An Excuse for New Gear

We spent this past weekend at Eight Mile Crossing up on Mt. Hood, the views are bountiful, the camping is amazing, and this area has some of the best mountain biking you'll find.  I realized just before skipping town that my most favorite biking shorts were nowhere to be found so it gave me an excellent excuse to head over to Bike Gallery to see if I could find something to replace them.  I found a pair of sweet Townie Bike Shorts from Fox that I couldn't resist.  The fixed waist fit amazingly well (I was skeptical of this) during my entire single track ride they stayed in place without me feeling like my drawers were drooping.  Serious love for the yarn dye pattern, thanks for something that looks more fun and less like another pair of black riding shorts.  So what if they get bike grease on them, it only gives them more character.  I also liked that the inner chamois short was separate because these shorts actually look good and fit well when worn alone without the diaper look of the chamois underneath (added bonus for sure)  Looking forward to giving them many rides and seeing how they hold up over time.

I couldn't think of a jersey in my closet that was going to be the perfect match up to these new shorts so I was delighted to find the Dakine Antic Short Sleeve to pair with my shorts.  This picture doesn't do it justice by the slight gathering at the chest area and the subtle graphics are a nice touch, and I appreciated the use of Aegis anti-microbial finish to cut down on the stink factor too.

 
Perfect gear for a great ride on the 8 mile loop conveniently located 2 minutes from our camp.  If you check out this ride try riding it backwards, or according to the sign the "easier" route.  I've done it both ways, and much prefer the both the climbing and the downhill when rode according to the "easier" route.  Otherwise you climb up for 900' in very low gears for about an hour straight, that part was a lot more fun to come down.

What's Old is New

It's been coming on for the last 2 years if not longer, blame it on the recession if you like,  but popularity of vintage Americana, blue-collar working class life, bringing things back home again, and farm to table eating, continues to grow in interest. I like it.


Tennis - South Carolina from woodsman man on Vimeo.

This was posted by a friend on Facebook today and it personifies this "trend" with the Burlesque girls, the vocals, and the way the video was put together, it almost looks like watching an old vintage reel film.

With this new found love of the old, canning, farmer's market shopping, gardening, baking, knitting, sewing, and crafting are heading towards mainstream, instead of making you seem like some geeky outcast lost in another time.  Sites like Canning Across America have new found popularity, and I can't help noticing that every store from Target to Whole Foods is now carrying canning supplies.

Urban Chicken farming is becoming as common as having a garden for some, if you are handy you can build them yourself, but if not never fear there are places like Bake's Binster all over America that come right to you and get you all set up and ready to raise chickens.  

In June I attended the Show of Awesome at the Doug Fir and found a space filled to capacity with hipster crafters, these aren't your typical craft shows and not the typical attendees either.  While there I found finely crafted smoked almond butter toffee from Rose City Sweets. (sinfully delicious, and I loved the old candy dishes she uses here with tea towels)

Also of note was that the creator of these lovely treats was dressed in a 1950's era little dress, had a beautiful curvy figure and reminded me instantly of a pin-up girl... and that smoked flavor in her toffee,  a signature new twist on a classic.

I've been reading about brands like Levi's, Pendleton, Woolrich (America's oldest apparel company), Filson, etc enjoying a new found popularity amongst a younger crowd.  In fact I took on a big design project for Woolrich this winter overhauling their entire outerwear collection and working with them to restore vintage branding a labeling for 2011.   I was thrilled to spend hours combing through their archives and getting my hands on vintage woolen jackets from the early 1900's.  

         

vintage Woolrich

I find myself constantly in search of old "finds", some of my most recent scores were in Walla Walla, Washington at the Shady Lawn Creamery vintage store.  Where I picked up this vintage Mt. Hood postcard, I paid $7.50 for it, youch!  But...it's a beauty.

I also had some serious love for these too.

It's good see this happening and I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

Faves of an Outdoor Girl

Being an outdoor apparel designer sometimes makes things a little tricky when buying performance clothing and gear, each time I venture into "outdoor" stores more often than not I'm a little disappointed in the end.  First of all, if my street wear would perform the way I needed I probably wouldn't even buy outdoor gear, because for the most part I find it terribly conservative, unflattering, and not playful enough.  But alas that whole performance thing is important so..... I go with the goal of getting a bunch of gear all at once, but there is never enough stuff that looks good, functions, and fits good too.  If all of those things are in magically in alignment I try not to worry about the price because I know I'll wear it to death.  Here are just a few of my fave's that have been living in my closet and getting tons of use.

