Deller Designs

Snow Day!!!

2012-01-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

Fifteen inches of snow yesterday. I couldn't sleep because the snow kept avalanching off our yurt roof creating a racket and branches were snapping everywhere in the forest. We took the day off and played in the snow.

Mr. Jeebs checking out the snow goddess. He later ate her carrot nose and hazelnut nipples!

Hood thinks he's a snow leopard.

On the Farm in 2012

2012-01-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

We were gifted some rabbits by a friend last week. This is our new buck and doe bunnies in their rabbit tractor. The tractor keeps them contained but allows them to pasture on the grass. We are raising them for meat and will be employing them as lawnmowers and fertilizers around our home.

Not all rabbits get along but these two are lovers. We will have to remove the doe in a month though when she gives birth so that she has a private, safe space to raise her young. Rabbits are prolific breeders and because of this, an efficient sustainable source of meat and furs.

The sheep and goats are eager to get out of this paddock and graze in their new electric portable fence enclosure that we bought them for winter solstice. This will allow us to move them about the farm to browse and forage on fresh grass and blackberry leaves without having to worry about them devouring our fruit trees or wandering down to the neighbors house. Just waiting on the fence to arrive in the mail. The two goats and one sheep are all pregnant and due in March.

Here are a few of our chickens in their chicken tractor tilling and fertilizing the soil. These three are at the bottom of the pecking order and so the other chickens won't allow them to sleep in the coop. Instead they were roosting in the trees and getting picked off by the great horned owls around our farm. The chicken tractor gives them a safe space to live.

Last but not least, our micro-herds. Red wiggler worms in our worm bin turning our compost into rich soil. Not pictured but also in this bin are black soldier fly larva. I'm researching a system to raise these in a separate bucket as a form of protein for our chickens. I'll post a blog when I get that project finished. Happy 2012!

New Plans for a New Year

2011-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

BikeCraft 2011 was a hit. I sold a lot of caps for low prices to make room for some new caps for 2012. I've been making cycling caps for 7 years now and I have thought about quitting a number of times. I have also thought about going "big time" by having my caps mass produced in a factory. Neither option sounded like the right path to take. I must admit that I get really bored sewing the same thing over and over. This is partly why I considered quitting. Yet, I want to create hats that are well made with attention to detail. Basically I want to produce something that I feel proud to put my name on. What keeps things interesting for me is always innovating and creating new, one-of-a-kind caps. For 2012 I'm planning to make a few revisions to my caps. Below are photos of these new features that I feel make for a more quality cycling cap.

All of my wheely, 3 panel, and 8 panel caps will feature a wider cotton headband 3/4" in size. This covers the seam better for a more finished look and makes a more sweat absorbing headband. In this photo you can see another new feature which is, that all the headbands are then top stitched with a heavier weight thread for durability and style. This will be done on all the above mentioned caps with earflaps and without.

This photo shows the interior of two earflap caps. A wheely cap and a 3 panel cap with earflaps added. Notice the thicker headband and double top stitching to hold the headband in place.

All of my Alpine caps will feature a liner inside made from either thin merino wool knit or thin polyester knit. This makes the caps have a more refined look and more warmth due to the second layer of fabric. I am discontinuing the "Reversible" Alpine cap style that I used to produce because although they are reversible, they don't fit as nicely when reversed and they are a pain to sew because the reverse side of the cap never seems to line up centered with the bill. The Alpine cap is my most expensive cap due to the cost of the new fabric used to line each cap and the added time it takes to sew each cap. I have seen other hat makers produce a similar style of cap but all to often they tend to have poorly shaped bills, earflaps that don't actually cover your ears, or an overall poor fit. I feel that my Alpine cap is a superior style of winter riding cap. I will be posting more new caps in my shop in the coming weeks. So please check back to see what is new. Also you can expect a website overhaul for 2012. Happy Holidays!

Visit Bike Craft 2011

2011-11-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

I will be selling my caps at BikeCraft again this year. The event will take place next weekend Dec. 3rd - 4th at Sandbox Studios 420 NE 9th Ave. Portland, OR. Check out the BikeCraft website for more info. I am in the process of revamping my hats and website for 2012. The plan is to introduce a more refined line of caps with more attention to detail and quality. The hat styles will mostly remain the same. Because of this I will be having a sale on all of my older caps at BikeCraft and selling some of the newer caps as well. Hope to see you there! Happy Holidays.

Frosty Morning

2011-11-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

We had a clear, cold night on Saturday. This is photo of the heavy frost the next morning. The sheep don't mind it with their heavy coats of wool.

Here is the interior of my not so spacious trailer studio. I still have yet to buy white fabric to line the interior with so the ugly bubble wrap insulation isn't showing. I've fully moved in and begun sewing work again.

Moving into My New Studio!

2011-11-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

With the majority of my vardo finished, I decided it was time to reveal it to the world from it's hiding place behind the barn. We hooked it up to the tractor and towed it out next to our yurt.

My new office. Just a few steps from the front door of our home. My front window looks NE toward Washington. I started moving my supplies in but I need to do some downsizing, as this thing is a little less spacious than the old Shasta trailer. Gotta go. Lots of hats to make for the holidays!

window and door installed

2011-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

2011-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Tarp

2011-09-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Successfully constructed a waterproof tarp of vinyl with the assistance of my friend Jason. It's on the trailer but not secured in place yet. I still need to finish the painting.

The interior view. I'm intending to line this with a foil bubble wrap insulation like our yurt is insulated with. Eventually I'll get around to insulating and finishing off the the wooden walls too. For now it's rain proof though. Yehhh!

Nearly Finished!

2011-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I'm nearly finished with the exterior and that's what counts since rainy days are just around the corner. Tomorrow I will begin gluing together the vinyl tarp that covers the top.

2011-09-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

Temporary tarp roof just in time for the rain to come. Next step: I picked up some bamboo posts to split into laths that I can steam bend to make the hoops for the roof.

2011-09-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Made a pattern from some scrap plywood to determine the round shape of the walls.

Starting the Walls

2011-09-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Laying the Floor

2011-09-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

I salvaged the old insulation from the original Shasta camper.

Three sheets of plywood are screwed down to pressure treated 2x4, which is bolted to the trailer frame. Today I begin the walls.

Slow Start

2011-08-30T09:24:00.001-07:00

It's been a slow start on building my new studio. Yesterday I finally began working on the floor. I repainted the whole frame and now I'm laying down a sheet metal layer that will keep the mice from getting into the insulated floor. I'm salvaging the old fiberglass insulation from the original camper. Considering insulating the walls with wool scraps left over from my hat making.

Also sold my Samurai last week and bought a little pickup truck. It's a bit more practical for farm work around here.

The Bare Bones

2011-08-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the trailer studio demolition. I got 'er down to the frame. It's a solid trailer frame with a 5,000 lb. capacity. Next step is sanding and painting it. Then comes the construction.

Tearin' Down the House

2011-08-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

Farewell little Shasta camper. The demolition has begun. As rotten as this thing is I'm surprised it didn't collapse on me sooner!

By the end of the day I got the whole top dismantled. Lots of rotten wood, rusty nails pry bar action and curse words. They assemble these damn things with twisted nails that do not come out, even when they are from 1967. I put an add on Craigslist to give away the windows and trim. Some guy from Vancouver picked it up before dinner. Tomorrow I'll be tearing up the floor boards.

My Tiny Studio

2011-08-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

The end of summer is drawing near and I have yet to find a solution for replacing my tiny trailer studio before the rains begin again in October. I have been working out of this old 60's Shasta camper for 2 years now. I traded it for a guitar when I moved to the country. It has served me well but it leaks in the Oregon rains and it's rotting away more each day. The winters are so damp here that my cotton fabrics literally feel wet to the touch just sitting on a shelf inside this thing. My mailing envelopes seal themselves shut and I have to cut them open to put a hat inside.

Now that it's August and the rain has finally subsided here, I am making plans to dismantle this entire trailer and rebuild a gypsy wagon on the frame. After researching gypsy wagons on the ol' google, I found out that they are traditionally called vardo by the British Romani (aka gypsies). I love how ornate these wagons are. If I do end up building one mine will probably look like a more basic stripped down version of one of these. While coming up with ideas I also came across the tiny house blog which is worth a look if you haven't seen it. Through this I also found a link to a guy's blog who is building a tiny house for free only with wooden pallets. I'm considering the possibility of me building a vardo with mostly salvaged materials like pallets, branches, old windows. I like the bow top style vardo because I could make the roof with a big PVC tarp that straps over it and will be pretty damn rain proof. In the summers I could roll the roof up to have some sunshine. I'll keep ya posted on what happens in the coming weeks.

Multnomah County Bike Fair This Saturday!

2011-06-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

Come see me and buy some Deller caps at the Multnomah county Bike Fair this Saturday June 25th at: SE 12th and Alder, 12:00pm - 4:00pm
The shift2bikes website says there will be: "Bikes! Music! Bikes! Vendors! Bikes! Competitions! Unicycles! Entertainment! Bikes! Kidstuff! Bikes! Fooood! Tallbikes! Sunburns! Bikes!
Wear sunscreen. Bring refreshment, friends, and family. Be prepared to participate!"

Crawdads

2011-06-03T11:08:00.001-07:00

Appetizer of crawdads. I dipped the meat in a little olive oil and salt. Mmmmmh! The tail is where most of the meat is. Like a tiny lobster. The claws contain a small amount of meat too and some crawdads have huge claws. Notice how red the shells get after boiling compared to how dark brown they are when alive in the trap. As you may have read in my previous posts, I am currently exploring some less conventional methods of obtaining meat. Part of this interest is in discovering viable day to day sources of fat and protein that have been consumed by humans for millions of years, but that our culture turns it's nose up at, i.e. insects, rodents, small birds, mollusks. I consider this to also be research into practical methods of obtaining food in long-term survival situations.

I set this homemade trap in the morning and caught 6 by 5 pm. I made the trap a couple days ago from some wire mesh (I think they call this stuff "hardware cloth) It's similar to some other crawdad and minnow traps I've seen. I used some chicken bones from the previous nights dinner as bait.

Last summer I started constructing a crawdad trap from maple branches twined together with split cedar roots. It's almost complete. I just need to make the cone for the other side. This is a sort of labor intensive style of trap but I imagine it will be just as effective as the metal one. Might need to weight it with some rocks to get it to sink.

Hat Review

2011-06-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just started selling some of my caps through the UK based web shop called Urban Hunter. They carry a big selection of all sorts of hip urban cycling gear. Also a blog called "The Washing Machine Post", which I think is based in the UK as well, did a review of one of my cotton 8 panel caps last week. Here is the link.

Ant Larvae

2011-05-27T15:37:00.001-07:00

While planting in the greenhouse today I came across a large ant nest inside a pot. Lots of little white larvae. I've read about and watched people eat this in survival books and shows. I've tried it before too, but figured this fit with the theme of the last blog post and was a good opportunity to write about it. Not much to say though. Tastes slightly buttery with a hint of formic acid from the random ants that also made it into my mouth. I suppose there is a fair amount of protein and fat in the larvae and if you get a significant amount, it could provide some nourishment. Just be cautious if you try this with fire ants. I saw Ray Mears demonstrate a method of separating out the larvae from the dirt by way of throwing the whole ant mound onto a tarp with the edges of the tarp folded over a few inches. The ants instantly start working to put the larvae in a safe spot and in a matter of an hour or so they will have moved all the larvae to the shady protection of the folded edges of the tarp. From here, the person can grab a nice handful and chow down. I needed to use the pot for planting that the ants were residing in so I watched them move their young to a new home after disturbing them. Efficient little buggers.

Mushrooms and Snails Anyone?

