Just got in last night from a couple of days in Portland. I headed down to participate in Crave Party’s Shop 08 Conference for Independents. One was held in Seattle last week and I was thrilled to be able to participate in the Portland event. The panel I was on focused on Trends and the effective use of them in your business whether it be a retail business or not. My co-panelists were really amazing (go to the list on the conference site to check them out). The biggest message we left the attendees with was being true to your business and yourself, despite trends, by really focusing on your customer, their experience, needs and feedback. Check out the link to get all the info and follow the links to all the speakers. It was an incredible crew and congrats to Erika and Melody for a job well done. I would definitely note this on your calendar to attend next year…
Of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t check out the scene in PDX while I was there. It is pretty evident that there is a relative hipness around the city that it harder to find here in SEA. The epi-center has to be the Ace Hotel and the surrounding block on Stark. The two restaurants flanking the hotel rock not only for the scene, but the food and of course, Stumphouse Coffee can’t be beat. If you are planning a stay in the city, stay there. Each room is unique and has fun elements like record players and found objects from the city. If you live in PDX, hit the bar. They have a great happy hour and the Fig infused vodka Martini is the cocktail to try…for lunch, yes, I went there twice, try the egg sandwich and a bloody mary…
I ended up on my own in the city Monday night and really wanted to seek out something super local. It was recommended to me to go check out Karaoke from Hell at Dante’s, apparently a Portland institution. The first thing I said was, “isn’t that the strip club?”…”well, yeah…but it’s not in that part of the space…” I couldn’t resist and headed out….I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow, so much better than watching TV in my hotel room. This list of characters couldn’t have been cast better. I stayed the entire time and even got up and to dance. The concept is a live band; super talented musicians, backing you up as you live out your dream of being a rock star. We had a run of this for awhile in Seattle with Rockaroke at the Sunset Tavern…remember? These guys however, blew ours out of the water. The host was funny and a complete a#@, but that made it better. There were obvious regulars coming up to the stage. My favorites included the conservative suit wearing guy who was super funny on the mic, a bit like Steve Carrel, who sang ACDC’s Shook Me all Night Long, and sang it well.
Portland folks are super friendly and by the end, I felt quite at home. By the way, I met people not just from Portland, but also Manhattan, Saudia Arabia, Puerto Rico and well, Bend, OR…check it out next time you find yourself in Portland on a Monday night.
And, of course, I did shop for clients and did my regular turn of stores in the Pearl and Zelda’s shoe bar on NW 23rd. I finally got to check out my friend and designer Rachel Mara’s store Moule’ in the Pearl. It is a beautiful space and I they have a great selection for men and women. They also have amazing jewelry, great home accessories and yes, even something for the bambino’s and pets in your life. It was fun to meet all the folks working there who are super nice…spring is just coming in, so if you head there in a week or so, you should have lots to choose from. RL
