We are so proud to have had Elizabeth Layton as part of our team this past year!

Liz graduated in December from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Communications major in Business Ag. She is currently back home in Santa Rosa looking for new opportunities to spread her talents. We loved having her as part of team Rosie and wish her
the best in all her future adventures!
We know that for us she will always take her Rosies spirit with her.  Thanks for all that you did Liz, you will be missed! 

Liz  is being replaced by Katie Crawford. Katie has been a part of Rosies for 10 years, she has been a Rosies model, helped create product ideas, worked at road shows selling and now we get to have her use her unique talent for writing by taking over the blog , newsletter and face book posting. Rosies has a lot planned for 2012 and we welcome Katie’s voice to keep the Rosies community connected.
 
-Sharon Moore (Rosie’s founder)

By Sharon Moore, Rosies Founder

We just came back from the International Ag Expo, where over 100,000 people descended upon the rural town of Tulare, CA. Every major company that has anything to do with crops, feed, dairy, fruit and landscape was represented. It reminded me that we really do help feed the world.  Maybe that is why farmers are so proud of our country. They start with dirt and turn it into crops that are feeding people and animals all over the globe.

Having 100,000 people in the small town like Tulare doesn’t make it easy to find a hotel room.  Fortunately, I was able to stay with Gwen and Barton Smith.  I met Gwen last year when Gwen purchased some coveralls at our first appearance at the show, and we have remained friends ever since.  While staying with the Smiths, I discovered that Barton was one of the seven men who founded the Ag Expo nearly 40 years ago.  He said that their vision was to bring together farmers and equipment to help educate attendees on new ways of farming.  Barton also operated a 1,200-acre cotton farm and when he was traveling and selling cotton around the world he promoted the farm show, helping make the show into the largest agricultural expo in the world.  Thanks to the Smiths, we were excited to make our second appearance this year.

Our booth at the farm show was very lively with women trying on our overalls and sharing their stories. We loved having some of our customers return from last year and want more products. One by one, Rosies is making the farms of America more colorful.

Here are a few photos we brought home along with a bunch of great memories.

A Rosie dropped by to show off her coveralls.

Here I am with the Ag Expo Dairy Princess.

My daughter, Katie, helps out in the booth.

Three sisters that work on their family farm, Rachel, Sarah, Josina.  They all agreed on different colors.

Rosies measures up.

The most gigantic piece of farm equipment I have ever seen. It’s a harvestor.

It’s been awhile since we have blogged about our coveralls and overalls. Many of you are new to Rosies and don’t know the story behind their durable good looks. Rosies were founded by Sharon Moore, who developed the coveralls out of need. She was taking a welding class and couldn’t find anything to wear except men’s coveralls, which besides being too big were too ugly. (Our words not hers.) Over the years and from fellow Rosies input, Sharon has added features to the original coveralls and developed a line of overalls.  All are made of  soft light weight denim cotton and are double stitched for durability. All feature removable foam knee pads that are flexible and non-binding. Any Rosie who spends time on her knees will love the cushioning effect. Rosies coveralls and overalls also feature an abundance of pockets, which solves the purse dilemma.  These work clothes are hard workers but not without personality, just like the women who wear them. Available in pink, raspberry and sea foam, there’s no mistake these aren’t your cookie cutter work clothes.

We often ask our Rosies what they love the most about their coveralls and overalls. We also ask what they would like to see us add. Right now, we are working on adding larger sizing as well as new colors. We would love to hear from you. What are your favorite Rosies features? What do you want to add to our wish list?

Rosies coveralls and overalls are packed with useful features and fun!

We’re starting the New Year with a “can do attitude”.  To get all Rosies in the mood, we’re giving away a free Rosies bandana every Friday in January and February. At the end of each month, we’re giving away a free pair of Rosies coveralls. Just let us know what projects you have planned for 2011 on our Facebook page for a chance to win.

 Geraldine Doyle, the model for this poster, died at the end of 2010 at 86. Her image was inspiration for Rosies workwear and countless women. For her full story, visit http://wapo.st/hdnH4N.

Here are some of the bigger projects, we have planned at Rosiesworkwear:

• Turn a 1962 Traveleaze trailer into a farm stand
• Look at new products for Rosies workwear
• Re-organize the barn
• Find a U.S. manufacturer for Rosies workwear
• Pull out the side yard and replant
• Recover some old furniture
• Plant tomatoes in such a way that the gophers, squirrels and rabbits won’t get them
• Put up fencing so the goats can work their magic on the hillside

What’s yours? Let us know.

If you haven’t already noticed, we feature real Rosies (not models) on our website.  They were picked for their Rosie can-do spirit and their individual labors of love. Meet Mitzi Nunez. She is wearing our raspberry overalls. We were tempted to call them “merlot” overalls because Mitzi is a winemaker at  Cerro Caliente Cellars,  a family owned and operated boutique winery located in San Luis Obispo, California. This area on the Central Coast of California is known for its grapes which enjoy warm sunny days, cool evening ocean breezes and the many wineries that make the most of these ideal grape growing conditions.

But unlike most wineries in the area which are located amongst the vines, Cerro Caliente is unique. It’s located in a warehouse next to an automotive repair shop. You see Mitzi’s Dad, an auto mechanic, mixes his love for fixing cars with his love for making wine. The result is full body wines with names like Multi-Viscosity Red and Corvette Cabarnet. Don’t let their names fool you. These are full throttle wines winning multiple awards as well as a faithful following of wine drinkers. Mitzi says she loves helping her family with the wine business and loves wearing her overalls when she’s out in the fields checking on the grapes. They are the perfect color.

