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Studio Snapshots: Colette goes outside

Summers in Portland are hilarious. When the clouds finally part, the heat turns everyone crazy. People run around aimlessly in search of solace in an air conditioned restaurant and I have seriously considered wearing my bathing suit to the office.

A few weeks ago, we decided to take part in a good ol’ Portland summer tradition– a river float.

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While some of us were ultra-prepared and ecstatic about being outdoors, Haley and I, who are both city gals, just tried our best to not get lost. All in all, it was a fantastic day complete with cold brewskis, cute bathing suits, and fearing for our lives as we floated over rapids.

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There is also an endless amount of Summery things to do in the city. Near our office, in every direction, there’s a little hip food court, a vintage store, or a coffee shop to distract us. We are all in the habit of taking breaks during the day by walking around the neighborhood or grabbing coffees. A few days ago, we all grabbed coffee down the street and couldn’t help “just popping in” to the vintage store across the street.

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Even though some days the heat seems unbearable, I refuse to acknowledge that the sun will soon return back into the clouds. For now, I’ll take my Americanos cold and my Saturdays near water!

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Katie Whittle

Producer

Katie teaches new skills through in-depth tutorials, sewalongs, and articles for Seamwork Magazine and The Colette Blog. She's all about encouraging sewers to try new techniques and create a personalized wardrobe that makes them feel great!

Comments

Hannah

August 26, 2016 #

That looked like fun going down the river, I love the summer!

PsychicSewerKathleen

August 27, 2016 #

I’m in Victoria BC so I can SO relate to what you say about this west coast weather – most don’t have airconditioning because it’s just not necessary MOST of the time but when the heat hits it’s super hot and we’re all scrambling to adapt but the last thing we want to do is work in a hot box :) What a lovely day you had! Wish I was there ;)

Bonnie C Westrom

August 27, 2016 #

Your river float looks fun. I tried that once at Skutt Falls up island (I’m from Vancouver Island too) and ended up with a broken toe. It can be a bit dangerous! Glad all went well.

Betty Jordan Wester

August 27, 2016 #

It looks like you guys had a lot of fun!

I grew up in a coastal Southern California town that was almost always overcast, except for August. There were high hills a mile away that kept the clouds with us most of the time, but if you went “inland” over these hills it was blazing hot. I can remember so many days driving to try and catch the sunshine.
This year though, I’m so ready for Fall.

Suz

August 29, 2016 #

Looks fun!

Delphine

August 29, 2016 #

Do you have a studio in Portland? The picture looks very familiar

Katie

August 30, 2016 #

Hey Delphine! Our office is located right in the heart of neighborhood in Portland, Oregon.