Part of the Calgary Stampede’s Indian Princess’s year includes a “special” – a contest for the dance style she dances. The Indian Princess is responsible for supplying the prizes and judges.

Amber Big Plume’s Fancy Shawl special was held at the recent Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow.

This coat in Pendleton wool was the prize for the winner, designed and sewn by the amazing  Janine’s Custom Creations.

We have been so proud of Amber during her year as princess. It is hard to believe that her reign is coming to an end.

At Pendleton, we have so much local lore to draw on when naming products. We all agreed that the Burnside was a perfect name for this Fall’s new cotton shirt! What else would we name it? It was a perfect name, the perfect name! But then it occurred to us that not every one lives in Portland. So here’s a little background.

Burnside Avenue runs from east to west in Portland, crossing the Willamette River with one of Portland’s original bridges. The best-known stretch on the west side of the river, where Burnside was originally known as “B Street,” is part of Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District. In the 1800s, before the bridge was built, this was a wild part of town. B Street was home to bars, card rooms, and other nefarious businesses that made it a less-than-respectable part of town. The street name was changed to Burnside after David W. Burnside, a Portland merchant, in the late 1860s, but it took more than a new moniker to alter the neighborhood. It took traffic.

Yes, traffic! The bridge, the streetcar and then the demands of the automobile turned Burnside into one of Portland’s more heavily traveled avenues. When the 205 freeway was cut through, Burnside even got some on-ramps (one block off Burnside). Burnside served as one of the boundaries of what Portlanders called “close-in Northwest,” an industrial area adjacent to the river.

image courtesy of vintageportland.wordpress.com

It was home to rail yards, breweries and warehouses. But by the late 1980s, the breweries had closed, and the rail yard had relocated its giant concrete turntable to SE Portland. Change was coming.

Today, Burnside bounds the Pearl District, a prosperous mixed-use neighborhood full of lofts, studios, galleries, restaurants and shopping. But Burnside’s gritty charms remain. You can see it in Powell’s, the City of Books housed in an amalgamation of warehouses joined together to make a square city block of books.  You can also see some original Burnside in Everyday Music, another vast emporium housed in converted industrial spaces. And you can see it in the work of the McMenamin brothers, Portland entrepreneurs who restored an ancient dance hall with a famous floating wooden dance floor and opened the Crystal Ballroom with Ringler’s Pub underneath.

Pendleton’s HQ sits where the Pearl District meets Portland’s Old Town, on NW Broadway, just east of the North Park Blocks. Burnside Avenue is only two blocks away. It continues to carry foot, bus, car and bike traffic through a part of Portland where the newness of the Pearl District rubs shoulders with history, and it carries it all comfortably. What better name could we find for a 100% cotton flannel shirt, peached on both sides of the fabric for softness, bar tacked for strength, and made in the kinds of plaids that say Pendleton?

That’s right. We called it the Burnside shirt, and we hope you like it.

Your favorite sweater is back.

The Westerley Cardigan, made famous by Jeff Bridge’s The Dude in The Big Lebowski, is back for fall. This is a different coloration, but as you can see by the vintage ad on the left, it is straight from our archives. We found a mill that could recreate the weight and gauge of the original sweater. We changed one detail; this version zips with a leather pull tab instead of the original metal ring.

We’ll have a contest coming soon, so you can win your own.

We got word of some happy Pendleton fans this last week when we received this photo of our Route 66 blanket on the front seat of a 1953 Hudson Hornet. Thanks to Anna and Dean for letting us share it, and from their friend Carolyn for letting us know about it. If you missed our post about this blanket and the route that inspired it, just click here.

We’re pleased to announce the opening of our newest store in Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward. We will throw open the doors on Labor Day weekend to welcome visitors into a flagship store that celebrates Pendleton’s history with special fixtures, visuals and merchandise. You’re going to love our mix of women’s casual, men’s heritage, blankets and special brands.

