We Love Winter!

Above: (L) Betsy booting up to the top of her run | (M) Pitkin & Betsy soaking up the sun | (R) Betsy surfing the Powder, Photo: MKB

It's no secret....

We Love Winter!

Washington Pass closed this week, and the next day we were buried under 2ft of snow! This is the way winter usually announces itself in the Cascades... loudly, and without warning.

Although we spent a lot of extra time shoveling snow this week, it does not lessen our love of winter. It is a time of quiet reflection, for us here in the valley.

The highway traffic slows down, and so does the pace of life. We are greeted daily by nature's wonder, being expressed in endless frosty forms.

Most importantly a new playground starts to take shape as the snow soothes, and softens the rugged landscape. 

Above: JB of eqpdgear.com surveys the playground | Photo: MKB

Truly our most favorite part of winter is backcountry snowboarding (..and skiing!). When the highway closes, it becomes the domain of those lucky enough to own a snowmobile. The deep access, and dangerous conditions, keep the crowds away, but those willing to put in the effort will always be rewarded.

We were fortunate to get out skiing a few times before Thanksgiving this year. It was a blast hanging out with our 'winter' friends, JB & MKB from eqpdgear.com . They share our passion for the outdoors, art, and quality handmade products.

It's not even December, and it feels like we've already had a lot of winter adventures - and looking forward to many more!

Above: Betsy feels her love of winter Photo: MKB | (R) Half Moon, Wallaby, & Liberty Bell guard the playground

Follow us on Instagram ( @intertwined_designs ) Twitter (@intertwind_D) or Facebook  -to see more photos, and hear more stories.

Thanks,

Betsy & Pitkin

Fall in the Methow

We just love Fall in the Methow, and sometimes wish it would last longer. There's just never enough free days to hike among the Larch, Climb in perfect temperatures, and finish summer projects. As usual, we've been filling every moment with a good mix of work and play.

We followed up our busy summer with a nice trip to Canada to climb Gimli Peak, in Valhalla Provincial Park, BC. It was a wild, and successful trip. We enjoyed stunning views from the summit.

Above: (L) Betsy starting up the trail at first light, Gimli in the distance (R) The view from the top of Gimli Peak 

Our trip continued on to Revelstoke, where we did some climbing in between rain showers and soaked up the local culture. The weather had us heading for drier climates, so we concluded our trip in the wine country of Okanogan, BC.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with some top notch Greek cuisine at Theo's in Penticton complete with exceptional local wine. We strongly recommend a visit to Theo's, anytime you're in the area.

It would have been nice to stay on vacation the rest of September, but the work was piling up, and it wasn't going to get done on it's own!

We returned to brilliant Fall colors in the Methow, and lots of things to catch up on!

Betsy, got busy working on our new Fall Line (see it here) and started to coordinate the Fall photo shoot with donnireddington.com .

Pitkin got back to work doing web updates for us, as well as his other freelance design work. Including the updated Goat's Beard website.

He also put in more time on our on-going remodeling project, and cleaning up the trees he fell earlier in the year.

When we bought our house in Mazama two years ago, one of our major goals was to transform the garage into the Intertwined Designs workshop.

The first phase was the back half of the garage, which was already enclosed. It didn't really require much more than paint, cleaning, and minor carpentry.

Phase 2, was to frame in the open carport, and make it a finished workspace.

Above: (L) phase 2 in process (R) trees down

This was basically like building a small house, aside from the floor and roof. All aspects of construction came into play, from framing, sheeting, and insulation  -to electrical, plumbing, and finish work. Both interior and exterior. Pitkin is learning quite a bit from this project -to say the least!

The transformation has been amazing, and we look forward to seeing it complete.

Above: (L) interior (R) exterior : by the time you read this the concrete porch will be completed Nov.15'

Our original plan was to make the front of the building a gallery/retail space. After careful consideration, we decided that we are going to make it a screen printing studio, where Pitkin will screen print our clothing with his original designs. 

Our long term customers will remember the screen printed styles we offered several years ago, they were created by Pitkin, but printed by Amjay in Bellingham. By 2016, we will be creating similar styles -in house, with our own printing equipment. We are excited for this new era of Intertwined Designs.

Thanks for checking us out, and stay tuned for more from us. Including some great holiday specials, and sale items!

Cheers,

Betsy & Pitkin

Bliss Pants

Wow, It’s truly amazing how time flies, I can’t believe I’m going into my 15th year in business!

 In the 15 years I’ve been in business, I’ve changed and evolved constantly. Last year, was probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever had, as I moved my business -and life, from the west side of the Cascades, to the amazing Methow Valley, on the east side of the Cascades. With this move, I now have stopped doing the Bellingham Farmer’s Market ( I sure love having my Saturday’s free! ), and am now only doing 2 art shows this summer, the Oregon Country Fair and Anacortes Arts Festival.

Currently most of my business is done online, and selling to stores.  With this change, I needed to streamline my designs and concentrate on what makes my business run smoothly & efficiently. Unfortunately, this means discontinuing my Hemp linen fabric, that I create my beloved Bliss pants and Drawstring pants out of. I have been debating this topic for over 6-8 months now, and bottom line, it’s just not economical  for me to work with this fabric anymore.  I dye all the Hemp clothing myself, and this fabric requires multiple washings to get the desired quality I need.  Not to mention, it creates so much lint, I’m somewhat scared for my septic system -and health

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Over the years, the cost of this fabric has risen dramatically to the point that I can’t justify paying the cost between, fabric, dye, and buttons.

( I know, I know, I’m crying too :(  ) The 3/4 length are a huge personal favorite of mine, and I rock these everywhere, I’ve climbed mountains, traveled the world, and worked many BFM’s & OCF’s wearing them. But, I guess being a good business owner, means making decisions that are right for the business, and recognizing the time to do that.

I do have some pairs left, and they are all listed only on the ITD website. If you love these pants make sure to get a pair before they’re all gone. However, if things change with dye, cost, etc, I may decide to bring them back.

I appreciate everyone’s business, and love of my pants through the years, and hope you can find just as much love for other things that I create, as well. 

Please enjoy all my new designs, I’m super happy with them and love the new photography, my good friend, Donni Reddington (donnireddington.com) is doing….she captures both the beauty of the Methow and my clothing quite wonderfully!

As Always, Thank you sew much for your continued support for helping me live my dream,

xoxo,

Betsy Cassell-Thomas

Welcome to our NEW Website

It's been five years since we've upgraded our website, in this era of unprecedented technological advancements, this says a lot about how far behind the times we were. 

We are excited to share our new site with you -our customers. We hope this upgraded design will enhance your shopping experience with it's user friendly interface. Take a minute to explore the new features, such as improved product display, connection to social media, and easy checkout. We are confident you will find this new design to be vastly improved from before.

We look forward to your feedback, so connect with us via social media to share your thoughts -and stay tuned for more exciting news from Intertwined Designs.

Thank You for your Support,

Betsy & Pitkin