Rosies founder, Sharon Moore

It was about 7 years ago when Rosies’ founder, Sharon Moore, enrolled in her first welding class.  It was in this class that she got the idea for Rosies Workwear. When she went looking to buy coveralls to wear in class, all she found were ones designed for men. They were big and bulky and not in the least bit feminine. As they say necessity is the mother of invention, so Sharon created Rosies Workwear.  Since then other women welders as well as women mechanics, builders, painters, DIYers, farmers and gardeners have discovered the tough, durable and stylish overalls and coveralls that is Rosies. While we are thrilled to share with so many “can do” women, it’s welding that holds a special place in our heart.

Unfortunately, we are in a small minority. It was mentioned on carmenelectrode.com, a blog for women welders, that according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics the percentage of women working in the welding industry has actually declined – it is now LOWER than 6%. The news isn’t all doom and gloom. Check out this video we found on Carmen’s website. It’s of a girl’s summer day camp which is called coincidentally, Rosies Girls.  As the blog says, “It’s a place to learn skills (carpentry, welding, etc) that build confidence…This is an awesome way to introduce girls to career options that even today don’t seem accessible to women.” We couldn’t agree more.

From time to time, Rosies features a guest blogger. Below is a post by Nicky Warner. Nicky frequently contributes to blogs, specifically ones about womens workwear.If you would like to contribute to Rosies blog, please let us know.

During the 1940’s, the Second World War revolutionised the role of women in the workplace as former housewives took up positions in munitions factories, exchanging seamed stockings for industrial workwear clothing and replacing their high heels with a sturdy pair of protective boots. The working woman grew to be represented by the iconic image of Rosie the Riveter, the famous lady in protective workwear and a bandanna who proclaims “We Can Do It!”

While some women returned to their old way of life at the end of the war, the era paved the way for those who weren’t afraid to roll up the sleeves of their workwear uniforms and get their hands dirty. Since then, countless women have stepped into mens work boots to continue Rosie’s legacy.

While working in a wartime factory must have been a trying and tiring experience, many women today find fulfilment in  jobs that were first considered to be traditionally male occupations. Real-life Rosies are everywhere; they strut proudly in their workwear trousers and heavy boots, embodying the spirit of that cultural icon who effortlessly combined mascara and red lipstick with denim workwear overalls and toned biceps. Women in workwear scale construction scaffolding, brandish welding tools and emerge from under the bonnets of newly-repaired cars with grease-smeared, smiling faces. Even ladies who prefer a less physical occupation will don workwear overalls to tend to their gardens, paint their homes or tackle DIY renovation projects. All are labors of love.

The reward of hard work and fully throwing yourself into a physically demanding project is undeniable. And of course, every hard-working lady wants to look her best while going about her day. Womens workwear design has come a long way since the 40’s, and ladies in stylish, feminine workwear are a common sight.

What is your labour of love? Are you a welder or mechanic, or do you slip into your workwear clothes to enjoy a day of gardening? Share your story with Rosies and tell us what tasks bring joy to your day!

Believe it or not, July is anti-boredom month. We asked Rosies what they do when there is nothing to do. We think this Rosie said it best:

Darlene Nieman Morris I’m still waiting to find out, if I ever have nothing to do!

Thanks for sharing and we couldn’t agree more. In between traveling, visiting with our fellow Rosies and starting a million projects, we’ve been busy working on some new clothing items and colors to add our line of overalls and coveralls. We think you’re gonna love them. Speaking of love. We’re ramping up for our Labor Day giveaway, we’re calling “Labor of Love”. Tell us what your labor of love is (gardening, horses, welding, working on cars, ranching, etc) and submit a  picture of yourself in action on our Facebook page and have a chance to win our “classic” denim coverall.
It’s perfect for fall clean-up. Not exactly everyone’s labor of love. But you might as well do it in style.

The work Rosies love to do usually takes us outside. While we are by nature sun loving creatures, it’s important to make sure we protect ourselves from the sun’s harmful effects. WebMD reports, “Exposure to the sun causes most of the wrinkles and age spots on our faces and is the number one cause of skin cancer.”

Below are a few tips from WebMD and Rosies on how to protect yourself:

• Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or greater 30 minutes before sun exposure and then every few hours thereafter
• Wear sunglasses with total UV protection
• Wear hats, long sleeved shirts and pants. Pair Rosies overalls with our long sleeve shirt and top it off with our cap and voila, your got yourself covered.

• Avoid direct sun exposure as much as possible during peak UV radiation hours between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
• Eighty percent of a person’s lifetime sun exposure is acquired before age 18. As a parent, be a good role model and foster skin cancer prevention habits in your child
• Avoid tanning beds

Summer is definitely in full swing. (If you haven’t heard, a heat wave has taken over the east coast.) We took some tips from MedicineNet.com on how to stay cool. Do you have any tips to add? We would love to hear them.

• Alter your pattern of outdoor exercise to take advantage of cooler times (early morning or late evening is great for doing chores). If you can’t change the time of you need to go outside, scale it down by doing fewer minutes, walking instead or running, or decreasing your level of exertion.
• Wear loose-fitting clothing, preferably of a light color.
• Cotton clothing will keep you cooler than many synthetics.

Beat the heat with Rosies zip-off overalls and a cotton T.

(more…)