Lodekka teams up with seamstress extraordinaire, Andrea DeHart!

I am thrilled to announce that my new friend, Andrea DeHart (aka Crafty Bitch), will be working her magic on the dresses in my inventory that require a little TLC.

I immediately took a shine to Andrea when I met her a few weeks ago on the bus: she is clever, easygoing and unbelievably creative. Imagine my utter elation when I learned that she is an experienced seamstress and self-professed "craftaholic."



I often spot dresses that have immense potential (just like the bus!), and I can't resist saving them from certain doom. Finally these once-beautiful gems can realize their new incarnations as repaired dresses, skirts, blouses, scarves and whatever else Andrea dreams up!

Andrea is a recent transplant from San Francisco. She claims that she loves Portland so far, but I encourage you all to stop by the bus this Friday and assure her that there's more to Portland than freezing rain and cloudy skies.

If you do nothing else this evening, you absolutely must check out Andrea's blog and witness some of her wonderful projects - most notably the Evel Knievel costume she made for her son for Halloween.

Preparing for Black Friday: Bring on the WOOL!

It's below freezing today, folks, and you know what that means: it's time to break out the wool! In preparation for this Friday - also known as Black Friday - I am gathering up all the warmest garbs in my inventory to keep my customers and their loved ones warm this winter.

Here are a few of the wool treasures I'll be carting to the bus in my sleigh this week:

This might be the most handsome men's shirt I've ever had in the bus. The colors are gorgeous and the shirt is in tip-top shape.



I scored some great vintage Pendletons this week, along with this super soft vintage REI cardigan. (Don't laugh -- REI has been around since 1938, so many of their clothing items qualify as "vintage." So there!)





For those who prefer a bit of 80s in their wardrobe, I offer up this wonderful petite pink heather double-breasted wool coat. Even the cashier was jealous that I found this little gem!



OK, so these are definitely NOT wool, but they would make a great holiday gift for the burlesque dancer in your life. They are covered with music notes, champagne glasses and old song lyrics: "To You Sweetheart, Aloha" (made famous by Bing Crosby, among others) and jazz standard "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." I know these beauties don't seem very warm, but they're not really intended for outdoor use, if you catch my drift...



Lastly, I submit this charming floral ditty for those of us who like to dream of far-away tropical isles when the weather gets this cold. Heck, you could always throw a wool cardigan over it. We Portlanders know how to layer, right?



There's a LOT more where these came from. Stop by this Friday and see for yourself!

So far, so good!

Lodekka opened its doors about 3 weeks ago, and so far the place has been bustling! Some folks pull their car over when they see the bus (usually as a result of prompting from the kids in the backseat), some are waiting to get in to Portland's restaurant of the year, Tasty N Sons, and others are just walking by and want to see what this crazy monstrosity is all about. One thing is for sure: the bus is a kid magnet. I learned very quickly that I needed to have stickers at the ready for these young customers.

I would be remiss if I didn't shamelessly mention that Lodekka has gotten some great press, too: the Oregonian, Portland Picks, craftzine.com, coolhunting.com... Heck, I've had customers mention that they read about Lodekka on blogs in New York, Michigan, California and several other far-away paces. I feel very fortunate that people are so interested in the bus and supportive of my once-crazy now-reality idea to open a dress shop in a bus.

My favorite thing about the bus is that it's such a conversation piece. This gives me the opportunity to chat with just about everyone who walks in the door. I've equated Lodekka to the kitchen where everyone congregates at a party. People have been very curious about three things in particular:

1. where I found the bus
2. whether or not it runs
3. where do I find all my "stuff"

I thought I'd take this opportunity to address those burning questions.

I found the bus on Craigslist. (This typically elicits an incredulous "No way!" from customers.) I was looking for a one-story bus, but all the buses I looked at were just too small. During one of my typical marathon bus-seeking sessions online, I ran across an old beat-up double decker at a used car lot in Springfield, Oregon. I took the next day off from work to go check it out. It was in terrible shape, but I immediately saw the potential. I bought it on the spot, then went and had a margarita until the gravity of my decision set in.

The bus *can* run, but currently doesn't. It turned over when I bought it, then I evidenced my lack of mechanical prowess by cutting a few wires during the conversion process. I consider the bus retired, anyway. She worked hard enough carting around the good people of Liverpool for 20 years. She deserves to just stay parked for a while.

I am a chronic thrift and estate sale shopper. I like to consider myself someone who can find the "good amongst the not-so-good." I love the challenge of finding needles in haystacks: the tougher the challenge, the better. I get no greater pleasure than helping a little lost dress find its soul mate, and seeing the smile on the customer's face when they realize that the dress was made for them.