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Archive for the ‘Portland’ Category

As with fashion, the world of jewelry usually doesn’t support sustainability.

That’s why when I find a company that breaks the mold to uphold their integrity, I simply have to share. The funny thing about Turtle Love Co. is that they actually found me! This past winter, when I was still living in Portland, Maine, one of their employees recognized that both TLC and myself believe in the same things: environmental consciousness, supporting a local community, an appreciation of craft, and a love of vintage. She reached out to me and I was so happy to get to know just one more independent business that was in it for more than the money.

So, it’s my pleasure today to introduce you to Turtle Love Co. – if you haven’t already noticed their button in my sidebar, that is. Based in Portland, this small team of individuals {including my former neighbor – Hi, Ashley!} curates an amazing online jewelry shop that carries only the highest quality and most responsible independent designers. If you’re in the market for eco-friendly handmade or vintage jewelry, this is the spot for you.

These are just a couple of my favourite pieces on the site, but you simply must have a look for yourself! There are so many unique and beautiful vintage items that have been collected, and beautifully handmade pieces right along side them. Check it out!

Have a great Thursday!

xx.

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The long awaited spring swap is now approaching!

SWAPmaine recently announced the date and location for the next city wide clothing swap! June 10th is the big day and Portland Flea for All is where it will all go down. That means if you’re in New England it’s about time for you to sort through your closets and pull out all of those pieces you never wear. You can swap them with the items that other people bring and go home with a brand new wardrobe for free. Here’s what I found at the first SWAPmaine, and also at the second. Excited? I thought you would be.

Keep an eye on their website for more info!

xx.

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I can’t tell you how many times we’ve run over to the Deli for a late night snack.

The fact that this little corner store is located pretty much right outside our front door is both a blessing and a curse. When we accidentally run out of milk or eggs, I am so thankful for it. But then milk and eggs turns into milk, eggs, a bottle of wine, and two of their amazing Cat sandwiches {colby cheese, craisins, apple slices, sprouts, baby spinach, carrots & cranberry vinaigrette on a baguette!}, and then we don’t go grocery shopping for another week because we can just run next door instead. It’s a little too convenient, if you know what I mean.

Still, most of the employees know us by name, and that’s a very comforting feeling. We don’t mind sharing our money with a cute little shop that has so nicely stocked a little bit of everything we might possibly need. Seriously, they have everything. A huge selection of beers, wines, and mead, made close to home as well as imported. They have cheeses, of course, to accompany your drink of choice and plenty of other little snacks {like ice cream}. There’s a deli counter in the back where you can order delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches, and up front they have everything from cat food to bandaids with a little station for hot coffee as well.

It’s amazing that they can cram so very much into such a tiny space and still host beer and wine tastings and have a live musician playing on certain nights. Plus, the table space inside and outside comes in super handy when you need to get out of the house for a bit. It seems like we give them about half of our paychecks, so I hope they don’t take too much of a hit when we move away! Perhaps now that you know about it you can take our place in supporting this fantastic little shop?

Sunday is for soups + sandwiches!

xx.

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How many of you saw this one coming?

When I thought of the idea of sharing my favourite local spots with you, CBD was one of the first places to pop into my head. To me, Coffee By Design embodies what it is to live in Portland. It’s a comfortable, friendly environment with patrons and baristas alike who believe in the power of the local economy.

Their blends are handcrafted and micro roasted here in Portland, which proves that this company is all about keeping things as local as possible because the heart of a community lies in its small businesses. They believe that “bigger is not better” and pay careful attention to the details that go into each batch of coffee so that coffee snobs and the regular joe will both appreciate and enjoy the end product.

Coffee By Design offers organic and fair trade options as well as seasonal flavours and old favourites. You can purchase their coffees by the pound {and get a free cup of coffee if you do} or just get one cup and spend time sitting in their window right on Congress Street watching the city pass by. With free-wifi, this place is an excellent spot to kill a couple of hours, but the well-trained baristas make it easy to swing in for a drink on the go, too, by attending to customers quickly and patiently.

