A Home For the Holidays

We love dogs here at SY. We have had a blast designing all kinds of dog products for Outward Hound, and enjoy the company of our furry friends in the office. About a month and a half ago we added to the pack...Meghan adopted a rescue pit pull!

Meghan has had her boy dog, Iggy, for a while now... and he was jonsing for a girlfriend. Meghan found Iggy through a terrific resource for adopting animals in need, Petfinder. She found her new addition there as well. Petfinder is a huge database for animal shelters. It is simple as inputting in the type of animal you are looking for, your zip code, and you are on your way of finding your new best friend. There are thousands of great pets on Petfinder, all in need of a loving home. If you are looking for a pet to join your family, consider a rescue animal. I swear they love you twice as much for bringing them home!

Our new office addition is a spunky little lady. Her name is Motley. She is about 2 years old, with a small bulldog-like body and giant silly bat ears. You would never know that Motley has had such a rough time in her young life. Like many pit bulls, she was unloved, branded as an outcast, and abused. Pit bulls, more than any other bread, are misunderstood and feared by many. Most pit bulls that enter animal shelters never come out again. While they are indeed powerful and tenacious dogs, they are incredibly loyal and loving. Most pit bulls want nothing more than to sit on your lap and cuddle! You can learn some interesting facts about pit bulls here.

Here is Motley! She is a very smart and inquisitive girl. Likes: Snuggling, playing fetch, microwave popcorn, belly rubs. Dislikes: Squirrels, rainy days, bath time.


Soaking up the warmth on a chilly winter night:


Iggy and Motley do everything together, but Iggy still likes to hog the spotlight!


New best friends...

L.A. Fashion Report

Our recent trip to L.A. was quite an adventure, and we noticed many fashion trends worth sharing. From the surf scene down at Huntington Beach to the look-of-the-moment crowd on Robertson Blvd, there was a huge mix of trends in the L.A. area.

In Huntington Beach and places like the C.A.M.P. in Costa Mesa, the look for guys was pretty down to earth. In both Jack's Garage and Huntington Surf And Sport, there was a sea of browns, tans, black and neutral shades. Plaids were everywhere! From the lumberjack look to more menswear inspired plaids, there was no escape. Stripes were big as well, as well as some fun interpretations on sweater prints.

Sweater knit prints for guys:



Buffalo Plaid reigns supreme:


More plaid styles from Quicksilver and Matix. Quilted hoodies, especially from Matix were in all of the shops at the beach. Matix seems be be gaining a strong following.



Aside from all the plaid, we saw a lot of solid color outerwear with a strong utility and military feel. There was a much larger offering of solid color jackets than colorblocked. Many jackets had large boxy pockets, and metal snaps and button were prevalent. Jacket by Penfield:


The sport shops in Huntington had a wide selection for girls, some trends were similar to men's. There were quite a few plaids, and stripes especially were everywhere. There was an onslaught of houndstooth and checkerboard prints from many brands.

Hurley Sweatshirt:

This type of long stripe top was popular:


Shopping on Melrose and Robertson Blvd was a totally different scene than the beach. Style for women especially in L.A. is very driven by celebrities. At any of the trendy shops frequented by the rich and famous, the staff is quick to point out which celebs shop there, and what they buy. The look in L.A. continues to emulate the look of the stars. We saw plenty of sparkle, rhinestones, sequins, and metallic fabrics. There were many things embellished with metallic studs and rivets. The metallic look was quite garish in most cases. Hopefully the shimmery, drapey tops and dresses will go away soon!
Metalic emblished styles:



Amid all the frothy frocks and drapey dresses, we liked seeing items with more structure and shape. There were quite a few interpretations on classic silhouettes for fall, like the pea coat and trench. The look is longer and leaner, we hardly saw any of the blazers that have been so popular in past seasons.



A fun jacket from L.A.M.B.


