PORTLAND MAKER

People who create in Portland Oregon.

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[portlandmaker]

Ruphus

Designed and Crafted in Portland, OR Please check them out at ruphus.net

Ruphus is the distillation of years of tinkering + designing, understanding materials, + perfecting a craft. 

With deep roots in architecture + design, Ruphus is in fact the product-design arm of Raphael Design. Matt Raphael, a Virginia native and UVa School of Architecture grad, has spent 20+ years in Portland, OR running his design/build firm. His vision follows simple lines + unfettered function across many mediums. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Portland Monthly, Treehugger + the Oregonian, among others.

His sun-lit studio in the Hawthorne neighborhood in SE Portland is the epicenter of Ruphus' work, complete with late nights, woodchips + an assortment of toys + tools including a CAMaster CNC. 

Matt has teamed up with Heath Korvola, a designer and photographer, who he met in 2011 while studying Product Design at University of Oregon. They were part of a design team that built an award-winning commuter bike, the Campus Mini Velo. Today you can find them designing + fabricating a unique line of products all intended to exhibit the warmth that wood brings to our modern lives.

Please check them out at ruphus.net

[portlandmaker]

Excellent Advice for a Maker

Ten Lessons From a Maker by David Hieatt, Hiut Denim Co.

Ten Lessons from a Maker

I) No one knows you exist.

You make a great product. But the world isn’t holding its breath waiting for you. It doesn’t know who you are. It doesn’t know you even exist. Currently, in the pecking order, you are at the bottom. It’s nothing personal. Everyone starts here.

You will have to make your reputation. You have will have to gain peoples attention. You will have to be as good at selling your product as you are making it. It is your job to get people to know you are on the planet.

II) You are not an artist.

You make things. You make things in order to sell them. The difference between you and an artist is you can’t wait years to be discovered.

You have to make what people want to buy. This is commerce. This is not art.

Selling is good. Employing people is good. Having apprentices is good.

Makers are here to make. Makers are here to sell - Van Gogh had to wait till he died before he sold his first painting. You can’t.

Sales after you die don’t count.

III) Make something that people want to buy.

Time is your most valuable resource. Spending your time making something that no one wants is one of the best ways I know to waste your life, and also to kill your business. So before you start, work out what people want. Work out why they will buy your product over your rivals. Work out what sets you apart.

One good way to make sure people want what you have to make is to do it better than anybody else. Another good way is to design it more beautifully than your rival. But the best way, is to do something that no else is doing. And do it so well, they don’t even try to copy you.

See the entire Article

[portlandmaker]

ADX: Building A Community Of Thinkers & Makers

Go to ADX website

Beyond creating posts that showcase the makers in Portland, I will also be posting resources for creative people who are looking for help in achieving their creative goals.

If you don't have a facility to build your stuff this is a place and a community worth checking out. I have not used the facility yet, but there is some equipment here that would come in handy for some upcoming projects.

ABOUT THE SHOP

ADX is a membership-based design and prototyping facility in the heart of Southeast Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District. Here, we believe in and support the idea of DIY and love keeping it local.

Our 10,000 square-foot facility includes everything you need to become a part of our community of thinkers & makers:

Wood & Metal Shop

Laser Studio, CNC Router and 3-D Printing

Industrial Sewing Machines

Co-Working Office Spaces

The Ninkasi Better Living Room

In-House Fabrication Services

Business & Marketing Services

Go to ADX website

[portlandmaker]

HiiH Lights

Shorty before moving here, my wife and flew up to Portland to learn more about where we might be moving. We stayed at the Mcmenamins Kennedy School, where I first saw the work of Lâm Quảng and is wife Kestrel Gates. His lights at the Kennedy school were inspired by flowers and many of the forms he was using I was using at the time in my own Artwork. 

Later on the same trip I saw his gallery in the Alberta District. The video really captures the sprit of his life and work. Also check out their web site HiiH Lights.

[portlandmaker]

Article about the Portland Growler Company on C-File

Design | The Portland Growler Company

Few things feel better than bringing home a growler full of cold beer from your favorite taproom, but the experience gains a lot when the vessel is aesthetically (and functionally) distinctive and—in the case of the Portland Growler Company—high quality ceramics. 

 See the full article...

[portlandmaker]

Check out the Portland Mushroom Company. Saw them on the local news recently. They from beautiful Oyster Mushrooms to local Portland Restaurants. 

via Portland Mushroom Company

Watch their mushrooms grow in their time lapse video.

Portland Mushroom Company Promotional Video.

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(via Exclusive: The Story Behind The Nike Roshe Run | How To Make It)

with designer Dylan Raasch

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Most Recent Tags

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ABOUT PORTLAND MAKER

In 2011 I moved to Portland Oregon. One of the reasons I moved here with my family is because Portland is full of creative people who are making things and building successful businesses using materials they love.

Portlanders seem to care about where things come from and want to support the people that live here. The local economy here is unlike any other city in the U.S. and should be looked at as a model to bring back manufacturing and other jobs to the U.S.

I am proud to be a part of a community that sees the value in buying products from their neighbors. As I setup my own Ceramics business in Portland and share my wares with the community, I look forward to the possibilities of this unique place.

I have created this site to connect buyers with sellers, to help other makers,  and to share stories of individuals on a similar path as myself.

This site was created by me, Andy Clift. I also created and administer Claystation.com, a social research network for Ceramic Artists, Potters and students. I am a teacher, husband, father, gardener,  craftsman, designer and artist. So please check out my art and wares at www.andyclift.com.

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Drink

Drink

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Food

Food

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Functional Object Guide

Select a topic for most recent posts under that category

Functional Objects: Lights | Tableware | Containers | Doors

Mediums: Steel | Wood | Ceramics | Mixed Media | Concrete | Glass

Posts below are listed from oldest to newest. Click here to see the most recent posts under Functional Objects.

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Art Guide

Select a topic for most recent posts under that category

Mediums: Painting | Ceramics | Sculpture | Photography | Print | Draw | Multi-Media | Mixed Media

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Design Guide

Design: Architecture | Landscape | Industrial | Interior

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Textiles and Clothing Guide

Clothing: Women's | Men's | Children | Shoes | Outerwear |

Textiles: Rugs | Knit | Bags |