2011-05-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

I've been reading a bit about eating snails. In the woods all around here there are tons of big snails with brownish, grey shells about 1" in diameter. I believe they may be the brown garden snail (Helix aspersa) variety introduced from Europe sometime in the past century. I haven't been able to find them in any Pacific NW guide books. I have seen some of the brown garden snail variety around, but way more of these slightly different looking ones. Anyway, I figured these would make an abundant survival food, not to mention the gourmet appetizer, escargot which is traditionally made from the brown garden snail. I did some research online and found nothing about any snails being toxic per se, but there has been research showing snails and slugs to be carriers of rat lung worm, a nasty parasite that can be transmitted to humans and cause a rare form of meningitis and/or death. Scary, but supposedly cooking them well like most wild meats, will kill any potential parasites.

So I did it. I gathered a bunch of snails and put them in a container with some corn meal for 3 days. According to a number of sources, this allows the snails to purge any toxic plants/nasty stuff they may have been munching on. After 3 days, I dropped the little buggers in some boiling water for about 15 min. I then used a nut pick to pull them from their shells and remove the "gall bladder" which I read is at the tail end of the snail, a sort of brown gland thing. With traditional escargot the snail is then placed back in the shell with a dollop of pesto on top for a fetching presentation. I didn't want to hassle with this so I just sauted them in some butter along with green onions and some morel mushrooms which I had just discovered that day, growing in some mulch in our asparagus bed! Now it was getting seriously gourmet.

I settled in for a little afternoon tapas of snails and morels. Wow! Amazing! It was delicious. My wife didn't want to join me though. The snails tasted and had a texture much like muscles or clams. Some further wikipedia searching revealed that many cultures around the world eat snails and have since prehistoric times. Makes sense. They are plentiful, nutritious and tasty. If anyone has any info about what type of snail this is in my picture above, please let me know. This is the beginning of a series of blog posts I intend to write about unusual wild foods in my area.

lamb and chicks

2011-05-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Our ewe, Lusa, had a baby boy yesterday. Here he is having a little milk. We didn't even know he was born until Kirsten went out to feed them and found him hiding behind some hay. His name is Salvador.

Some of the 2 month old chickens in their new chicken tractor.

Sheep Shearing

2011-04-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

I sheared our male sheep, Jeebs, on Sunday. Kirsten held him by the horns while I straddled his back making him sit on the ground. I used some of the old fashion shears that look like a huge pair of scissors. It was not easy. This is the first time we ever tried shearing so it took us about 2 hours. When we rolled him over to try to get his belly he fought so hard we couldn't keep him down. So he still has a wooly belly, but oh well, we got the majority of the fleece. I think we could do it quicker next time because by the end of it I felt like I had gotten the hang of it. Here he is looking all pissed off at me. The llama was a bit freaked out by Jeebs without his coat on.

Our Baby Goat!

2011-04-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

Our doe goat, Gevirah, gave birth to a little buckling earlier this week. He came out head first, which is good, but his front legs were tucked down, which is bad. This is on top of the fact that Gevirah is rather small for her breed. We were told when we bought her, that she may require some help in birthing. So that's what we did. Luckily this all happened around 6 pm on a sunny spring day and I just happened to check on her. We got our hands in there and helped free his front legs and pulled. Out he came. It's the first time I witnessed a birth in real life, not to mention assisted with it. Our old chicken coop is serving as a nice, dry pen for mother and baby while the chickens are out in their tractor. Now we are getting ready for the ewe to have her baby.

Alpine Cap Changes

2011-04-08T16:58:00.001-07:00

For a number of years now I have been making my Alpine caps in two styles, a standard single sided alpine cap and a reversible alpine cap. I never liked the standard alpine cap because inside, the seams look like a mess at the junction of the ear flap and bill. The reversible version eliminated this problem but at the cost of ending up with a hat that is a bit too bulky with it's two layers of fabric. Not to mention that it's a pain in the ass to sew in the second layer to perfectly match the outside layer so when reversed the hat does not look all cocky-eyed and silly. So my new solution is to line the inside with thin weight knit fabrics like merino wool or polyester that won't make the hat too bulky (see photos). This will look much the same as my current reversible alpine caps. The only difference being that I don't intend for people to reverse them. So while all the seams will be neatly hidden by the liner, don't expect the liner to look all perfectly matched up at the seams with the bill. I still have some of the standard alpines on my shop page but this will be changed in the next month.

Sheep, Goats and Double Rainbows!

2011-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've been making hats from recycled wool garments for years because I love wool clothing for the wet climate of the Pacific NW. Now that we live on some land in the country, we decided it would be nice to get some sheep to raise for their wool, their company and for their ability to fertilize the land. So we purchased two Shetland sheep, a wether and a ewe. The ewe is the black which was recently shorn and the wether is the brown with fleece still on. My wife, Kirsten, has learned how to spin and knit and so is even more excited about this than I am. Perhaps some custom Deller caps knit or felted from their wool in the future. First I need to learn how to shear them! I hear it's not easy.

We have also been interested in getting some goats to raise for milk and meat and to clear blackberry brambles. So yesterday I bought a goat as well. Her name is Geveirah (I think that's how it's spelled. She was named by the previous owner) She is pregnant and due sometime in the next month. She is of the French Alpine variety.

It rains all day and then just before sunset it gets sunny and we have these amazing rainbows. Here is a double rainbow over our yurt. This was by far the most brilliant rainbow I've ever seen!

Road Trip Photos

2011-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

On a hike in the Sonoran Desert outside Maricopa, AZ. It was eye opening to see all of the refuse left behind by Central American immigrants who made the dangerous journey across the border bound for Phoenix and elsewhere. It was common to find the arroyos (small dried up washes) littered with old water bottles, clothing, bloody bandages, and food containers. The lack of water, extreme temperatures, lack of wild food on such a journey, are proof that these folks are risking their lives to make it to America out of desperation.

A short visit to Sedona proved to be cold and wet. We get enough of that in Oregon so we headed south for Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree National Park was pretty unique. Days were warm and nights were in the high 20's!

Joshua Tree

Northern Elephant Seals on the beach north of San Luis Obispo. These seals come here to give birth every Jan.- Feb. We noticed a few while driving up Route 1. They were really funny to watch. The males are enormous!

In the Oregonian

2011-03-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Trackers Earth was featured in an article in the Oregonian this February. We seem to be getting a lot of press lately. Survival skills is a hot topic. I just returned from 3 weeks of traveling around the Southwest with my wife, Kirsten. We attended Wintercount, a primitive living skills rendezvous that happens every Feb. near Maricopa, AZ. It was a great opportunity to learn some new skills from folks who come from all over the country. The camp lasts for one week and participants can choose from upwards of 30 different workshops each day on subjects like wild edible and medicinal plant study, hide tanning, black smithing, bow making, basketry, etc. There are also talks on less hand skill oriented subjects like hunter/gatherer nutrition, storytelling, song and dance and kids activities. For me this week functioned as a sort of continuing education for the survival skills workshops I teach through the Portland based, Trackers Earth. I will post some photos from our trip this week.

News for 2011

2011-01-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

Pictured above is a prototype for a new skull cap to replace the one that I had previously sold. Disregard the mismatched colors. This is just me using scrap wools to create the prototype.
The skull cap I had been selling for the past couple years was simply a thin single layer knit cap that was just 2 panels sewn together. I wasn't really satisfied with the look of it and not many sold. I still get requests for these however and feel that it would be a worthwhile addition to my line of caps. This design is basically my Alpine cap but without a bill and including a headband that wraps all the way around.

Although I don't have these pictured on my hats page, I do make my Wheely, 3 panel and 8 panel style wool caps with added earflaps as an option. How is this different from my Alpine caps? Alpine caps are made from knit merino wool that is stretchy like a beanie. My Wheely, 3 panel and 8 panel caps are made from woven wool that doesn't stretch, however the added earflap is ribbed merino wool that stretches. Why order the earflap option over an alpine cap? Some folks like the style of the wheely, 3 panel or 8 panel better. Some prefer the Alpine cap's one-size-fits-most design.

For years I have wanted a better option for the plastic bill insert that I use in all of my bills to stiffen them. I have searched for 100% recycled plastic and have been told that it doesn't exist, that it is all sent to China to be melted down and made into plastic junk to sell back to Americans. The plastic I use may have a percentage of recycled content but there isn't any way for me to know how much. Anyway, wouldn't it be better if I didn't have to use plastic at all? Some other cycling cap makers out there don't use any plastic in their bill but a fabric stiffener instead. The bill isn't quite as rigid and doesn't always hold its shape or stay flipped up if you wear it that way. So I've been considering doing away with the plastic and instead inserting a heavy piece of wool or something and doing some stitching across the bill to stiffen it. Any thoughts from you all about this change would be appreciated.

As you can see from my moldy Brooks saddle, I haven't been on the bike in quite some time. The mold is from my bike being stored in a barn during the damp, sloppy, wet Oregon winter. I don't ride as much as I used to when I lived in the city. Running errands for me now often involves driving 50 miles into the city. I bike it occasionally but this can be rather daunting when the rain is pouring down and the sun doesn't rise till 7:00am and sets at 4:30 and I have to travel on Rt. 30 to get there! Living in the country, I've been able to change some of my lifestyle to save more energy, water, etc. by using a compost toilet, having grey water systems, growing, hunting and foraging for more of my food, but I spend way more on gas to drive into Portland than I ever did before.

Bike Craft 2011

2010-12-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

Come check out Bike Craft this weekend Dec. 4th-5th 2011. I will be selling hats there both days. The event is put on by BikePortland.org and will be held at:
Portland Design Works Mothership
15 NE Hancock St.
Open 10am-6pm both days
If you are interested in custom cap orders as a holiday gift, please place your order before Dec. 10th as I will be leaving town on the 16th for the rest of the month. Happy Holidays!

Updates and Oregonian Articles

2010-10-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've fallen behind on blogging once again. It's been a busy summer. I got married, taught at a couple summer camps, helped grow a big garden, sent a big hat order to Tokyo and found time to do some backpacking.
The Oregonian published an article about me and my survival skills workshops with TrackersEarth, last Sunday in the travel section. It was actually supposed to come out last year but got bumped ahead until this chanterelle season came around again. I'll be in the spotlight again this month as I am giving two talks at the Clackamas and Tualatin REI's on wilderness survival basics. Visit their site to find out dates and times.
I learned how to use powerpoint and put together a presentation for it (never thought I would be doing powerpoint presentations). I used to be really shy as a kid and hated speaking in front of any crowd. Though I'm reluctant I'm finding it a good exercise for me to speak in public. I'll also be teaching another one of my Wilderness Survival Basics workshops the first weekend of Nov. You can visit the TrackersPDX website to read about it.
I'm finding that my hat business has been in a slump for the past two years. No new changes in product or revisions to the website really. So, I'm gearing up for an overhaul of the site, fixing dead links, posting more photos and adding maybe a new hat or two. With all luck this will happen early 2011.

More on Barefoot Running

2010-04-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Check this out. An interesting Google talk by Barefoot Ted about running barefoot. His blog is barefootted.com. I'm getting more into this whole idea and putting some miles on my bare feet and my huaraches.

Poor Man's Cycling

2010-03-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Homemade huaraces with used lawn tractor tire soles

I've never really been a runner. I ran track for two seasons in junior high, but I always preferred bikes and skateboards to moving on my own two feet. This changed last week, at least for the moment. I came across this blog while checking out this blog that a friend told me had a link to my blog, whew! It turns out that there is a whole counterculture of runners who believe that the modern running shoe and the way we run is unhealthy, and that running barefoot or in very thin huarache sandals, like the Tarahumara of Mexico, is the way we were built to run. Supposedly the Tarahumara are know for their ability to run "hundreds" of miles without a break and with ease.
I got all excited when I read this because I like inexpensive sports and human-powered ways of transportation. Bikes are human-powered but definitely not inexpensive. So, while I will always remain a cyclist, for now I am toying with the idea of running barefoot. I have been practicing in the field where I live and even on the city sidewalks. So far I feel great. My muscles are a little sore but this is, I think, only because I rarely run and I am finally using those muscles.