Lululemon may not be an outdoor brand by design, but these Wunder Under Crop pants rock, I wear them to the gym, for yoga, hiking because I love how smoothly they rest under my hip belt, for short bike commutes, camping, and under my fishing waders too.  They are hard enough wearing to hold up well to outdoor living, and it doesn't hurt that they fit amazing too.  The $68 spent on these is worth every penny.

  

                          

I'm a huge fan of merino wool because it's natural and it's the only base layer that I can wear and sweat in heavily for multiple days without it stinking.  I recently started wearing the Women's Balance Bralette from Ibex and....I LOVE it.  In fact I have it on right now.  This piece fits great, is super comfy with straps that aren't binding or painful, and they adjust (very important).  Looking forward to wearing this on my long backpacking trip in August and seeing how it holds up.  At $42.00 it's not cheap, but it's merino and will last forever.

                                         

Keeping with the wool theme, my Tech Top from Icebreaker is one of the best fitting and most comfortable cool weather layering pieces that I have ever owned.  I find myself wearing it for shoulder season hiking and biking, underneath my shells on the mountain in the winter and everything in between.  I picked it up in NYC at Paragon Sports at just over $100, but I've had it for I think 4 winters now and it's still going strong in the love line of my outdoor gear, though I'm craving a new color.  I love that they are one of the few outdoor brands who has the whole length thing right on tops.  (We like them long now, hint hint to all the other brands.)  I have a lonely hearts club in my closet of tops that are too short, I often wonder how they got there, and because the collection has grown it's something that I really pay attention to now.  I have tops from Mountain Hardwear, Columbia, Patagonia, Arcteryx, Ibex, Carve, Cloudveil all too short and never get worn, and there are countless ones that I put back on the rack instantly because they look short and boxy.

                                        

In the category of non traditional, during one of my many visits to Target I happened on their Women's Seamless Fashion Cami by Champion, the rule for me when buying something besides the household items from Target is that it has to work without trying it on.  For $12.00 it was a pretty low risk to pick up a size small and take it for a test drive.  I was surprised at how well they fit, and how comfy they were, I have about 6 of them now.  I even wore one of them when I climbed Mt. Shasta last summer as my underlayer that I wore for 3 days straight while climbing.  They come in loads of colors and a couple of other styles as well.  They don't offer heavy support but good for lighter active tasks that aren't high impact.

                        

I'm also doing some wear testing for Cocona's Xcelerator technology, this spring they shipped out a new 2.5 layer lightweight shell for me to test.  I loved the design of the jacket, simple, nice fit, and details that worked without being too tricky.  Since we had the longest ever winter+spring that never ended in the northwest I was able to test this jacket much more than usual.  I wore it mountain biking, trail running, and trekking in the snow at 8,000 ft. on Mt. Shasta.  In one of my notes to them I wrote, "Thought I would test this piece aerobically in a different way than my prior test, weather is very damp and cool, underneath the jacket I wore a mid-weight merino base layer and hiked vigorously for about 1 hour 15 minutes with a 20 pound pack, and....never had to take off my Xcelerator layer.  My wool layer was pretty damp underneath, but it would have been even without the jacket on, I was working pretty hard aerobically.  I was impressed with the comfort level and my lack of feeling clammy too." This piece has been my go to outerlayer all spring.

I crave more risk taking from outdoor brands, better fit, and more current looks that could be worn as both street wear and for outdoor use without looking instantly like "I'm from Oregon" or hearing the words, "you look so granola today."  Because in the end, "girls just want to have fun."

A Little Help Goes a Long Way

(This post will go on record as my longest, but if you read it when you have five minutes to focus it's worth the time)
On August 21st I'll be heading to the Wallowa mountains in eastern Oregon with a group of Big City Mountaineers volunteers and 6 teenage girls chosen from Portland's Caldera Arts program to go on their first transformative outdoor experience.  These teenage girls will be leaving behind many of the things that they value most, cell phones, music, TV, makeup, boys,  and in most cases their valued peers to go on an outdoor experience geared to give them growth in ways that they likely couldn't imagine.  They take a giant leap of faith, traveling into the unknown outdoor world with strangers to learn about things like bear bagging, cat hole digging (and filling), water purification, and leave no trace practices, but more importantly they'll learn about themselves.

