Young Spokane designer headed to Fashion Week
You may have heard the saying the one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. One Spokane designer is using that phrase to make clothes out of reuseable materials.
Rachel Mace is only 22 but she’s getting ready to show her designs in one of the biggest fashion events in the United States, New York’s Fashion Week.
“Fashion Week is the biggest event in fashion in our continent,” said Mace.
Fashion Week is known by designers and fashion enthusiasts everywhere as one of the “must attend” events. In fact big names such as Donna Karan and Chanel show their pieces at this event while stars like Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Heidi Klum attend their shows.
Although Rachel didn’t have any formal training as a designer like others that will be at the event, she said she got her start when someone recognized her talent.
“I went to the store and bought some garbage bags, but when I home and realized I already had some. So I made a skirt out of the new ones,” said Mace.
It was that decision to use reusable materials that helped her get her start.
“A designer named Ronnie Ryno saw a picture of me wearing the skirt on my facebook page. She asked me if I could put 10 pieces show in August,” said Mace.
Although Mace just had the skirt, she decided to make more pieces.
She now has several dresses and items made out of garbage bags, plastic wrap, and pretty much anything that is not fabric. And Mace said that’s the only type of material she likes to use.
“I look at a piece of fabric and I don’t know what to do with it. But paper I know exactly what to do with,” said Mace.
Mace said she also can not have started designing without the help of others. Business and friends have given her all sorts of materials to work with and even help her get the word out. However, she still needs help to get her designs and models to Fashion Week.
On Saturday, September 1, her models and supporters will be having a car wash as part of a fundraiser for her trip. The car wash will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the car wash at Nevada Street and Lyons Avenue.
Mace and her models will be leaving September 13 for New York.
You can learn more about Mace and her designs by clicking here. Or search for her on facebook by searching Totally Trashed Fashion.
You can also donate online by clicking here.
Historical preservationists excited to come to Inland Northwest
(The owner of the Edgington House in Browne’s Addition is painting the final touches on the exterior of the home. Virgil Gering owned the historical home at 1st and Cannon for 33 years. Now equipped with seven rental units, the house was built in 1889.) (Photo Courtesy: Nicole Hensley)
Spokane and the Inland Northwest are known by its residents as a place with rich history. The roads are dotted with homes and buildings that were constructed in the 19th and early 20th century. Every place you go, from the Davenport Hotel, to Browne’s Addition, to the mining towns of North Idaho, can tell its own story. That’s the kind of atmosphere that caught the attention of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Trust announced earlier this year that the Inland Northwest will be the host of their annual conference with Spokane at the center from October 31 to November 3.
Spokane was in the running with Phoenix, Ariz. and San Jose, Calif to have the conference in their city. However, the Trust liked Spokane the best because it had the complete package.
“We are looking at cities that would be a great place for attendees. Not only does Spokane have a rich history that would attract preservationists, it has a rich coffee culture, shopping downtown and all our events would be within walking distance of the convention center,” said Lori Feinman, Director of Conferences and meeting for the National Trust.
The variety of historical value is evident in community efforts to preserve and acknowledge the region’s history. In Browne’s Addition, the Museum of Arts and Culture covers regional history while a walking tour mobile site exists for the neighborhood to help visitors learn about the rich history of the historical homes.
The trust recognized the vast wealth of history, but also know it will reach appeal with those who plan to attending the conference.
The conference will play host to hundreds of lawyers, architects, business professionals and other preservation enthusiasts from around the country. Those attendees have the option to attend hundreds of field events in the area in addition to main conferences in downtown Spokane. Conference events include house tours in Browne’s Addition, tours through the Hanford B reactor near Tri Cities and tours in the mines of North Idaho.
According to Feinman, some of the tours are already selling out: ”We have a few (field events) that have sold out. The Age of Excellence tour is sold out and a lot of people are interested in the Kirtland Cutter tour.”
Feinman also expects a huge economic impact for the area.
“We expect about $4 million to be brought in during the conference,” said Feinman.
Registration is available for members and non-members. The super early deadline ends July 31. Click here for registration prices. To learn more about the conference and the National Trust for Historic Preservation click this link.
Nicole Hensley contributed to this report.