In keeping with their appreciation of all things Maine, they feature art from local artists, carry GrandyOats {an organic grown in Maine oatmeal}, Mr. Bagel bagels, and Little Lads popcorn – so good. Plus, they’ve got the buy-a-certain-number-of-coffees-get-one-free deal that no good coffee shop is complete without!

Oh, yes, and how could I forget all of their little gifts. They have tons of coffee accessories – mugs, french presses, grinders, as well as cheeky “Much Ado About Nothings” Shakespearean sticky notes and gifts of that ilk. Plus, granola bars, pastries, and juices if you need a little something to keep your coffee company. Stop by soon to enjoy the local flavour.

Perhaps I’ll see you there!

xx.

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When in need of a quirky purchase, Pinecone + Chickadee is the place to go.

Record players, instant cameras and film, typewriters – they’ve got ‘em. They also have a wide selection of new indie art, both local and from Etsy artists across the globe. The atmosphere is relaxed for your browsing convenience, and all of the vintage is in nearly perfect condition.

Named for Maine’s State “flower” and bird, Pinecone + Chickadee is an accurate reflection of what our city has to offer to tourists and residents alike. The bright colours and sunny space allow the shopper to clearly see the details of every little treasure and the mid-century decor really inspires!

Every time I go in, I want to take something home so the central location {right on Free Street next to Find} is dangerous for me! The husband and wife team who own this boutique did a fantastic job pulling it all together. The most impressive part? They have so many different styles of products – kitschy, modern, cutesy, classic – yet they somehow still fit it all into one cozy aesthetic!

Have fun browsing if you have the chance to stop by! Make sure you have a look at their neat shadow puppets {forgot to photograph – shoot!}, and purchase something little, if you can. Supporting local shops is so important because you’ll be helping independent artists and designers accomplish their dreams!

Do-something-cool Saturday!

xx.

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Today I spent a little time getting all gussied up!

I pulled together a really classy outfit, rouged my lips, and chignoned my hair – then sat down at my computer and didn’t leave the house. It’s all good, though! I was working on a guest post for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England based around the ever-applicable Little Black Dress. The post will go live next Tuesday in preparation for a formal affair at the Portland Club on Thursday, April 26th! You can join me there by purchasing tickets on their website right now! The proceeds will go toward Goodwill’s Workforce Solutions program which helps people find steady jobs and learn new skills. I’ve seen it work and can vouch for the importance of this program. It’s really something I believe in! Let’s raise some money together and support our community.

Spread the word – it’ll be such a fun night and a great cause!

xx.

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Hiding away in the basement of an historical Portland building lies Videoport.

This is your movie store, certainly not your parents’. And, unlike Blockbuster or Netflix, Videoport is not out to temporarily exchange the biggest box office hits for your dollars as though they are sex slaves. Instead, this independently owned movie rental place is staffed by experienced film geeks {I mean that in the best way possible} who aim to assist in developing your cinematic pallet.

It’s a place where it seems like you could name your top three favourite movies of all time that span multiple genres and, almost like magic, the employee assisting you would produce a film you’ve never heard of but that somehow has your favourite actor, a completely original theme, and a score that blows you away. I guess it’s sort of like the record store in High Fidelity, but for movies, and the employees are all much more tactful than Barry.

Looking at their fantastic selection, one might think it was hard to navigate amongst these shelves, but you’ll find the films so well organized by genre that this just isn’t a problem. I always head to the Classics section first, and Ryan usually goes to the middle aisle where Horror, Sci-Fi, and the Incredibly Strange sections {Yes, there’s a section for that} are lorded over by Frankenstein and his buddies Godzilla, and Obama — by the way, who knew he was a Trekkie?

