Last week I took a much needed break and decided to drive up north to Portland, Oregon. I had never been to Oregon and thought it’d be a nice break and a great opportunity to snap photos of weird towns along the way. The weather was perfect and Pandora radio hung with me all the way to Ashland so I had the perfect soundtrack to accompany me through the likes of Gerber, Fortuna, Artois, Drain (!) and so many more towns I had never heard of before. I consumed more Starbucks and M&Ms than any human should to stay awake and I believe I now know where every restroom is from SF to Portland! All in all it was a wonderful and mind opening trip and I’m so glad I chose to do it.
Along the way, I stopped to get gas in a town called Canyonville. I visited an antique store there owned by a great guy named Bruce. He was so incredibly knowledgeable and clearly has a total passion for collecting. He took me around his 5,000 square foot space crammed floor to ceiling with treasure. I got to see a perfect pair of antique Steuben lamps, phenomenal Lalique crystal quail figurines, Murano blown glass balls (I love those!) and so much more. It was overwhelming. He doesn’t have many folks coming through anymore now that the casino, Five Feathers, opened up down the road. The place was dusty, cob webby and lonely. I felt bad for Bruce but I came away with many gorgeous things to showcase in Apartment 46 and I will definitely be going back!
In Portland I visited so many fantastic shops and every shop owner I met was friendly, helpful and downright cool. I don’t believe I’ve ever been ANYWHERE where the people were so nice. Such a good experience!
I found a wonderful and beautifully appointed store called Thea’s Interiors that reminded me so much of my own store that I instantly fell in love with the owner’s style and eye. I was mad about these little charms she sold for necklaces and was instantly smitten with a great vintage tray that is now at home in my own shop! Lucky me! Amazing vintage botanical and bird prints were among the precious things she stocks and the atmosphere was warm and inviting, just like I like it! I highly recommend a visit if you’re in town.
Wandering around the Pearl District I found Oblation Papers where I promptly emptied my wallet on some of the prettiest papers I have ever seen! Lucky Apartment 46 shoppers will get to wrap gifts with total style and I hope to be getting more stock in as Christmas comes. I also visited a phenomenal interior shop and found the world’s sexiest chair! It was a soft, tufted, kind of masculine lounger done in a tweed. I had to be pried loose from it. 🙂
Throughout my stay there I also visited Hawthorne, where I picked up some tiny, crazy, bread animals for my clients whose sense of humor borders on twisted (like mine!) and some very cool local art. I also ended up on antique row where I collected vintage yellow croquet balls, cute hair clips made from vintage jewelry and the most beautiful antique glass containers with shells inside them.
I checked out the Ace Hotel and its restaurant, Clyde Commons. Both are very cool and the lobby of the Ace is totally my style – giant vintage letters spell out words while huge bowls of Tillandsias are scattered about. Love it!
I am so excited to share my finds with you and hope that you’ll stop by soon to see what’s new! As always, curating the shop is an ongoing and never-ending process but I hope that you will always find something interesting and new to love.
All my best,
Melisa