One trend we couldn't help notice was a return to bright, loud 80's colors. This trend has been brewing for a while, and it seems to be gaining steam. We went to streetwear store ALIFE and were overwhelmed buy super loud graphics and bright colors. They even had brigt neon denim. Reinterpreted 80's style is making it's way back, watch out! Australian brand Insight is doing a great job of bring back some of bold 80's style.

ALIFE's current line:


Some highlights from Insight:

Walkin' In L.A.

November is always an exciting month at SY Design. There's the gluttony of Turkey Day to look forward to, anticipation of the first big snow on Mt. Hood, and our annual trend shopping trip! This year we decided to head down to southern California to check out the latest and greatest in west coast fashion. The past 2 years we flew out to New York, so this year was a big departure from our usual trip. We braved L.A. traffic, sweated in almost 90 degree heat, and shopped 'til we dropped. We decided to rent a Prius Hybrid for our trip, and of course it cost more than anything else at the rental lot. But as soon as we saw the car's computer showing we were getting 45 mpg in bad L.A. traffic, we were stoked!

Our first stop on our west coast adventure was to sunny Huntington Beach. A big thanks to Kyle for letting us stay at his awesome beach condo! We checked out the many cool shops on Huntington's busy Main Street. From Jack's Garage to Huntington Surf and Sport, the so-cal beach look is alive and well in Huntington.
The corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway:

We also took a walk to Dog Beach, about 1 mile north of the Huntington Beach main drag. This place was a pooch paradise! All other beaches are closed to dogs in the area, but local pups have their own 1 mile stretch of beach heaven at Dog Beach. We saw a group of early morning frolickers having a great time running, digging, and chasing each other.

After our brief stint in Huntington, we headed north to L.A for some serious shopping. But what is a trip to L.A. without a visit to Magic Kingdom? We made a detour to Anaheim to visit good ol' Disneyland, and discovered that just because your an adult, it doesn't make Disneyland any less fun. It was totally packed the night we went, but we braved long lines to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad, and get scared all over again by the Yeti on the Matterhorn. The coolest ride was the Haunted Mansion. The Nightmare before Christmas 'took over' the Mansion, and the whole place was transformed for the holiday season. If you are in the area the animation and special effects are a truly spectacular thing to see.


On our drive up to L.A. we stopped in Costa Mesa to visit two unique retail experiences, The C.A.M.P and the Lab. The C.A.M.P. has all kinds of gear and apparel for the outdoor sports fanatic, and is probably one of the most environmentally friendly shopping experiences in the area. The Active Ride Shop is totally worth checking out, with a huge selection of outerwear and streetwear, both of us left the store packing new winter gear from their great selection.


Adventure 16 is a first class sports outfitter, it's like a super posh version of R.E.I.

The Lab boasts itself as the 'Anti Mall' and is right across the street from the C.A.M.P. There is a mix of big names like Urban Outfitters, and little boutiques, we thought this was a bit sleepy in comparison to our experience at The C.A.M.P.

In L.A. we first headed to Venice Beach and the very cool stretch of indie stores on Abbot Kinney street. The shopping was an eclectic mix from high end boutiques to great home stores. There were some drool worthy condos on the street, and any modern design lover should check this place out.

There was a great dog shop, we were greeted by two crazy French Bulldogs at the door of this cute converted house.

We also went to Stronghold Jeans. For some serious bucks, you can get fitted into custom made American denim here. They were quick to point out the giant book of celebrity clients at Stronghold, it was quite the shop!

Next was a trip to uber-trendy Robertson Blvd. With shops like Kitson, Lisa Klein, and Intermix, we were sure we would have a star sighting, but not so! Robertson also boasts celebrity eatery The Ivy. There were TONS of paparazzi hovering around outside, just waiting for a photo op.

A trip to Melrose is a must, from the ultra hip Fred Segal, to endless junk shops, there is a little bit of everything. The Max Azria shop has an amazing facade of swirled branches. I don't know how they stay in place, but it is seriously impressive.


