Guest Blog: Indie City Guides: Providence, RI by If’n Books + Marks

November 06, 2008

Deb Dormody of If’n Books + Marks is sharing her city of Providence, Rhode Island today for Indie City Guides. Deb, a bookbinder and an organizer of Craftland, will take you on a tour of the quirky city of Rhode Island. Enjoy!

If you are interested in writing an Indie City Guide or sharing what is indie happening about your city, then shoot me an email.

by guest contributor Deb Dormody

Welcome to sunny Providence, Rhode Island! People here eat things like quahogs and drink things like coffee milk. Or at least that’s what we tell people when they visit.

Providence was colonized by Roger Williams who was booted out of Massachusetts for believing in such things as the separation of church and state. He arrived in what is now Rhode Island and was greeted by Narragansett Indians with the phrase “What cheer, netop?” which pretty much means “Hey holmes! what’s happening?”

Flash forward to modern day, and Providence still welcomes exiles of all kinds with catchy phrases. Then as now, people don’t come here to ‘make it’ but to make something out of nothing. The crafty atmosphere is plentiful and encouraged by communities of friends—not to mention preeminent institutions like the Rhode Island School of Design.

Wolf Myro

Located smack in the middle of the industrial revolution, Providence has plenty of big old mill spaces to go around in which to make your work. And there are two supply shops to get started if you’re ready to begin a project. One is Wolf Myro. This is nothing short of mecca for jewelers. Pilgrims come from all over the US to comb its dusty shelves for findings, stones, and odds and ends that you are not imaginative enough to even think could exist in the world. Fun fact: Providence is also known as ‘the jewelry capital of the world.’ This grants its residents a free pass for being extraordinarily opinionated about adornments, from artistic to costume jewelry.

Lorraine’s Fabric

The second must-see stop is Lorraine’s Fabric. Technically in Pawtucket, the next town over, this shop is home to a dizzying array of trims and buttons, lame´and fabric, fake fur and felt. But before you fall over, pop on your headphones (with music from Armageddon Records to overpower the blaring Kenny G) and head upstairs to the Bargain Attic. All the cloth is $1.99 a yard. That’s right, an attic full of $1.99 fabric. You just might find a bolt that reappeared from 1972 especially for you and your cloth-filled whims.

(As a paper nerd myself, I’m more likely to visit the RISD Store for a great selection or to stock up wholesale-style at The Paper Connection). More…

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My trip to Philly: recap

October 20, 2008

So, I went to Philly on Friday and nothing turned out actually like I planned, but that’s okay, I still had fun. First of all, we got to the Liberties Walk too early and nothing was really opened yet. The only shops I really cared about visiting were the Delicious Boutique and Corseterie & Danni’s Boutique. Oh, and Brown Betty Desserts, which was open, but I just forgot to visit before I left for the day. All an excuse to go back for another day in the city.

Laura and I did end up at Art Star, which I hadn’t yet visited since in the new larger location. Megan & Erin, the owners, have such a great eye for all things indie and it’s always a real treat to visit & shop at Art Star. They were working on putting the finishing touches on the Gallery for the new exhibition by artist Kathleen Lolley—just love her melancholy fairytale-esque point of view.

I ended up only buying one thing all day, some earrings at Art Star by the designer Jen Walrath, but here’s a few more things that I had my eye on.

1. Vinyl bags from Miss Alison ::::: 2. Stuffed owls from Kathleen Lolley ::::: 3. Earrings I bought from Jen Walrath ::::: 4. Leather cut-out jewelry (not available online) ::::: 5. Pretty much wanted everything from glass jewelry artist Penelope Rakov ::::: 6. Pillow jewelry from Amy Buffum (not available online) ::::: 7. Tees from fluffy co ::::: 8. Purse brooches from Yoko Tazaki

After Art Star, we wanted to eat at Bar Ferdinand, but apparently they don’t open for lunch (who knew), so we ended up at The Abbaye, a Belgian bar/restaurant. The food was good and the beer was even better, I’d definitely go back. On the walls, there were parintings by local artist Kathleen Vaccaro. I liked the one titled “Kate Coppola” and Laura liked the falling elephant.

After eating, Laura & I hit up Wholefoods, since the one in Philly is the closest to us and that’s still an hour away.

All in all it was a good day, spent with an even better friend, shopping, eating & drinking…what a lovely way to spend a crisp October Friday!

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Guest Blog: Indie City Guides: Portland by Charissa Faire Day#3

September 19, 2008

It’s the final day of Charissa Faire’s Indie City Guide for Portland (which was supposed to go up yesterday, but I dropped the ball). Read Day #1 here and Day #2 here.

If you are interested in writing an Indie City Guide, shoot me an email.

by guest contributor Charissa Faire

Day three of my Indie City Guide to Portland covers two of the areas most near and dear to my heart: Art and shopping. I’ve included just a small sampling of the local art galleries and favorite places to shop, and hope they’ll at least provided a starting point to begin exploring this city should you ever visit (or move!). And if you do, stop by and say hello to me.