You can rent kids’ movies for just a dollar every day except for on Fridays when they’re completely free, no paid rental necessary. As for the rest of the sections — there’s a free day for them, too! With any other rental, Middle Aisle Monday will award you a freebie from one of the six sections located in the center of the store. I like Tough + Triassic Tuesdays when I can take home the Shirley Maclaine movie of my choice for free so long as Ryan picks any other movie out to go with it. And for those of you who live outside of Portland, you can rent three movies now for an entire week and not have to worry about rushing back to town to drop them off! Even without using the daily deal, rentals are still dirt cheap.

If you need a bit of inspiration before making your choice, there’s usually some cult classic rolling on the TV located in the back corner of the store. They’ve got DVDs, VHS tapes, Blurays and tons of television shows covering every decade, so as long as you’ve got eyes and ears you’ll be satisfied. I honestly think that renting from Videoport will be the one thing that I miss the most about living in Portland. Having all of that culture right there at my fingertips is inexplicably exciting to me. So, if you live in Southern Maine and you haven’t been here yet, you are sorely missing out.

Happy renting!

xx.

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Portland certainly has its share of thrift stores, but Find is the best.

Owner Laura Ker carefully selects each piece before adding it to her collection, so that when you’re sifting through her racks you feel like you’re raiding a friend’s closet instead of digging painstakingly through someone else’s cast offs. She knows the current trends and stocks accordingly, and there are always some great vintage finds sprinkled amongst lightly worn H&M, L.L. Bean, and Rogue’s Gallery pieces.

The bulk of the items are second-hand, but there are also brand new Minnetonkas and jewelry made by local artists just waiting for you to take them home. And, as I mentioned the other day, they’re now carrying my bow ties, too!

The central location of this Portland store makes it easily accessible on foot, but don’t forget about their Scarborough location only a short distance from the Maine Mall! Each piece there is just as carefully selected, but the foot traffic is less so you may be more likely to stumble upon a real gem. I once purchased an amazing vintage cape there that remains my favourite thrifted item to date!

And don’t forget – as with most consignment stores, the prices are reasonable for every budget and there’s still always something on sale! Oh, yes, and there’s a great men’s selection, too.

Happy shopping!

xx.

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If, for some reason, The Merchant Company was too far away for you…

my bow ties are now also available at Find! I’ve been pumpin’ these puppies out like it’s my job {oh, wait, it sort of is.} and I’m so happy to make them available to even more people! If you’re not in Portland, hang in there — I’ll have even more varieties in my Etsy shop when it reopens in May than elsewhere in this city.

One of the new materials that I used for this batch was with organic gingham fabric from Worthy Goods Textile. I can’t wait to show you some photos once it’s listed in my Etsy shop, but if you’d like to get a peek ahead of time you’d better pop into Find! It may be worth your while to stop in anyway if you are in the area. I was poking around the racks yesterday after dropping off my ties, and ended up taking two new things home. That place is absolutely irresistible, I tell you!

Happy Saturday!

xx.

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Wonder what it would be like to step into Etsy?

I used to. Meandering among such beautiful vintage and handmade pieces as adorn that website would be magical. Enter: The Merchant Company, a vintage and handmade haven. Mystery solved.

The shop space is very large giving you the feeling that you’ve stumbled into some kind of a wonderland. Vintage collectors and makers can rent out a table to fill with their wares and amazing owners Dunja + LeAnna keep an eye over the shop while we venders are away making + finding more wonderful pieces to sell. Each little booth is different than the next with clothing for men, women, babies, as well as decor, stationery, jewelry, and so much more!

If you need a gift, a reward for your hard work, or something to do to pass the time, the Merchant Company can remedy your problems. I visit about once a week and always get lost in a new little nook of the store. There is so much packed in here that it is very possible you’ll never see it all. But, the only way to know is to try.

Notice anything else of mine {besides the bow ties} in these photos? There is something! Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll keep selling here even after I move. I’ve got a plan in which I’ll continue sewing my own pieces and helping Dunja so I can remain a merchant here. It’s also a good excuse for me to keep coming back for a visit – sometimes I really love this silly little city.

Have a great evening!

xx.

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