On our last day we headed to Fairfax Ave. to check out some streetwear. In a 2 block stretch you can find Supreme, ALIFE, The Hundreds and others. The attitude is 'too cool for school' and you are lucky if any one working in these shops will give you the time of day. These shops are known for dishing out the must have items in streetwear, from limited New Era hats to Nikes that kids camp out over night for.

Outside The Hundreds:


A highlight of the trip was an awesome vintage sunglass/eyeglass shop next to the Hundreds called Hotel de Ville. With a laundry list of celebrity and hip hop clients, this is THE place to score some killer shades. This dude, Van, was on hand to help us pick out some shades. He was quite the character, and totally decked out in Fairfax streetwear. He told us it just 'felt like a purple day.'

We had a great time on our trip to L.A. We saw tons of inspiration, ate great food, and after 5 days and lots and lots of driving, only put $20 into the Prius!! We loved driving it around, and felt better that we didn't contribute too much to the L.A. smog.

The Power of Green

...has finally gone mainstream this year, but still there is so much to learn, here are a couple of things worth passing along.

"Tofu Bear”, the really cool thing about him is that he’s…
“Made from 100% SOYSILK® brand fiber, these fabulous creations are soft, cuddly, and earth-friendly. SOYSILK® brand fiber is a cutting edge fiber made from the waste produced during the manufacture of tofu. Known for its soft feel, like cashmere, SOYSILK® was first introduced in 2001 by South West Trading Company, pioneers in luxury yarns made from soy, bamboo, and other cutting edge fibers.”

Every time you look at him, think how cool it would be to use this same technology to create luscious eco-friendly cozy plush pile fabrics as lining inside of the outdoor apparel that we design. Food for thought, literally

ATV’s are everywhere, when heading outside of PDX for some mountain biking at Brown’s Camp/Roger’s camp, just pulling into the parking lot is like watching two world’s collide. One is the man-powered mountain biking crowd; the other is the ATV and off-road bike crowd, with their large trailers full of gear, gas, and loud polluting 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.

It’s great news to hear about the pioneers at Barefoot Motors , with their pioneering new EUV, the worlds first Earth Utility Vehicle!
“We are building the first heavy duty all electric ATV. Our Model One does not pollute, it has better power and if you consider the fuel savings alone – forget about utility rebates, forget about carbon credits, forget about incentives for now – just the fuel savings, the vehicle could actually cost 50-75% of the gas equivalent over the course of its life. Now, add to that, that eliminating one gas-powered ATV because of the emissions it creates, is the equivalent to removing 4 cars off the road. And consider the impact.”

Portland Fashion Week

October 19th-24th marked Fashion Week here in Portland, and some great local talent was showcased. Our fashion week is billed as one of the 'greenest' around, with an emphasis on eco-friendly designers and proceeds going to restore fish and wildlife habitat in Willamete river. Portland has a rich local fashion community with independent designers offering their wares in local boutiques or in their own small store front. On NW 23rd street alone, you can find store fronts for local designers Michelle DeCourcy, Lena Medoyeff, and Souchi

23rd is also home to Seaplane, one of the best boutique showcases of local, handmade apparel and accessories.

Just off 23rd at 2305 NW Savier, is the collaborative storefront for designers Liza Rietz and John Blasioli (John's line is called A Broken Spoke). Both of these designers were featured in Portland Fashion week, and each have wonderfully unique styles with an emphasis on quality and tailored fit. Both do custom designs, and if you are in the market for a perfectly fit men's jacket from A Broken Spoke, or a unique dress from Liza, their shop is worth the trip.

Here are a couple styles from A Broken Spoke, more at the website:



Here is a piece from Liza Rietz, more info at her website:


Another featured line at Fashion Week was Pinkham Millinery. If you know Kim, then you probably know that her Achilles Heel is buying hats! We love these fun styles, Pinkham hat are available at their shop on SW Broadawy, info at their website

Shred Like a Gentleman

If you want high performance on the hill while still retaining your dapper image, then the collaboration between Burton and fancy English brand Paul Smith is right up your alley. Boasting full taped seams, and very sharp looking waterproof/breathable fabric, this jacket can be yours for the bargain price of 495 British Pounds. (yeah, that means times two for the American price.) Hey, looking better than everyone else on the mountain doesn't come cheap. Cheerio!


