if you’re in the area, stop by our portland store today for a summer kickoff party and enjoy special discounts, raffles and fun!
don’t forget, portland event!
office space
take a look at the area where our print and color team works – one of my favorite spots to go for an eyeful of inspiration :)
resurrection fern
how beautiful are these collages? they are from the etsy shop knitalatte, run by a woman who is a family physician but makes things like these cute little crochet covered rocks, which she arranges into collages and photographs. her blog, resurrection fern, is full of inspiration as well – go check it out, she has tons of lovely photographs of her projects and nature.
wednes-diy
one of the coolest things i saw at bonnaroo was the booth where you could build your own drum! i would totally love to try this- it requires a little effort but the end result makes it totally worth it!
unless you have the ability to carve your own drum shell, you’ll probably need to buy a shell and drum head to start out with. some websites sell kits with all the supplies you need – find some here and here.
once you have all the supplies, here’s a step by step tutorial on how to make your drum!
what you need:
- djembe drum shell
- djembe drum head
- metal rings
- djembe ropes
- hammer
- wood glue
1. apply a 1 inch circular strip of glue along the top edge of the drum shell.
2. grasp the drum head on opposite ends and pull with your hands. pull enough to stretch the head out and be careful not to break it. this stretching allows the natural fibers to become acclimated to the tension exerted on them during use on the drum shell.
3. pull the edges of the drum head over the glued rim of the drum. the head sits taut over the drum shell, with about 2 inches of drum head hanging over each side.
4. place the metal ring over the drum head. it stations loosely over the side of the drum, with the edge of the drum head between the ring and the shell.
5. lace djembe rope between the metal ring and the drum head, creating a crisscross pattern from top to bottom of the drum shell. this rope provides additional pressure on the metal ring and drum head, securing both firmly to the drum shell.
6. hammer the metal ring into the drum shell to tighten its grip on the drum head. this ring and the glue on the drum rim insure that your drum head can take the pressure of use when your drum is complete.
you can personalize your drum with hand-painted decorations, and at bonnaroo they were even tie-dyeing the drum head, it looked really cool!
this girl was painting her drum shell wearing one of our dresses!
instructions found here.
frank the bird
a heart-warming story from one of our free people girls…
“this morning i was walking back from the jharoka (the cafe down at the navy yard where we work) with my coffee and i spotted frank in the grass by our building.
he couldn’t fly, and i started to feel sad cuz all the dogs that come to work with their parents run around in that grass…
and i wasn’t sure how frank could avoid all those paws.
so my friends helped get a box and some gloves and we scooped up frank and put him inside with some grass so he felt cozy.
i called the schuylkill wildlife rescue center and they were so nice and said bring him in!
so i drove him up to the rescue and they said it was nice that frank was there because he still had his bloodfeathers and probably wouldn’t be able to fly for another week or so…
i’m glad such a place exists and i’m glad frank is going to be okay. :)”
isn’t he the cutest?!? check out the schuylkill center’s website for more info on the awesome work that they do.
spring display giveaway!
you probably remember these beautiful butterflies and dragonflies that flew into our stores for our spring display – well now that our new summer displays are up, they have gone into hibernation…and we want to give some away!
this giveaway will stay open until friday at midnight – and all you have to do to win is leave a comment below, and make sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you win.
we will select a winner for each day (tuesday,wednesday, thursday, friday) to receive one of these amazing display pieces!
i am so jealous…i loved these displays and they’re even prettier in person because you can see all the details and craftsmanship that went into creating each one :) plus this is the first time we’re giving away some display items so it’s pretty exciting!
good luck!!!
**UPDATE Monday June 21 – the four winners have been selected and contacted. Once we hear back from them, we will announce on the blog.**
hey portland fans!
kick off your summer at our free people portland store this thursday june 17! they’ll be having a party all day long with special discounts, raffles and more! the store looks so lovely, i’ve always wanted to go to portland…
check out their facebook page for more event details.
monday quote
“those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music”
– angela monet
Bonnaroo Day 2 – Sweaty Hot Saturday!
Wow Saturday at Bonnaroo was very VERY hot! I’m surprised I made it through :)
I did manage to snap some girls in cute outfits though.
I quite like the style of Bonnaroo it’s not as high styling as Coachella but hey we’re at a festival right.
I liked how girls wore florals with aztec prints and how they rocked bandeaus with their shorts.
I liked they didn’t care if they got sweaty and passed out on the side of the dirt tacks.
I loved that they danced their hearts out under dirty water fountains and that they swung their hair around like they just don’t care.
The sweet smell of patchouli covered the air.
Bonnaroo I had fun with you
xoxo
we’re half awake in a fake empire…
love you bonnaroo.
saturday at bonnaroo
we were woken from our dreams early saturday morning – and i mean earlier than i’ve been up in a while on a saturday – because the heat was already making the tents unbearable. the sun was out and we knew it was going to get HOT. we started the day by heading into centeroo, where all the vendors set up shop. they have great vendors at bonnaroo – lots of handmade clothing and accessories, all natural products and surprisingly good food. i picked up a bag that i adore and a beautiful skirt from a shop called the mayan connection – actually all four of us got skirts there :)
as guests we had access to a special area behind one of the stages with a “messy hall” and outdoor seating areas – with hammocks.
right across from the guest area was the artist hospitality area – which looked pretty sweet. we were not allowed in, though…
the first show we went to on saturday was jimmy cliff, who i was really looking forward to seeing. he was awesome – as he was singing “i can see clearly now,” we were told we had to leave the bleachers where we were sitting because a storm was coming in. we were actually kindof excited for rain but the storm never came. umbrellas were everywhere at bonnaroo – not because of rain, but to provide shade from the hot hot sun.
a free people bag in the crowd…
and our new buddy proudly rocks one in the bleachers. i love making friends at bonnaroo :)
next up was mumford & sons who were phenomenal! at one point old crow medecine show came out and played “wagon wheel” with them which was awesome. after that we went over to cafe where? to see angus and julia stone. they were amazing and angus is seriously the cutest thing i’ve ever seen. julia has a gorgeous voice and she can play guitar, keys, the horn and harmonica. she rocks.
and finally, stevie wonder took the stage for his headlining show.
more coming soon… :)
Bonnaroo Round One
Hey Hey! I’m back giving you the style coverage from the festivals – this time around we’ve hit Bonnaroo in Nashville Tennessee. Mmmmmm or should I say Sweataroo, my is it DAMN hot here. Even Mr Followil of the Kings of Leon thought so “this is the hottest I’ve ever been… man!” but I didn’t mind seeing Caleb all sweaty. I didn’t mind at all :)
We arrived at the festival at 9 set up camp under the pitch black sky then headed into the drunken humid air. It was very hard at this point to spot people who intrigued me with their style as the majority were crashed out on the floor star gazing/ light headed.
One thing I noticed though tie dye was everywhere. A look I loved was long tie dye skirts (ok not the wacky packy style) the toned down versions worn with cropped lace tops.
The crowd at Bonnaroo is alot dirtier than Coachella, many girls walk around in just two piece string bikinis, but hey I don’t blame them the heat is a killer!
After seeing Kings of Leon ( highlight Caleb singer ‘Where is My Min’d by the Pixies!!!! ) we bumped into Noot Seear who modelled for us in our July catalog. She is such a sweetheart we love her and I loved her pants!
Ok that’s all form the friday night. We have a full day here today so hopefully some exciting coverage will come your way — BYE!