Where to find Rachel.

Thank you for visiting Bike Cozy.

If you're looking for great bicycle accessories, handmade with love, in Portland Oregon, I encourage you to check out some of my friends and colleagues:

North St Bags
Black Star Bags
Blaq
Truce Designs

If you're wondering what I (Rachel DB) am up to these days, check out Supportland.com and facebook.com/supportland
I am grateful and super-duper excited to be working with the Scotto di Carlo's and entire Supportland team to bring locally owned businesses into the collaborative revolution.

You'll also find me soaking my sponge in the pool of small business knowledge at events hosted by MercyCorpsNW, I Heart Art PDX, and the SBDC. I'm in the school of learning, with books and community classes and talking with small business owners and paying attention to my corner of the world. Support Local, support domestic, support handmade.

Cheers,
Rachel.db

NWTA Swap Meet This Weekend

Last minute, I've signed up to have a table at the Northwest Trails Alliance swap meet this Saturday, April 23 10am-3pm. Ian will be sharing my table with his personal stash we're exchanging for tax money. From the sounds of it, Aaron and the shop might also be putting stuff on our table.

Bike Cozy will have a bargain bin of functionally perfect, but aesthetically imperfect tool rolls for a whopping discount.

The location is 1300 N River St (right under the Fremont Bridge) Come with Cash!


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The happenings

 News!


See Bike Cozy goods live and in person!

I'll be one of the 6 Bike Craft vendors at this year's Bicycle Show hosted by Pedal Nation.
Vendor profiles are being posted everyday on the Pedal Nation blog. And the last couple of days have been a'featurin' my fellow Bike Crafters.

The Bicycle Show April 9, 10 at the Oregon Convention Center. Buy tickets here.

Tool Rolls now at Powell's Downtown

On Monday I dropped off an order of small tool rolls to the downtown Powell's book store. They are really beefing up the Portland made gift section.

Tool rolls, not just for bike stuff

Soon you'll find Bike Cozy tool rolls at Hand Eye Supply. They'll be stocking the medium roll and a new specially designed pen/pencil roll for your drawing delight!

What fills the empty air. . .

Some days the hum and flutter of my sewing machine is enough to fill the empty air. My hands take over on their own with the repetitive folding, sewing, flipping, tucking and snipping, leaving my mind to wander around.

On these days, I wonder what my friend Dustin is up to, what sorts of imagination machinations are being born far away in Asheville. I wonder if my mom went for a walk today, if it was warm enough in Michigan to venture outside.

(I wonder whether the bright yellow crocus are peeking up out of the ground yet, a sure sign of spring coming)

My mind flits to designs I have yet to create, and childhood memories, and anticipation for swimming lessons and five-toe vibram shoes.

Yet, sometimes I just don't feel like mind wandering and I need noise to take up the empty space. Luckily, I didn't watch a whole lot of tv back in the 90's and early naughts so I have plenty of new-to-me episodes of old tv shows to put on in the background, not having to worry about missing important plot twists.


I tried watching the Runaways movie the other day, but the highs and lows of music and dialogue was too jarring at the level I turn the volume to for hearing over the metal whirring and motoring of my vintage Husqvarna.

Tonight I'm listening to the "She and Him" station on Pandora.

Completely Unrelated

Sometimes, you just have to set aside the work. Leave the piles of production alone for a couple of days, and do something completely unrelated. Some creative coaches call this "filling the well," and I'm okay with that.

Here's something I've been working on the last couple of days, to fill my creative well and allow for a little break from the work, work, work of massing stock for the big April bicycle show.

It's a circus tent quilt wall hanging!

 

 I followed a pattern from a quilting book I bought last year : Whip Up Mini Quilts 

 

This shot is the backside of the quilt, it's sewn to the lining and backing waiting to be flipped outside in.

 You have to leave a little open pocket in the lining so you can flip it.

 mini-quilt mid-flip.

 You sew the opening closed using a top-stitch.

