Made in Portland (or more precisely, Oregon City)

Greetings to my Design Lovers,

Anyone else around here LOVE fall?

As I’m writing this, it’s a pleasant 70 degrees and might hit 80, but there’s a beautiful breeze that smells distinctly like fall. And I am not upset about it.

The last couple of weeks have been packed with education, new and exciting projects, and planning for Denmark 🇩🇰. (if you missed it, I wrote about it last edition) Early last week found me in Portland, where fall was already poking her head around the corner and I was recording our final Meet the Makers interview of the year. We still have two more profiles to share, and both are so good.

Design Dispatch:

A little sneak peek for all you loyalists...

I connected with Shannon McKinney at DT Glass through the National Kitchen & Bath Association and she invited me to her Oregon City showroom 15mi south of Portland for our final Meet the Makers of the year.

If it involves residential glass, chances are they do it: showers, glass partitions, mirrors, painted glass, antique glass, and plenty more. They also fabricate and temper their glass onsite, which is unusual and gives them far greater control over the process. I got to see it firsthand, and it was pretty darn cool.

We talked about precision, technical problem-solving, and all the work hidden behind a finished product that looks deceptively simple. Because when glass is done well, you won’t notice the complexity. When it isn’t, you notice immediately.

One of my favorite discoveries was painted glass. It can be backpainted with any color and has so many applications, including kitchen backsplashes. Beautiful, durable, endlessly customizable and, perhaps most importantly, zero grout lines. Um, yes please.

Of course, glass never exists in isolation. Pair it with warm wood, richly veined stone, plaster, dark metal, or handmade tile and it can disappear, reflect, frame, or completely transform a space. The simplicity is only possible because of the precision behind it.

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More from Shannon and DT Glass will be coming in our Meet the Makers in December.

In the Mix:

If you know me, you know I love a great old building. I seek them out whenever I can, and Portland was no exception.

I stayed at The Woodlark, a hotel created by joining two early twentieth-century buildings: the Cornelius Hotel, built in 1908, and the Woodlark Building, completed in 1912.

The restoration is beautifully done, mixing historic character with new elements so convincing that it can be difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins.

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Behind the front desk is a wall of cabinetry with small open cubbies reminiscent of the compartments that once held guests’ room keys. I assumed it was original. It isn’t. It was newly built with enough restraint and respect for the architecture that it feels as though it has always been there. That is much harder to pull off than simply making something look old.

Throughout the hotel, historic architecture meets contemporary hospitality through botanical patterns, saturated greens and blues, velvet, leather, lacquer, warm wood, and brass. It feels polished, layered, and unmistakably Portland.

Knowing my room had a spiral staircase, twenty-foot ceilings, and loads of natural light, I also decided it would be the perfect place to experiment with my new gimbal. I am still learning how to use it, but a dramatic staircase seemed like a perfectly reasonable place to begin.

Off the Clock:

For the two days I was in Portland, temperatures hovered between 72 and 80 degrees. Meanwhile, it was a balmy 100 degrees back in Loomis, so no, I wasn’t sad about my timing.

I haven’t spent much time in Portland, but walking the city gave me a much better feel for it. I now completely understand the unofficial motto, “Keep Portland Weird.” It is not merely a slogan. It is a vibe, and the city embraces it wholeheartedly.

In roughly 36 hours, I walked ten miles, recorded an interview, drank the requisite coffee, caught the first hints of fall, spotted several giant painted crows around town (more about that & how it ties into design in the next edition), and soaked in quite a bit of the city thanks to the Woodlark’s location.

And flinally, not that you asked- here is a hot tip: Flying on Labor Day morning is THE way to travel. Everyone was already wherever they wanted to be and wasn’t ready to head home yet. (either that, or no one was going to Portland...)

Please enjoy this photo of the plane, whether it inspires excitement or envy.

Until next time,

🤍

Lisa

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