Portland Oregon Archives

Artisan

Portland’s Japanese Garden Is Considered the Best in the World Outside Japan

October 5, 2025 Artisan

A vibrant Japanese maple tree with striking red and orange leaves stands prominently in the foreground, surrounded by lush green foliage and soft moss covering the ground, capturing the tranquil beauty of the Portland Japanese Garden in autumn. — Photo by David Wirzba on Unsplash

Tucked into the wooded hills above Portland, Oregon, lies one of the most celebrated Japanese gardens outside of Japan.

The Portland Japanese Garden is often described as the most authentic in the world beyond Japan’s borders. It’s a living, breathing work of art shaped by tradition, harmony, and a deep respect for nature.

A peaceful view of the Portland Japanese Garden featuring a wooden terrace, a garden path with raked gravel, and vibrant trees displaying autumn colors. — Photo courtesy of Portland Japanese Garden

Designed in the 1960s with guidance from master Japanese gardeners, it weaves together five distinct styles: strolling pond, tea garden, sand and stone, flat, and natural gardens.

Each path invites quiet reflection, each stone and lantern placed with deliberate grace.

The video below gives a great overview of the Garden’s inception, and its place in society today.

The sound of water trickling over mossy rocks, the arch of a wooden bridge, the sculpted stillness of raked gravel all combine into an atmosphere that feels timeless.

Scenic view of the Portland Japanese Garden surrounded by lush greenery and tall trees, with a modern structure featuring a green roof in the background. — Portland Japanese Garden’s Cultural Village. Photo by James Florio.

What makes this garden so special is not only its authenticity, but how it flourishes in the lush Pacific Northwest.

A major expansion led by star architect Kengo Kuma in the late 2010s added a beautiful pavilion, cafe, and visitor center.

Misty rain cloaks maples in shades of ruby and gold each autumn. In spring, cherry blossoms unfurl with delicate ceremony.

A tranquil scene of the Portland Japanese Garden featuring vibrant pink azaleas, a red wooden bridge, and lush greenery, with rain falling gently over a serene pond. — Photo via Getty.

It is as if the garden and its surroundings were always meant for one another.

Four colorful koi fish swimming in a serene garden pond surrounded by rocks. — Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

The Portland Japanese Garden is a quiet sanctuary, and reflects the city’s ethos about building a culture of belonging.

Visitors leave with a sense of tranquility, as though they’ve touched something enduring and profound.

A tranquil scene from the Portland Japanese Garden featuring a cascading waterfall surrounded by lush greenery and vibrant red leaves. — Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

In a busy, harsh, and misunderstood world, it remains a rare and beautiful pause.

Crafted with patience, artistry, and reverence for the natural world.

A beautifully gnarled maple tree with vibrant autumn leaves, overlooking a tranquil pond in the Portland Japanese Garden.

The garden is open Wednesday – Monday: 10:00 am – 5:30 pm, and more information can be found on the Portland Japanese Garden website.

Books

Powell’s Books Captures the Essence of a Bookstore, and Bottles It

November 10, 2020 Books

Powell’s Books is an institution in Portland, Oregon. Hailed as the largest independent bookstore in the world, the building takes up a city block, and holds millions of books, and in a good year, has hundreds of thousands of visitors.

2020 hasn’t been a good year for retail stores, as we all know, and Powell’s is among them. They’ve made loud pleas to the public that they aren’t immune to shuttering, despite being a cultural icon. The community has supported them with online orders, but we imagine they’re still facing record losses.

Thankfully, they’ve bottled their essence, and are selling it as a fragrance. Wait, what?

You heard it right. Eau de Bookstore is a bottled fragrance that is meant to embody the smell of a great book. It’s a fun and whimsical take on an experience that its rare these days. Available for preorder for $24.

From Powell’s website:

Notes:
• Wood
• Violet
• Biblichor

Description:
Like the crimson rhododendrons in Rebecca, the heady fragrance of old paper creates an atmosphere ripe with mood and possibility. Invoking a labyrinth of books; secret libraries; ancient scrolls; and cognac swilled by philosopher-kings, Powell’s by Powell’s delivers the wearer to a place of wonder, discovery, and magic heretofore only known in literature.

How to wear:
This scent contains the lives of countless heroes and heroines. Apply to the pulse points when seeking sensory succor or a brush with immortality.