The completed quilt with a little circus horse and everything. I love the bunting top and that it's a night-time sky.

With my cutting table all cleared off and this project complete, it's time to get back to work!

The art of pricing: price raise Feb 2

I've been sewing cycling accessories under the Bike Cozy banner for about 3 and a half years. What started as a hobby in a 3 foot window nook (a Rachel space I had to carve for myself in a shared house), has bloomed into a small cottage industry with products reaching far corners of my city, country and the world (over ten countries)!

While I think I've always held a secret desire to make a living from making things, I kind of assumed it would be from artwork, if anything. Finding myself in a business selling my handmade bicycling accessories has been a delightful surprise. Just five years ago I was unaware that anyone really rode a bicycle everyday as . . . gasp. . . transportation. And while Portland gets a lot of press for being a bicycling haven, I'm more impressed by the cyclists back in the Midwest and other cities that aren't so bike-friendly. But that's a whole different post entirely.

This post is about a price raise coming into effect, in about a week. When I first priced my small tool roll I didn't know anything about pricing. I just sort of wondered what I might expect to see it for in a store and slapped on a tag. What I did not realize at the time, is that in my brain, that store was a big chain store and that price would be more likely found with a "Made in China" printed somewhere. I was undervaluing and underselling my handiwork.

Once I got all my cost of goods worked out and time and the ever so slight scrap of profit worked in I raised the price to a more reasonable one. Then I started to think bigger. I want Bike Cozy to be around for years! I want to grow my business to include a real studio and a little retail shop for my fellow BikeCrafters' wares, and to one day be a job provider in my community paying a living wage, and earning a living wage, and paying self employment taxes, and having health insurance.

With much of this in mind, as well as expanding my wholesale clientele, and looking toward a more functional website, I'm raising prices February 2nd. It is more, bringing them into alignment and valuing my work and myself. And I know there are supporters out there who also want Bike Cozy to be around for years, and are looking forward to more and varied items to make everyday cycling cozier. There are also bike shops that I want to approach and offer wholesale prices to, because wholesaling is the next step in growing Bike Cozy.

So, you have a little less than a week to get the small tool roll at $19 before it goes up to $24 empty and $44 full.

Toe Cozys for double straps in the works

This past weekend at the giant craft show Bike Cozy vendored at, I was asked if I had toe cozys for double straps and cages. I said no, but it was about time I get in gear and actually figured one out because I had been asked enough times to warrant it. The thing that had been holding me back is the fact that I only have single straps and cages and no one to borrow a double pair from.

"But Rachel, you own a bike shop, why not just order some!" That's a very good point reader, and with some extra cash flow from the great sales at the holiday show, I have done just that!

I have on order a pair of All-City Crayton Double Mountain toe cages (in pink because they're on closeout) and All-City Standard Double Toe Straps (in white because they will look awesome with the pink cages)

photo from All-City website

photo from All-City website.

I waffled back and forth about which set of cages to get, the Swan Road Doubles or the Double Mountain Doubles. I chose the mountains thinking they'll be the more complicated style to work out and hopefully the one design will also work with the Swan's middle bar.

The Swan Double. Photo from All-City's website.

If you're wondering how these things go on the bike, check out a couple of photos from trackosaurus rex's blog by clicking here.

You'll see a product announcement for Toe Cozy Double Trouble if you follow Bike Cozy on Facebook.

 

Highlight of the show: a bit o' tradin'

Crafty Wonderland is over. I've had a good night's sleep and this morning's coffee is brewing because, even though the Super Colossal Crafty Wonderland Holiday Show is over, there are still many things to be done at Bike Cozy studios. I have a dozen toe cozys that were pre-ordered and need to be sent out, lots of tool rolls that are christmas presents that need to be boxed up, processed and dropped at the post office (no waiting in line today!) and a few rolls need to be sewn for some custom orders.

