Skip to main contentAutumn's cooling hush has already begun to settle over Portland's stunning September days, and if the weather didn't incline you to stay close to home, recent world events just might. Therefore, let your nesting instinct lead you away from Home Depot and toward more local homewares stores such as Mirador and Combination. Though each caters to a slightly different community of homeowners, both outlets share a commitment to beautiful and functional objects to suit humble hearth and luxury loft alike.
Mirador's Southeast space, originally a '20s service station, is a trio of rooms doused in color washes of aquatic blue and green. Ornamental glass in the windows paints the light, and the browser feels free to peruse the objects, which range from recycled crayons to fair-trade baskets from Cambodia to rechargeable batteries and kitchen goods.
"The idea started as a way to get people back into the kitchen, preparing their own food, and knowing where their food comes from," says co-owner Lynn Hanrahan, whose background in massage therapy influences the aromatherapy offerings in the store.
Lynn and Steve Hanrahan have been in their Division Street space since January, and business is good. "Our customers run the spectrum from (nearby) People's Co-op shoppers...to more affluent consumers who feel the complexity of their lives and are getting tired of it." Lynn says that people tend to associate home decorating with simplifying in general, and that higher utility and gas prices, as well as the recent spectre of war, have driven increased interest in homekeeping.
Although very much a neighborhood store, Mirador is also a one-stop depot for those seeking hard-to-find tools and resources (wheatgrass juicers and sprouting kits, vegan cookbooks, hand-charged Russian Army "forever flashlights"). It's also a place where pleasing modern design comes face to face with sustainability--a value not typically associated with high style. Lynn thinks the convergence is timely. "Frankly, most people want things that look attractive--that hippie stuff leaves most of us cold."
If they're onto something big, it won't be long before the post-industrial recycled aesthetic that characterizes the shop's decorative pieces (photo frames made from bike chain and rubberwood, industrial inner-tube backpacks) launches out of folk fairs and into fashion. "It is possible to save money, make money, be happy and have beauty around you," Hanrahan says.
Speaking of beauty, the Pearl District is fast becoming a pedestrian-friendly community for the inhabitants of all those new-old lofts and new-new condo towers. With surprisingly few shops to service the need to outfit Pearl dwellings (you can buy art and antiques, but few essentials), Combination store owner Vilasinee Edgar (who goes by "Aoy") steps into an underserved niche.
Combination perches in a petite space within an auto-care service, which is owned by Edgar's husband's parents. Though stocked with modern, Asian-influenced home goods , the space still shows hints of the neighborhood's fast-vanishing manufacturing past (car-tire treads have left ghostly scuffs on the concrete floor). Edgar imports most of her inventory from Thailand, such as soft-edged dishes glazed in matte white and black, candles and incense, bamboo canisters and placemats, and small furnishings, including recycled rubberwood cabinets painted in rough, beachy tints.
The pieces Edgar selects are meant to mix with any decor, although her style is distinctly fashion-forward. "You don't have to buy everything in the store for these things to look good," she stresses, adding that to come to the Pearl District and actually buy something is, for some, a new experience. She hopes to attract neighborhood denizens challenged by the limitations of loft living.
"They are able to spend a lot of money, but that doesn't mean they have a big space," Edgar laughs, mentioning that one of her goals for the store is to offer affordable, small-scale home design as an antidote to the 'hood's pricier emporia.
Whether home for you is a high-rise cube or a six-person Southeast flop, take a little time to invest in your nest.
I hear it's where the heart is.
Dress Listings
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Bill Burns to Present Fall Collection
The man himself will be in the house at Nordstrom to present his 2001 women's collection, in which classically tailored suits play a key role.
Nordstrom-Washington Square, 9700 SW Washington St., Tigard, 620-0555. 11 am-2 pm Saturday, Oct. 6.
333 Studios 5th Annual October Show
This collective gallery is going strong and wants you to see what it's been up to. Nine resident artists will display their work in studios and common areas, to the sounds of Pete Krebs and the Kung Pao Chickens.
333 Studios, 333 NE Hancock St., 249-0808. 4-9 pm Saturday, Oct. 6.
You're Hot, You're Married...
You could be the next Mrs. Oregon United Nation! Contestants are judged in categories of Community Involvement, Interview, Evening Gown and Tennis Wear. Contact State Director Colly Van Stiphout at 699-6290 for information and application. The state pageant is scheduled for May 24-25, 2002
235 NW 10th Ave., 224-2222
2106 SE Division St., 231-5175
WWeek 2015