Yeah, I know it has been awhile, but good things take time, patience is a virtue, etc. The Our Portland Story Volume 1 book is actually wrapping up. Final edits to pages are being made by generous designers, my editor is pouring over every last detail, and a new website that I designed is being programmed by the talented, Andrew Barden.

I am hoping this will all come together in time for an end-of-July launch.

Seen here is a sample of the current cover art and design comps for the new website. Let me know what you think! If you want to stay tuned on updates, please make sure you sign up for our e-newsletter.

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Our Portland Story Volume 1 is part coffee-table book, part yearbook, and part insider’s travel guide, but is all about Portland by Portlanders. Our Portland Story sought submissions of text and images from Portlanders of all walks of life that together capture many different aspects of the city at this place in time. Stories submitted for consideration included historical reflections of Portland’s past, accounts of a memorable tattoo, observations from a Portland bus ride, and the story of a scooter riding mom wearing pink.

The final book will be a cross section of community views and values told through personal stories and images.

I could go into a lengthy diatribe about Renny’s proposal that, when tricked, big brands could be a more powerful source for good in the world than governments. Or I could illuminate for you the philosophy behind the future of the link as proposed by Ward. But rather, I thought I would share a couple of humorous Lego animation videos set to one of my favorite comedians, Eddie Izzard, as shown by Luke.

I discovered many items of tangible retro goodness, including these amazing papers (highly scan-able) and tear-outs from an old atlas. The page shown here diagrams the routes of famous aviation adventures. I spent a good 45 minutes hunting through the boxes and boxes of old postcards. The combination of the beautiful old illustrations with the original handwritten personal scrawls on the back, make for a fantastic glimpse into and old way of life, a story and art piece.

The postcards were presented courtesy of a postcard club in town called the webfooters. I marked my calendar for the April 17-18th Antique Paper Show and Sale. At a $2 admission fee, this event has got to be good.

Download these graphic goodies from my new flickr set, “Rad Design Finds.”

Papergirl Portland from abraham ingle on Vimeo.

My partner and I recently helped Abe Ingle and a small group of Portland art supporters, bike enthusiasts and pedicabbies to pass out hundreds of pieces of free art via bike all over the city. The project was called Papergirl, and it has its origins in Berlin. The art that was distributed was collected from artists who donated original drawings, paintings, and prints. After a month showing in Second Nature gallery, it was rolled up paperboy style, and distributed on the streets at random.

It was a great experience to be a part of, to see the wonder, the excitement, the hesitation and confusion of recipients young and old. Thanks to Abe for putting together the event in Portland.

Beneath street level on NW 10th Ave, in the heart of the Pearl District, lies a hidden bakery often overlooked by a casual passerby. To sneak a peek into this mysterious treat factory, and catch a whiff of its fragrant, sugary delights, head North on NW 10th just past Flanders. Walk along the right hand side of the road, and when you are directly across from the swanky Vino Paradiso (but before the upscale doggie daycare), stop and look down.  There, through the steel grates in the sidewalk lies Nuvrei.

Below ground, you will see a thin, pink, Plexiglas sign spelling out the name in a casual script. Beneath the steel sidewalk grate, a space that is normally coated with spare change, discarded cigarettes and other such carelessly abandoned litter, instead, is filled with a multitude of bright, metallic silver bulbs in various sizes, resting on a bed of dried leaves and tiny lights. A sparkling discovery beneath the worn, patchworked concrete above.

If you catch the patisserie at the right time, you will witness 2 or 3 diligent chefs carefully putting small iced details on a series of cakes, or topping french pastries with fresh berries. As you stand, spying from your perch above, the heat vents from indoor ovens pump the fresh, warm scent of cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate out onto the unsuspecting sidewalk.