The sandals of our early ancestors. Buffalo rawhide soles with brain tan buckskin lacing. I made these last month before I even got into the idea of running in sandals. I'll have to see how they hold up. The soft fur makes them look like primitive bathroom slippers.

Wild Edibles and Wild Poisons

2010-03-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

In my wilderness survival and primitive living skills workshops that I teach through TrackersPDX, one component is wild edible and medicinal plants. I've been taking photos of certain edible plants that can be confused with very poisonous plants. The reason I do this is that at certain times of year these plants look very different from one another but at other times in their life cycle they can be easily confused. For example, wild carrot (Daucus carota) and poison hemlock, (Conium maculatum). No relation at all to the conifer called hemlock. The carrot family (Apiaceae) contains many cultivated edibles such as carrots, parsley, fennel, celery, parsnip but also some very poisonous plants such as poison hemlock and water hemlock. As you can see from this photo taken in mid-February, both look very similar at this point. As the poison hemlock matures it grows much larger than the wild carrot and is easy to distinguish the difference. Unfortunately the time of year when it is best to harvest wild carrot, is now, in the spring when both plants are similar in size. It is easier to see the differences when the wild carrot and the poison hemlock have flowered, but at this stage the carrot's tap root is no longer a tender carrot but rather a tough, woody root because it has sent it's energy from the root up into a flower. In the photo above, wild carrot is on the left and poison hemlock on the right. Click on the photo to get a closer view. See if you notice any distinct differences. A few determining factors for me is that wild carrot usually (occasionally not) has tiny hairs all over it, poison hemlock doesn't. Poison hemlock has hollow leaf stems and stalks, wild carrot doesn't (kids making straws or blowguns from these hollow stalks could be a cause of accidental poisoning). Wild carrot smells like a carrot, poison hemlock doesn't (but doesn't necessarily smell bad). I imagine that there is a taste difference too but I won't try that because I have read that even a little pea size amount can kill an adult. Supposedly, Socrates killed himself with a drink made from poison hemlock in 399 BC. This post is in no way a guide for identifying these two plants. My advice is to find an area where both of these plants grow together, they usually grow side by side in fields and roadsides, and watch them both through their life cycles. See how they change with each season and how they differ from one another. Before I attempted to eat wild carrot I spent about two years observing these plants and familiarizing myself with every detail.

Yurt Living

2010-02-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the completed yurt. I haven't posted any photos of this since back in Oct. when we finished setting it up. We have been living in it since we moved out of Portland about 40 miles to the country. It's a Pacific Yurts brand 30' yurt that we found on Craigs List back in Sept. 09. I built the front porch roof from some salvaged cedar logs and other found lumber. This is an essential part of the yurt since it keeps rain water from leaking in the front door. The thin insulation from Pacific Yurts probably helps a bit but when the temp dipped down to 10 degrees at times back in Dec., it was hard to keep it warm inside. Even with the stove burning all night we would wake up some mornings with the inside temp at 32 degrees! Perhaps our woodstove is a bit too small.

This is a photo montage of the interior. Pretty roomy. So far we have wood heat, a propane cook stove and a single extension cord for electric power. We might connect to the well to have running water sometime this spring, but for now we get our water and shower in a small bath house about 50 yds away.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

I kicked off the new year with a trip up to the Tilly Jane cabin on Mt. Hood for a little snowshoe and ski adventure. The weather was strangely warm at nearly 6,000'. It was in the 40's most days and rainy making the snow slushy and dirty. I brought my antique store found snowshoes that I recently fixed up. They worked great and we had some amazing views of Hood and surrounding mountains. See for yourself.

Holiday Orders

2009-12-19T20:48:00.001-08:00

I will be away from my office (trailer) from Dec. 22nd until Jan. 02. With the exception of hat gift certificates, all orders placed during this time will not be shipped until I return on the 2nd. Thanks and have a happy winter solstice!
Pictured are two new hat styles that I'm working on. A simple beanie (similar to the Alpine cap minus the bill) on the left and a classic duck hunter's cap on the right. Maybe new hat styles for 2010. Let me know what ya think.

Catch me at the Handmade Bazaar this Saturday!

2009-12-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

I'll be selling a variety of warm winter hats and also baby hats! awesome!

Holiday Craft Fairs!

2009-11-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hey friends. I'll be selling some stylin' winter caps at two upcoming craft fairs and I may bring along some unique hats for babies/kids. First at Bike Craft, an event put on by BikePortland.org on Dec. 5th. Here is the flyer:

The following weekend on Dec. 12th, I will be selling hats at the Handmade Bazaar. It will be held at Mississippi Studios 3939 N Mississippi Ave. from 11 am to 4 pm.
Also wanted to mention this Tweed Ride happening in Portland on Jan. 30th. Sounds cool. I'll try to attend in my finest Harris Tweed!

A Nutria Trap Line by Bicycle

2009-11-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

This is a video of a bicycle trapping workshop that I led last winter through TrackersNW of Portland. As discussed in my last posting, I ran the same workshop last week. Participants came along on a bicycle trap line for nutria. A trap line is simply a bunch of traps set in a variety of locations by a trapper to catch fur-bearing animals. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a specific list of what animals are considered fur bearers and are legal to trap. Some of these animals, such as nutria, have an open season for trapping, meaning they can be trapped anytime of year. This is because of some of the reasons I described in my last post.
We caught two nutria at one of the two urban farms I set traps at. (I would like to emphasize that I was the only one setting the traps because I was the only one with a valid furtaker's license. ODFW requires that a person study a packet of info and pass a written test in order to be issued a furtaker's license.) We then returned with our catch and skinned them, prepared the hides for tanning and butchered the carcass and cooked up a bit of the meat. Most folks seemed pleasantly surprised at the "chicken- like" taste of the meat. I have been asked, and often wondered myself, whether the meat from these critters is clean enough to eat being that they are semi-aquatic and spend much time in Johnson Creek, which isn't known for being clean. My opinion is this: Eating a bit of this now and then can't be too harmful because the nutria are feeding mainly on clean organic crops and grasses at the farm where they reside. They are not eating fish and so, I assume, are not bioaccumulating toxins the way tuna, salmon and other seafood (that folks pay top dollar for) does. I would like to find someone who could do the research to see what toxins may be present in urban animals such as, nutria, raccoon, opossum and squirrel. These mammals are plentiful in Portland and sometimes even overpopulated, and I think could offer a healthy source of meat for humans. Think of it as free-range sources of meat, fat, and fur. : )

Possum wool?

2009-11-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

I was just checking out Rivendell's website and came across this rad hat that they are selling made from 40% New Zealand Possum Wool, 50% Merino and 10% Nylon. Check out the link and read about it. The New Zealand Possum is different from our native opossum and was introduced there years ago. Unfortunately it causes a lot of damage to the native flora and fauna of NZ so people are trying to wipe them out. This is much like the nutria (Myocastor coypus) here in the US which causes much damage by eating up massive amounts of wetland vegitation and pushing the native muskrats out of their territory.

It just so happens that I will be leading a workshop through Trackers NW of Portland this Tues. and Wed. where we will cycle out to a farm in the Portland area where the nutria devour many of the farms crops. Here we will speak with the farmers, do some tracking for the little buggers and then set traps. The following day we will pedal back out early in the morn and check our traps. If we catch some of these big rodents we will ride back with them on our racks and skin and process them at TrackersNW. Participants will learn about the ethics of trapping animals and how to do it responsibly and how to skin, butcher, and tan the hide of a small critter.
I often think about this idea of native and non-native or invasive species. The reality is that the nutria or the NZ possum is not evil, it is just doing what it does best and it is a master of survival because it can prosper and multiply in many environments. However, it brings sadness to me to see the native species be killed off and lose them potentially forever. The reality is that nature has a way of balancing itself out and what I am witnessing is this process. Someday, the nutria may take the place of the muskrat over much of North America and it is silly for us to fight this change. I say we need to embrace these species and realize that they are capable of providing much for us and for others. For example: abundant sources of fur, meat, fat for humans and predatory animals. (Last year while trapping nutria, I came upon a bald eagle feasting on one of the nutria in my traps.) Which brings me back to my excitement about this NZ possum fur hat that Riv is selling. The makers of these hats are making use of an abundant renewable resource, unlike polyester and other plastic fibers made from oil. If life gives you lemons make some fuckin' lemonade my friends!

Winter Hats

2009-10-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

I do have some Alpine hats in stock in black and grey. These are $40 plus $5 ship/handle. I will also be posting some of my Wheely, 3 panel and 8 panel hats with earflaps. These will come in 2 sizes, unlike the Alpine, because the body of the hat is made from woven wool and not stretchy like the Alpine caps are. I'm in the process of getting my hat studio in order after moving it all from a basement into an 8'x 12' camper. It was previously owned by someone else who had a sewing business of sorts in it. It looks like a piece of junk but I love it so far. I have been working out of basements for the past 5 years and god damn, it feels good to finally be working in an above-ground space with natural light shinin' in. Here's a photo of the space so far.

Raising the Yurt

2009-09-28T11:37:00.001-07:00

Building a Home

2009-09-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Insulating the floor before we lay the deck. I had no idea how expensive insulation is! Damn. Unfortunately we have been told that the mice will eventually steal all of it from us to build there nests. Damn.

The yurt we purchased came with all of the pre-cut car decking. Trying to lay this out and hope that it matched the shape of our beams was a little frustrating.

But it all came together nicely in the end. A cup of coffee as I contemplate laying the final deck boards.

Finally! All 183 boards in place. My back hurts!

The old camper that will become my new mobile sewing studio. Ideally I'd like to outfit it with some human powered sewing machines and a small woodstove. Thats the next project.

Moving to the Country

2009-09-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to move out of the city for a few years now and it finally feels like the time is right. All of the other attempts I made fell through. We discussed it a lot this summer while traveling and when we returned, Kirsten and I decided to move to a small farm, run by a few friends about 45 miles from Portland. We bought a yurt used on Craigslist from the Seattle area and picked it up in the U-haul pictured. It's a 30' diameter yurt and all of the parts were a lot bigger than we expected. The brand is Pacific Yurts out of Cottage Grove, OR. We hope to move into it by Oct. 1st. Below is the post and beam structure for the deck that the yurt will sit on. Our plan is to live here and help to run the small CSA (community supported agriculture)farm started by our friends. If all works out, I will move my hat sewing studio with me in a small camper. I'll post more photos as the yurt goes up.

Back to Portland

2009-08-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

It was a five day drive from Skagway, AK to Portland and we are home again! The sunshine feels good on my face after our last rainy week in Juneau. I had the realization when we hit B.C. and the skies cleared, that I haven't really seen any stars since the bike tour through Washington. Though I live in the city, I have become accustom to looking up at the stars each season to see a few familiar constellations. While in SE Alaska though, most nights were cloudy and I sort of forgot about looking skyward. My overall impression of SE Alaska? I like it there. It feels big in comparison to the lower 48, not just because of land size but because of big creatures, moose, bear, whales, caribou, salmon and halibut. People were really generous and everyone that I met seemed to have an intimate relationship with the place, either as fishermen, hunters, backpackers or kayakers. Even if they didn't fish, they could tell you about all the different types of salmon and when and where they run. I like the fact that it is expensive to ship goods such as, beef, dairy, tomatoes and oranges, so instead, or rather because they prefer to, folks stock their freezers with halibut, salmon and moose that their family or friends harvested. All of this makes me want to move there. But the one thing that I seemed to have trouble with was the rain. I was told that it rains all year long and most of the time we were there, it did. The few days of clear 85 degree weather in July were very unusual, even alarming to locals. As much as I don't mind the wet Portland winters, I feel some amount of depression by the end of it and look forward to the guaranteed 3-4 months of sunshine in summer. Anyway, I'm happy to be home and don't intend to leave Oregon anytime soon. Below are more photos.

Porcupine chillin' in a tree overlooking the Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier from West Glacier Trail as we started our hike up to some mountain I can't remember the name of.

