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Retailtherapist Readers, if it is your dream to spend a long weekend at the convention center bouncing from craft extravaganza to ceramic showcase to woodworking arts show to glass bead expo to creative metal arts exhibit to a handweavers showcase, your time is drawing nigh. The Oregon Convention Center hosts all of these events this weekend, all with free admission, starting on Friday, April 30. RT will be logging ...   More

News Despite the newfangled challenges iPhones appear to pose, I've wanted one for weeks. But before I throw down all that cash, I'm going to make a carrying case based on the one for iPods in Susan Beal's new(ish) book Bead Simple (The Taunton Press, 2008.) Beal, a Portlander with PDX Super Crafty, was previously a subject of the cover story "Crafty Bitches." An easy-to-understand pattern ...   More

News Since its inception in 2005, I've been lucky enough to emcee Portland's Fashion Design Camp's big finale: The Fashion Show. Last Friday, I had a chance to do it again. The fashionable fete is the culmination of a week's worth of work in which a very young group of future fashion designers immerse themselves in a world full of rick-rack, tulle and fancy ribbon. After whipping up outfits ...   More

News Burning Man Day 6 (read all Burning Blog posts here) BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada – If you find an unmarked bottle of clear liquid at Burning Man, you: A) Leave it alone, it could be anything. B) Smell it. C) Pour it into your eyes. Apparently the answer is C, according to my campmate Turtle, a career military paramedic. He needed to wash out the sting of sweaty suntan lotion, but, ...   More

News Day Five at Burning Man (read all Burning Blog posts here) BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada – A Burning Man Haiku Searing sun beats down Saline dripping from my nose A guy without pants —Ashland's Michael Kerr The thing most people love about Burning Man is the people. Nowhere on earth is there a more concentrated burst of raw creativity. And nearly every endeavor is undertaken ...   More

News Day Four of Burning Man (read all Burning Blog posts here) BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada — The Mexican Wrestling guy contorted his head and a voice came down from the sky. “I know where I can get a drink,” the voice said. Everyone in the group began looking at each other quizzically. “I'm serious,” the voice asserted. The words sounded like they had been spoken ...   More

News Day Two of Burning Man (read all Burning Blog posts here) BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada – I am not dusty. There is a war being waged upon the surface of my skin. The dust that landed first has taken a defensive stance against late-arriving dust that seeks to jump the claim. I am fine with that. I have made peace with the first wave of dusty invaders and understand that they will occupy my skin ...   More

News Editor's Note: Throughout this coming week, Brad McCray will be providing WWire dispatches from Burning Man 2008 (as long as the techno gods cooperate). Set your bookmark here to read all the updates. Here's his first post: DESTINATION: BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada - Some of my friends hate it when I talk about Burning Man. That's all you ever talk about, they say while reminding me of some weird ...   More

News OK, so we first featured this way back in WW's 2007 Gimme Guide. But after watching all the drama and over all weirdness coming out China right now, we thought now would be another good time to share this little Bejing blingy thing that is...well..."unique." A repurposed dinosaur doll, this hybrid dino-dragon we got last fall at Cargo (380 NW 13th Ave., 209-8349) features a handmade costume ...   More