I get asked all the time, "why do you do it?" "...how can you volunteer another whole week of your time?"  Here's my humble attempt at an answer:

How can I not?  I volunteered my time as a camp counselor each high school summer that I was in 4-H, after that I was hooked.  When I was 29 and up to my eyeballs in my corporate job I decided to volunteer a week of my time (I had 3 weeks of vacation a year) and teach fly fishing at the same summer camp that I attended as a kid.  (I think my co-workers thought I was crazy.)  I showed up with 12 donated fly rods, special hand tied flies from a friend, a little candy, hula hoops, donated T-shirts, and tons of energy.  I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew that if I made it fun the rest would just fall into place.

At my first class I had kids from the 4th grade up to 8th grade plus high school counselors to engage.  They looked at me with skepticism, I could sense their thoughts... fly fishing? a girl? no way, this is gonna be a dumb class.  But....then I started talking about the critters under the water, the various stages that they go through prior to hatching (eeewws and yucks filled the air) and then I'd pass around the tied flies having them guess what kind of bug they thought it might be.  They were curious, I moved quickly to the next step.  Fly rods... I taught them the proper way to put them together, that they were called "rods" not "poles", I showed them how to thread the line through the eyes on the rod properly to prevent it from sliding all the way out if you happened to let go as you threaded from one to the other.  And then....I took a deep breath and passed out the rods for them to assemble in teams and I watched.  I watched team work, excitement, laughing, mentoring, etc. it only took 30 minutes into my first volunteer experience and I was the one who was hooked.  By the end of their first class I had all the kids out on the lawn casting with little yarn flies on the end of their line, learning how to use finesse instead of power, learning to feel the rod and listen to the line.  I started to break down their barriers because the girls in the class assumed that I was some she-man and that fly fishing was the dumbest thing they'd ever seen, and the boys assumed that I was a girl so what did I know about fishing and especially fly fishing?

I'm an outdoor apparel/gear designer, but I love fashion too, so once I ditched the fishing garb after class suddenly the girls realized that I was more like them then they had imagined, soon they were asking to borrow my clothes to wear to the camp dances at night, they all wondered about being a "designer" and asked a million questions, and after classes each day when I offered free-time fishing there were always girls there too.  It made me smile.  The boys on the other hand would challenge me to cast at targets to see if I could hit them, and when I did it time and time again they started to be amazed and to trust me.

During the 2nd class all the kids learned to cast at the lake, with the bushes and trees around them.  (I have never in my life untied so many knots and impossible snarls as during that week.)  I learned quickly that they love to compete with each other even in friendly ways, competition was something that spurred them on, so I created two lines, tossed two hula hoops out into the lake and they would race against each other to see who could cast into their yarn fly into the hoop first for a candy prize.  I sat back and watched camaraderie, laughter, and most of all wonder.  (they were amazed at what they could do, and how much fun it was)

During the 3rd class we went to a stocked lake and fished for the first time with real flies and hooks.  People thought I was crazy, how could I do that with 20 kids at a time?  But I had to trust and  empower them to use the tools I had given them.  It was amazing, no one got "hooked" and you could hear the squeals and hollers all around the whole lake whenever anyone got a bite or a small fish on their line.  The smiles that would light up their faces were priceless, and their excitement was contagious.

Each day during free time fishing, (there was no obligation to come to this) I took the kids that showed up on the river fishing.  They would wade in with their socks if needed.  I taught them how to maneuver the rocks, where to look for the fish and... they caught fish!!!  Each day the kids who went would tell the ones who didn't go and the next day there would be more kids.  I was run ragged during those 4 days, but loved every minute of it.

By the last day of camp the boys were pals with me and asking me, "So what other kinds of cool things do you do?" and the girls were thanking me for making a class that they were sure would be boring fun, they said, "We didn't know that girls could do this," and they giggled whenever I told them that boys dig girls who can fish.