Mountain goat relaxing in the meadow.

More of the glacier as we ascend.

Wild buffalo herds along the ALCAN highway

We made a visit to Liard Hot Springs in Northern B.C. It was $10 per vehicle to get in and the hot springs were really nice. Unlike some popular hotsprings, the park service kept these pretty natural, rather than turning it into a big concrete pool.

We met this awesome woman through craig's list who was moving from Anchorage to Portland and hitched a ride home with her. Kirsten and I drove her truck some of the way as she cruised down the ALCAN on her motorcycle. This made our return trip a lot more fun and inexpensive than flying or ferrying.

A young caribou

I wished I was bike touring through this. I kept thinking that maybe I should hop on my bike and ride the rest of the way back to Portland so that I could travel some of the route we had originally intended to ride through B.C., but the further south we got the less interesting and busier the roads became. The drive from Prince George, B.C. to Bellingham, WA didn't look to appealing to bike with all of it's big truck traffic and construction zones. In the end, I felt happy about the decision we made to stop the bike tour in Bellingham and ferry it up to Juneau rather than bike up to Prince Rupert. It is good to be back in Portland and I'm looking forward to harvesting and preserving some fruit, nuts and wild mushrooms as summer turns to fall.

Fishing and a Visit to Gustavus, AK

2009-08-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

We made a visit to Gustavus last week, a tiny little town with no police, no hospital, lots of bears, moose, wolves, porcupines and nice people who wave at you when they drive past. Before we left, I tried my hand at fishing for salmon and bought a one day license. We drove around trying to find a few hot spots where I could fish from the bank. In the end, I snagged two dog salmon that broke free before I could land them and caught two flounder, one of which I kept and cooked up. Below are the pictures.

Starry Flounder. Didn't expect to land a flounder while fishing for salmon. Probably because I'm a sucky fisherman and wasn't using the proper tackle for the job. I had to borrow a rod from someone that was suited only for trout fishing, not salmon. So it's probably best that I didn't catch one.

My homemade fish cooker. The flounder was really mushy. After much cooking, it never really felt like it was cooked. I probably could have drank it with a straw.

Black bear tracks! Awesomeness. These were right across the street from a suburban neighborhood along a creek.

Dog salmon aka. chum salmon line the waterways everywhere around here and they are starting to stink in the hot sun. An amazing source of food for all life. I have read about this happening but never witnessed it in Oregon. Supposedly dog salmon are only fit for the dogs but a friend told me that they serve it down at the homeless shelter so I fileted one and cooked it up along with my flounder. It was actually pretty damn tasty. Ok not as pink and tasty as other salmon but way better than flounder, catfish, or carp. People have the privledge to be picky when the king and coho are so plentiful.

The Chilkat range at sunset from the catamaran that we took to Gustavus. The exceptionally hot weather up here has caused a huge forest fire in the Yukon, hence the smoke haze making the sun look like a firey red orb in this picture.

More black bear tracks on the beach. We found all sorts of amazing tracks on a hike we did from the Gustavus dock to Bartlett Cove. The sand and clay made for really clear tracks and clear depictions of the animals' gates.

Wolf tracks! My mind kept telling me that they were big domestic dog tracks, but the perfect gait that went from a direct registering diagonal walk to occasional gallops made me second guess that, not to mention the very few human tracks along this completely unpopulated beach. After reading "Of Wolves and Men" by Barry Lopez, I have a hard time believeing that wolves even exist anywhere anymore. It is astounding and horrific how many millions of them were (and still are) eradicated by ranchers and hunters using poisons, traps, intentional scarcoptic mange infestations, guns and airplanes to shoot from. Seeing these made my heart sing knowing that there are still places where wolves roam. Later in the week, I bought some plaster from the hardware store and made plaster casts of some wolf tracks.

Porcupine. These little guys seemed to roam all along the edge of the forest and the beach leaving their distinct prints with long claws and occasional tail drag marks.

Wild strawberries were in season and very plentiful. We picked many bags of them and made a strawberry rhubarb crisp one evening with friends. These were big compared to other wild strawberries I've had and super yummy!

Kirsten's friend works as a kayak guide and took us out on a kayak overnight trip in the Beardsley Islands of Glacier Bay National Park. On the paddle out we saw a black bear swim from one island to the next.

The bear exiting the water and heading off into the woods.

View from some island we camped on looking Northwest out toward the Fairweather Mtn. Range at sunset. We fell asleep or tried to listening to sea otters flopping about in the water and what seemed to be large animals walking around the woods behind us. It can be hard to sleep soundly knowing that their are bears roaming about you at all times! The sky became light at about 3:30 am and I couldn't get back to sleep again. We had to pack up and paddle out by 6:00 am so we could beat the receding tide through the passage back to the dock and make sure our friend made it to work that morning. Our timing was a little off and we ended up having to carry and drag the kayaks for 100 yards or so through the 5" deep water. That evening we caught the catamaran back to Juneau. Here we plan to stay until Aug 20th when we will catch a craigslist rideshare through B.C. back to Portland. Until then, we are off to do more hiking, tracking and berry picking!

Settling into Southeast Alaska

2009-07-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Kirsten and I are now engaged! We had been talking about this for a few months and solidified it last Saturday the 25th, with a small ceremony on Eagle Beach. It's been 10 days since we arrived in Juneau. The weather was rainy and cold when we got here. It felt like summer was over and we were right back in the Portland winter. I don't mind rain but it made me a little depressed. Now that has changed and the past few days have been in the 80's without a cloud in the sky. The mountain tops, no longer hidden behind the low fog, watch over all the little humans down in the town. The smell of rotting salmon pervades the stream sides here as they make the journey up every possible river and creek to spawn. I walked off a main road today along a creek no more than 50 yards and found chum salmon splashing about in the shallow water. At least 20 lay there dead on the banks among the skunk cabbage and fresh bear tracks in the mud. We have yet to go fishing but is definitely on the to do list. Below are some photos.

I gathered some bark from a beaver downed poplar tree while hiking one day. The inner bark was retted from soaking in the rain and was amazingly pliable. Kirsten and I began making baskets from it which we have yet to finish.

A bog or "muskeg" below Mt. Jumbo. There are all sorts of interesting little plants that thrive in this wet acidic soil such as, Labrador tea, Sundew, Crowberry, Alaska Cotton and Trailing Cranberry. The Sundew is a carnivorous little plant that eats insects.

I visited the Alaska State Museum twice to see a show about Yup’ik culture called "The Way we Genuinely Live". Pictured is a traditional kayak(minus the skin covering) with all the acoutrements of the native hunter. The waterproof rain parkas made from walrus gut are amazing!

Eagle Beach looking out on the Chilkat Mt. Range at sunset. We held a little ceremony here for our engagement. In the foreground is our campfire adorned with eagle feathers we found on the beach.

We hiked to the top of Mt. Jumbo 4,000' on a beautiful sunny day. The trail went basically straight up 3,300' in 2.6 miles. Our legs felt like they were going to buckle under us on the way back down this washed out vertical trail.

On top of the world! Yehhh!

Juneau!!!

2009-07-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Juneau after taking the ferry from Bellingham, WA for 2 and a half days. We decided that the original plan to bike tour up through B.C. was not what we both wanted. The ride, eat, sleep routine was getting monotonous and we wanted to get somewhere, Juneau to be exact, and spend more time hiking, foraging berries and enjoying the world at a slower pace. Below are some photos of the journey up until this point.

Camping at Kitsap Memorial Park, WA. We harvested a bunch of oysters and clams on the beach for dinner. I bought hard pretzels from the gas station and smashed them into flour to bread the oysters in and then made a sort of oyster casarole in tin foil on the fire.

Warmin' by the fire.

Whidbey Island was really pretty as we first arrived off the ferry from Port Townsend. We stayed at Ft. Ebey St. Park and they probably had some of the best and most quiet hiker/biker campsites. Although the tap water there tasted like it was being pumped straight from the sea. As we continued past the Naval base, the roads became busier and the roar of fighter jets taking off was deafening. blahh

Deception Pass bridge.

Really good rye bread we bought from a bakery in Edison, WA. A cool little town with a great cafe and bakery!

Boarding the ferry in Bellingham.

The ferry deck where we set up our tent(bottom right corner) as our home for the next 2.5 days. We would occupy ourselves reading books, weaving baskets, drawing, playing cards and absorbing the scenery of the inside passage.

Some baskets we made on the 2.5 day ferry trip. Left to right: a basket and two knife sheaths made from tule and new zealand flax we gathered along our tour and a little pine needle basket. Everyone on the ferry wanted to know what we were doing huddled in our little tent weaving stuff.

Some small town I can't recall the name of. We were told its the oldest existing Native community on the B.C. coast.

Petersburg, AK. We made a short stop here.

Portland to Seattle... ughhhh

2009-07-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Day 1: We intended to leave by 9:00am but after getting all packed up I realized that Kirsten's front basket was wobbly as hell. We made a quick trip to City Bikes and picked up a front rack, installed it and zip tied her basket on. As you can see in the photo above, she had a Wald basket with built in rack that when loaded, was really unstable. The new rack made a big difference. Finally at about 2:30 pm we were finally on the road. We crossed the St. John's bridge and rode out Rt. 30 past St. Helens, OR. About 45 miles later in the 90 degree weather and rush hour traffic we arrived at a friend's farm where we spent the first night.

Day 2: we crossed the Rainier Bridge into Washington. This sucked. Lots of big trucks and hardly a shoulder to ride on. I had been telling Kirsten that the roads would only get better and more scenic after we got off of Rt.30. I was wrong. Day 2 was worse. We were trying to link up to the start of the route on the Adventure Cycling Map I bought and could only hope that the roads we chose were bike friendly. They weren't. Rt.4 had no shoulder what-so-ever. We had to walk our bikes for 2 miles through the weedy roadside as cars blew past. I began to question why I was doing this tour. Why are we bothering to bike through a country road system that was built strictly for the automobile.

Night two was spent at a little fishing spot along the Cowlitz River. Aside from the drunken rednecks across the river blasting John Cougar Mellencamp ("Yeah, ain't that America, home of the free. Little pink houses for you and me..." how fitting) and lighting off fire works, it was a pleasant stay.

A nice morning on a country road with no cars. The sun is shining. The air is clean and cool and we inhale it deeply after climbing a big hill. We stop often to eat saskatoon berries and red huckleberry. This is when we remember why we came on a bike tour. We camped at Lewis and Clark State Park for two nights to take a break from riding. Kirsten's knee was hurting and we both needed to rest after riding in the 95 degree weather and being chased by countless dogs. I don't know what it is with dogs' hatred toward bicycles, but I kept our can of bear mace (that was intended for our travels through B.C.)easily accessible in my front basket.

Rolling into the town of Porter, WA (pop.473), our map claimed that there was camping beside the little store. The store clerk didn't seem to know what we were talking about and directed us to a camp site another half hour down the road. It was 7 pm and we weren't about to ride anymore. So I found this little spot along the Chehalis River. A legal campsite? "Well, I didn't see any signs officer."

The next morning was a rainy one, so we stopped at Betty's Kitchen in Elma. Kirsten opted for the "hungyman" meal. Yumm! Nothing like a brick of luke-warm microwaved hashbrowns and some high-fructose corn syrup slathered flapjacks. Here's to good health!

