Who are the Mammoth Men, and why do we love them?
To answer the first question, click here.
To answer the second, watch this.
Feb 28
Discover Pendleton!
Last year, we introduced a new throw that’s been a hit with our loyal Pendleton fans. If you haven’t discovered them yet, you’ll want to take a look. At 54” x 72”, these napped throws are the right size for napping, reading, or warming you up while you watch the latest episode of Downton Abbey. They also make spectacular wall hangings.
The Native American-inspired designs are adapted from Pendleton archival blankets. Most of the original patterns date from the early part of last century. Made in the USA in our Pacific Northwest mills, these blankets are so appealing and sell at such a nice price that you just might want them all.
2012 introductions were Legend Lake, Red Mesa, Black Diamond, Standing Pine, Sun Dancer and Garnett Peak (click for larger views).
For 2013, we carried over Black Diamond and Sun Dancer, and added Diamond Medallion, Star Signs, Purple Hills and Sawtooth Ridge.
Those that haven’t hit our website yet will be there soon. And by the way, pay special attention to the Sawtooth Ridge pattern. This jacquard is part of a special line we will be introducing soon for Fall 2013.
Feb 20
The Storks, their shirts, and another happy occasion.
You probably remember Bob and Melba Stork from this post, which featured their engagement gifts to each other. Here they are again with the same Pendleton shirts, but as you can see, they are not wearing them anymore. They made a gift of them to their granddaughter, Lauren, and her new husband, Drew.
Says Mrs. Stork, “Their wedding took place in Dallas, and all sixty of the invited friends and family enjoyed the weekend festivities.” Our congratulations to Lauren and Drew, and thanks for making us part of your family traditions.
Exhibit at the Multnomah County Library – Now!
Portlanders revere our central library as the grande dame of a network of libraries, large and small, that serve our metro area. The Multnomah Country Library fills an entire block in the heart of downtown Portland with its trove of information. The library also hosts several displays on its upper floors.
Local readers will want to stop in to see out this one; Smoke Signals, the Literature and Culture of Native America. This collection of rare Native American manuscripts will be on display until March 24th, with rare works from antiquity to the present. Also on display will be two Pendleton blankets, including this very limited edition “Bridging Communities Together” blanket, designed by Yakama Nation artist Toma Villa for the NCAI.
The books and manuscripts are part of the John Wilson Special Collections, with artifacts (including blankets) loaned by NAYA. The blankets are lovely, but the stars of the show are the written materials. Please give them a visit.
Hi, Pendleton.
We are writing to share a few photo with you, as we are big fans of your blankets. Last weekend our family traveled to Drummond Island in Upper Michigan for fun in the snow.
This is a yearly trek, and we were so happy to be able to join in and surprise everyone this year.
In addition, it’s a tradition to take the annual Pendleton Blanket Photo as every member of the family has one; even the little munchkins have muchacho blankets.
This all started several years ago, as my father-in-law, Todd Bettes, has quite the collection of your blankets on his own (20+, though when asked for an estimate, he says “Not enough!”) and also loves to give them as gifts.
My wife and I brought our blankets with us all the way from NYC in our carry-ons to take part in this photo.
We thought you might get a kick out of them, and wanted to thank you for making these beautiful blankets that definitely keep us warm in NY, MI and help create fantastic family memories.
All our best,
Christie & Nick Cartell
(Photos by Nick Cartell)
The new Zagat Survey for Portland hit the inbox this week…
…and we are in it!
The Zagat Survey was brainchild of Tim and Nina Zagat, who polled their friends and published the results in 1979 as a way to locate the best dining experiences in New York City. The survey quickly grew beyond their immediate circle of friends, and has come to include over 70 cities, including Portland.
Over a quarter of a million people have contributed their opinions and comments on restaurants, hotels, theaters, golf courses, and shopping. The bound guide is available by subscription, a handy and handsome publication to carry along to your favorite city. The Zagat.com site is free to the public.
So how did we do? Very well, thank you. The ratings are on a thirty-point scale, and the higher, the better. We are happy to say that the downtown Portland Pendleton store scored very highly. So did the flagship Pendleton Home store. And, now that we think of it, so did the Woolen Mill Store.
Yes, we had a trifecta of nice Zagat scores. We got a kick out of the quotations from survey-answerers, which are set off in quotes. Our staff “goes above and beyond.” Our “incredible quality” is “hard to beat.”
Our favorite quote? “It’s a Pendleton…enough said.”
Six You Don’t Want to Miss
Here’s a list of six special Pendleton blankets that are retiring soon.
1. New Mexico Centennial
The New Mexico Centennial blanket is designed around the red Zia sun symbol, in which the Circle of Life binds together elements: four winds, four seasons, four directions and four sacred obligations. The blanket has a clean, graphic beauty. This is a limited edition, with very limited availability from Pendleton the Courtyard, located at 1100 San Mateo NE, Albuquerque, NM. 505.232.0088.
2. Keep My Fires Burning
Keep My Fires Burning pays tribute to Native American storytellers, who fill an important cultural role in each tribe by passing on traditions of healing, song, ceremony, dance and most importantly, creation. Storytellers interpret tales taught to them by their elders, and adding their own experiences to create sacred and living narratives that span generations.
