Nedfest!!

Aloha! From the altitudes of Nederland Colorado!

Bamboo Clothing Co. is getting ready for our first festival set-up! August 28, 29, and 30 means “Nedfest!!!”; lots of great blue grassy music floating through the air, beautiful smiling faces, and a good freaky time for all!!

So if yer in the area come up and enjoy the weekend in “Neditation” : ) and be sure to check out the new designs at the Bamboo T-shirts tent!! We’ve got some amazing original french vintage designs featuring the art of Mucha, as well as plain bamboo T’s for $10!!

And don’t fear a place to stay, check out this map we’ll show you the way. . . There are some great campsites in the Roosevelt National Forest on the way to the Rainbow Lakes Campground and hikes.  The Rainbow campground is a fee area, but there are plenty of sites along the road and Light and I would revel in some Rainbow Family like close knit camping for the weekend.

So from the Nederland roundabout go 7.2 miles up hwy 72 toward Ward.  Watch for the Colorado Research sign, just behind it is the tiny brown sign for Rainbow Lakes. Take the next Left turn onto the dirt an’ gravel road- there will be a big sign here about Rainbow Lakes and the Indian Peaks wilderness, so you’ll know your on the right road.

Just follow this road 4.6 miles and the road will be a bit wider and here is where there are several campsites (campfire rings) each with enough space nearby for at leat 2 tents. Scope them out down by the river and up the hill- both sides of the road.  If you reach the fee camp, just turn around and go back just past the large meadow at the first gentle curve in the road.  There are lots of sites before this point as well, but Light and I would Love some company!!

Lyons Outdoor Market!

Well, We did it! We set-up the Bamboo Clothing Co. booth this weekend in Lyons, at a small Artisan Market, in a little town right outside of Boulder, CO. What a blast!

Lyons Outdoor Market! Every Saturday 10-4pm!

The Market and the people were great! The were vendors selling everything from Orgonite, an alchomy of metals and crystals in resin that perform various metaphysical stuff, to hand woven basket, and the best crepes you’ve ever had at an Outdoor Market. I hoping someone will start making a veggie burrito, or some kind of wrap… (hint hint).

For the Outdoor Market was great. I got to spend the day talking to all kinds of people about the Bamboo Fabric and Bamboo Clothing, not to mention growing it, and using it for building, flooring, etc… I think it would be great to open a Bamboo Store here in Lyons I like the town so much!

Bamboo Clothing Co

We will, fo course, be there next weekend. If your in Colorado, come down and say hi! We’d love to see you and all your friends.

Rocky Mountain High!

Well we didn’t make it to New Mexico, but we have had an amazing time in Colorado!

We climbed the Rocky Mountain roads up past the beautiful little town of Nederland to the Rainbow Lakes trailhead in the Roosevelt National Forest.  There we found a beautiful spot to camp next to the powerful flowing of a stream coming from the Boulder County Aqueduct Lakes.

At the Rainbow Lakes campground there are a few different trailheads.  We took the Arapaho Glacial Overlook trail, which skirts the private land maintained by Boulder County to protect the aqueduct water.

Boulder County Aqueduct Protection

It’s sad that they feel barbed wire is neccessary to keep people out of that wilderness, but the trail itself is beautiful far beyond the barbed wire!

Late June and early July are prime flower blooming times in the Rockies and we were blown away by the alpine flora on this particular hike!!

The flowers really start popping out as you gain altitude, and right around the edge of the tree line they really take off!  We walked out into a high altitude meadow of thousands of tiny flowers!

Alpine Sunflowers

We didn’t hike to the true overlook, but we did enjoy the breathtaking view of the 3 amazing lakes that make the Boulder Aqueduct and the glaciers and intense glacial waterfalls on the mountains above.  I have never before been in such a lush rich environment at such high altitude, we both loved this trail and the forest surrounding it!

And best of all for me, little flower afficianado, I found a new flower! Well new to me, of course. It’s the Spotted Coral Root, and it’s quite beautiful as well a unique.

Spotted Coral Root

This flower doesn’t photosythesize, it has no green leaves or green stem.  It grows from a mycelium root network that draws nutrients for the flowers from nearby trees.  Apparently the name “coralroot” comes from the way it’s root system resembles ocean corals.

It was so beautiful, we plan on camping in the same area when we return to the Nederland area for “Nedfest” at the end of August!