1. First Thursdays

Every year seems to top itself when it comes to Portland’s artistic community’s shining day, the First Thursday art walk. Summer First Thursdays are the most popular, drawing the biggest crowd. This summer, I even saw a professional tour guide, walking backward leading a large group down the crowded streets. The summer street fair is littered with fire dancers, pot and bucket bands, and interpretive street performers who will act out answers to any of life’s problems. While winter First Thursdays lack the street performance element of the summer, they make up for it with quality, and presence of wine. Here are a few unique exhibits I saw this year.

The Core gallery is advantageously positioned on the 2nd floor of the Everett Station Lofts, the microcosm of Portland’s new and experimental art spaces. What is unique about this gallery is that it exists in a crawl space, so it is only 3.5 feet tall. Forcing adults to shed their footwear and experience art while on all fours. It has been host to many unique exhibits including the recreation of woman’s womb.

November’s opening at the new Anka Gallery also at Everett Station featured ” The Magic of Spontaneous Expressions.” And, instead of featuring finished art pieces, they displayed and exploited the artistic process. Several artists, young and old, took up brushes and painted from their colorful palettes live, with no particular goal or end result in mind.

Also at the Anka Gallery was this stunning exhibit by Portland photographer, John Wiley Howington. His large-scale moody photographs were taken with a pinhole camera, and in the 30 minutes it took to record the photo, a sound recording was made as well.  As you stand before saturated images of the European cities of Prague and Vienna, through the headphones you can hear the noises of your surroundings. Doors creak, a woman strolls by in high heels, and a couple passes, speaking in foreign tongues. A truly unique gallery experience.

2. Farmers Market

I have truly come to appreciate and utilize the Portland Farmers Market this past year as I focus more on eating more healthy, sustainable and local food. While I more often attend the Farmers Market close to home, Hillsdale, on occasion I find myself in the center of Portland’s finest, in the South Park Blocks. I enjoy the spectacle of colorful booths overflowing with fruits, vegetables and unidentifiable roots of all varieties. There are kids in strollers, hippies and students all crowded around vying for a sample of artisan cheeses. I purchase a bag of fresh pears and a container of the best organic tomato juice and smile on my way down Park.

3. p:ear

Every year I try to involve myself in some sort of charitable endeavor whether it be pro bono design work, cleaning up litter, or Big Brothers Big Sisters. This year, among other things, I got involved with p:ear, an amazing organization devoted to the cause of creatively mentoring homeless street youth. Having no previous experience with homeless street youth, the thought of working with these kids was quite intimidating and daunting. However, with the encouragement of Joy and the p:ear crew, I started devoting my Thursday evenings to helping out at the center and playing with the kids. I found the experience to be quite comfortable, natural, and rewarding. I had my palms read and fortunes told by a burgeoning mystic, I talked about the benefits of a Linux system with a savvy computer entreprenuer, and I lost many a game of Boggle and “pirate Scrabble.” Unfortunately now, the schedule no longer includes Thursday evenings so I am left to volunteer for p:ear in other ways. Lately that has namely been pouring beer at benefit events, and planting hundreds of tulip bulbs (see image above). Hopefully this year brings more involvement.

Cheers to 2009!

Much of the promotion I am doing for the submission call will be grassroots and word of mouth, so if you like the project please help me get out the word by passing the information along to interested parties. Of course I also encourage you to enter if you are a Portlander! Thanks for your help telling our story!

After eagerly consuming the novel Sometimes a Great Notion (by Eugene resident and bus-painting pioneer, Ken Kesey) and watching the movie, my boyfriend and I were among the first in the door to the Portland Center Stage production of the novel. The play was fantastic and we chose to attend a symposium on the play’s creation the Saturday following the first week of shows. Among the speakers was playwright, Aaron Posner, film director Gus Van Sant, and prankster extraordinaire, Ken Babbs. Babbs was one of the self proclaimed Merry Pranksters who, along with Kesey, journeyed across America in a converted school bus spreading the peace, love, drugs, and rock and roll message of the 60s. Babbs stole the stage more than once because his crazy non-linear stories could not be told from a sitting position. Nonetheless he was an interesting character an interesting message. Plus he has his own Wikipedia article, so he must be cool.

