portland, oregon : part one.

There are a whole lot of amazing independent artists here in Portland, so many that it's almost hard to keep track of all of them. I have decided to spotlight some of my favorites in a two-part post, since each and every one of them make some great things that would make fabulous gifts (plus, it's always good to buy from talented local artists for the holidays!).


Satsuma Press creates beautiful letterpressed stationery and calendars from her transformed garage in North Portland. Everything is so pleasing to the eye with perfect simple designs (pictured: Holiday Bird & Foliage Cards and Holiday Peony Stationery).


Alicia Paulson runs one of my favorite weblogs, Posie Gets Cozy, as well as selling her beautiful handmade items in her little shop. She creates a number of delicate and sweet objects by hand, such as handbags, postcards, and gorgeous fabric pins (pictured: "Confetti" Sugar Rose and "Holiday" Postcard Pack).


Christina of Scissor Stitch creates handcrafted products characterized by modern style, specializing in sweet scarves and adorable baby products (pictured: Placemat Napkin Set and Patchworked Adult Scarf).


Oh, how I adore the work of Ayumi K. Piland of Apak Studio. Her super-cute work can be seen all over town in bookshops and art galleries, along with her husband, Aaron Piland. Check out their Etsy shop here (pictured: Ohanami Print and Hugs Greetingcard).


Cecily Ink is a letterpress business that creates modern and elegant paper goods. They even create their own specially designed postage stamps that match their notecard designs (pictured: Fresh Style Card File and 2008 Desk Calendar).


Alberta May Poon runs the adorable accessories business Frozen Peas. Her products are so sweetly designed (how can you resist having a wallet with polar bears hugging?) and are beautifully made in soft colors (pictured: Bird/Unicorn Double-Sided Necklace and Hugging Polar Bear Wallet).


I just recently discovered Passion Flower, a jewelry business that creates handmade, handcolored, and handprinted accessories that are just lovely. All of her jewelry is made from shrinkable plastic and surgical steel or sterling silver (pictured: Love Birds and I Like My Bike).


Tinymeat is one of the local businesses that I see products of everywhere. They make fabulous wallets and iPod cases featuring stylish images and illustrations by some truly wonderful illustrators (pictured: Lil Matilda Wallet and For the Birds Passport Case).


Who doesn't adore the work of Jill Bliss? She has recently relocated here from San Francisco and we are quite happy to have her as a part of the community. She is known for her beautiful work using plants, herbs, and flowers as her themes and inspiration (pictured: The Letterpressed Poppy Art Piece and The Plaid Bird).


Some of you might know Kim Baxter as the singer of the sugary sweet pop group All Girl Summer Fun Band, but she is also known around here for creating cute bags and apparel for her business Kissycake. Each piece features an adorable animal illustration and comes in bright and playful colors (pictured: Kid's Giraffe Shirt and Baby Blue Octopus Bag).