Wake…what? Wakeboarding explained
I go out all the time and tell people I wakeboard. The only problem is I usually get a blank look or confused look in response followed by the question, “wake..what? What’s that?” So here’s an attempt to explain what exactly the sport of wakeboarding.
A wakeboard (pictured above) is basically a snowboard that you can use on the water. You are towed behind a boat just like you would if you were waterskiing and you can do all kind of tricks on the trail of water the boat leaves behind, called a wake.
You control the board just as if you were snowboarding. You lean to one side of the board or the other using your toes and heels to go left or right and you can even go over the wake if you want. Prowakeboarders love to use the wake as a ramp and fly high into the sky, landing on the other side of the wake.
It’s a lot of fun and its super easy to do once you learn how to get up on it.
(pictured above: my friend Kara getting up on my board for the first time!)
My family started wakeboarding about 7 years ago. My dad picked it up initially because he like snowboarding and wanted to do something in the summer. Soon enough we bought our own boards and eventually a jet ski so we could tow ourselves around on the more than 50 lakes that are up in the Spokane area. That jetski was a lot of fun and we got a lot of use out of it until we realized we wanted to take just more than 2 people out at a time and wanted to try more wake-sports.
So now we have a Sanger boat. Its a big blue boat that has a wakeboard tower on the top, balast tanks, racks, a boarding mirror and tons of room for all of our friends. I explained what all the parts of a boat are for later….but for now, let’s stick to the other activities. ;)
Once you learn how to board…it’s time to move up to wakeskating.
(pictured above: my dad wakeskating and doing an ollie)
Wakeskating is what we like to call “wakeboarding without the training wheels.” The board has no bindings and has the same surface as a skateboard. You can also do all kinds of skateboard tricks on it and you will need some shoes to help you get up. Its fun to watch wakeskaters because they are usually the more adventurous out of the bunch. They’re usually known to do all kinds of crazy tricks like jumping over buoys and starting off of docks. And they love to scream and holler after the pull off a trick.
If getting air, going fast and being crazy isn’t your style…There is something slower for you called wakesurfing.
Surfing is the slower sport out of the three and is also very peaceful. Basically there are water sacks on both ends of the boat. You fill up one of those sacks and it creates enough weight in the back of the boat to create an ocean wave. Once you get standing up and into the wave with the rope, you can eventually let go and the wave will push you the entire time you are riding. Its quite nice just hanging out behind the boat, letting the water splash your feet and you are riding around behind the boat…taking in the scenery
The board is not as big as an actual surfboard and the surface is padded on the top for bare feet. Its a little tricky get up on it at first because you have to start on it a little differently. But its definitely a favorite for everyone who likes just to chill out and not go so fast.
By the end of the day there is nothing left to do but relax. You sit back, float around with your friends and talk about all the things you did that day. There is nothing like wakeboarding.
Tear it up on Schweitzer bike trails
It’s time to “tear it up” on the trails of Schweitzer Mountain. Most downhill mountain bike trails on the mountain opened Friday.
The mountain hosts 10 trails that range from beginning scenic rides to striclty downhill paths that will give your shocks and brakes a workout.
There are a few rides that have unique features that riders don’t want to miss. You can go across 12 handmade bridges and numerous freeride features on the Collector Trail or ride all the way to a lake on the the Colburn Trail. Plus there are plenty of views for anyone to enjoy/.
For the most part, the road is shared with hikers and horseback riders but there are a few that are strictly for cyclists only.
Schweitzer said the Mid-Mountain skills state and the Redemption trail are still closed. Both of these trails are for technical riders, especially the Redemption trail, where riders face multiple rock drops and a descent of 1300 feet. Employees said Redemption needs a little more work before it can open while Mid-Mountain needs more time to dry out. However, Schweitzer estimates both trails should be open in two weeks.
The trails are open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the resort offers bike and helmet rentals. You can ride the chairlift once up the mountain for $12 or you can get a day pass for $20.
You can look at a more in depth description of the trails as well as other summer attractions the mountain offers by visiting the Schweitzer summer page
Let’s play a game in the forest
While you are out and about this summer, your kids can hunt for clues and get a prize! The Colville National Forest service is holding a Geocaching game for this summer.