Madison WI

Well we made it well in time for our friends wedding in Madison. The trip here was great! We passed through Mt. Rushmore and the Bad Lands, which were phenomenal. It’s an area just covered with alkali and these crazy formations that remind me of some other planet. The water, if the was any, was this mercky gray color, but wow what a beautiful place. Crossing the plains is an amazing experience, other than the tornado which we just miss seeing pretty close… lol. A storm chased us across Eastern South Dakota and eventually beat us to Sioux Falls. We ended up (against our will) staying in a cheap motel instead of camping, which would have been pretty silly considering the weather.

Yesterday and Friday we spent with our friends here in Madison and took part in the most incredible wedding I’ve ever attended. Congradulations to Daniel and Tatiana and thanks again for such a different marrige celebration. It’s was very fun to be there with everybody!

Our next stop is Boulder CO, to stop in on friends there and then off to the New Mexico Gathering. After that we will be in Durango CO for a little exploration. We should be set up at the Saturday Farmers Market, at least for a day, sometime in July. So if your around come feel the wonders of Bamboo.

I got a chance to spend the entire day riding around in Madison, in a friends car, to give the new design a road test. I wore the Juicy Bamboo Tee for the whole day, sweating in the back of this little car with 3 of us back there and my shirt was cool and dry the whole day.  At the end of the day it still smelled like a new shirt. I love this stuff..

Peace, Light!

Sew On!

Well, if you knew me pretty well, you’d know that I’m pretty crafty.  An’ I don’t mean sneaky or sly ; ) I mean creative and handy.  I pretty well taught myself to sew.  Oh I had a lesson or two in middle school, but when my mom gave me my first sewing machine when I was in highschool, well I made a patchwork skirt without any patterns and I was hooked!

It’s been awhile since that sewing machine and I parted ways, but the love of stitching fabric has not lessened over time.  And a few weeks ago, I found a new machine!  Well, “new” to me!  It’s a Singer “Fashionmate” 237, and I would have missed it entirely if I didn’t have such a dream of owning a machine in a cabinet!  That must have been the only reason I noticed the double top on that little desk, $15 and a little panting later, she was loaded up!!

This machine has done more already than just made it possible for me to sew a bit faster.  I joined some online groups- one dedicated to vintage and antique Singer sewing machines, sharing information, help, supplies, and a simple love of and for their machines; the other, a group of sewing machine mechanics and tinkerers.   I learned that Singer was one of the first international corporations, and built one of the first skyscrapers in New York City.  I learned (this is kind of sad if you’re familiar with sewing) that sewing machine attachments can do so many time saving tasks for you!! – yeah sadly no sewing machine I ever had, had it’s attachments.  I have unscrewed all the face plates to clean and oil my machine for the 1st time!  I learned that there is a huge community of people who love their old machines, use them, collect them, restore them, and want to share their knowledge.  There’s even a group called TreadleOn who hold gatherings to teach people about treadle sewing and even help them convert their machines!!

Sew. . .. : ) I have the machine but, as we prepare to travel, everday is a reminder that I will soon lose my workspace.  But while we are on the road I plan to do a bit of studying up on fabrics, their care, proper needles and thread for different projects and of course doing lots of sketching!!

Stay tuned! I dream of designing a strong feminine fashion.

Peace, Rain.

challenges for a sprout in a global economy

As Light and I (Rain) begin our journey as business owners as well as our journey on the road there are so many challenges we face already as aware and conscious individuals.  We are determined to become a fully sustainable business from seed to sold shirt and it is obvious that titles and certifications can be quite convoluted when trying to determine how sustainable or organic a certain material, factory, or product really is.

However, on the bright side, I am also discovering those alleyways that are available to seekers such as we : ) and I have complete confidence in our dream.  I look forward to sharing our thoughts, efforts and vision on the road and through our clothing.

Peace like the eyes of the Buffalo.

Rain

Hello world!

Welcome to our new Blog site, dedicated to keeping everyone up to date on our 2009 Summer Tour. We have begun all the preparations in order to get out there and should be On The Road with Bamboo, around the 24th of June. Our first stop will be Mt Rushmore, and on to Madison, Wisconsin.

So, check in from time to time as we blog our travels and tell the secrets of the mystical Bamboo, adventures, and people we meet along the way!

Light..