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Upcycled Eyecandy: The New Keen Store

Needing an antidote to days of focused computer work, I took a partial inspiration day starting with a visit to the new Keen Garage store in Portland’s Pearl district, followed by a trip to the Portland Japanese Garden to see maples dusted with snow. The new, more visible store location allows passersby to visit this sustainable gem of a store that puts to clever use reclaimed materials and objects. The result is a playful, industrial-meets-vintage-meets-upcycled-meets-woodsy environment.

Photo Dec 18, 10 25 33 AM

keen_furniture2

Repurposed oil drum furniture with cushions made from a patchwork of old car seat fabrics.

keen_furniture

keen_fridge

No beer sampling since it was only 10 a.m.

keen_plants

One of many charming woodsy installations filled with the popular air plant tsillandia.

keen_wall

Windows and door frames become shelving systems for plants, socks and other merchandise.

Fortunately, I left the store without a dent in my credit card.

Permission To Be Demanding

You’re hiring a designer or marketing person and can’t wait for the process to unfold.

Or…maybe not.

Most likely you have some uncertainty. You don’t know how to choose a consultant. You’ve never been through the process. You don’t know which questions to ask. You don’t speak the same language. You’re worried about money. You have a committee to please. You’ve got your other work to do.

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The Beauty of Book Series

In the visual chaos of bookstores, my eye always settles on the logic and order of families of titles — collections, put out by a publisher, with a common visual system, a sort-of brand within a brand.

There’s a pleasing harmony to these single- or multi-author collections. And the viewer goes back and forth between the books’ unifying elements and their unique imagery. You’re able to pay more attention to the books’ art because of the common visual thread running across the individual titles.

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