I listened proudly to boys tell their fathers about a new kind of fishing that they learned about and ask them if they could get a fly rod too.  I listened when one boy thanked me for all that I had taught him and the time that I had spent with him.  I took a few kids "under my wing," that I could sense needed the extra encouragement and I gave them my "all" knowing how much it might help them in ways totally unrelated to fishing.  The biggest lesson in my volunteer experience was that fishing wasn't really what they learned, it was about so many other things, but the fishing was just a tool to allow those other transformative things to happen.

As I now prepare to embark on another volunteer journey with Big City Mountaineers, I look forward to what I might learn from a week with 6 teenage girls in the wild, and I'm certain it will be about much more than bear bagging, backpacking, and adventure.  I hope that you might take a minute and visit my fundraising site for Big City Mountaineers and consider supporting me in whatever way you can as I strive to reach my goal of raising $1500 to help support getting more kids outside.

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It's just around the corner....

I've been buried in work these past few months with little time for blogging, but...I'm just a couple weeks away from wrapping up my projects, and coming back to life again.

As I patiently wait for the weather to change here in Portland the Dandelions are a constant reminder that warmer days are coming soon. With a toddler in my house I have recently come to admire their whimsy and splendor once again. They even recently became part of a surface design project that I did for gDiapers too, inspiration is everywhere just keep your eyes open and you'll find it.

An Inspirational Journey to the Summit of Mt. Shasta

Please join me on Wednesday, FEB 24Th, 6:30-7:30pm, at THE CLEANERS AT ACE HOTEL PORTLAND, for a CLIMB AGAINST THE ODDS MT. SHASTA slide show and story about teamwork, passion, healing, struggle, and triumph. One mother candidly shares her story about climbing to the top of Mt. Shasta alongside cancer survivors on the 2009 CLIMB AGAINST THE ODDS team. Her goal is to inspire other's to join this great cause and to become part of this year's CLIMB AGAINST THE ODDS team, guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience of a lifetime. You don't have to be a mountain climber to be a part of this team, so please come and learn more about this amazing journey.

THE CLIMB AGAINST THE ODDS is a benefit for the BREAST CANCER FUND, the BREAST CANCER FUND identifies-and advocates for elimination of - the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease.

No Host Bar and light snacks provided, this event is FREE so please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested in an inspirational journey of a lifetime.

Please feel free to call me if you have any questions. kim - 503.913.0069

Many thanks to THE CLEANERS AT ACE HOTEL for their generous donation of space for this event.

Cocona Xcelerator, is it really better?

While walking the aisles at Outdoor Retailer I walked into the Cocona booth to learn a little about their newest technology Xcelerator™ that I read about before attending the show. Excelerator™ is a new form of Cocona technology that allows them to apply their technology to WPB laminates and 3-Layer fabrications further expanding where they are able to use their technology that offers these key features:

1) Coconut Activated Carbon - is a recycled sustainable material
2) It rapidly pulls moisture away from the skin
3) It spreads moisture across the surface to increase evaporation and drying
4) It attracts and traps odors that are released when it is washed
5) Washing and drying are good for it, refreshing it's abilities.

In a nutshell (or coconut shell) it makes you feel better, and makes you less stinky when you are working hard. And because it manages moisture so well, if you sweat like I do, it helps you stay warmer too by effectively managing the excess moisture, not to mention the stink.

I'm always skeptical about new technologies, can you really tell the difference, is there really a benefit? How will the customer/consumer understand it? So they gave me a sample to try it out, and for the first time ever a sample from a fabric/technology vendor was actually nice looking and fitting too! They also gave me a glove to try that has their laminate, insulation, and fleece inside a trifecta of Cocona!



All set for testing, but winter isn't cooperating as well as I'd like in the Pacific Northwest, but I'm hoping to get it on the mountain maybe tomorrow. In the meantime I've been maxing it out on the aerobic end to see if the stink part really works. I've even been putting it on at the gym after a big sweaty workout to wear around until I cool down. (My other jackets tend to stink to high heaven from this) So far, I can't smell any odor at all on the interior of the fabric, but the YKK pitzip is not holding up as well, there is an obvious stink on the zipper tape that does not exist on the fabric near by. Hmmmm. Stay Tuned, and if you want to test too head to their site and tell them why you'd be a great tester.

The Life & Love of Trees

During my recent trip to San Francisco I weighed myself down with one book find after another. My MOST favorite of the loot is The Life & Love of Trees, with text by Lewis Blackwell.