Fanatic Easter displays aside, this was a weekend of many discoveries.

1. Rose City Rollers

From the rhythmic drumline intro, to the body-slamming crashes on skates, Portland’s roller derby scene is pulsing with energy and dripping with sweat and a dash of mascara. I witnessed the action for the first time on Saturday from the crash zone. These hardcore girls get down and dirty, whipping around and around the track, fighting for position, while keeping their lipstick intact. Quite the spectacle for the uninitiated, and highly recommended.

2. The Albina Green

My boy and I skipped the madness of Easter brunch, instead opting for a cup of Stumptown coffee and a morning of wandering. Our afternoon adventures led us to the Mississippi district with our copy of the newly released Willamette Week Cheap Eats in hand. We found our way to Albina Green, a wonderful restaurant tucked off the road. Advertised as “the working man’s rock restaurant” this funky, musician-centered hideaway served up a slew of organic greens and tasty meats. We chowed on our respective feasts, watching the neighborhood church release a batch of brightly dressed and spirited North Portland residents into the rain.

3. Yael Naim
While I admit that it is rather lame to discover a musical artist via commercial, but thus is the nature of this technologically advanced society in which we live. Yael Naim is the Israeli artist making waves with her whimsical and metallic song, New Soul. I picked up her album on that wandering, aimless, Easter Sunday, and am mesmerized. The songs are in English, Hebrew and French and all have their distinct moods and tone. There is even a cover of Britney Spear’s song, Toxic which takes on a seductive and otherworldly rhythm.

Happy Spring!

Every year Oprah reveals her “favorite things” list to an audience of self-help-reading, home-at-3pm-tv-watching followers who ooh and ahhh appropriately in honor. Well I have a list too, and while I may not have throngs of devoted fans (or one devoted fan), for whatever its worth here is my official 2007 Christmas favorite things.

1. Office on Alberta:

For designers by designers this funky little store in the hipster-converted Alberta is always a stop on my Last Thursday excursions. November’s Last Thursday on Alberta lacked the abnormal circus-like quality of the summers past, but a few die hard fans braved the cold rain and made it out to Office’s Let Her Press exhibit of top Portland female artist’s designs for the letterpress. Amy Ruppel’s work was my favorite, seen here.

There is something very romantic about the letterpress. The thick paper, bright colors and rich texture are qualities of the artform that are often lost in modern design. Its a borderline obsession for me and it was all I could do but to run my fingers across the grooved shapes pressed into the fibery goodness. I get all tingly just thinking about it, thank you Office.

2. Green Dragon on Belmont:

The Green Dragon is the latest brewery to hit Portland, and it is becoming a favorite. They currently have a unique guest tap selection, but look for the first batch of their own beer in January. The food is fantastic, I am obsessed with the Mediterranean bread salad in all of its olive oil soaked goodness. PLUS, there is a glass of chalks and the tables are chalkboards, so you can doodle freely and, on a whim, express love to your dining partner, or write a limerick (if that is more your style) without the guilt of publicly defacing property.

3. Willamette Valley Thanksgiving Wine tours (self-guided)

From beer to wine, your cant beat WV’s pinots. I am thankful on Thanksgiving weekend for all the fantastic wineries that open early, close late, charge $5 for flights and send you away with a glass. This year my friends and I piled into 3 cars and made a 5 winery tour. 20 plus samples later and we didn’t even mind the 99W traffic jam.

4. Adbusters.org

Adbusters fights to free the media and drive consumer behavior towards products and messages that are more egalitarian and environmentally sustainable. They are culture jammers on a mission and armed with a pool of talented designers, artists and writers. Vive la resistance!

5. Quality Pictures

My favorite first Thursday stop, this Portland art gallery always has cutting edge artists, less crowds, full artists bio books, and my favorite microbrew on ice. Check out It’s Kind of Endless an exhibit by Meg Peterson this Thursday, Dec 6th.