Hasta La Ideas

Portland’s micro-chocolatiers with a knack for DIY innovation

A few years ago in the DIY paradise of Portland, Oregon, Jessica and Charley Wheelock began cultivating an idea. If home brewers and coffee roasters were dotting the national food scene with successful independent businesses, why were there so few independent artisanal chocolate makers? The two cobbled together repurposed coffee and grain equipment together with information culled from the Internet, starting Woodblock Chocolate a little over a year ago.

“Even Theo and Scharffen Berger are massive compared to what we’re doing,” said Charley on a recent sunny afternoon in his kitchen in south Portland. In the background, their melangeur—originally a grain grinder from India—whirs gently as it conches a fresh batch. A coffee roaster ticking on a sideboard releases the warm smell of home-roasted cacao beans. “There are maybe 20 artisanal chocolate shops in the country at our level,” added Jessica.

Woodblock Chocolate currently operates out of the Wheelocks’ home. Although they work around the clock to produce chocolate at a rate of two kilos every 72 hours, demand has proven so strong that they’re currently in negotiations to expand their operations only a year after opening. “Our children beg us not to talk about chocolate,” laughed Jessica. “But they’re pretty psyched about our work.”

The couple’s success relies on three things: Charley’s handiness with machinery (he’s currently working on a homemade winnower prototype in the garage, designed to quickly husk the roasted beans), their shared background in design and, of course, their chocolate. The bars are denoted by percentage of cocoa and where the beans were grown. The salted 70% La Red D.R., from the Dominican Republic is smokier and tangier than the Mantuano, but both are just barely sweet, with a hint of fleur de sel.

Charley brought in a tray of just-roasted beans and broke one open. The dark nibs taste so richly and strongly of chocolate that it’s hard to imagine they can need any further embellishment. “Sugar and these nibs, that’s all that’s in there,” Jessica said. If direct-sourcing coffee beans hasn’t yet changed the world, perhaps it’s chocolate’s turn to give it a try.

Woodblock Chocolate can be found in-store at Olympic Provisions, Cacao, and online at The Meadow.

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The first product to come out of a video series on upcycling

Oregon’s own wooden eyewear makers Shwood today premiered a latest sunglass collaboration with San Francisco streetwear label Huf. Made of broken skateboard decks, you can see the production process of the resulting “Six-Ply Fade” in the first experimental video on Shwood’s buzzy new site “Experiment with Nature.”

We recently caught up with Shwood founder Eric Singer to chat about “Experiment with Nature” and the consequential Huf collaboration.

How did the “Experiment with Nature” project come about?

“Experiment With Nature” has been Shwood’s tagline from the beginning. Everything from product concepts and manufacturing to packaging and branding strategies begin as an experiment in our wood shop. The EWN project was designed to share this experimental process and DIY mentality with the world. The videos aren’t simply about making sunglasses, but rather the concept of transforming everyday objects or natural resources into anything interesting really. Upcoming videos will feature everything from tools to transportation, all sharing the concept of transforming everyday objects or natural resources into interesting final products. We want to inspire others to try new things and see what works.

How did you choose the content? Specifically, how did the collaboration with Huf owner Keith Hufnagel happen?

If there is one thing we have a lot of at Shwood, it’s creativity. Sometimes it can be a struggle to stay concentrated on producing sunglasses when there are so many other projects we are dying to experiment with. So we decided to share these creative experiments with others—built a website, called up our videographer and got started on the first series, “Skateboard Shades.”

We met Keith Hufnagel and crew at a tradeshow last year and immediately took a liking to one another’s brand. We decided to partner on a collaborative project and ended up with skateboard shades. Making sunglasses from old skate decks had been something we had wanted to experiment with for a long time. So it seemed like a good excuse to make the trek down to skate with our friends at Huf.

Artful portraits capturing the personality of man’s best friend and other animals

National Geographic-style exotic animals poised in their natural habitat these are not. Carli Davidson aims her lens at domesticated pets and zoo animals, capturing personalities rather than wild, untamed animal behavior. Based in Portland, Oregon, she’s internationally recognized for her work as a fine art pet photographer with her often humorous and consistently honest portraits.

Davidson’s portfolio is every animal-lover’s dream with both editorial and studio series ranging from the colorful “Dogs and Cats” collection to charming photos from the “Oregon Zoo.” These include a triumphant pic of Conrad the polar bear licking a cream cheese cake off a window on his 25th birthday and a recently-hatched tiny turtle posed on top of a hundred dollar bill for scale.

