Skip to main content
In 2021, the cultural conversation in Portland didn’t revolve around the best recent concerts, theatrical productions or gallery openings. Rather, at the height of the COVID pandemic, most people were focused on their own homes. That fall, Willamette Week launched the glossy magazine Nester to meet the needs of folks who were finally getting around to all those home projects that they had been putting off for so long. (Pesky corner that has never had any logical use? Couch you’ve hated since college? Those.) Nester stepped in with how-to articles, inspirational photos, and home tours of stylish Portlanders.
“The ethos of Nester is really about finding your own personal style,” says Anna Zusman, publisher of WW.
Four years and five issues of Nester later, WW will launch NestFest on Sept. 20, an event celebrating home design that will bring the magazine to life. It will be held at the Goat Blocks, 1030 SE 10th Ave. For the past few years, Nester has hosted launch parties to coincide with the publication of the magazine. The larger, more ambitious NestFest is a natural evolution of those parties, which brought together Portland’s tight-knit design community.
NestFest won’t just be a shopping destination—though shoppers will have plenty of wares to choose from—but also a place for attendees to workshop ideas for their own homes. The event will feature a mood-boarding station, a community mosaic project, paint color consultations, a rain-garden tutorial, and more.
Featured vendors will include okappa houseware, Niko Far West, Steelport, and Perch Furniture. In addition, Willamette Week will offer maps of design destinations at the event, a curated selection of brick-and-mortar shops throughout Portland offering choice homegoods—many offering discounts the week after NestFest.
“We’re really hoping people will think about their design challenges before they come,” Zusman says.
The new issue of Nester comes out Sept. 20, launching at NestFest and then available all over Portland.
GO: NestFest at the Goat Blocks, 1030 SE 10th Ave. nestfestpdx.com. 10 am–5 pm Saturday, Sept 20. Free.
