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.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Pie Party

We woke up Saturday giddy just thinking about all the pie that would be in our tummies as we went to bed that night. Yes, it was the day for our 2nd Annual Pie Party.


Sara rolled out the dough for her mini pies and I helped make one.


Here they all are lined out ready to be made. Mine is the closest to the camera with the hole, it was an Obama pie though hard to tell.


We readied our ballot box for the evening and sealed it like a piggy bank.

My sister Lindsey and her boyfriend Brad were here so we took a hike in the South Hills in the beautiful afternoon.


Sara, Kota, Lindsey and Brad on the mountain.


Liv, Mike, Sweet Rita, and Baby June enjoying their pie.


It also happened to be Ben's birthday as well as pie day so Becca (his girlfriend) decided to pie him in the face. Just after we all toasted him for being a jolly good fellow.


and here he is.

The party was a house full of great people and a good chance to hang out with people that we don't always have over. JP and Karen's "Family Style Chicken Pot Pie" won the contest and they took home an Emily Free Wilson Pie Pot as the prize. Thanks everybody for coming and can't wait to do it next year!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Red Things in the Snow




We got a lovely snow a few days ago and I took a few pictures on my way to work.
Here are some things that need to be said:

Grattis pŒ fšdelsedagen Anders! = Happy Birthday Anders!

Lindsey (my sister) and Brad (her boyfriend) are coming over from Missoula tonight. We are all going to hang out for the weekend.

Tomorrow night is our 2nd Annual Pie Party and should be a blast.

Anna and Corey are back from China and I am really excited to see them.

Lori had her last day work today and I am going to miss her.

There should be plenty to post about and everyone (except Anders sadly) should be at the Pie Party sporting a pie, an interpretation of a pie, or an invention that simply is called "pie" because as an inventor, heck you can do whatever you feel like.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

608 Knight St.



I sketched out an idea for adding a small front porch to our rental house. I am meeting with a friend tomorrow about doing it. I mostly just liked the line drawing of the house. I did it while sitting at work and it is pretty close to the actual house.