Saturday, December 13, 2008

bird and feather handmade goods

It's official bird and feather is an actual place with an actual address.
Two days ago, Lori and I rented 119 Reeders Alley in Helena, MT for a studio/shop space. My half will be the physical bird and feather studio where I can work and maybe even sell bags, art, wood projects or whatever I am doing at the time. The same items will be available online through etsy so check it out, I created my store yesterday and I will be adding items today.

Here is the studio, we are on the street level.


I spent all of yesterday working on a few cowboy bags. The space is very small and has this fantastic stone wall for displaying items.

I owed my grandmother a new bag so hers was the first project in the new studio. She wanted a closure on top and I decided on a slightly different design which makes it more of a cowboy purse.

Here is a detail of the zipper. It turned out nicely.

One of the nicest things about the studio is it's location. It is right in the downtown and such a historic piece of Helena. Here is a brief history of the street:

Begun in the early 1860's, Reeder's Alley was carefully constructed of native materials and brick, brought to the new mining camp from Fort Benton. The need for lodging in the new camp called "Last Chance" prompted Lewis Reeder to begin a series of small buildings at the extreme west end of what was known as 'Bridge Street.' As demand for lodging increased so did the size of the Alley. For nearly twenty years, Reeder continued to expand his hostelry. A series of devastating fires brought the demise of 'Bridge Street,' but the Alley was spared each time. Today, Reeder's Alley is a restored miner's village with offices, a barbershop, a few restaurants, and small shop spaces.

5 comments:

Colleen said...

Looks great Chris!

Teacher Voice said...

Congratulations Chris!! Cant wait to come and visit!

Lori said...

I commented on this before, and I"m not seeing my comment on here, so I'm gonna try again.

The bags turned out great. I'm glad you figured out the zipper. For some reason I am afraid of the sewing machine, but you are inspiring me.

I went to etsy, too. Such a cool site. Your grandmother won't like it though if you sell her bag!

Hope y'all are having a great trip!

Kurt said...

can't wait for you to come back from denver so i can see you. congratulations!

Sonja said...

Hey Chris,

Congrats on the new store. Can't wait to see what other wonderful creations you'll come up with.