Lewis Blackwell is recognized as a leader in creative and photographic practice. For almost a decade he led the creative development of the world’s largest photo agency, Getty Images, and previously he was widely regarded as a trend watcher and innovator with his work as editor/publisher of the prestigious title Creative Review. He is a visiting professor at the School of Creative Leadership at Steinbeis University, Berlin.

His books are considered some of the most critically acclaimed and bestselling in the creative field worldwide, and include The End of Print, Soon: The Future Culture of Brands, and Twentieth-Century Type.

I've always been inspired by nature, and besides the fact that this is mostly a "picture" book (designer's love them) the photo's are both inspirational and memorable at the same time. I found as I turned the pages that these photos invoked memories for me. For $50.00, you can't go wrong with adding this book to your coffee table or design library.

DoG - Get the code

Full price is dead. You'll never have to choose between gear and groceries again


You gotta be crafty and sleuth your way in to Department of Goods, another new store from the team at Backcountry.com, selling the latest outdoor, surf, skate, bike, and mountain equipment from more than 400 pinnacle brands. Once discovered you might have just stumbled upon the promised land of premium gear. Boasting up to 70% off of tons of ski gear, up to 50% off everything bike, and up to 70% off of everything for riding too, how can you possibly go wrong?

Not convinced yet? Check out this snapshot of the array of products you'll find from DoG:

What's in that bottle?

I've been looking at this bottle sitting in our bathroom for a couple of year's now, mind you it's more than a couple of year's old...a bottle of Spohn's Compound, a bottle that I inherited from my dad who is ditching his vintage bottle collection. A bottle that is inspiring to me, almost every time I look at it. A bottle worth sharing with friends, of a "Stimulating Expectorant for HORSES, MULES, DOGS, RABBITS, apparently one of those wonders of the early 1900's. A bottle that would tuck nicely inside of a LaMerde jacket for the occasion that a gentleman might need it.

When I say Airblaster what comes to mind?

Spending some time hitting the streets in PDX this week and yesterday's travels had me at the US Outdoor Store, where making a purchase choice can cause a veritable quandary, there is surely enough outdoor gear to meet any single person on the planet's need for gear. Since the last time I truly looked in every nook and cranny of the store things have changed. First of all, the amount of gear in the store this time of year is overwhelming, the assortment for the square footage is enough to wear you out just pushing back one style to see another. (This is more true on the main floor than upstairs where it is refreshingly open in comparison.) Secondly, I didn't realize there was a bargain/sale annex upstairs...maybe it's a sign of the times, but it could have also been there before.

I have to admit I didn't spend too much time on the first floor except to confirm my suspicions that outdoor still remains well, you know, the same. It was great to see Armada's new outerwear collection front and center though on the half of the store that isn't dominated by The North Face. So I rather quickly ended up upstairs this trip. I immediately found two brands that I didn't see at SIA, of course they could have been there, but I didn't see them.

That brings me to Airblaster, a brand that touts themselves as being a small company from Portland, Bend OR, Lake Tahoe CA, and San Fran CA and a sketchy RV somewhere in the great USA. Just one look at the line I was able to admire their irreverence, this is what I believe is missing in the outdoor industry where everyone takes themselves way too seriously for irreverence. (I heard one of the store employees asking another if they "had" to go to Outdoor Retailer, and when the other said no and how boring the show was, the girl who will be going lamented the same.) US Outdoor had a pretty decent size assortment of this new partially local brand, always great to see local support.

The SUMO SUIT had me laughing right away, there is something a little phallic about it, luv it!


The line is sort of a fun mix of bold 80's colorblocking with crazy bright colors, as well as a nod to classic ski styling of the late 60's and 70's. You can easily see that in the aptly named BIG SKY jacket here


Another fun style is the COLORING BOOK jacket and pant, where you can customize panels with your own fantastic creations for a a truly one of a kind look.


If I say 80's you say Airblaster....



There is not as large of an assortment for the girlies, but you gotta love the DONNA jacket and STRETCH bib, think how dry your back will stay, these babies got you covered, and I gotta say it, wish there were more brights for the chica's we like color too.


I've yet to try them on or hear anything on fit/performance, but if I do will be sure to share. Keep thinking about snow, and stay tuned for more soon!