Grand opening details are below. We’ll celebrate our opening with a weaving demonstration by fiber artist Susan Buss. Susan is a fiber artist who has been featured on Martha Stewart. She’s been chronicling her prep for the demo, and will bring the process of weaving wool to life for you when you stop by. We have gifts, we have special offers, and we have our special lines, The Portland Collection and Thomas Kay.

Do we sound excited? We are excited. We can’t wait to invite you in. And what better doors to open than those of the Ward’s firehouse?

The firehouse in which we’re located was restored to its former glory after the Third Ward fire.  The bronze statue out front captures a firefighter and his faithful companion waiting for the next bell. This is just one of the historic buildings in a fascinating American neighborhood that actually began as an urban swamp drained in the early 1900s by the Irish immigrant community.  They built homes, wharves, warehouses, rendering plants,  shipping house and more. The railroad came through in 1856, helping to form a trade route from Lake Michigan to the West.

The Ward was thriving in 1852 when a fire started in the Water Street Union Oil & Paint Company.  Fanned by 50 mph winds, the neighborhood ignited. Help came from as far away as Chicago and Oshkosh, but 440 buildings burned and 1900 people (mostly Irish families) were left homeless. This drastic fire accounts for the cohesive look of the Third Ward. Milwaukee’s leading architects came together to redesign the commercial buildings. Many stonemasons and bricklayers were needed during the 35 years of reconstruction. Italian immigrants skilled in these trades settled the neighborhood and by 1915, the neighborhood had transformed into a predominantly (and proudly) Italian community.

The Historic Third Ward was built on rail and water trade, and its fortunes rose and fell with those transport methods. The birth of the American freeway system and growth of the trucking industry led to the Ward’s decline.

By the 1970s, the neighborhood was neglected and embattled, with an unclear future. Milwaukee rallied around this historic district, and began the long road to reclamation. In the 1990s, the Third Ward stepped up the renewal plan with streetscapes, parking structures and a riverwalk. Today, the neighborhood is a marriage of historic buildings and modern planning.

With its public market, lofts, galleries, theaters and restaurants, the neighborhood’s renaissance is ongoing. Pendleton is proud to be part of it.

The grand opening starts 8/30/13. Come see for these special events:

- Discover The Portland Collection for Fall 2013

- Introducing The Thomas Kay Collection, celebrating our 150 years of weaving craftsmanship and English heritage

- See the new 2013 Pendleton Home Collection

- FREE Thomas Kay Muffler with purchase of Thomas Kay product

- Enter to win gift cards and Pendleton apparel and home goods

We received a letter from Kathleen Praxel about the Paddle to Quinault, a water journey that takes place each summer in Canada and the Pacific Northwest.  Participants travel the Salish Sea, a network of waterways connecting  the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound.

This year’s Paddle to Quinault Journey embarked from Squaxin Island and landed at Taholah, Quinault tribal headquarters on the mouth of the Quinault River.  From July 15^th to August 1st, this year’s journey covered over 300 miles of waterways including Hood Canal, the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca, and the Pacific Ocean from Neah Bay to Taholah.

Over 46,000 spectators watched the paddlers at different points on the journey, with visitors from New Zealand and Australia, as well as many tribes from Canada. Next year the event will start from Taholah and the paddle will be to Bella Bella in Canada – a distance of some 700 miles.

This is Martha Boyer, Quinault tribal member and skipper of the “Chi? Swit”(pronounced Chee e Swite), a canoe named for Martha’s grandmother. She is posed before a Raven and the Box of Knowledge blanket. Martha’s photo and pictures of the Chi? Swit are in the Lake Quinault Museum, Quinault, Washington.  The museum was opened 10 years ago and includes history, photos and artifacts from the nearby communities of Quinault, Amanda Park, Queets, Clearwater, Neilton, Humptulips, and Taholah.  You can learn more about the museum on its Facebook page.

