Hasta La Ideas

Bauhaus-inspired glassware by a Portland-based artist

Sourcing glass from as far off as Sweden or as locally as Washington state, glass artist Lynn Read works with glass from a variety of different sources (sometimes even old beer bottles) to produce a similarly wide array of pieces in his Portland, OR studio. His style ranges from intricate detailing reminiscent of a medieval tapestry to smooth and simple housewares in shades of deep cobalt blue and shimmering gold.

“I use different glasses for a variety of results,” Read explains, “like color, clarity, viscosity, cost, quality and its ability to be tweaked.”

Read got his start at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art, starting by studying sculpture and painting but soon taking up an outside apprenticeship to work with glass. Rather than blowing glass into a mold—perhaps the influence of his sculpture background—he shapes each red-hot piece (at about 2150°F) with soft touches and gentle air pressure.

Read produces two separate lines in the Vitreluxe studio. The clean, simple, Bauhaus-inspired line of housewares starts at about $14 a piece and can be found in retail stores all over the country. His signature line starts at about $1000 per piece and can be found in museums and galleries, such as the Seattle Art Museum and the Williams College of Art in Massachusetts. For more information, check out his website.

A ’65 double-decker bus puts Portland’s latest vintage shop on wheels

On the corner of Williams and Failing in northeast Portland, OR, a newly-restored double-decker bus gleams in the early afternoon sunlight. People walking to any of the nearby cafes and restaurants take out their iPhones and take pictures as they pass. “I have the greatest job in the world,” said the owner, Erin Sutherland, who restored the bus with the help of a few friends and converted it to a vintage shop, now called
Lodekka.

The name comes from the bus model. It’s a 1965 Bristol Lodekka that Sutherland found and renovated with the help of her friends, ripping out chairs and scraping off wallpaper paste. When Sutherland lost her job six months ago, she found herself with a lot of time on her hands and an ingenious idea. Portland has a booming food cart industry, why not start a vintage dress cart? The idea meshed well with Sutherland’s other occupation as a member of the Portland 1930’s jazz band The Stolen Sweets. Now she can sell vintage clothes by day, and sing vintage music by night.

Sutherland spends half the week shopping for stock and the other half chit-chatting with customers as they navigate the bus interior, examining its many treasures. Sutherland manages to display a lot of items in a small space, from vintage magazines to silky sweaters. A dog snoozes outside in the grass while Sutherland prices some items on a restored bus bench. A girl from Brooklyn tries on a pair of white cowboy boots and hauls some dresses up the spiral staircase to the dressing room. Downstairs, her mother squeals, “I haven’t seen this book since I was a kid!” Which book is uncertain, but one thing is clear: Sometimes getting fired can be the best thing to ever happen to you.

Lodekka has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The shop is open Thursday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm and Sunday noon to 5pm. For more information, check out Lodekka’s website.

Portland, OR outerwear company designs classic hunting and camping styles for the big city

Clothing designer Erik Prowell originally named his outerwear company La Merde. “We wanted a name that was fancy, and yet…wasn’t. Then Nordstrom refused to carry the line because of the name,” he said when we recently visited his Portland, OR studio. After a moment, he reflected, “If there hadn’t been a recession, we probably would’ve kept it.”

Now known as Bridge & Burn, Prowell’s sleek, yet warm wool coats and waxed cotton jackets are suitable for both city-dwellers and hikers alike. Bridge & Burn provides a solution to that perennial Portland quandary—where to find a decent-looking rain jacket. Prowell grew up in Bend, Oregon and was inspired by his father’s and grandfather’s camping and hunting gear. “I loved to wear my father’s Woolrich and Filson jackets and my grandfather’s old military uniforms from WWII. It’s great to see the resurgence of all the heritage brands. At the same time, I spend most of my time in the city and don’t feel a need to dress up like an outdoorsman,” Prowell said.

Prowell has no background in the fashion industry. His schooling was in computer science, and his introduction to the business came through an avenue that most of us can relate to—making funny T-shirts with a college friend. That project, with Josh Hindson, eventually became No Star, which still bills itself as “A Funny T-Shirt Company.” After a good friend gave the pair a crash course in apparel design, they formed La Merde. But when managing their combined projects became too complicated (Prowell also runs a photography-based T-shirt business called Oh, Snap!) the two agreed to part ways and companies. The Boise-based Hindson handles No Star, while Prowell decided to take Bridge & Burn in a different direction.

“In my mind, La Merde was a little flashier. Bridge & Burn represents my passion for clean, classic and functional design,” said the multi-talented entrepreneur, who also created the branding, shot all the photography, designed their print materials, and programmed the website. For the Fall ’10 season, he branched out from outerwear into button-ups, and Spring ’11 will see shorts for men and dresses for women.

Prowell’s clean, laid-back live/work studio and apartment, near bustling Burnside Street, embodies his holistic approach to life and design. The bedroom, lofted above the work and studio areas, lends privacy, while tall windows let plenty of light and air into the vaulted space. Despite an apparently frenetic work schedule, Prowell remains unassuming, relaxed—and astonishingly tall. “I made a couple of jackets custom-fitted for me, and then decided to get rid of them,” he said, referring to a recent sample sale. “They were XXXL, so I didn’t think they were going to sell. But both did! Just the right people walked in.” Prowell’s success in a downtime economy is due to a distinctive vision, a determined work ethic, and maybe just a little bit of luck.

Bridge & Burn sells online, and across the country in stores such as Mini Minimarket in Brooklyn, NY; Frances May in Portland, OR (the boutique who gave Prowell his start); and Molte Cose in San Francisco, CA. For more updates on future products, check Bridge & Burn’s blog.

Portland, OR illustrator designs the optimal bag for biking with a six-pack

Portland, OR-based illustrator Patrick Long has always had a pencil in hand. A former Parsons student, he worked for designers such as Perry Ellis and Nina Ricci and his wistful, nostalgic line drawings have appeared in The New Yorker and T Magazine. But when it came to designing his line of Chester Wallace bags, Long had much more prosaic goals in mind.

Wanting a bag that was both durable and spacious, he describes the rigorous product testing. “The first litmus test was if it could carry a six-pack of beers across town on a bike. It’s been able to carry everything I’ve asked of it, from hammers to watermelons.”

Made out of heavy waxed cotton to repel the Portland rain, the bags have one exterior and two interior pockets for miscellaneous small items. An adjustable nylon strap allows the bag to be slung around the back or shoulders for cross-town journeys, while two handles at the top of the tote lend versatility.

Named for Long’s two grandfathers—Chester from Burns, Oregon, and Wallace from Ireland, family history may have also played a role in propelling Long towards design. Long explains how having an architect father meant “I grew up with pencils and paper. Building and making things just followed suit.”

The bags come in a variety of neutral colors that make them a natural accompaniment to any outfit. Long’s friends at NYC’s Project No.8 store were the ones who encouraged him to start selling his bags. You can get them there, Canoe and Stand Up Comedy for $150 each. For more information on Long’s illustration work, check out his website.

The Whitney Museum store recently tapped Portland-based print, clothing and design wares shop Stand Up Comedy to conceive a new tote that would accommodate the weight and size of the typical art book. The resulting limited edition Book Bag is functionally pleasing, designed with super long straps and durable reinforced handles. Treated with abstract color washes in either gorgeously muted gray or pink, as well as a warm yellow tone, the look resists “popular graphic rhetoric.”

The label sewed each of the 300 canvas bags in Portland and inked, stamped and numbered them by hand. Book Bag comes in three colorways—Hard (gold), Neutral (gray) and Soft (pink)—and sells online as well as the Whitney Museum store for $36.