Architecture

Office Design in Portland Merges Old and New in Exciting Ways

August 21, 2020 Architecture

Though offices have been largely abandoned in the wake of the global pandemic, there have been some notable architectural examples in the last few years. Many startups and technology companies have put considerable effort into creating compelling and inspiring workplaces, and this Portland example for Expensify is a great standout.

Taking over the 1916 First National Bank Building, ZGF Architects kept the 100 year-old architect intact, while adding modern workspaces within that take advantage of the huge interior height and natural light.

While initially shocking, the design cleverly merges a 21st century aesthetic with a traditional one, creating a unique, memorable, and invigorating working environment.

Via The Cool Hunter:

Architecture

‘Fruit Salad’ Handmade Tiles

September 22, 2018 Architecture

Portland- based Juju Papers is headed by Avery Thatcher, where she designs artful, creative wall covering. Now, Juju has a new offering, with these colorful “fruit salad” handmade floor tiles. Painted with a lovely muted rainbow palette, these hexagon tiles come together to create lovely, vibrant patterns that add a bit of dazzle to a space.

Via Yellowtrace:

“Tile contours traditionally tend to be symmetrical. I wanted to flip the script and create a design that felt more experimental,” she notes. “The impromptu installation results in a truly random, scattered, colourful pattern; the warmth of a Persian rug combined with the pigment richness and vibrancy of a Morris Lewis painting.”

Art

Satirical Paintings by Toni Hamel

May 29, 2018 Art

We love when painters take their craft and put a humorous spin on what otherwise seems like a traditional art. These paintings by Toni Hamel are a great example, using an historical look and feel, but spinning them to be satirical and oddly funny. The 40’s style paintings showcase humans interacting with animals and other subjects, either in the absurd or quasi-absurd. We see workers carefully placing stripes on a white horse to become a zebra. In another, we see a boy at the end of a dock, seemingly taking his iceberg for a swim on a leash. In yet another, we see a dustbowl farmer with a supremely out of place My Little Pony. It’s these absurd moments that give such character to the art. The paintings are part of the series High Tides and Misdemeanors. Part of a showcase at Talon Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

Architecture

William/Kaven Proposes Bold Portland Skyscraper Development

February 16, 2018 Architecture

As the city we call home, we’re particularly interested in seeing Portland, Oregon grow up to be the beautiful, innovative, and memorable place that we know it can be. Frankly, despite record growth, the city’s skyline hasn’t evolved with the rest of the community, let alone it’s west coast neighbors. It seems stuck in the stale, timid, and cookie-cutter mid-rise condo development that barely suits needs, and definitely doesn’t add much character to the town.

Thankfully, there are some movements to make the city’s skyline more dynamic, and in doing so, push the city forward. Architectural firm William/Kaven has proposed a soaring twin skyscraper project for Broadway Corridor, a new part of the city, freed up after the Pearl District Post Office complex moved.

In addition to 900-foot towers connected by an enclosed botanical bridge, the 5 million square foot property would also include an underground high-speed transportation hub, with a mix of uses that includes retail, office, hospitality, and residential. It’s most likely a long shot that the city would move ahead with this project. However, we’d be thrilled if there was courage to approve it, and make a lasting mark on the city’s future. Via DesignBoom:

william-kaven-portland-cover1 — The proposed glass skyscrapers views from the city’s NW Pearl District.

As a city that pioneered land-use planning with the adoption of an Urban Growth Boundary in the 1970’s, it’s ability to grow out is limited. Thankfully, growing up is an option, and something we think the city would benefit from tremendously.

william-kaven-portland-1 — Soaring to 960 feet, the proposed towers are more than double the city’s 400 foot limit, meaning that ordinances would need to change for the project to move forward.

Located next to the city’s train station and Broadway Bridge, the project would breathe life into a relatively quiet part of the west side.

We know this is an issue people are polarized about, but we feel strongly that cities should have a built identity. Landmark buildings like these can become integral parts of a city’s skyline, their culture, and their personality.

william-kaven-portland-4 — We’re fans of the way this bold project pushes boundaries, and could dramatically change Portland’s built landscape.

We’ll update this story when there’s a clearer picture if groups like Prosper Portland might approve this project.

william-kaven-portland-cover — The glass towers would be linked by a botanical ‘sky bridge’ over 600 feet in the air.