This is  group of  ”pullers” with Kathleen’s husband, Ed, at their place on the North Shore of Lake Quinault.

The journey is designed to strengthen participants’ ties to their history and homeplace. To learn more about the Journey and the people involved, please enjoy this feature in the North Kitsap Herald, “Canoe Journey helps participants connect with who they are | Paddle to Quinault.” Thanks to Kathleen for telling us about this journey and sharing her wonderful photos. And for those of you who are interested in the blanket, here is the story:

This intriguing blanket is based on a work by internationally renowned glass artist Preston Singletary. Mr. Singletary grew up in the Pacific Northwest – both of his great-grandparents were full-blooded Tlingit Indians. His works explore traditional images and legends of his Tlingit heritage translated into glass. The image on this blanket represents Raven, a shape shifter and trickster who often employed crafty schemes to achieve his goals. In the story, the old chief who lived at the head of the Nass River kept his precious treasures – the sun, the moon and the stars – in beautifully carved boxes. Raven steals the light, and making his escape carries the sun in his mouth. The sun is a metaphor for enlightenment or knowledge. The ombred background shades meet in the center in vibrant colors of sun and light. Mr. Singletary’s artworks are included in museum collections from the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC to the Handelsbanken in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Seattle Art Museum. A portion of the proceeds from this blanket will be donated to the American Indian College Fund to help support tribal colleges.

If you’re heading to the Pendleton Round-Up, you will want to meet author Rick Steber. He will be signing copies of his book, Red White Black, at the Pendleton store in Pendleton, Oregon on Saturday, September 12th, 9 AM to 12 PM.

The story of the Pendleton Round-Up is inextricably linked to the story of Jackson Sundown, a rodeo champion from the Nez Perce tribe.  Red White Black tells the story of the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up, when three men of different skin colors – Jackson Sundown, John Spain, and George Fletcher – competed in the finals of the Northwest Saddle Bronc Championship. What happened that September day, the judges’ decision and the reaction of the crowd in the aftermath, forever changed the sport of rodeo.

Rick Steber, who spent nearly four decades researching this story, has more than 30 titles under his belt and sales of over a million books. Rick is the only Oregon author to have won the prestigious Western Writers of America Spur Award – Best Western Novel. He is a keen observer of the changing American West and he articulates these changes in prose that are boldly descriptive, invigorating and creative. This is your chance to meet him and have him sign a piece of Round-Up history for you.

With our Heritage Collection, Pendleton has brought many of our classic patterns back to life in our USA mills. Using designs from our archives as old as 1896, we’ve painstakingly rewoven blankets from the heyday of the Native Trade blanket. These blankets display a dizzying richness of color and geometry.

Canyon Diablo:

This is the newest addition to the Heritage Collection. Fifty thousand years ago the Canyon Diablo meteorite made its mark on the Arizona landscape. Millennium later, pre-historic Native Americans discovered meteor fragments along the canyon rim. Many Southwest cultures since have considered these fragments to be gifts from the gods endowed with other worldly energy. Today the crater made by the meteorite sits on the Navajo Indian Reservation near Flagstaff. This is an Overall pattern blanket.

Gatekeeper:

The Gatekeeper is an original Pendleton design from 1935. An eight-point star is the central figure. This common design element among the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota and Nakoda) often represents the morning star, gatekeeper of the day, shows the way to the light and knowledge. This blanket is a beautiful example of a Centerpoint pattern – one that contains a central design element that falls within a band through the center of the blanket.

Evening Star:

The Evening Star design features a traditional star symbol emblazoned on the colors of the sunset. The outlined Venus symbols–representing both the morning and evening star–that inspired this blanket have been found on rock art throughout North and South America. Stories of the Evening Star (the planet Venus) are found in a number of Native American myths. This is a Nine Element blanket.

