Iva Jean Launches the Rain Cape

I quit blogging on still dottie a little over a year ago and I've got some exciting news for those of you still paying attention. We've launched our first product over at Iva Jean - the Rain Cape.

Designed to protect you from the rain with the style and personality you bring to every other aspect of your life. The Rain Cape provides a stylish and functional solution that works on and off your bike, proving that you are more than a cyclist.

Continuing a legacy of timeless outerwear products produced in the Pacific Northwest, the Rain Cape was designed and made in Seattle, a place more than used to a little rain.

On Sale Now - ready to ship September 1, 2011.

fashion blitz - urban rain clothes

some inspiration for a real life project. i love this danish designer, emma jorn's take on urban rain gear.

fashion blitz

sometimes a bike & a soft t are all you need. i love this look.

image via garance dore in amsterdam.

handmade days

last week my company announced that it would be going to a 4 day week (thursday is the new friday), still feeling the strain of a struggling economy. it's been bittersweet; i'll feel this in my cashflow, but i'm super excited to have the time & energy to devote to all of the other things in life that make me tick. i'd like to say that i have a huge project that i'm taking on, but quite honestly, i've discovered that isn't how i work. i'm going to use this time to focus a bit more on iva jean rides. it's a side project that needs a little more personal time (away from the computer) than still dottie; i hope to get in a fun bike ride every friday & map it out along with the great stops around seattle along the way. i'm also hoping to create some fun printed materials promoting seattle biking. lynda.com is also on my list, i'd like to get in a few hours of continued education each week (web design, animation here i come). i'm also hoping to finish up an embroidery project, keep on the sewing kick & try out a few of those new handmade goodies that pop up on my radar. this all brings me around to this - thursdays are no longer for shopping & will be dedicated now, to creating! every week i'll be bringing you one or two fun things to make in your downtime.

this week it's embroidery! i started a mixed-media piece (felt, linen, embroidery, maybe acrylic) a while ago & has been sitting untouched & sad on my side table for months now. after seeing these samplers on purl bee (via one pretty thing), i'm ready to pick it back up! aren't these two color stripes just perfect!!!! purl bee takes you through step by step for each stitch with detailed & clear instructions.

drop sequence by snowblinded

can i have this? mm-hmm.

part of the artcrank poster shows.

three days in berlin

here's the conclusion - i love berlin - in a crazy way. my first day was spent in mitte-scheunenviertal.after checking in, taking an anti-climatic run & having a glass or two of wine on the hostel's rooftop, i decided to go out for dinner & a walk around. this part of town falls on the east side & most buildings are covered in graffiti & very run down, but the art, fashion & goods that they stock are beautiful. it's in the air here, i swear it. after walking for a bit, i stopped into monsiuer voung, a cheap eats vietnemese spot with lots of style. i had the perfect meal sitting amongst over solo dinners at the low bar while groups of people chatted & laughed all around me. i continued to walk around the neighborhood until 10:30 or so before retiring early.

the next day i went down the street to pick up a bike for the weekend, just 24 euro for a 7-speed cruiser. i decided to hit up some sights before meeting marques & the resting spot near the brandenburg gate. by bike i was able to see the east side gallery (a short stretch of the wall covered in murals of over 100 artists), checkpoint charlie, a long stretch of remaining wall, the topography of terror (a great open air exhibit telling the history of germany, the nazi regime & the rise & fall of the wall), the brandenburg gate & the dv bank (frank gehry interior). seriously, how did i do europe without bikes before?! it's the best way to see a city.

once marques got here we shared a couple pitchers by the river than walked past reichstag, the holocost memorial & along the water. the promenades around the government district were gorgeous & we hit it just at dusk - a perfect time.

today we biked through the tiergarden, past a beautiful abandoned church (surrounded by tourist attractions), through charlottenburg then to prenzlaur for a day of people watching & shopping. i loved the prenzlaur neighborhood, again full of energy & all the young kids enjoying their day. i'll give a list of shopping the area & street art later as we are running out of time before the friendly fires show tonight - hurray!

i am a jelly donut!

the sun came out - fourth & fifth days in copenhagen

ohhh sunny days in copenhagen, filled with canal tours, walks along the harbour in nyhavn, summerbird ice cream served at the gorgeous logismose, naps on a bench, beers on the sidewalk & the tivoli at night - that's just saturday. today was filled with bike rides & sunshine. bart & i went for a 2 hour ride before his departure (oh sooo sad), then i continued on for the rest of the day. i took a ton of cycle pics, sat on the steps of the new opera house, rode through the danish architecture center, enjoyed a nice glass of red wine at a plaza cafe, then went for the most expensive bowl of pho ever & a tall glass of carlsberg. sigh - copenhagen is fantastic.

picture overload i'm sure, but the blue skies make everything beautiful.

bike love in stockholm - days 6 & 7

the last two days in stockholm were wonderful & while i'm nursing a cold & treating the largest blemish ever know to my face - i enjoyed every minute.

after yesterday's trip to the archipelago, i had to some time to take pics of all the stylish bike commuters coming from the north & heading to the more residential areas in sodermalm.

we decided to hit up the national museum before catching our train to copenhagen at 2pm. the national museum was fantastic, one floor of amazing paintings from 17th - 19th century europe & another with the history of applied design (product design) in sweden. i could have stayed for another 2 hours, taking in the details of each painting. while surrounded by the works of rembrant & monet, i found that i was struck by swedish artist anders zorn & most of the 18th century french work.

after that, it was sad to say goodbye to the lovely swedes, but very exciting to head to copenhagen. the train was quick & comfortable; towards the end of the trip we realized that the two couples next to us were part of a band - listening in to words like gig & promoter. as we exited, bart convinced me to just ask what band they were in - i was excited to hear in response - glass candy & desire. as you may remember, they were my music to listen to a while back. it looks like i'm on the guest list +1 for the june 18th show in berlin - anyone want to join me?

iva jean rides

i started iva jean rides as a brain dump & collection of resources for cycling in style during my travels to europe. i'm hoping that it evolves into a larger project, but for now it's me obsessing over pretty bikes & the cycle chic that surrounds them.