The collaboration appears to be limited to 3 styles at this point, they are available from the Paul Smith website.
http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/burton-snowboards-collaboration-252/category.html

Music Town, USA

Here is one of the worst kept secrets in Portland: we have an amazing music scene. While the city is best known for indie outfits like the Decemberists, the truth is you can hear all kinds of great music, from underground hip hop to death metal. There is no shortage of fantastic music venues to catch a show, from the Wonder Ballroom right up the street from the SY Design office, to the intimate Doug Fir Lounge, Portland is no doubt the musical mecca for any concert goer.

Just last night, Meghan headed down to the Satyricon to check out local indie/metal outfit Made In Ruins. Even though these guys were the opening act, they clearly already have a strong local following, and fun was had by all. The Satyricon itself is worth checking out if you are in the Chinatown area. The stuff of legend, bands like Nirvana and the Flaming Lips graced the tiny stage before they made it big.

Long hair and giant amps, the axe man cometh!


Local hero of the hip hop scene is totally awesome MC/DJ/Producer, Omega Watts. Omega can be found most Thursday nights spinning at the Someday Lounge as part of 'The Fix'. The Fix features a rotating line up of local deejays and special guests, and for zero dollars at the door, it is one of the best deals in town to get your boogie on. Omega recently played the Doug Fir for the release of his new CD, a great hip hop show.


Besides the plethora of local talent, Portland is often a stopping point for big acts. Even though we are a smaller city, shows often sell out because of the huge local fanbase. French electronic duo Justice recently played the Holocene to a sold out crowd. Some of these shows turn into a fashion show as much as a concert, with local scenesters decked out in their crazy best.

Giant glowing cross + smoke machines = awesome


The Justice motherboard:


At SY Design music is an integral part of our day. We often listen to music 8-9 hours at a time, relying on our tunes to keep us happy and motivated during busy design times. Here are some of our recent musical picks for a productive day:

Jens Lekman- 'Nights Fall Over Kortedala'
Swedish troubadour does it right on his sophmore album. Good to wake up with, strong coffee a bonus.


Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - '100 Days, 100 Nights'
Amy Winehouse may be getting all the press for the 'new-soul revival' sound, but Ms. Jones continues to keep it real on '100 Days, 100 Nights'. Cool vocals and funk to spare.


Simian Mobile Disco - 'Attack Decay Sustain Release'
This is to be played LOUD. A good cure for creative slumps and post-lunch sluggishness. This one will get ya movin'.

SIA 2007

Vegas baby! The end of January means it's time for our annual trip to Vegas to attend the SIA tradeshow for snowsports. This year was great, lots to see, and new people to meet. The show is huge, and just about every snowsport brand makes an appearance. It is always inspiring to see what everyone in the industry is up to, what is the new hot look, and which trend has been done to death.

Burton's booth was huge and dominating of course...they had some great board graphics this year.


They were showing some serious plaids again this year. Be prepared to see a lot of lumberjacks on the mountain next fall!


And more plaid for the ladies:


We saw some cool jackets inspired by streetwear looks. Holden offers a version of the classic pea coat...


We also noticed a return to simple, clean looks. Allover prints are still around, but it was nice to see this fresh look for guys.


Walking along The Strip at night is always interesting. Elvis impersonators, drunk frat boys, grannies drinking daiquiris out of plastic yard sized cups...Here is a weird photo of the Bellagio during the big fountain show, looking more like the Bates Motel than a Vegas casino.


But what was the real highlight of the trip? IN-N-OUT BURGER! The only location outside of California happens to be right off the strip, and there is nothing like a Double Double done Animal Style after a long day at the show!!