Art

City Ghost Signs

September 21, 2017 Art

Hand painted signage on brick buildings is a lost art, something that was commonplace before mass-produced printed signs were readily available. Indeed, many of the old painted advertisements have become cherished relics in many cities. Artist Craig Winslow is bringing some of these classic signs back to life with his Ghost Sign project.

Winslow painstakingly recreates the hand painted ads digitally, and then using the magic of projection mapping (computer controlled video projection), he brings the old signs back to life. The ghost sign project has brought signs back to life in Portland, Oregon, Winnipeg, Canada. His project has been recognized as an important historical project, and he is part of the Adobe Creative Residency program. He calls his work “light capsules”. Very innovative and fascinating use of technology to bring history alive. H/T to Betsy Rutz.

“I started seeing them everywhere and realized I wanted to do something with these to preserve them,” he says. “So many of them were being painted over, destroyed. They all have such a unique character to them that I wanted to do something.”

ghost signs // moss and fog — One of the projections bringing an old sign back to life

Architecture

Portland’s Japanese Garden Gets a Kengo Kuma Expansion

April 5, 2017 Architecture

We live in Portland, and are very proud of our Japanese garden, considered one of the best in the world. Having traveled to several Japanese cities, we can attest to it measuring up to some of the very best. Now Portland’s Japanese Garden has gotten a major expansion, thanks to architect Kengo Kuma. In his first commission in the US, Kuma has designed a beautiful Cultural Village, as well as a new water garden and cascading ponds.

Kengo Kuma is known as one of the world’s most respected architects, most recently commissioned to create Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Stadium, among many, many other amazing projects. For this new commission, he’s quoted:

“Given its proximity to nature, Portland is unlike any place in the world,” said Kuma in an earlier statement. “This new Cultural Village serves as a connector of the stunning Oregon landscape, Japanese arts and a subtle gradation to architecture.”

This new $33 million expansion is of course in addition to the garden’s beautiful grounds, filled with thoughtful and inspiring landscaping. The garden opened in 1963, and encompasses 12 acres on the city’s Southwest hills. Definitely worth a visit the next time you’re in the Pacific Northwest. Via Dezeen:

Art

Pacific Northwest Timelapse

September 12, 2012 Art

Here’s a little calm and beauty for your busy Wednesday. John Eklund spent a year creating this timelapse piece, and in it are over 260,000 still images.

Purely Pacific Northwest from John Eklund on Vimeo.

A statement from John Eklund:

I am a photographer from Portland, Oregon. I want to share the beautiful NW region through my eyes with time-lapse photography.

I choose to shoot locations that appeal to the way I would like to interpret the story of time. Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are endless opportunities to document the magnificence of the world around us. I have discovered that when time is the storyteller, a special kind of truth emerges.

Various locations include:

Mt. Shuksan, Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Mount St. Helens, Oregon’s Badlands, Painted Hills, Cape Kiwanda, Mt. Hood, Lost lake, and Cannon Beach

via PetaPixel & Laughing Squid

Art

Grove Skateboard Backs

June 8, 2012 Art

My friend Joe runs Grove, a design/creative shop in Portland that makes iPhone and iPad cases. Joe started by engraving Moleskine journals and iPods. When the iPhone blew up, he teamed up with a friend and formed a collaboration called Grove. They pounced on the growing marketplace of third-party accessories, and their machined and laser-engraved bamboo cases became a hit. Partnering with illustrators and artists for their engraved artwork, Grove has found a winning formula of making highly-personalized phone cases. Their latest offering is really cool, the iPhone Skate Back. Salvaged wood from skateboard manufacturers is used to make these thin, precise wooden backs to protect your phone. Grove has partnered with fellow Portlander Lindsey Jo Holmes of Maple XO to salvage the skateboard scraps and turn them into something useful and beautiful. Available for $49.

Over the last few years, the team has grown to nearly 30 people, but they remain committed to hand-finished, personalized work and service.

Keep doing awesome work, guys!

Art

The Story of Sushi

February 29, 2012 Art

I was excited to see that this dramatic story of sushi-and the problems it causes for our oceans- was created for Bamboo Sushi right here in Portland. I eat there as often as I can, and it’s great to see them share their story with the world. As one of the world’s first ‘sustainable sushi restaurants’, Bamboo goes to great lengths to serve fish that is legally, ethically and environmentally sound.

Their video is a narrated tale of sushi’s journey, from the ocean to your plate. Seven months in the making, all models are handmade in this stop-motion video.