SHOPPING AND GALLERIES

Hello Portland is in my neighborhood, so it’s the first place I go when I need a fabulous last minute birthday gift or just something to cheer me up. They’ve got it all: Great locally made bags and purses and barrettes, cute pins made from Spanish bingo cards, stationery and cards by NobleWorks Inc. and Curly Girl Designs, and gadgets and gizmos galore. They also have an elaborate selection of party favors which never fails to make me wish I threw more parties. Of course I still don’t, but it’s always nice to feel temporarily inspired!

HELLO PORTLAND
525 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210
(503) 274-0771

Ah, the famous Powell’s Books. You may have a branch in your city, but not like this one. An actual warehouse filled with books, covering an entire city block, with so many rooms and floors there are maps and color-coded rooms to help you navigate. When I first arrived in Portland at the train station and there were flyers for Powell’s at the depot, I wondered what kind of bookstore would count as a tourist attraction. I’m glad I found out. Definitely don’t miss checking out the gorgeous rare books room, the changing art exhibits in the art section, the staggering array of local and independent press items, and the items for sale by locals scattered throughout the store. I recently picked up some great magnets by local artist Trish Grantham, who is one of my absolute favorites. So cute!

POWELL’S BOOKS
1005 W. Burnside
Portland, OR‎ 97209
(503) 228-4651

Billy Galaxy has such a dense collection of vintage toys, comic books, video games and memorabilia arranged into such a tiny store, it’s a wonder it’s as easy to navigate as it is. But it’s such a delight perusing their jam-packed shelves, going “ooh! I remember that! I HAD one of those!” and hurrying to snatch up that old Care-a-lot Playset before someone else gets her grubby hands on it. So I don’t think you’ll mind one bit.

BILLY GALAXY
912 W Burnside St
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 227-8253‎

Moshi Moshi is the art space adjoining Billy Galaxy, and it has a lot to offer on its own. They recently featured shows by artists Junko Mizuno and Brett Superstar, and have lots of terrific Japanese toys, t-shirts, and stationery items in their shop. A very fun place to browse!

More…

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Guest Blog: Indie City Guides: Portland by Charissa Faire Day#2

September 17, 2008

It’s Day #2 of the Indie City Guide for Portland by Charissa Faire. You can read Day #1 here and be sure to check back tomorrow for the final installment.

If you are interested in writing an Indie City Guide or sharing what is indie happening about your city, then shoot me an email.

by guest contributor Charissa Faire

Welcome to Day 2 of my guide to Indie Portland! Today I’m covering events and food, because this stuff’s important. It was hard to narrow it down to just a few, but hopefully these are at least a starting point to a wonderful world of indie fun and eating in the great Northwest!

EVENTS

One of the most central and well-known events in Portland is the Portland Saturday Market. It takes place downtown every Saturday and Sunday between March and Christmas Eve. The market includes an almost overwhelmingly large collection of temporary booths with every imaginable craft under the sun: From jewelry to musical instruments to toys to home furnishings to visual arts and more. I got a silver ring made from a spoon there, and there’s a booth dedicated entirely to utensil art, so don’t miss out!

PORTLAND SATURDAY MARKET
SW Naito Blvd, under the Burnside Bridge and in Ankeny Park

Next up is the fabulous and so very appropriately named event known as Crafty Wonderland. Taking place on the second Saturday of every month at the ultra-cool Doug Fir Lounge, this is a glorious smorgasbord of all things crafty. It features about forty vendors PLUS a free DIY table every month: Recent vendors include Moontea Artwork, Mugwump, Happy Cake, and my much-adored Robot Candy.

photo from the Crafty Wonderland flickr pool

CRAFTY WONDERLAND
at Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside
Portland, OR 97214

The PDX Pop Now! music festival is an annual festival begun in 2004 to bring attention to Portland’s rich and varied music scene. PDX Pop Now! is a non-profit organization formed from sheer love of local music, and it showcases lesser-known bands right alongside more well-established artists. This year’s festival has already come and gone, but you can still check out all of the CD compilations from this year and previous years here.

PDX POP NOW!
at Rotture, 315 SE 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 234-5683
FOOD

We’ve already established just what’s so indie about food, so I don’t think I need to explain why I’m including a few of my favorite local eateries and grocery stores. Every place listed here is a great source for a tasty treat, as well as supporting indie-friendly values. I’m sorry I couldn’t include more, but I’m just starting to discover the amazing local menu here myself! More…

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Guest Blog: Indie City Guides: Portland by Charissa Faire

September 16, 2008

Today Charissa Faire, regular contributor to The Fabulist and writer behind Isn’t It Always a Surprise!, is sharing an Indie City Guide for the city of Portland, Oregon. Portland is a very indie friendly city and one I wished I lived in…if all my family & friends would move with me, that is. Charissa’s fabulous guide will run today, tomorrow and Thursday, so make sure to check back each day to read about the cool happenings in Portland.