It's good to still be busy, otherwise I would just sag into tiredness and it would be a while before i got back into a good swing of things. There is much work to be done!

I wanted to share my A#1 highlight from the Crafty Show. It was getting on toward 5 at the end of Sunday and a young shopper came by perused the table and disappeared again. A while later, the same young lady, whose name I found out is Beverly, came back by and asked "I'm a vendor [kids selling art], and I was wondering if you want to do a trade for um, a bike cozy."

"What have you got?" I ask

"This duct tape pouch, and this thing, and two cards," Beverly splayed out the goods in her hands. A black flat pouch, perfect for storing a few cards on the go, an awesome purple one eyed creature plush (I reckon he's an alien, but he may just be a monster), and two cards, one of Santa and the deal clincher a blue unicorn on an orange background.

 

"Heck yeah," I say. Goods in hand are totally worth an empty tool roll! I love the unicorn so much, I'm keeping it, and putting it in a frame.

I think it's really cool to learn things you make with your hands are worthy, at such a young age. I also think it's really cool that she wanted to trade with me. I was much too shy when I was young to ever consider going up to an adult and asking if they might want to give me something they made and I would give them somethings I made. I'm still shy about it! I have as one of my personal goals (Rachels100goals) to trade for something I really want and I'm still working up to it.

Thanks Beverly, I love this unicorn card, a lot!

One Day left of Crafty Wonderland Goodness!

If you missed BikeCraft, and the first day of Crafty Wonderland, there is still time to get awesome handmade holiday presents at the second (and final) day of the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale!

Yesterday I was so proud of remembering my chair and my camera. But then, Ian asked for the camera to take pictures of the finished booth. I fished it out of my bright pink bumbag and handed it over, posing for a photo near my pretty pretty Bike Cozy banner sign all complete.

Ian turned the camera on, and said "Where's the SD card?" "Oh no! . . . um. . . in my computer at home?! ooooh" I sighed. "It's okay we'll get pictures tomorrow."

A few minutes later my friend Andrea of Beetwixt studio came by and took some snapshots for me! Please forgive the slight blur on some. I'm just so delighted to be able to share a few pictures of the show! Thanks Andrea!

The inspiration for my banner was my business card, complete with scalloped edge.

The shoelace wranglers received more than one "Every kid in the classroom needs a pair of those!"

My mixte with lots of small tool rolls for sale in the basket.

on left: small tool roll with tools, to the right, the new Medium tool roll design. Today there will be colored ones too!

Come say hi! Booth #137, Exhibit hall C, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

Craft show evolution, tiny table, little table.

I was trying to dig up pictures of my vendor tables from craft show past and have found my stash wanting. I did find this picture of my table for summer MCBF a couple of years ago in my then living room:

a tiny Bike Cozy table preparing for an outdoor bike-centric craft fair in 2008.

Next from the archive is my table at BikeCraft 2009:

One of the best spots in the house, plenty of natural light.

After this weekend I hope to have plenty more pictures to add to the archive after  Crafty Wonderland. In the sea of 200 handmade vendors, many of them craft show veterans, I wanted to add an little sumthin' extra to the usual Bike Cozy table. While there wasn't time to dream up anything crazy, (we were gone the entire month of November) Ian did help me bring my Bike Cozy logo to life. So if you're looking for me at Crafty, look for the Bike Cozy banner and wheel!

A fine November, spent traveling around the US visiting friends, family and nature. Ah, the perfect pre-course to a busy and productive holiday season!

I put an ad in the program! 40,000 programs were inserts in the pdx weekly The Mercury.

Ian helping me set up on Friday night. The table set up was simple and quick, I'm used to carrying it all by bike so it tends to be compact and easy to set up/break down. I was spoiled this time and thankful for a ride in a car, it gets dark so early these days!

All I have left to do tonight is make some signs and double check I have all my little paper work ducks in a row, oh and I need to put a chair by the door so I will remember to take it with me. I have, in the past, just completely forgotten to take one.