Silver Bark:

The original Silver Bark blanket dates from the 1920s and was rediscovered in a private collection. The design features stylized arrow, star, diamond and waterbug motifs in colors inspired by the white and grey bark of Aspen trees against a blue sky. The original blanket was bound in satin, like a bed blanket. Our re-creation has a wool binding (twin sizes) or a suede trim (full, queen and king sizes). . It’s a stunning example of an Overall pattern.

Turtle:

This has been a favorite in the Heritage Collection for almost a decade. The Turtle Blanket is a re-coloration of an early 1900s Pendleton design, and is one of the longest offerings in the heritage Collection. It pays tribute to the Iroquois Confederacy, one of the oldest participatory democracies on earth, consisting of the Oneida, Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga (and later the Tuscarora) Nations. The Turtle design was inspired by Iroquois, primarily Mohawk, creation legend. This blanket is another example of Centerpoint design in which three major design elements fall in a row down the center of the blanket.

The Heritage Collection blankets are beautiful, but they don’t stay in the line forever. All are available at www.pendleton-usa.com.

Filming has wrapped on “Love and Mercy,” the upcoming Brian Wilson biopic. The costume department came to us for–you guessed it–many, many of the Beach Boy Plaid board shirts worn Brian and the Boys on the cover of Surfer Girl and various 45s. Remember, before they were the Beach boys, they were the Pendletones.

The movie won’t be out until next year, but we thought you’d enjoy these shots from filming.

More information on the movie can be found here and here.

The Thomas Kay Collection should be arriving in your mailbox today via catalog. 

 Joining our founder’s British roots with the sensibilities of the American West, the men’s and women’s apparel and Home goods in this collection tell the Pendleton story. We hope you enjoy!

Pendleton is delighted to show you the Ural Gaucho Rambler, our collaboration with IMZ-Ural, one of the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturers. The Gaucho Rambler pays homage to the famed Southwestern cowboy, or Gaucho.

Ural specializes in retro-inspired three-wheelers. This sidecar model is painted Pacific Blue with a sun-weathered canvas draping to echo the colors of the western sunset.  Each bike carries a specially labeled Journey West blanket robe for warmth under the starry night skies. Because every cowboy should have the means to rustle up some grub, each bike also includes a mess kit with coffee pot and cups, plates and a skillet.

“Ural and Pendleton are two companies which at different points in time ventured out to find home in the American West, both of which endured many challenges and yet all the while maintained their authenticity,” said Madina Merzhoeva, Ural’s VP of Sales & Marketing. “This year Pendleton’s anniversary celebrates 150 years of weaving textiles in America and Ural marks its 20th year in the US. Paying homage to our beginnings and the pioneering spirit is what connects the two brands and inspired this collaboration.”

The partnership of historic brands was a natural fit. Only 50 units of the 2013 Gaucho Rambler will be manufactured, so saddle up and have some fun while you can.

Our last collaboration with Shwood in 2011 was so much fun we decided to do it again, twice. Yes, it’s Pendleton x Shwood x 2.

Laser-etched walnut and cherrywood, cased in pure Oregon wool. Made in the USA.

Courtesy Freshness

You know you want them.

courtesy Freshness

Here’s a video of Bugaboo’s Park City launch of the Bugaboo Buffalo, a stroller model that goes here, there and everywhere. The video shows just what terrain this model can handle. You can see Pendleton here and there, especially during the indoor marshmallow roast. And of course, here, during the bongo party.

Here’s the video.

Our special collaborative models are available at www.bugaboo.com.

#discoverthebuffalo

This recent feature on our blankets in WORKWEAR magazine is full of vintage photos and brochures from the Pendleton archives. Enjoy!

Sometimes you’re sitting down to write about a talented designer who uses Pendleton fabrics in innovative and beautiful cloaks, when she comes knocking at your office door. That’s exactly what happened today when the beautiful and talented Lindsey Thornburg dropped by.

Lindsey is in town for a Trunk show tomorrow at our Home store.