So, now we're in Seattle staying with Kirsten's brother and family. Yesterday was a frustrating day of riding. We passed through the town of Belfair and into Bremerton, where we caught a ferry over to Seattle. Along our way we had three motorists blow their horns at us as they passed. The first one tore past us on a country road and layed on the horn. I nearly crashed. I couldn't help but extend my middle finger in a show of resentment. As I come around the next corner, there he is, pulled over with his little daughter in his car, cursing me for supposedly "swerving at him" as he passed. Why I would swerve my bicycle into a speeding car is beyond me but this guy was pissed. I tried to explain that I had the right to be biking on this road and that blowing his horn at me almost caused me to crash. This obviously didn't concern him and he turned around and punched the gas, laying on his horn as he passed us the second time. No more than a half hour later another fat redneck in a pick-up plastered in US Marine Corps stickers pulled beside Kirsten and yelled, "Get off the road!" This time we were on a wide shoulder with plenty of room for him to pass. I'm usually a nice guy but I started daydreaming about how gratifying it would be to come down the road a mile later and find this guy trapped in his truck, flipped over the guardrail and engulfed in flames. I imagined standing there for a bit deciding whether or not I would help him. Yes, that is sick but I'm just being honest. Bike touring seemed to be bringing out the worst in me.
From here, we decided to reconsider the plans for our trip. I think we will be continuing the ride to Bellingham, WA and then catching a ferry from there to Juneau. We would rather spend more of our summer hanging out with friends and exploring the forests. I feel sad that bike touring through the American roadways feels so hostile. To be frank, the past week has left me with the impression that most Americans are fat, selfish, pigs bottle fed on petroleum, Bud-light, caffeine and lies and care nothing for their fellow citizens. Yeah, thats harsh, but I challenge you to ride your bike on the roadways of America and see what impression you are left with.

Summer Sales and Adventures

2009-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Above photo: having a bonfire with friends at Hug Point on the Oregon Coast.
I'm going on a bike tour this summer with my girlfriend from Portland to Juneau. Well, actually to Prince Rupert, BC and then taking a ferry the rest of the way to Juneau. Our planned departure date is July 1st. Before leaving, I'm going to set up at, of course, the MCBF, Multnomah County Bike Fair on June 27th. If you want to get a hat for $5 less than I sell them in the stores and rummage through my bin of discount hats then come find me at this event. My girlfriend and I intend to keep a blog while on the bike tour so check back here in July to hear how it is going.

fan mail

2009-04-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me by a cool couple from Montana. You can check out their blog to see more of their art. Maybe I should adopt this as my new slogan.

Real Alpine Caps!

2009-03-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

These are cool. I'm going to attempt to felt one myself with wool dyed in black walnut hull for a nice brown color. Here is the link to the site where you can purchase them. They are pretty cheap and 100% wool. You can also by little feathers and pins for them. Sweet!

This is a felted wool cap that I made last month. It was felted from some dirty, raw sheep wool that a friend gave me. The felting process uses hot water and soap to felt the fibers. Instead of washing the wool first, I just let the felting process clean the wool. It's dyed with black walnut hull. It's pretty crude looking but that is what I like about it. Not to mention, it's also really warm.

Squirrel and Nutria Stew!

2009-03-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine came across this NY Times article last month about the Brits eating squirrel for dinner. Not only because it's tasty but also because the invasive grey squirrels from the US are pushing out the native red squirrels. By eating the grey squirrels people are helping out the reds.

Here in Portland, we have the same issue of the eastern grey squirrels pushing out the native western grey.

I started eating squirrel 4 years ago when I found fresh roadkills while out on bike rides. The meat tastes like chicken if it is prepared well. The trick is to remove the scent glands under the armpits. This is the part most people don't do and it makes the squirrel taste "gamey".

Most young folk scoff at the idea of eating a squirrel but when you mention it to old timers, they talk about how they remember grandma cooking up squirrel pot-pie and so on. I have had some success trapping squirrels for dinner and believe it to be a healthy source of protein even in the urban environment.

Another one of these "invasive" critters is the Nutria, which I had posted an article about in January. Go here to read more. These guys are really abundant in the Portland area and do lots of damage by devouring peoples crops and taking over native muskrat habitat. This year I got my trappers license and began trapping nutria at an urban organic farm. The farmers are happy because their crops are not being devoured and I'm happy because I can eat free range organic nutria and use them as part of an educational curriculum at TrackersNW teaching how to skin, butcher and cook the meat. After this, the hide is used to teach primitive tanning, using simply brains and smoke. Then we can make the furs into hats, bags, mittens, blankets, etc. Perhaps I'll start a new line of Deller fur caps. : ) Click here to see a youtube video about our adventure.

Earflaps Back!

2009-01-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start making my Wheely, 3 Panel and 8 Panel caps available with an earflap. I sold these for a while last year under the name "Cascade Cap". I had some trouble with getting the fit right on them and so discontinued this style. I have since worked out all of the kinks. Now folks can request custom caps in their favorite style and add an earflap. Because the earflap material is made from salvaged merino and lambs wool sweaters, I can't guarantee an exact match with the earflap to the hat material. But, I can make cool combinations as pictured above. This cap is now available in the Shop. More will be sewn soon.

Machines and Life

2009-01-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Above is my lovely basement studio. Nice and cool in the summer but cold and damp in the winter. I was doing some long overdue maintenance on my sewing machines today and started thinking about the personality behind each one. As an animist, I believe that all of these machines have a spirit of some sort as do animals, rocks, rivers, violins, bows and arrows, etc. Perhaps it is the collective spirit of the people and "resources" that went into the production of each machine. I respect them as tools that quite literally, help me spin straw into gold with which I obtain food, clothing, shelter and other not so essential things like say... beer or chocolate. Thinking about this made me want to catalog all of the machines here for folks to see... or maybe just more for my own satisfaction.

My mom's sewing machine. A 1973 Riccar (made in Japan). She never used it when I was a kid. I got it out of the basement one day, put a new needle in, and began sewing. I wanted to make ultra light backpacking gear with it and ended up bringing it with me when I moved to Portland. I started a little apparel biz called Bonnie Heart Clyde with my girlfriend at the time. From there I ended up making hats.

The machine I do all of the straight stitching for my hats with. A Kenmore (made in Japan). On loan from a friend who I think forgot I that have it.

My wimpy, little serger. A Janome MyLock 204D (Made in Taiwan). It can't sew through heavy stuff but it gets the job done most of the time. This is the only sewing machine I ever bought new.

A Janome New Home "Double Duty"(made in Japan). This beauty I found along the road with a free sign on it a few years ago. I brought it home, oiled it and it works great. I guess it's supposed to be a bit more heavy duty than other machines but I don't notice it. I just like the hot rod styling!

An old Singer from the thrift store. (American made) Why can't they make sewing machines that look like this anymore? It has the same sort of ornate detailing that one might find on a medieval engraved sword or something. Some day I want to get an old foot powered tredle table for this puppy so I have something to sew with when the grid collapses. :o

And finally the old Consew. (made in Japan) This beast is on loan from a friend. I sewed a Chinese Junk sail for an umiak with this thing. Other than that I haven't played with it too much. I'm still getting used to how fast it is. I barely touch the pedal and it has already sewn through 5 feet of material! No joke. I have a dream of one day making beautiful waxed cotton panniers and handlebar bags with this machine, but there is only so much time in a day.

Myocastor coypus

2008-12-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Nutria (Myocastor coypus), it's what's for dinner. These little guys can be found all over Portland wetlands and rivers. They were introduced from South America in the 1930s to Louisiana fur farms. From there they escaped and have spread all over North America. I came upon this website today about them.
Check it out.
Happy Holidays and New Year!

I bought an SUV!

2008-12-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

What am I doing? I bought an SUV on Monday, a mini SUV that is. It's an '86 Suzuki Samurai, a barbie-size 4x4. It's debatable whether I really need this thing and I'm ashamed to admit that I own a car now. Looks like I have to change the copy on my website where it says that I do all my errands by bike. This is still mostly true though. I plan to ride my bike everywhere around the city, but I want the option of being able to carry larger things and get out to the woods more often. I figure it can be a tax write-off too for '08. The Samurai is small, fuel efficient and 4wd so I can drive through the snow and mud to get to more remote areas to forage, hunt, track and learn more from the forests.

I had a lot of anxiety when thinking about getting a car again. After 4 years without one, I must say that it has been awesome and very rarely did I ever lament not having one.

I thought about getting a diesel for the ability to run on veggie oil but they cost a lot here in Portland, the conversion process seems like a pain in the ass and when the shit hits the fan and gas is hella expensive I really don't see veggie oil being a cheap, obtainable option. I don't feel all that guilty about being a gas consumer now because I don't intend to drive much at all. It's an experiment. Maybe I'll get sick of it and sell it in 6 months. We'll see. I'll let you all know how it goes for me.

A change of plans

2008-11-30T13:25:00.001-08:00

In my previous post I mentioned that I will be selling hats at BikeCraft in SE Portland. Unfortunately, I am unable to make it to the event this year. My apologies to anyone who was hoping to see me there.

Orders

2008-11-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

I am no longer taking any more custom orders or wholesale orders until Jan. '09 because I am going home for the holidays in mid December. Because of this, any online orders purchased after Dec. 14th will not be shipped until Jan. 2nd. Please be aware of this if you intend to purchase any holiday gifts.
I will however be setting up at the BikeCraft IV at
Roots Organic Brewing, 1520 SE 7th (just south of Hawthorne
Wednesday, December 10th, 5:30pm - close
This is an event put on for the past 4 years now by bikeportland.org
I intend to have a variety of my winter caps and maybe some more unique one of a kind stuff too. There has been a ton of rad local crafts and art at this event in past years , so bring some cash!

Merino Wool

2008-11-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

Every fall/winter I receive a lot of orders for my Alpine and Alpine Reversible style caps. These are my favorite cap because of their warmth, softness, and snug fit while worn under my helmet during the wet winter commutes. The problem that I am facing is that it is very hard for me to source enough of this merino wool that is of good quality, nice colors and not overpriced. My business is about recycling used garments to create new hats, but I am thinking that I may have to make an exception for the Alpine caps. The brand I am looking into working with to get merino wool is called MAPP Check it out. They seem to have a pretty sustainable business and create a quality product. Not sure what it will cost yet. They are sending me some samples. What I may do is still find used merino in various colors and use this to mix with a black new merino fabric. Otherwise it could be very expensive to order a variety of fabric colors in bulk. I'm curious what people think of this so please let me know. Feedback is helpful in creating a product that cyclists will benefit from.

Below are some photos from some recent mushroom gathering. Yummm!

a very big chantrelle!

Birch boletes

Proper Attire

2008-10-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Every fall/winter I find myself returning to the same clothes that I have worn for the past 3 years. Wool knickers, wool sweaters, sandals and a wool hat. It makes sense, being someone who gets around by bicycle and spends a lot of time outdoors in such a rainy place as Portland. Each year I have refined my wardrobe a little bit to be more functional/fashionable. I am sharing this as advice on inexpensive gear (with the exception of my hat) for others who may not know what to wear riding in the rain. Here is what you might catch me wearing this rainy season.

Deller Red 3 panel wool hat with merino earflap. I stopped making this style but might bring it back. I like the red, reminds me of an old hunters cap. Fits under my helmet, keeps my ears warm and the rain out of my eyes. Another option could be a cheap cycling cap worn with a wool headband. Mustaches make good face warmers too!

100% Wool military surplus sweater. I have a couple of these that I have found at the goodwill. They have a great fit, nice color, long body and arms and nice button up collar like an old bike jersey. You might be able to find them at a military surplus store.
The pants are just wool flannel dress pants with a drawstring added into the cuff so I can hike em up and tie em off. Dress pants in particular are made from a nice light-weight wool that is more flexible than heavy military wool pants.
You can modify these without even knowing a lick about sewing. Just cut a hole in the hem at the bottom of the pants leg, and feed a string through. You could use a drawstring toggle but I just use a leather cord and tie a knot to hold mine up. They have a stylin' classic French bike tourer look and they never look dirty, even if I get grease all over them, because of the dark grey color.
I have been told by many people that I should start making and selling knickers but it's so damn easy to make them yourself from old wool dress pants that I would rather just tell people how to make their own, than go to all the trouble trying to produce them myself.
I see a ton of knickers on the market these days and none of them appeal to me. They have a high price, ugly styling, synthetic wonder fabrics, and some have a built in crotch pad. Wouldn't it make more sense to wear padded undies under your knickers and wash them regularly while not having to worry about washing your knickers? Also, knickers should be somewhat loose fitting and a crotch pad sewn in loose fitting pants could shift about and not sit where it is intended to while in the saddle. Just my opinion.