3. AICF 20th Anniversary by Maria Martinez
This blanket, based on the work of the late ceramic artist Maria Martinez , pays tribute to her artistry with Pueblo Indian Pottery. Her black-on-black pottery reached new heights in artistic expression, skill and technique. This blanket honors the 20th Anniversary of the American Indian College Fund, and reminds us that we can only reach new heights together.
4. Sunrise Song Heritage
Sunrise Song uses the brilliant colors of daybreak to represent the Sunrise Ceremony that is common to many Native American tribes. The people gather, wrapped in blankets and facing the East, to greet the Morning Star with dance, prayer and song. Together, they give thanks for another day of life.
5. Sugpiaq Umaq
Sugpiaq Umaq, with a design based on ancestral art created by Kodiak craftsman and artist Jerry Laktonen, celebrates a rebirth of the Alutiiq people culture of Native Alaskans indigenous to Kodiak Island and parts of the mainland. Sugpiaq means “the real people,” and Imaq means “ocean.” The bold rising sun mask represents the Alutiq cultural resurgence and Alaska’s midnight sun. Sea life swims around the sun, while Alutiiq kayaks travel across the top and bottom of blanket.
6. Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe portrays the radiance and beauty of Mexico’s popular religious and cultural image. Since 1531, Our Lady’s icon has resided in the Basilica of Guadalupe, extending her promise of love, compassion and protection to all.
If you need help with tracking down any retired blanket, please call our Pendleton Home Store at 503.535.5444. Our expert associates can often help you when all else has failed!
Jan 10
Customized with Pendleton Plaid!
One of our customers, Jeremy Fisher, brought in his classic Volkswagen Squareback to show us how he’s customized the interior in Sea Mist Plaid fabric purchased from the Woolen Mill Store.
Jeremy is a golf pro (see his gearshift), and wanted his car to reflect his lifestyle & love of golf.
Great work, Jeremy! Come see us at the Woolen Mill Store whenever you’re struck with inspiration.
Jan 2
Pendleton & Weddings
Here at Pendleton, we are so moved when people take the time to let us know the special ways they incorporate Pendleton into their lives. And that includes weddings!
Quite a few editorial shoots use us for wedding or engagement photos. But when we’re used as part of an actual wedding, as we were in the wedding of Zoe Fisher and Matt Johnson (photos by Heather Bayles Photography), we are incredibly proud.
Pendleton played a part in the engagement of Bob and Melba Stork. They were shopping in Pasadena, California on a spring day in 1951 when a store window with Pendleton shirts caught their attention. They looked at several patterns and decided on a red and green plaid as an engagement gift to each other.
Bob and Melba wore traditional bridal attire when they were married on October 27th, 1951, at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Temple City, California.
After the wedding, they left for a honeymoon trip to the Grand Canyon, where they stayed in a cabin near El Tovar. Bob set up a tripod to capture a picture of them wearing their shirts as a newly married couple.
Fifty years later, their twin daughters and their husbands organized a golden wedding anniversary celebration for the Storks, their family and friends at the Grand Canyon. This photo was taken near the spot where the first photo was taken; a short distance from their honeymoon cabin.
The Storks have worn their shirts as jackets many times over the 61 years of their marriage. They have been part of travels throughout the United States, and Melba says, “(they) are as bright, fashionable and warm as they were when we purchased them 61 years ago.”
Bob and Melba Stork were married 61 years on October 27, 2012. Bob is 93, and Melba is a bit younger. They still travel, but they won’t be taking their Pendleton shirts with them anymore. They are passing them down to their granddaughter, Lauren, and her fiance, Drew, who will be married this coming February. We will count ourselves lucky to get a photo of the “kids” in these shirts.
The next wedding we’re going to show you took place last winter, when Celeste Grewe and Joshua Bond said “I do” at Camp Creek Campground in the Mt Hood National Forest. After the bridal party wended its way through a snow-carpeted forest, the ceremony took place in front of the camp kitchen for the CCC workers in 1936.
Josh and Celeste met while working at a local snowboard shop called Exit Real World (with whom we did a collaboration some years back). The mountain has played an important part in their relationship, so it was fitting that they were married at 2200 ft elevation.
Celeste had this to say; “We wanted our wedding to really reflect Oregon, and especially to give our out-of-town guests a great feel for the history of the state. Both our families raised us with Pendleton products. Pendleton has a longstanding history with Oregon and the Northwest. It was important to incorporate a traditional element into our wedding, which is where we got the blanket ceremony (plus it was really cold last February). It was also a wonderful way to ask our parents to be involved with the ceremony.”
First, the bride and groom were wrapped in Crater Lake National Park blankets by their fathers. This symbolized their separate lives. These blankets were removed and held by their maid of honor and best man. Then the mothers of the bride and groom wrapped them in a white Glacier National Park blanket to symbolize their shared future.
The Crater Lake blankets were presented to the mothers as gifts. Celeste said of the Glacier blanket, “It’s a show piece in our home.” She is happy with how the national park blankets hearken back to “…the early part of the 1900s, the national parks, and the CCC and WPA, and the 1940s time frame of the ring I inherited from my paternal grandmother.” As you watch the slideshow (photos by Mike at Powers Studios), watch for other Pendleton items on the guests and bridal party.
To all of our friends who have made Pendleton part of their weddings, we say, best wishes for the future. May your beginnings be sweet, and may your lives together be wonderful. Thanks for letting us be a part of both.
Happy New Year!