Stop by, because you’ll love these designs and you’ll love Lindsey.

Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is celebrated on October 31st and November 1st and 2nd.  In Mexico, celebrants build ofrendas, altars to the deceased, with photos, candles, and the favorite foods of those who have moved on. In Brazil, families visit churches, then visit cemeteries. In Spain, celebrants enjoy festivals and parades throughout certain neighborhoods. Wherever the holiday is observed, the spirits of the departed are welcomed back to this world with specific symbols; calaveras (sugar skulls), masses of stylized flowers, and dressed skeletons.

The roots of the holiday go back more than 3,000 years ago, to the age of the Aztecs and a ritual that celebrated the goddess Mictecacihuatl.  The skulls and flowers symbolized death and rebirth. In the 15th century, Spanish conquistadores were aghast at a ritual that seemed to mock death. In an attempt to make the ceremony more Christian, the Spaniards moved the event to All Saints’ Day, but the symbology remained, growing more fanciful and varied through the generations.

The central figure of our Day of the Dead blanket represents the colorful wooden skull masks or calacas that celebrants wear as they dance to honor their dead relatives. The wooden skulls, decorated sugar skulls and marigolds are placed at gravesites and altars for the departed. The blanket’s bright colors and festive images of flowers and mariachi musicians capture the spirit of the celebration.

We have a related pattern called Sugar Skulls based on one of the elements in the Day of the Dead blanket. It’s used in fabric, a spa towel, an array of bags and Diego the bear. Our patterns capture the spirit of joyful welcome as celebrated by people all over the world during Dia de los Muertos.

Here at Pendleton, we have been proud to support the rein of Amber Big Plume, the Calgary Stampede Indian princess for 2013. We are just as excited about Carly Weasel Child, the 2014 Princess. That’s her, posed before the Canadian Rockies in a coat made from our Canyon Diablo blanket. From the Siksika Nation, Carly is currently attending Siksika College. Her eventual goal is a  Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications, to prepare for a future career in journalism or public relations.

Carly is a jingle dancer. Her Blackfoot name, Papainhkkiakii, means“Dream Singing Woman”.  As the 2014 Indian Princess, Carly continues a family legacy, being the fourth young woman in her family to serve as royalty. She says of being princess, “It’s an incredible honor to carry the title of Calgary Stampede Indian Princess and have this opportunity to make a positive impact for my community.  I have always admired the strong women who have served as Indian Princess before me and I am so excited to share the beauty and importance of the First Nation’s culture during my year. I look forward to greeting visitors from around the world to Indian Village during the 2014 Calgary Stampede – the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth!”

Below, please enjoy some shots of the Pendleton blanket-draped stage, Amber Big Plume saying good-bye, and more shots of Carly in her new role. Our favorite shot is of both women wrapped in their blankets, gifts from Pendleton to celebrate their roles as representatives of the five tribes of Treaty 7, the Indian Village and the Calgary Stampede.

 “Give it a whirl….it’s Reversible! It’s the Turnabout, with a gay way of whirling when you walk.”  Pendleton’s Turnabout debuted in 1953, and along with the poodle skirt, it was THE skirt craze of the 1950s. Every teenaged girl coveted one. Our customers have shared their stories with remarks like, “None of the others on the block ever forgave my parents for buying me my reversible skirt, because after that, ALL the girls had to have one.” But parents didn’t do all the buying. Summer jobs, babysitting money, berry picking; you did what you had to, to have a Pendleton Turnabout. Perhaps no other garment in fashion history has inspired so much teenage industry.

So, where did this innovative garment begin?

The idea probably arose from the fact that the interior of a Pendleton pleated skirt is almost as attractive as the exterior, as our weaving is beautiful on both sides of the fabric, and quality construction is our hallmark. There are no design notes, but one of our designers probably noticed how the colors changed on the interior of a skirt, due to the pleating, and started thinking about a skirt that could be worn either side out. A great idea, yes, but to construct a skirt that could actually be worn both ways required tremendous teamwork between designers and engineers. Even the closure and label required a special design.