Finally the shoes. I got these old leather sandals from a thrift store. I wore them on my bike tour from Portland to San Fran last summer. They were really comfy even in the week of heavy rain we encountered. The closed toe protected my feet while riding in toe-clips.
I hate wearing wet shoes that don't dry quickly or allow my feet to breathe. Some might suggest wearing rubber boots but these keep the rain out and the sweat in making my feet as wet as if they were rained on. I have been riding in sandals almost year-round here in Portland for the past 5 years. Yes, my feet get wet in the winter but they dry very fast when I arrive at my destination. If it's cold out I can wear wool socks. Even in below freezing temps, my feet stay warmer than in heavy boots because the perspiration can evaporate easily. I can carry an extra pair of socks in my bag and swap these out for my wet pair when I arrive at my destination, and my sandals don't retain all the water that a shoe would, so my dry socks stay dry.

October

2008-10-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yep, not much has changed here in a long time. I have some new hats in the works that I intend to get up on the website soon. As of September, my time has been occupied with the TrackersNW Immersion Program. The hats have been on the back burner but I'm working on that, trying to step up production.

A day of track journaling along the river.

Deer track

Me atop Steen's Mountain looking East on a backpacking trip this past August. Thats the Alvord desert down below.

Building a Baidarka

2008-07-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

I spent the past week and a half helping out with a TrackersNW Kayak building workshop. We built Baidarkas, a style of kayak some 4,000 years old from the Aleutian Islands. Along with the guidance of Casey Nut and Ernie Wisner, 5 students and 6 staff members each created a boat. I don't have time to right a lot so here is what Wikipedia says about them. "Baidarka is the name sometimes used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska.

A prominent feature of a baidarka is its forked bow (bifurcated bow). Very lightweight and maneuverable, it was made out of seal skin sewed only by Aleut women, over a frame made strictly by the men of driftwood (since no trees grow in the Aleutian Islands), bone and sinew. It was treated as a living being by Aleut men (it was taboo for women to handle them).

In modern times, George Dyson is often credited with the revival of the baidarka, through his company Dyson, Baidarka & Company. Dyson and his boats were the subject of Kenneth Brower's book The Starship and the Canoe (Ref. 1), and Dyson himself wrote the book Baidarka in 1986 (Ref. 2). Dyson's Baidarkas are made from modern materials such as aluminium for the frame and coated polyester fabric for the skin.

Baidarka is the name sometimes used for sea kayaks from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula. The word is Russian, and the more ancient word is "iqyak".

The people who have lived in this region of the world for thousands of years called themselves "Unungan" meaning "people who lived by the side of the sea". The Unungan men built the kayaks by carving the wooden frames from driftwood using stone tools made from volcanic rocks as well as tools made from bone, ivory, and wood.

The men designed the kayak frames to be light, fast, and flexible, tying together the wooden parts with intricate and spiritual knots braided from tough animal sinew. Unungan women prepared sea lion skins which they sewed onto the frames with bone needles, using a waterproof stitch. While out at sea, men carried with them emergency repair kits. For the Unungan, the sea kayaks lived as spiritual beings and were essential for their survival. From early ages, Unungan boys were trained in the use of skin kayaks."

All the boats in production. Lots of lashing and pegging pieces together.

Me busy lashing the stringers onto the ribs of the kayak.

The skin (Balistic Nylon) stretched tight like a drum over the wooden framework and sewn in place.

The kayak has been dyed brown and is ready to be coated in urethane

TrackersNW Umiak Camp!

2008-05-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Running April 27 to May 2, the camp was part of the Portland Waldorf
School outdoor week which has been run in partnership with
TrackersNW for the past 4 years. Nestled on the Southern Oregon coast, this week long camp with 21 students and 7 team leaders, taught more than ancient boat building skills. We also wove our own crab pots, went crabbing, harvested clams and mussels, wild plants and seaweed to incorporate in our meals and butchered a sheep for our own meat. Students completely directed the camp themselves, using TrackersNW's unique model of Natural Agile Teams Leadership. Go here for more photos of the new Umiak and the camp.

For thousands of years umiaks were used to transport Inuit and Yupik families from settlement to settlement and for large scale whaling expeditions of hunters. Skin-on-frame umiaks and kayaks have been tested and perfected over thousands of years in the toughest, most dangerous water conditions in the world (such as the Arctic), by people whose lives depended on their kayaks to hunt and gather their food. Modern skin on frame construction is considered lighter and tougher than fiberglass or solid wood designs. Our new umiak is truly a site to behold. More info about umiaks
here.

The "skin" (made of balistic nylon) is sewn on then coated in urethane.

All aboard! Testing the umiak out in the Bandon harbor.

Trek Cirrus 520

2008-04-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

After a new black paint job, I finished building up my '87 Trek touring bike this weekend. Here its is before...

and after.

Equipped with a Nitto Campee front rack with detachable lowrider mounts.

Original Shimano Deore drivetrain with vintage Nervar cranks that came from a salvaged schwinn sports tourer. The alloy fenders are from Velo Orange who manufacture a variety of constructeur style, high quality bicycle parts for bike tourers and randonneurs for relatively cheap prices. I have always owned a lot of bikes but always pretty inexpensive junkers that I have restored. Because I don't own a car and my bike is such an essential part of my day to day, I decided that it wouldn't be frivilous to invest in a well built, lightweight and beautiful looking bike for myself. The only thing I think the bike needs is a good generator powered lighting set and I will then be touring in style this summer.

Quicksilver

2008-04-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

I first saw this movie when I was about 8. I watched it again about 6 years ago when I got into fixed gears and bike messengering. Its a good movie full of cheesiness, 80's style and Kevin Bacon. But the best part is the bicycle freestyle in this scene. This form of bike gymnastics is bigger in Europe than around here. They play bicycle ball with these bikes and also have choreographed dance routines like figure skating. I'd love to be able to do some of these tricks on a fixed gear like some of these guys. Dig it.

TrackersNW

2008-03-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Spring has come to the Willamette Valley. The days are getting longer. The sun is shining more and it's raining slightly less. The stinging nettles, dandelion, chicory, burdock and other wild edibles are ripe for picking. Hooray!
My schedule is filling up with many workshops that I will be leading through TrackersNW this spring and summer. Among them are: a wild edible plants walk, a dandelion wine making workshop and a wild plants lore bicycle tour. If you are in the area and interested in attending please check out the TrackersNW site.
The illustration above accompanies an article I just wrote for the TrackersNW e-zine about wild edible plants. Folks can sign up to receive the e-zine on the TNW site.
I had a great day yesterday. To begin I managed to find two yards of 40 year old waxed cotton canvas that I intend to sew into panniers for my bike. I have searched all over the web and had no luck finding this stuff. I found it at a local sail and canopy makers shop. I'll post some pics when I finally make them.

Also I found a new bike yesterday! It's an '87 TREK cirrus 520. A touring bike with nice lugs and cool features like a rear deraileur cable that is routed through the chainstay.

Unfortunately the paint job is kinda ugly. It's also a 64cm frame which is about the biggest I can fit and is my preferred size. The bike needs some love as you can see from the crappy seat and handlebar set up. I now have two treks that happen to be both from the 1987 model line up. The other is a Pro Series (pictured as frame only)that I found in a trash pile outside a burned down apartment a few years ago. It too could use some new paint. This one is a project that I'll probably never get around to though because its a pretty impractical bike for me being a dedicated race bike with no clearances or braze-ons. Here is a link I found to an online Trek 1987 catalog. Thats all for now.

Woodland Gear

2008-02-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

My interest in clothing has been leading me in new directions over the past year. One interest in particular has been buckskin. Buckskin is made from deer, elk, moose and hides from other ungulates with a time tested tanning process that involves oils, smoke and lots of work to create a beautifully soft hide. This has become a symbol of Native American dress and frontiersmen but is actually a way of making clothing and gear that was once practiced in cultures the world over in one form or another.

Deer hides are easy to come by in North America with the large population of deer and hunters who often don't make use of the hide when one kills a deer. Above is a photo of me preparing a deer hide using the wet scrape method in which the hide is soaked in water and wood ash for a number of days until the fur begins to fall out and the epidermis loosens allowing both to be scraped away from the hide with a dull blade.

When fully scraped the hide is ready to be wrung out, stretched and brained. There are a few options for adding oils to the hide that keep it soft and supple. One of these that works the best is the brains of the animal. Yep, seriously! The hide is saturated with brains and then stretched dry creating a soft white hide. Afterward the hide is smoked over coals with punky wood. This turns the hide a warm tan color and preserves it in a state of soft, wearable leather. Without the aid of smoke, a hide that gets wet will again return to stiff rawhide when it dries.

I have tanned quite a few hides over the past 3 years. This photo depicts from left to right a dried deer hide with the fur on, a brained unsmoked hide, and a tanned hide along with a couple of projects (a small bag for sewing needles, awes and thread and a wrist guard for archery made from deer leg fur and buckskin)

The above photo shows a wool sweater and long underwear that I recently dyed with black walnut hulls. The hull is the green fruit around the nut that can be gathered in the fall. Both garments were originally white. The wool was simply simmered in a dye bath of hulls for 5 hours. I love things that are the colors of dirt and earthiness!

Tilly Jane

2008-02-06T09:45:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I went on a 2 night ski trip to the Tilly Jane cabin on the North East side of Mt. Hood. Three friends and I (pictured below: Me, J, Shawn, Elliott) left Friday and didn't get on the trail till 3:00 PM. It's a 2.5 mile trip uphill on telemark skis with about 40 lbs. in our packs. There is currently about 185" of snow on the mountain!
The sun set with about an hour to go to the cabin and we skied on into the darkness. The temperature dropped as quick as the setting sun and the winds began to whip. The thought of being lost out here sent a chill through me. When we reached the cabin we could just see the peak of the roof sticking up from the snow. We slid down the tunnel into the first floor entry and got a fire going in the woodstove. Ahhh, shelter.

We had the cabin to ourselves the first night. The next day we went on a little 2.5 mile loop up to the timberline. I had never been in snow this deep before. One could not walk here without the aid of skis or snowshoes because one would sink up to the waist.

When we returned there were 5 others and 2 dogs occupying the cabin. We made a big pot of chili and played some spades. I also went out before sunset to test my winter fire making skills. I collected some dead, semi-dry twigs from the trees (which I believe were Mt. Hemlock) and proceeded to strip the bark with my knife. Once I had enough to make a fist-full size bundle, I ignited a match and held it beneath. The flame hesitantly crept up the bundle crackling and popping the pitchey twigs. Soon it was a solid flame. I let it burn out satisfied in knowing that I was at least capable of starting a fire with one match if need be.
I had also intended to build a snow cave to sleep in one night but the warmth of a woodstove, a little port and good friends was more appealing than a dark claustrophobic snow cave!

This was my first time really on skis and I had no problem adapting to the flats and climbs but the downhill back to the car on Sunday left me hurtin'. The grueling hills on the trail up were scary fast on the way down! I kept the skins on my skis to slow my descent but it was still damn fast. Telemark skis require a special turning technique that I have yet to grasp. Instead I bombed down the mountain and slowed myself with the frequent face plant. At one point my skis dug into a drift and my backpack kept going forward sending me flipping head over heels landing on my butt with my skis pointed straight up! It was fun. My body is paying the price for it this week though. My back and shoulders ache. It hurts to ride my bike. I need a massage!
(thanks Elliott for the photos)

Where have I been?

