Store Opening: Sticks & Stones Portland

Earlier this year, we brought you the Crushed Abalone Bolo from Portland-based accessories company Sticks & Stones. Now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, we bring you their newly opened brick and mortar store, located in the city’s Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood. Specializing in custom, made-in-house jewelry, Sticks & Stones was founded on the belief that repurposed natural materials—such as sea shells, shed antlers, and prehistoric ivory—make beautiful components for unique jewelry. Here, we spoke to owners Marc Ishida and Ben Posin to learn a little more about their new location.

Can you tell us about the new store? What can people expect?

The new Sticks & Stones flagship will be a destination place for custom jewelry and American-made goods. We will have a wide selection of our jewelry available to purchase, but the real experience of our store will be the ability to customize your jewelry. We are able to add custom engraving, set precious gemstones, choose unique combinations of materials, or even incorporate previously owned natural materials with significant meaning to the customer.

Can you talk about what you will carry?

Beyond our jewelry, we will have a carefully curated selection of American-made clothing, accessories, and home goods, spanning from Oakland to Seattle. We have chosen brands that we feel not only share the same values as we do but also carry the same quality and lifestyle as our own products. 

We see that you will be working on products in-house. Will people be able to come in and watch as you work?

We won't be sanding our products in the store, but we will have our jeweler’s bench where customers can see more of the fine detailed work that we do to our pieces.

What's next for Sticks & Stones? Any new products coming out soon?

We will be releasing a special limited-edition Valentine’s Day collection that will be available online, as well as in both our Portland and Seattle stores.

Image courtesy of Sticks & Stones. 

Goodge Place: Bringing Europe to Vancouver’s West Side

Written by: Nessa Pullman

It’s hard for us to keep the secret, but we’ve found a way to get a little taste of Europe without ever having to step foot on a plane. Named after a quaint street in London, Goodge Place, south Granville’s newest boutique and coffee bar, sources many of its products from England’s capitol. This one-stop shop stocks products with extraordinary craftsmanship and design, offering home décor and accessories from some of Europe’s most renowned designers, including Jake Phipps and House of Hackney.

When Goodge Place co-founder Emily McLean moved to London for work, she fell in love with the high-quality craftsmanship happening in the European design industry. After living there for a decade, she decided to bring back that one-of-a-kind design and masterful technique to Vancouver—a place she has always called home.

With the help of her mother Patricia McLean, she opened Goodge Place in November. The shop is stocked with a wide assortment of goods, from books and wall décor to handbags and sunglasses. There’s also a design lab where local interior designers can hold meetings, as well as an exclusive custom tile gallery from the legendary World Mosaic. “We believe that beautiful space lends to happier people, so hopefully our products can help achieve this,” Emily says.

Coffee and home décor? Now that’s our kind of pairing. Locally roasted Milano coffee is available to enjoy in the shop, or to go. An added bonus is the freshly baked brownies, truffles, and meringues.

Goodge Place also offers ready-made seasonal bouquets.

For those interior designers who work at home, fear not—you’ll never again have to rush around cleaning the house before clients come over. Goodge Place offers a beautifully decorated design lab for rent—the perfect meeting place to discuss projects.

Henry, is that you? Guaranteed you won’t find this anywhere else in Vancouver!

We were blown away by these luxurious custom European tiles, and you will be too. Watch out though, these beautiful designs may inspire you to start your renovation a little earlier than planned.

You know that friend who seems to already have everything? You’ll find something fresh for them at Goodge Place, with their unique, European-inspired selection of home décor. Everyone will be asking where you got that gift, but we won’t blame you if you want to keep it our little secret.

Images courtesy of Goodge Place.

Now Open: Blackbird Portland

image, Blackbird

Seattle based lifestyle and men's boutique, Blackbird, has opened its doors at 1306 West Burnside St. in Portland, OR.--to great fanfare at the grand opening block party that went down on Saturday. The building, newly dubbed the "blackbox building," stands dramatically on the corner in a coat of fresh black paint, and also houses Dunderdon workshop, Tanner Leather Goods and Isaac Hers. Blackbird is having their summer clearance sale, so go snag some great deals and welcome them to the neighborhood.