After a week in Asheville, Morganton, and Charleston, I'm back in Savannah enjoying this amazing early fall weather. Months of rainy gray days finally gave way to blue skies and cooler temperatures this week -- woohoo! I can finally spend some quality time outside again, and I couldn't be happier because -- it's Bicycle Wrap Skirt season!
The latest update on our skirts is: they are currently in production. I just got back from Opportunity Threads in North Carolina where the Bicycle Wrap Skirt is being sewn -- as I type. I was so excited to be there last week when they started, to be able to see this project come together and meet the people who are making our skirts. After months of planning (actually more like a year!), the actual skirts are coming together with surprising speed. I've been quite impressed by the skill and speed of the sewers at the employee-owned cooperative that we are working with in NC. The workers are intelligent, adept, and understand the ins and outs of the operation. I spoke at length with Molly, who designed and manages the business, about labor rights and her plans to expand the successful cooperative business model she's created. Rest assured -- we're working with good people!
So far production is going smoothly: the tall skirts have been cut, their skirts and pockets sewn together and edges serged; the waistband ties have been sewn together and turned; hip pouches are being sewn together; and they were stitching the waistbands together last Friday (which means they will be stitching all the pieces together into the first finished skirts this week). While we were there, we saw multiple projects under production alongside the BWS; a recycling truck picking up scraps and shipping waste to recycle; and a co-op meeting in session. Can I get a hooray for responsible business?
Here are a few photos from last week. If you want to follow along in real time, check out my instagram feed (@forestandfin).
Don't forget! Our preorder discount on Bicycle Wrap Skirts is only available through the end of production. Once we begin receiving finished skirts, we'll be switching our shop to retail pricing, so get one while the gettin's good! ;)
Two sewers work on the BWS hip pouches at Opportunity Threads.
Opportunity Threads workspace in Morganton, NC.
Our cut fabric pieces are ready to be stitched together.
Partially sewn fabric hip pouches await finishing.
A stack of sewn skirt pieces awaits waistband attachment.
A skilled cutter slices through 80+ layers of fabric to cut our skirt pieces.
A skilled sewer stitches pockets to the skirt pieces.
Showing Molly how to wear a Bicycle Wrap Skirt.
A sewer at Opportunity Threads stitching the waistband to the skirt of the Bicycle Wrap Skirt.
A pile of freshly serged skirt pieces.
I biked from West Asheville to the River Arts District after our visit....
Morganton was setting up for their annual festival the day we left town.
We spent some time on a boat in Charleston, SC, before going home.
in a Bicycle Wrap Skirt, of course!
A corner in downtown Morganton.
Finally - some amazing weather and a little time on the water!