2008-02-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, I forgot, I have a blog. Maybe its about time I update it. Let's see... It's been about 5 years now that I have lived in Portland and nearly 4 years since I first started making hats. Each year has brought many changes. New Years 2007 marked the end of the 4 year relationship that brought me out to Portland and now 2008 brings many changes as well.
In March I plan to move to a cabin on a small farm about 45 min. outside of Portland. My intention is to spend more time involved in the cycles of nature by gardening, foraging, exploring my environment and living semi-off the grid. This is a new undertaking but I feel like it is what I am striving for.
Not to worry though, this isn't some sort of attempt to get away from civilization and be a hermit. I intend to keep my hat business running out of my Portland studio and travel back to town once a week to run errands, spend time with friends, and run workshops and camps with TrackersNW.
Which brings me to my next topic. TrackersNW is a wilderness skills/hyper-competency skills school based in SE Portland that I am part of. Check out the site if you want to know more. Through TrackersNW I can share my knowledge and learn from others about wilderness survival skills, permaculture, martial arts, natural building, storytelling and awareness skills.
More updates to come.

Updates

2007-11-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

I've been working on a new style of Alpine cap. Its exactly the same as my all merino wool Alpine cap with the exception of not being reversible. Why? Because it is thinner allowing it to fit better under a helmet and still have the same thick ear band to keep your ears warm. Also it is easier to make and uses less material allowing me to sell it for less. $40 is my price. These are still made from all salvaged merino wool sweaters with a durable foam bill insert. I still plan to make the reversible Alpine cap and Cascade cap. I'll get around to making this change on the website soon.

Bike Craft 2007

2007-11-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

If you live in Portland or happen to be passing through Thursday Nov. 15th you should stop to check out BikeCraft. Its the third annual craft fair for bike related art and crafts being held at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub in NW from 6:00-9:00 PM. The event is put on by Jonathan Maus of www.bikeportland.org I will have a bunch of caps there for sale all marked at $5 off their retail price. I'm planning to also have some one-of-a-kind caps with added details like racing stripes and applique for those looking for a gift for their favorite cyclist. This event has been a real success in the past with tons of local artists selling all sorts of bike inspired art.
The above photo has nothing to do with Bike Craft but I wanted to show off my bounty. This is me feeling happy after harvesting some apples and birch bolete mushrooms! Yumm!

A ramble in PA

2007-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

I just returned from 2 weeks spent visiting my family in Pennsylvania. While there I went on an epic ride with my brother and a few friends. My friend James organized the ride called the "Centre PA Ramble". It was a 73 mile ride through the country side and into the mountains around State College, PA.

It wasn't a race but a ramble, as the name implies, with plenty of food stops, scenic views and conversation. It was the kind of ride I always dream about when I look at old Frank Patterson drawings of riders lazily rollin' along country roads. There wasn't much traffic aside from an occasional pick-up or Amish horse and buggy. Autumn was the ideal time for it too. Lots of color in the foliage and cool weather. We started around 10:00 AM after a big breakfast and covered 73 miles by the time we returned. The sun had set and Jame's wife had prepared a splendid meal for all of us.
href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7jvqHCGL37k/Ryi_EWwd5MI/AAAAAAAAADE/3wMVl2TQLcI/s1600-h/ramble2.jpg">
Thats my big bro and I. Bicycles have always brought us together. Neither of us had ever ridden 73 miles in one day before this!

Ahhh, how I miss the eastern forests. The smell and sound of the leaves in fall bring back so many memories. To see more photos check out this link and to see a great cycling blog by my friends James and James check out www.ridelugged.com
Now that I am home in Portland I am getting back to work on some new winter caps and thinking about making some special edition holiday caps. Keep an eye on the site.

Autumn tidings

2007-10-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

I'm on a trip back east to visit my family. Spending a few days in Baltimore and then going back to Pennsylvania to stay with my folks. I will be back to my studio Oct. 29th. Here are a couple photos of me grinding acorns. Acorns are super bitter raw. They must be ground up, soaked in many changes of water to wash away the tanins and then dried and ground into flour. The flour can be used to make breads, pancakes, etc.

Nuts

2007-09-24T19:47:00.001-07:00

A friend told me about a cartoon of me in our local weekly, the Willamette Week, a few days ago. I knew nothing about it and was like What? Me? Seriously? It turns out they were announcing a bike botany ride I was supposed to lead through Trackers NW, a local wilderness education organization. There were no sign ups earlier in the week so we canceled. Then this comes out in the paper. Someone at the Willy Week must like what I do. Thanks to whoever you are. Here is a photo of the cartoon. The caption says "He's not a nut, he just collects them." My friend put it best when he said the drawing makes me look like a villanous Mario Brother!

I didn't do the workshop and instead spent the day in search of figs and nuts. I found lots of figs and brought them home to load up my dehydrator. I love dried figs. Then I went riding about North Portland in search of some hazelnuts. We have lots of hazelnut trees around the NW. One is a native hazelnut called a "beaked" hazelnut. Its rather small and of all the trees I have found hardly any have nuts. When I do find nuts they are hollow inside. I'm guessing either the squirrels get all the good ones early in the season or the trees just have off years of production. Maybe a combo of both. The other hazelnut I think is a european variety that looks very similar but has a bigger nut and different husk. After much searching I finally came upon a bountiful hazelnut tree. So bountiful that I spent from about 10:00am till 3:00 pm crawling about like a squirrel gathering nuts. In the end I had 2 bushel baskets full! Can't wait to make some hazelnut butter!
I am trying to keep on top of hat orders while also trying to store up for winter all the dried fruit, nuts and canned goods I can. The photo below (back to front) is a pack basket I wove this weekend from New Zealand Flax, my hazelnuts, dried pears, acorns for making acorn flour, and dried figs.

Home again, Home again

2007-09-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

I returned Sunday with my amigo, Eliot, from our Portland to San Fran coastal bike tour. It was a fabulous adventure full of food (lots of food) camp fires, sore muscles, Luxembourgers, raccoons, skunks, flat tires, ice cream cookies, beautiful views of the Pacific, climbing grumpers, singing songs, Redwoods, dog chases, and a painful bee sting inside the nose. Ouch!

I will upload some photos this week from the trip and tell a few stories but for now check this out. This summer I did a video interview about Deller Designs for the new stylish, eco-concious apparel line NAU. They are interested in highlighting stories on their site about people doing interesting things pertaining to the environment, apparel, and adventure. To see the video follow this link: https://www.nau.com/homepage/index.jsp#/thecollective/recycled_style&6
To check out their website visit www.nau.com.

New Press on Grist.org

2007-08-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Looks like I got a little mention on a new site (new to me at least) called grist.org. Its an environmental news and commentary site and they did an article about "15 Green Fashion Finds". Check it out at http://grist.org/news/maindish/2007/08/09/clothes/

Portland to LA

2007-07-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am planning on biking from Portland to LA this August with a friend. Not for any particular reason other than to go on a tour and have some fun on two wheels. So if all goes as planned I will be gone during the month of August and will probably be shutting my online store down for a little while until I return. I haven't decided what to do about all of that yet but will post a notice soon. In preparation for the tour I went on a 3 day tour this past weekend with some new friends out to the Clackamas River east of Portland. The river was cold but felt great after climbing some big hills and gettin all sweaty. We ate some blackberries, huckleberries, salal, saskatoons, thimbeberries.

This is my bike all loaded up after returning from the ride. I just got a Nitto Campee front rack and I love it. I strapped on a basket and some cheapo lowrider bags. The bike felt very stable and I could ride with no hands even. The basket is nice because I could access it while riding and was able to stow tomatoes and bananas in here with out smooshing them. On the back of the bike is my Carradice saddle bag that came in handy when I wanted to haul some cedar bark along with me.

Pictured above are some gifts from the forest. (Left to right) Cedar bark cordage made from the inner bark of a fallen Western Red Cedar (cedar was used for everything by the indigenous people of the Northwest and considered a sacred tree because of all that it provided for the people: clothing, canoes, rope, nets, boxes, cabins, medicine etc). Next object is a bow drill kit made from western hemlock, big leaf maple, nettle fiber cordage, and stone for a hand socket. Lastly is a rather large dog skull found along the roadside with a full skeleton. I have a pretty sweet skull collection and will maybe post some photos of that sometime. Ok, gotta go. Lots of work to do before the big tour. More news to come soon.

Kevin Jones 52 whilplashes

2007-07-10T19:37:00.001-07:00

I grew up in York, Pennsylvania and when I was in highschool a friend and I always used to ride our bmx bikes over to this elementary school to watch this bad ass flatground rider named Kevin Jones. From what I am told he is sort of a grandfather of the freestyle/ flatground/ bmx scene. He and another guy produced some videos back in the day, 1980s, called "Dorkin' in York". I still haven't seen the videos but was on Youtube today and did a search for it. Here is one of the videos I found. Kevin Jones performing 52 whiplashes on his bike as the credits role to the movie. This guy was a big inspiration for me when I was younger and getting into bicycle trials. One time 2 friends and I went for a ride with Kevin around East York looking for different spots to ride and bust out tricks. One of the kids with us got a flat front tire and we had no patch kit. We decided to ride back to a bike shop and Kevin hopped on this kids bike and rode a wheely almost the whole way there! Anyway, dig this video it will blow your mind.

Project Bridgestone

2007-07-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've made a few modifications to my Bridgestone Spica recently. I added a new wheelset, phil hubs laced up to some new old stock rigida touring rims. Very shiny. I figure that a nice wheelset is something worth investing in. Rather than riding some crappy Taiwanese made hubs that will wear out, I could potentially ride these Phil hubs for the rest of my life. Made in America too. Also added some old SKS fenders that I found on old bikes. Actually they are two rear fenders and it gives much better coverage in the front than most front fenders.

Then I added these French Nervar cranks that came off an old Schwinn sports tourer that I found in the trash a long time ago. They are great because they are designed after the much coveted cranks once made by TA, an old French company. The Nervars use the same bolt pattern. The chainrings came off of a Sugino super maxy crank from an 80s Peugeot mtn bike and also use this same bolt pattern. As far as I know TA is no longer making their cranks but still manufactures the chainrings so I can replace them at some point. I ride in the 46t chainring and use the 28t granny gear as a bail out for big climbs. I think I need to take a few links out of the chain though.

Wilderness Skillz Ride

2007-06-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

The Wilderness Skills Ride was a lot of fun. Thanks to all those who attended! I started it off with a little intro and then we began to break some river rocks to make primitive blades, just in case we had to fend off any would be attackers or wild beasts... or cut some grass.

After this we strolled down the Springwater Corridor and built a debris shelter from sticks and grass. On our to do list was obtaining shelter, water, fire and food. With a shelter built we figured our next step would be to start a fire. If we were (in theory) going to drink water from the Willamette we would boil it first to kill any bacteria (though this wouldn't do anything for all the heavy metals).

I then gave a demo with the bow drill, a simple tool for starting a fire with friction.

Fire! Someone passing by at this point saw our debris shelter (which must have just looked like a debris pile) and us with a little fire and called the cops! A bit later a cop came rolling down the trail in his car. He got out and asked who is in charge. I went over and explained that we were doing a survival skills sort of workshop. He understood and said just to not start any fires. I agreed and he left. We all had a good laugh! It reminded me that predators are still lurking out there even in the urban jungle. Though they may not be lions or bears you still have to be on the lookout. After this we disscussed some of the local plants and their uses. The differences and similarities between wild carrot and poison hemlock, Yarrow's healing powers, nettles as food and cordage material, jewelweed as an antidote for poison oak, etc. I got a lot of good feedback from folks and plan to host another one of these rides again this summer before I leave for my August bike tour.

Portland Wilderness Skillz Bike Ride 06/20/07

2007-06-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Maybe you would like to carry less junk on your next bike tour. Maybe you want to know how to survive the appocalypse. Or maybe you just want a deeper connection to nature. Join us in a quest for shelter, water, fire and food in the urban wilderness. We will explore ways of providing these neccessities from the forest and urban jungle. We won't be traveling far. Just a short jaunt down to Oaks Bottom maybe further if others are feeling adventurous. All are welcome! No experience required. Free! Meeting at 5:00pm on Springwater Corridor under Hawthorne Bridge 5:00pm
Visit: http://www.shift2bikes.org/pedalpalooza/pp2007.php for other pedalpalooza events.

