Portland Saturday Market Annex

Portland Saturday Market began in 1974, and is the largest continually running outdoor arts & craft market in the US! If you’re ever coming through Portland, be sure to check it out – it’s full of an amazing array of local handmade goods. But, you know how Winter can be in the Pacific Northwest… cold, wet, and gloomy. The Market has done a great thing by opening an indoor, semi-permanent shop  just for the holidays, chock-full of jewelry, soaps, clothing, and more from local crafters (also, right across the street is one of the biggest food cart pods the city has to offer! Nom nom nom!).

(And you know I love me some robots!)

Boy’s Fort

This shop was a complete surprise to me – right across from the Portland Saturday Market Annex, I saw a pretty big hubbub going on. I walked in through the glass doors, and it was like walking in to some sort of love child between Restoration Hardware and Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland! There were amazing old paintings, rustic furniture and crafts, prints from local artists, and much more. The overall feeling of the place was great, which is to be expected, since it was put together by Portland interior design firm Kenton Collective.

I definitely recommend checking these, and the OTHER popup shops (guide here) Downtown Portland has to offer! Shopping local is an awesome alternative to big box stores in the gift-giving season. Are there any awesome popup shops for the holidays in YOUR town? Let us know!

Oh the Tacoma Dome…

The Pacific Northwest is no stranger to the DIY spirit, and Tacoma Is For Lovers is holding it down! They’ll be hosting their first-ever Craft Night at the awesome Kings Books in Tacoma, WA February 11th at 7pm. Every month will feature a different theme, and what better way to start of Craft Nights in the winter than with a night on warm fuzzy needle felting?

$15 gets you a felting needle, warm fuzzy wool, and the ever important foam pad to stop you from stabbing yourself repeatedly as you birth cuteness from raw wool! More information on their blog, and you can follow them on Facebook as well!