Another “aw”-inducing series, the “Handicapped Pet project” proves with levity that “your pet is beautiful no matter how many limbs it has”—like Ramen Noodle, an adorable pup who lost both his arms in two separate accidents. In his case, Davidson demonstrates Ramen Noodle’s resilience with images of him standing tall on his remaining hind legs, as well as carefree action shots of him running around in his wheelchair. (Also on Cool Hunting: I Heart Tripods)

Apart from capturing humorous quirks in the off-moments when pets’ eyes go cross or tongues flop lazily from snouts, Davidson depicts their owners in “People & Pets.” Through artful posing, Davidson’s photographs—like a yawning puppy cupped in gentle, tattooed hands and a white-feathered parrot perched so it’s profile blends with its owner’s bright blue eyes —reflect the character of both individuals, as well as the bond between them.

While Davidson’s work is generally lighthearted, she shows the dark side of animal life too. Her graphic series, “Bison Butchering,” follows the process of meat trading from pasture to slaughterhouse. She also sheds light on veterinary work with her visual photos of “Animal Surgery.” This includes the philanthropic work performed by the Oregon Zoo veterinarians who invite blind students for a hands-on experience of their operating rooms.

Visit Davidson’s website to peruse her various photographic studies—including the irresistible series “Shake,” which features stills of various wide-eyed pooches shaking it out with flappy cheeks, windblown tufts of fur and airborne wads of drool. Contact her directly to snag exclusive prints.

via Zeutch.

All photography by Carli Davidson

Casual leather sandals that aren’t your grandma’s comfort shoes

Bi-continental shoe company Nom&Ada is named after its two founders: The “nomadic” Rie Sawai in Tokyo and the “adaptable” Kimy Andrade in Portland, OR. The two met while studying design at Parsons in NYC and remained close friends after graduating in 2004. Five years later they met halfway between their two homes in Hawaii, and when inspiration struck over iced Kona coffee they decided to embark on a joint venture.

The duo recently launched their website and e-Boutique with their debut shoe, the “holoholo” moccasin. In Hawaiian, holoholo translates to “leisurely journey”—an apt name for the comfortable, casual riff on the classic T-strap sandal. Constantly on the move, Sawai and Andrade say they’re inspired by their travels and nostalgia, and the crepe-soled sandals are perfect for airline travel, with a pair of tights, or for impromptu hikes on a sunny weekend after brunch.

Despite the great distance between the two business partners, Sawai and Andrade do their best to collaborate as much as possible. “The time difference definitely kills,” they said—they even answer e-mails jointly—”but it makes the times that we do get to work together in the same location that much more special.”

There are also advantages to having a close friend halfway around the world, saying “It adds different perspectives to our technical and creative process, and gives us an excuse to travel!” They chronicle their finds and inspirations on their blog, which they also write together. “Even though the majority of our conversation is business nowadays, we find a moment or two to catch up on girl talk,” they said.

The crepe-soled leather sandals are handmade in Japan and come in black, white and camel—with the camel available with both white and flamingo stitching. They sell online for $260.

A Portland DIY guru’s bags, aprons and more

Like a younger Martha Stewart based in Portland, OR, Matt Pierce’s wide range of skills—from sewing to woodworking and furniture-making—keeps him busy tinkering in the house (that he renovated) and his garden workshop. “I used to worry that because I was so interested in so many different things, that I could never become an expert in any one thing,” he said. “Then I learned to embrace it. It’s just my style to do a lot of different things.”

But Pierce hasn’t always been a chronic tinkerer; he also works as a graphic, interior and web designer (with clients like Adult Swim on his roster). It’s perhaps this background that gives his all his work—from bags to doors and aprons—a distinctly utilitarian feel that doesn’t detract from its handsomeness. “I like looking at Army-Navy stores, and using materials in ways that they weren’t intended to be used,” he said, sitting at the table that he made from metal, red Kevlar and wood given to him by his grandfather in Kansas (Pierce’s native state).

Pierce’s beautifully photographed site Wood & Faulk does perfect justice to his sturdily made and affordable products, which he produces in small batches and rotate frequently. “I think my next project might be a DIY lamp kit,” he said. “I’d provide the die-cut pieces and tubing.” Some of his other items for sale include a handsome heavy cotton carpenter’s bag and pocket notebooks for when you have some inspirations of your own.

Wood & Faulk products sell online. To learn about ongoing projects, check out the blog.