If you are interested in writing an Indie City Guide or sharing what is indie happening about your city, then shoot me an email.

by guest contributor Charissa Faire

From the moment I first visited Portland, back in June of 2007, I realized that this is a place unlike anywhere else. A place with what must be THE MOST sidewalk chalk drawings of any city on the entire planet. A place where it is not at all unusual to find an interactive poster someone put together and hung on a telephone pole in honor of their love of the boardgame Candyland. A place where Spoon and The Decemberists and The Shins are played as the muzak in the local shopping malls and restaurants (all are are local bands).

I just moved to Portland from San Francisco about seven months ago, so I can’t provide the expertise that a true native could. And I’m a bit of a hermit, honestly, so I probably can’t even provide the expertise that another seven-month-long resident could. But what I CAN do is give you the perspective of a girl with fresh little eyes with stars in them seeing everything around her for the first time, before the city acquires the patina of familiarity and she starts to take it all for granted. So, I’ve assembled a short list of a few of the places in Portland that can inspire even a bona fide homebody like myself to venture out of her apartment and into the rain or — yes, it does happen here occasionally! — into the sunshine.

Clothing, Beauty, and Accessories

Portland has an incredible array of vintage, handmade, and just plain unusual clothing and accessories to choose from. First on my list is Gilt Vintage and Artisan Jewelry, a gorgeous two-story jewelry store with a selection of both vintage and locally handmade ornaments you won’t find anywhere else. The staff is helpful, the prices are reasonable, and most importantly, the pieces have stories behind them. A romantic sort of history for a very romantic sort of store.

GILT VINTAGE AND ARTISAN JEWELRY
720 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210
(503) 226-0629‎

Next up is Sock Dreams. Can you imagine how excited I was when I saw my favorite online store for all things legwear has an actual physical location, and it’s right here in my city? Apparently they opened here in April of this year–just in time for my arrival! And with items not to be found anywhere in their online catalog, it’s worth a visit. After all, it’s essential to have a pair of socks or stockings for every possibility. You never know what might come up.

SOCK DREAMS
725 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 234-0885

One of the most well-known places for vintage clothing in Portland is the Red Light Clothing Exchange, a store that counts The Gossip’s Beth Ditto among its regular patrons. Racks upon racks of the cutest, most colorful little vintage dresses you’ve ever seen line the walls, along with a staggering array of vintage t-shirts, boots, high heels, roller skates (!!), polyester shirts, rainbow wigs, handbags, cowboy hats, pleather pantsuits…you name it, you’ll probably find it here.

RED LIGHT CLOTHING EXCHANGE

333 SW 10th Ave
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 294-0800

Not to be ignored, there’s another little vintage store nearby called Magpie that’s worth checking out. It has a large selection of very groovy outfits and accessories in an elegant setting, but this shop impressed me most with its beautiful, sparkly purses and costume jewelry. Magpies are known for their love of shiny objects, and so am I. It’s easy to see why I love this place. More…

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Guest Blog: Indie City Guides: Atlanta by Supercute Day#2

August 21, 2008

by guest contributors Supercute!

It’s Day #2 if the Atlanta Indie City Guide by the ladies behind Supercute! Supercute! is a collaboration of three independent artists: Lorigami, Lizerati & Becky of Glue&Glitter. Becky, Lori & Liz also joined forces to put together an Indie City Guide for their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Today, they are sharing Day #2 of their Guide—you can read Day #1 here.

If you are interested in writing an Indie City Guide or sharing what is indie happening about your city, then shoot me an email.

East Atlanta
East Atlanta is a great little corner of the city, mostly known for it’s Indie nightlife. With a handful of small clubs and some great little corner bars, this is where to go after dark.

E.A.R.L.

Probably one of it’s best known establishments is the E.A.R.L. . Bands are in the back room, which has a low stage and only holds about 300 people. There’s a really intimate environment here, great for the non-corporate indie bands they are so great at booking. The EARL is one of the last mid-sized venues in this city and is a must-stop for anyone truly into the Indie music scene. They’ve also got a great menu with a full bar, and they serve late. There are even a couple vegan dishes on the menu, in addition to one of the best burgers in the city, so there’s a little something for everyone.

E.A.R.L. / 488 Flat Shoals Ave SE / Atlanta, GA 30316 / (404) 522-3950

Echo Lounge
While we’re on the subject of music, another great Atlanta venue is re-opening soon in East Atlanta. Some people may remember the legendary Echo Lounge, which sadly closed it’s doors a number of years ago. Well, new owners have been busy bees reinventing that venue, and promise to reopen any day now, bringing back another mid-sized venue with great sound and a dedication to the Indie Music scene.

EastSide Lounge

Another of East Atlanta’s after-hours treasures is the legendary EastSide Lounge. Tucked away behind a wall of stainless steel is a fabulous little venue where you can grab a drink, view one of the ever-rotating art shows, then head upstairs to dance to some of Atlanta’s best indie DJ’s. The new owner has been a staunch supporter of the local art scene, opening his walls to rotating monthly shows for artists of all kinds. From graffiti to photography to metal sculpture, there’s always something going on here. Once a month you can even grab a drink and make your own art at Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School with a rotating cast of amazing live models.

EastSide Lounge / 485 Flat Shoals Ave SE / Atlanta, GA 30316 / (404) 521-9666

More…