If you haven’t heard of geocaching, it’s similar to a scavenger hunt but you use a GPS. The “geocache” is a box with a piece of paper or an item placed by someone in the middle of a forest or natural area. The person who places the geocache posts the GPS location on a website and its the participants job to look up the coordinate, search the area and find the geocache. Sometimes the items are hidden and it takes some effort to find them. However, you can post your progress and even get rewards for finding them.
Starting July 1, the Colville forest service will post 11 easy to access geocaches located at recreation sites on the Colville National Forest near Kettle Falls, Republic and Colville, WA. The geocaches will have a card inside that will have an activity for the participants.
The service said the program is mostly geared to families with children ages 8 to 12 years old. Any child who collects all 11 cards and presents them at the Kettle Falls Information will be able to claim a prize.
If you want to play, go to the geocache coordinate website and search “Upper Columbia Children’s Forest geocaches”. The site will tell you all the coordinates for the program.
If you do not have a GPS unit, you may borrow one from the Kettle Falls Information Center located at 425 West 3rd, Kettle Falls, WA 99114.
Free Chairlift Rides (And More) At Schweitzer
Chairlift rides can be a great part of the snow season, but now you can ride them one day for free at Schweitzer Mt. Resort.
On Saturday, June 30, the resort will offer free chairlift rides on the Great Escape Quad all day in honor of the grand opening of the resort’s summer operations. There will also be a barbecue, climbing wall, Geocaching, tennis, zipline, wine tasting and free live music.
For those that ride to the top on the chairlift, there will be refreshment and hiking. However, none of the biking trails will be open due to late season snowpack.
To look at the full schedule of events go to the Schweitzer summer site.
The “Secret” Climbing Location
Weather permitting, my friend Aaron and I try to get some climbing time in once a week. We’ve gone to Minnehaha in the Spokane Valley and Q’emlin Park in Post Falls. We’re pretty much always searching for new routes and locations to climb. But there’s one place, South of Spokane that we like a lot.
Out of respect for preserving the beauty of the area and for having a quiet place to climb, I won’t tell you what it’s called or where our spot is…Hence the title. But I can tell you it’s absolutely beautiful.
See the view for yourself:
It’s quite a climb to where the rocks are. In fact, you will want to take a few stops along the way just to take a breath. But when you reach the top you have many rocks to choose from. One of the rocks you can see from the bottom before the hike up.
We chose a rock. But here decisions are made on 1) finding a route that’s bolted (the bolts seem to blend in with the color of the rock) and 2)is the climb right for you. Aaron is a pretty experienced lead climber so he usually picks one that’s “do-able” and goes first. Plus he has the guide book (granted, it was written in 1991, but it still helps).
Today it was mostly about trying new routes out on different rocks…I can climb all the way up to a 5.8 rating…but sometimes it’s still to hard, mostly because I’m short and can’t reach as well as some other climbers. So sometimes you have to get creative. It’s always interesting climbing with Aaron. He chooses climbs that challenge me and teaches me new ways on how to maneuver around the rock. Unfortunately, 2 out of the 3 climbs we did today were a little too advanced for me.
But there was one I could do! Aaron found a 5.6 for both of us. The only problem was the beginning of the climb is very hard and requires the climber to jam themselves into a small crack; you can barely turn around and if it wasn’t for the harness you would probably fall. In fact it requires a lot of stemming moves to get up there.
We couldn’t figure it out so we did something a little different. I climbed to the top of a mossy covered ledge, worked my way around some trees…took a big breath and swung over the hard part to the portion where I could climb. It’s still hard for me to trust my harness but once you get over and get on the rock, you realize everything wasn’t as bad as you thought.
This route was a bit different but still pretty easy. It’s covered in dead moss and there’s some jugs but its mostly just finger tips and slight places to put your feet. I would definitely recommend dusting of your shoes before you go up because you are going to need that sticky rubber on your shoes. It took me awhile to puzzle it out…when you watch other climbers go up before you, you think to yourself, “now why can’t I do it like him.” But then you reach the top.
The wind whips around you and the rock is leveled out up there. The wind whips around you, the sun is shining, and yet you feel a bit exposed. And at the same time you feel very accomplished. You see the valley below and take a deep breath and go wow…this place is beautiful.
