if I'm lucky enough that you are still checking this site...

please check out christaleff.com

The new site is up and will continue to be a blog as well as a portfolio building site as I go through school. Most likely it will be 90% blog, 10% work but should be fun. See you there and thanks for checking!

New Post Box

Approaching our front door these last few days, I have been tickled to see our finished entryway ensemble.
I designed this post box a month back and took it to my favorite sheet metal shop down the street. They do amazing work and I got the call this week that it was ready for pickup. Now we have the full setup: galvanized barn light, handcrafted aluminum numbers on cherry, and the post box with vinyl letters.

We have an old mail slot (now covered) but this looks much better from the street and will definitely help keep the heat inside our house.

Soon to come: my magnetic shelf to cover the inside of the old mail slot.

good day in the shop

This afternoon I worked in shop getting some more wood things ready for the studio shop. Here are three hand and dish soap holders just before being oiled. I love the different shades of the woods. Most of the woods are ready to go onto etsy so I will post when they're up. Hope everyone is great!

Harriman Ranch Weekend

We headed down to the Harriman Ranch in Idaho for a weekend of cross country skiing, cooking great meals, and hanging out with a great group of people. The Harriman is really an oasis. The compound of a few cabins, a large community house, and a really large bunk house are about a mile's ski in. We reserved the community house for cooking, and general hanging out and the bunk house for bunking. There were about 30 of us and it was a great time.

Fence posts covered in deep snow on our first ski
There are miles and miles of trails. Ben, Becca, Sara and I took a ten and a half mile ski on Saturday afternoon.


Here is Becca skiing away from Ben as he is taking pictures of the swans.


the swans


Sara and I pulling a sweet ski move


An outhouse with a snow hat


And a barn, just like they say; a post with a barn sure beats a post without one.

Finally

I had this idea that I wanted to build Sara a bed for Christmas. Unlike most of my ideas, I started with ample time to actually do it. I met with my friend Anna who is a great woodworker to talk about my design and to get advice on wood stuff. And so I designed it and got the steel, cut it, and took it to a few welders, one of which said, "sure, that'll be simple enough." So I was off. By this point, it was the beginning of November and I was waiting on the frame, trying to figure out how to pay for expensive stuff like the wood without Sara noticing the bank account and going to the pub quite frequently. One day I went into the basement of a building Mike owns and was just taking the tour of the work they were planning. In the next week, they were going to take down the walls of the basement, huge fir boards, and replace them with steel supports. The building was built in 1892 so that makes the wood pretty dang old and pretty much the kind of wood we will never see again as those forests are gone. So I asked if I could have some and Mike told me it was mine if I hauled it out. So I did and used a bit of it to make our new bed.
I left raw edges so you can still see where it was nailed into and they headboard is an amazingly thick heavy piece filled with colors and sap. I surprised Sara the day before we left for Colorado for the holidays by presenting all the pieces to her and finally finishd painting the base, oiling the wood, and assembling it yesterday. The most difficult thing about actually being prepared was the inability to post about or talk about the bed with Sara for a long long time. Here it is.


cut steel on the way to the welders


the headboard in the shop


the basic frame laid out in shop


a view of the slats with marks of the old wall strips


the bed in its final position in our house

The bed project is done and I am excited to get working on a few projects in the bird and feather studio. I hope everyone is well, Happy New Year.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Beautiful Thanksgiving Morning

it was magical this morning
as the frost was everywhere
it stood up on the ground
and hung on in the air

the light was strong this morning
the sun was sitting low
it casts its shadows long
full of colors pale and dull

but then the sun would catch
at an angle, just so
and at once the world would burst
into yellow, orange and gold

happy thanksgiving









click on the pictures to view them large

Jackson

Happy Late Birthday Jackson!
he is three years old
acts like he is three days old
and man is he cute.

This is what I want to do.

These images are from John Pawson Architecture and he does what I want to do. He makes all sorts of beautiful things. First off he designs buildings inside and out which is sort of an architect but more like an architect, interior designer, and artistic director all rolled into one. His website is amazing so please check it out.

Then he designs things like concrete benches, salad servers, wooden beds, candle holders, and probably whatever item he feels could just use some good design.

Oh and also does some installation type architecture. It is definitely inspiring and I'm hanging on to this example so I can say, "oh sure, it can still be done."

Sunrise This Morning

Annah's Cowboy Bag

For a while now, I have been promising our friend Annah that I will send her a new bag. A few years ago I made her one of my first ever Cowboy Bags. She completely wore it out and so the new one was going to be a present; first a Christmas present, then a birthday present, then a happy summer present but it never quite happened. I really have no idea how long it has truly been but today was the day.

the original cowboy shirt

the inside fabric

Annah's Cowboy Bag complete with fold-over pearl snap closure (a new feature) and a sweet pattern if I do say so myself.

It has been a while since I have made a bag and it was great fun. My friend Lori and I are talking about doing a joint art show and I think I will make a few for the exhibition.

Fall Art Walk

Tonight from 6-10 at ExplorationWorks: stop by if you can.