When I first started this blog, I had grand plans to highlight any and every local business imaginable. If you sold or offered something unique, something that contributed to the local counter-culture in some way, I was interested in it. However, my addiction to records and flipping through square pieces of decorated cardboard for hours on end has steered me away from my initial path.
Besides this, there are simply so many record stores in Portland and the Pacific Northwest in general that it’s taken me several years to get to a point where I feel I have done justice to most of the record stores in the area. New record stores still pop up now and then, but it’s time to finally start to branch out a little bit and talk about something other than wax.
All Things Art
There are a ton of art-focused shops and collectives around Portland that don’t specialize in just music. These places are full of passionate people who are trying to share their art with the world or even just their neighborhood. If your love of record stores brought you here, I’m willing to bet that you also enjoy a good book, or movie, or maybe a painting or two here and there.
All across the country, there are independent bookstores worthy of praise for their careful curation of books. Art galleries that are doing the thankless work of promoting local artists, simply so they can continue crafting their sculptures and painting their masterpieces. Movie theatres giving independent filmmakers a chance to share their story on the big screen.
All of these places are essential to creating a community that actually gives a shit about art. A community that cares about something that doesn’t make money and has no intrinsic value besides the beauty it provides is exactly the kind of place I want to live in.
What Next
Going forward, expect to see a lot more than just record stores on here. Art galleries, book stores, curio shops, independent movie theatres, and more will all be featured on here with the same amount of care and detail I give to all the lovely record stores I visit in my travels. Many of these stores are run by a small group of hardworking people who don’t have the time or the funds to promote their niche business. I aim to be a voice for them and to encourage people to seek out the strange, the unique, the old, the used, and the beautiful.