Dressin' Up With Old Leather

2007-05-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about a few ways to dress up my bike with some old leather salvaged from a crappy leather jacket from the Goodwill. Here is project number 1. Leather toe clip covers. Some of my shoes have holes in the toes from rubbing against the metal clips. I cut pieces from the jacket that are 1" by 3" and sewed them onto an old pair of Christophe toe clips with some dental floss. Dental floss is good because its nylon, waxed and strong, and minty fresh to boot. I used a whip stitch but this could also be done with a running stitch.
Other leather project ideas I want to experiment with are sew-up handlebar wraps, chainstay guards, fender mud flaps, top tube protectors. Old leather jackets are easy to find and cheap. Check the leather though to make sure its not too old by tugging on a section of it. Sometimes old leather tears like a piece of paper.

My Ride

2007-04-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

I picked up a Bridgestone Spica on craigslist recently. I think its from the early 80's though I haven't found much info about it on the web. Its just my size and feels great. I plan to build it as a randonneur with some lightweight racks. New additions to it so far are a Nitto technomic stem and noodle bar with a custom criss-cross wrap job that took me way too long to figure out, but I like the way it looks. New wheelset is soon to come.

I found out that the name "Spica" is the name of a star. Bridgestone also made another bike called a "Sirius".

Neccesity is the mother of invention. Here is the bar wrap. I didn't intend to do this but the tape I bought didn't cover the bar. I decided to salvage some of the old tape (in red) and criss cross it with the newer white. I probably spent a good hour wrapping and unwrapping until I figured out pattern. Then I finished it off with sisal twine (which comes from the agave leaf); corked the ends with wine corks and then shellaced the tape and all.

Portland to Hood River

2007-03-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

A photo from Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge. I biked out to Hood River and back this weekend. Spring is coming. The elderberries are blooming so are the salmon berries, the nettles, the oregon grape, etc. Sunnier days ahead.

Travelin'

2006-12-28T23:16:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've been in constant motion for the past few months. Things have settled down a bit now that the holidays have passed. Ahhhh! a sigh of relief. Now I have a little time to waste updating this ol' blog. I was home visiting the family in Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving and went on an overnight bike tour with two old friends I haven't seen in awhile. It was part wild edible plants foraging, part guerilla camping and part liesurely stroll down the rail trail from York, PA to Maryland. Here are a few pics. Me next to a bad ass John Deere inspired bike sculpture. And then a pic of James climbing a hill on our early morning return.

Then I returned to Portland for a week and went to Maui the next week. I'd never really been somewhere tropical like this. The snorkeling was definitely the highlight of the trip but I unfortunately don't have any photos of that. I was swimming right next to sea turtles, eels, cuddlefish, and all sorts of vibrantly colored fish. Here is a pic of a waterfall though on the north shore. Thats all for now.

Deller Caps featured in Fader Magazine!

2006-10-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

My caps got a write up in Fader's Oct. issue. I've actually never looked at the mag but I guess its focus is underground music, fashion, art and culture. It's a great little feature so check it out.

Deller website is up!

2006-09-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! My website is up! Check it out at www.shaundeller.com It still needs some work and the shop page will be up and running by the end of Sept. I will be out of town until the 23rd of Sept. So if you are interested in ordering any caps please email me at dellershaun@yahoo.com. This blog will now become more of a blog about my interests and news.
over and out,
Shaun

Night Ride

2006-05-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is one of a series of ink drawings I had in Dirt Rag Magazine a while back. I am selling prints of these now. If interested give me a shout. dellershaun@yahoo.com

Recumbent Killer

2006-05-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

On a recent outing to play some disc golf last weekend we all traveled by bike. Instead of walking from tee to tee we traveled in style on bikes. After a good game of 18 holes we had a good chuckle as a member of our posse launched his recumbent off of a gnarly jump. I'd like to see a BMX recumbent race. That would be a hoot!

A few wild edibles

2006-05-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few wild edible plants I gathered on my ride last week. From left to right fennel, japanese knotweed, sow thistle, and pokeweed. All of these except pokeweed can be eaten raw. Pokeweed contains a toxin called phytolaccin "which is cathartic, slightly narcotic, a slow-acting emetic in large doses and, actually poisonous". (to quote Euell Gibbons) The young leaves, however, can be boiled in water for 10 minutes and then the water poured off thus removing the toxin and making the pokeweed leaves a tasty edible that I have read to be quite nutritious. They are yummy in anything you might use spinach in. I have been making omelets with them. The knotweed is interesting because it looks like asparagus when young but tastes really tart. I have heard that you can use the plant as one would use rubarb in making pies and jams. I have been sauteing it up like asparagus. Its pretty good. Its not wise to eat too much knotweed though because it contains oxalic acid which can do damage to your liver in large doses. A little here and there passes through the body with no problems. Ok, this is making me hungry. goodbye

Critical Mass?

2006-05-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

I called up some homeboys to go to the critical mass ride last Friday. The last time I attended one of these was over 2 years ago when I first arrived on the Portland scene. When we showed up there were lots of cops handing out flyers telling why they were there and the list of things they would bust you for if they caught you in the act. Such as not stopping at a red light, not signaling a turn, etc. I didn't feel very excited about the ride because it made me nervous to know that all these policemen would be watching over our every move. It was like this once unsanctioned, fun ride had now become a school field trip guided bike tour led by some disgruntled teachers with no sense of humor. It made me feel like I was guilty of something simply for wanting to ride my bike. So the ride began a little after 6:00. We rolled south out of the pearl and turned a corner. Before I got to the corner I heard all of this yelling. My first concern was that maybe someone had been hit by a car. I didn't want to turn the corner. When I did, there on the sidewalk were a bunch of cops and a crowd gathered around. They had a kid on the pavement face down and people were yelling that he didn't do anything. Then they handcuffed another guy and a girl. The kid was cursing and throwing a fit and the cops were in a frenzy. The aggression was making me feel upset. I don't know what the kid did but the whole scene was a big ugly mess. Everyone stopped to watch. I started to feel like, shit, maybe critical mass is giving cyclists more of a bad name than anything else. What do pedestrians think when they see these cops arresting bikers and the bikers swearing back at them in anger. Maybe not every critical mass is like this but it started to make me think that maybe there is a better way to get outsiders interested in bike culture without feeling like they have to ride through town like prisoners being led to the penitentiary. Anyway, heres a photo or two. Ride your bike. Always spread peace and understanding even in the face of aggression. Maybe you can make someone change their mind rather than close it.

Wild Edible Plants Bike Tour Follow-Up

2006-04-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

The weather has been beautiful around here lately. After a rainy winter I have been trying to get out in the sunshine every chance I get. This is why its taken me so long to sit down and write anything about the The Wild Edible Plants Bike Tour that I led on Earth Day here in Portland. Thank you to all who participated! I believe about 22 people in total. It was a perfect day for a bike tour and I got to meet a lot of cool folks. The route we followed took us down Mississippi to two vacant lots where we discussed such plants/trees as burdock, dandelion, chicory, chickweed, plantain, yarrow, miners lettuce, beaked hazelnut, douglas fir, and fennel to name a few. From there we headed down to Oaks Bottom Park on the Springwater Corridor trail. I forgot to talk about a few plants along the way such as oregon grape and salal and when we reached the park I realized that I also had forgotten something else. My backpack! I must have left it sitting outside the cafe that morning before we all departed. It contained my camera and some library books so I was a little nervous but tried to convince myself that it would all work out somehow. At Oaks Bottom we covered the very important difference between poison hemlock and wild carrot, the usefullness/yummyness of stinging nettles, and (new to me), a balm made from cotton wood buds. I learned some new things I didn't know about plants and a little about leading bike tours such as making sure you let everyone no you are stopping when you have 22 people riding closely behind you! The Earth Day Celebration at Sellwood Park afterward was a good time to relax and listen to some fun music. On my bike ride home I got word that my backpack was safe and secure at the cafe! A good ending to a good day. I hope to host more of these in the future, maybe monthly. It would be cool to cover the different edibles as the seasons change. Also hoping to lead a workshop series this summer that will focus on sewing your own camping gear and then doing a bike tour/camp out where such skills as wild edible plants, animal tracking, friction fire, shelter building, etc. will be taught. Keep an eye on the ol' blog for more info.
The above photo from the tour is courtesy of Carye Bye who didn't forget her camera like I did. Thanks Carye! You can check out her blog at msbathtub.blogspot.com

Wild Edible Plants Bike Tour Earth Day April 22nd

2006-04-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

On Earth Day, April 22nd, I am planning to host a WILD EDIBLE PLANTS BIKE TOUR here in Portland! It will be FREE! Yes FREE!
I figured we could meet at the Albina Press so that people could drink some coffee and wake up before we start riding. There are some vacant lots around this part of town that host a few wild edibles that we can talk about and sample! I then would like to ride south to the Springwater Corridor and continue along this bike path to Oaks Bottom Park where there is much to discover. Afterward, there is an Earth Day Celebration put on by City Repair that I heard is happening at Sellwood Park. Participants on the bike tour can leave at any point along the journey. I have a pretty fair amount of knowledge about plants/weeds in our area that are very nutritous and taste good too! I would like to share this knowledge but I still have much to learn about the plant world so I encourage others to contribute their expertise as well so we can all learn something new. I think traveling by bicycle as a group is a great way to access many different sources of wild foods. Email me if you have any questions dellershaun@yahoo.com
EXCITING NEWS!!! John Kallas Ph.D. of Wild Food Adventures here in Portland just emailed me to let me know that he will have a booth at the City Repair Earth Day Celebration at Sellwood Park. He is a great wealth of knowledge about wild edible plants and will be answering questions and showing examples of wild edibles at his booth. This will be an awesome opportunity for us to get the answers to any plant questions that we may not be able to answer on the bike tour. I'm really excited that he will be there!

New Deller Logo

2006-03-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

The first page of my website is up. Its just an image of this logo so far. You can see it at www.shaundeller.com Ok, I know this website is long, long overdue.

The Squirrel Hat

2006-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

New for 2006 is the squirrel hat. I don't see much demand for these things though. This hat was made from 5 roadkilled squirrels. Don't tell me you were never out for a ride and passed by a freshly roadkilled animal and thought 'maybe I could make a hat from that hide?'

New Hats for a New Year

2006-01-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I had a nice holiday break, ate some squirrel pot pie, hiked around the Pennsylvania woods and hung out with friends and family. I'm happy to be back in rainy Portland though. Alright, so I am back to the studio now and workin' hard on some new hats.
Pictured is my new reversible 4 panel merino wool earflap cap. Black on one side, electric blue on the other. For 2006 I plan to offer this new and improved version of the knit merino wool earflap cap. In the past these were made of just one layer of merino wool so that when turned inside out all of those ugly seams were visible. My solution to this was to basically sew a hat inside a hat creating a reversible cap that has no ugly seams to be seen, is warmer, and is reversible so that you can choose between 2 colors to go with any outfit. (See photos)
Because I feel that this is the quality of cap I am happy to put my name on, it will be taking the place of the previous non-reversible cap. In addition to this I plan to replace the old 8 panel and 3 panel styles with a new 4 panel style. This is because it has fewer seams than the 8 panel and is easier to sew than the 3 panel thus making a more durable and more easily made cap. It is also slightly deeper so that it pulls down further over the head, keeping those ears warm.
What I would like to do is keep the price at $46 (the same as the old merino caps) while selling a warmer, stronger, more stylish, and overall better quality cap. It's that balance between form and function, quality and affordability that I am trying to strike. The caps will still be made by me from recycled wool garments as long as I can keep up with demand. Also, I am still making my 3 panel, 8 panel, and millitary style caps.
If you are interested in ordering email me at dellershaun@yahoo.com. My turn around time is about 2 weeks.

-Shaun