But we worked it out, and the results were part of fashion history. The Turnabout was more than a work of fashion. It was a work of engineering so precise that we had to patent it! Over the years, we used many fabric techniques to achieve variations. By varying the size of the plaids and pleats, we could give the skirts a horizontally or vertically striped effect. Some skirts were woven in bands of herringbone color, for a completely different look.

The Turnabout skirt was always a favorite with vintage clothing collectors.

Fifty years after the garment’s initial debut, we decided to re-introduce it as part of a Heritage capsule that included the 49’er, the Turnabout (released as ‘the Pendleton Reversible Skirt’) and the River Jacket. Again, a wonderful idea, but there were no production records to refer to after all that time. We had many skirts in our archives, but no records on the actual technique.

It took many phone calls to retired personnel and a lot of discussion. After much trial and error, we finally worked out the process. The skirt was tested for Holiday 2002, and re-released for Fall 2003.  The Reversible Skirt has stayed in the line ever since. It does not have a paper pattern developed by a pattern maker. It’s constructed with careful planning and engineering by our fabric design and manufacturing personnel. The sizing method is unique; we simply add pleats to each size.

The Reversible Skirt for 2013 is available at www.pendleton-usa.com. It has a gorgeous movement and hand, and is constructed with all the care and attention to detail of the original Turnabout. And yes, it really is two skirts in one.

The Pendleton Reversible Skirt. Isn’t it time you gave it a whirl?

We have been making our Grateful Nation blanket for most of a decade, and for part of that time, we also made a Grateful Nation Vest. It honored veterans in two ways; by visually commemorating each of this century’s service ribbons, and by donations  to The Fisher House Foundation. The Fisher House Foundation provides residences near military and VA medical centers for families of ill or wounded veterans and service members. A portion of the sale of each blanket goes to the Fisher House Foundation, as well. 

Cue Chris Winters, a Puyallup tribal member and veteran who understood that we were no longer making the vest, but wanted to know if we had fabric available. He sent photos of his own vest.

Said Chris, “I am on a Tribal committee and we not only wear Pendleton vests for ceremonies. ..we gift your native blankets to guests, elders, and returning warriors.” Chris is very involved in IUPAT, a Washington State organization that offers outreach, support and training for Native veterans. This group marches in local parades honoring servicemen in their Grateful Nation vests, decorated with the medals earned by veterans who have served our country.

The role of Native Americans in our military cannot be understated. Books have been written and movies made about Native Code Talkers in both World Wars. The percentage of Native Americans serving in the military is higher than any other minority group in America.

We’re bringing back the Grateful nation vest this next fall, in 2014. We thought you’d enjoy seeing the vest worn in Tacoma, Washington area parades and ceremonies by Native veterans who have served our country well. 

And thanks, Chris, for reaching out. 

Here’s the blanket in the  IUPAT office.

Click below for more information about the blanket and the meaning of each service ribbon stripe.

The Grateful Nation blanket  honors the sacrifice of brave men and women who have defended freedom throughout the history of the United States of America. Each authentically colored stripe represents a service ribbon awarded to veterans of historical conflicts in which our country has engaged:

• World War II Asiatic Pacific Campaign
• World War II Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
• Korean Service
• US Vietnam Service
• Southwest Asia Service (Gulf War)
• War on Terrorism

A portion of every blanket’s sale goes to support the Fisher House Foundation and its mission to support the families of veterans. As their website states:

Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers nationwide and in Europe.   Fisher Houses are beautiful homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs.  These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time – during the hospitalization for a combat injury, illness or disease… Since 1990, the foundation has saved military, veterans and their families an estimated $200 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

Here’s Lou Doillon perched on her Chief Joseph blanket from fashion photographer, illustrator, and writer Garance Doré. Beautiful!