Stripe Mens- Santa Cruz
The nice ladies at Stripe just opened their new Mens shop a few doors down on Walnut Ave in Downtown Santa Cruz. There’s an opening party from 6-late, tonight Friday March 30th. Come on out and support a wonderful crew and see some new bags of mine, beautiful bags and sweaters from Archival, Tellason denim and a bunch of other great stuff.
I stole this photo from the Stripe Facebook page.
March
March has been busy with lots of small projects, online orders, and …upholstery??
I bought a motorcycle, yes. It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden but with a motocross background as a kid, it makes sense that I got a big single cylinder. At least that’s how my mind is justifying it.
Built a new seat pan, shaped some foam, and have been teaching myself how to upholster. It’s getting close!
Travis– backpack
Made this backpack for Travis this week. Padded back, padded straps, outside pocket and a few other little details. Tons of work, but feeling good about it.
Dan’s Card Holder
Dan dropped by the shop yesterday to get a card holder wallet made. I typically don’t make too many leather accessories because there are a bunch of people who do that as their main focus, and I do bags. I’d like to allow other craftsmen make stuff that they’re passionate about and because they’d be much better at it than me. But, I’ve known Dan for many years, since college. It was really fun to make something completely different and out of my normal routine. It would be better if it were hand-stitched, but again, I leave that to the other guys. Dan took these two photos. Thanks Dan!
North American Handmade Bicycle Show- Frances Cycles
NAHBS is happening this next weekend, March 2-4 in Sacramento. It’ll be amazing for sure.
I made some waxed canvas handlebar bags to accompany Frances Cycle’s bicycles that Josh and I have been talking about for a long time. Based off a Baggins Bag that is no longer in production, we took our own spin and here’s a little sneak peek. More photos to come when they’re fitted onto Josh’s bikes. See Josh’s Flickr page for more…
Tyler Warren Experiments
I love everything about this new video about to come out. It’s been in the making for a long time and I can’t wait to see it.
Wet Art Project: Sander & Olin
Here’s a short video on our friends Sander and Olin for the Wet Art Project. It was a show featuring a bunch of different artists with wetsuits as their medium. Patrick Trefz made a bunch of cool videos on the various artists. You can see Sander’s white wetsuit in the video. Olin made a big Rubik’s cube.
“I can’t use a saw.”
Beam & Anchor- Portland, OR
I’m very pleased that Beam & Anchor in Portland, Oregon is now carrying Strawfoot. The shop that Robert and Jocelyn Rahm have put together is stunning and like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Check them out and see the progress they’ve made with the building. They should be opening the doors in early March and will have two different colorways of my waxed canvas tote bags.
Upstairs houses the workspaces for two carpenters (one being Robert), Leland of Revive Upholstery, Matt of Wood & Faulk, and Jocelyn’s painting studio. The basement is where the actual “shop” is located and it’s filled with antique furniture, industrial lighting, a canoe, reclaimed wood tables and each piece is carefully refurbished. It gorgeous, but with a very accessible feeling.
The best part is that everyone at Beam & Anchor is friendly and inviting. You get a different feeling walking into the building, one that makes you feel at home and comfortable. It seems appropriate to me that they will carry my bags because we share the same desire to foster community. It’s been a dream of mine to have a workspace someday where friends with different talents can work individually on their craft, but also together and create a pleasant work environment. Beam & Anchor is the first place where I’ve seen that in action and it’s really inspiring.
