferred nomenclature.  Fetus, please.  Anyway, come February I’ll be incapacitated with another snot-nosed protoplasm so get your winter orders in early!