It was a week or so ago on a balmy evening that we were sitting next to the rolled up glass doors on a former Eastside loading dock that is now the chic clarklewis when the papered windows of the shop across the way grabbed our attention. “Made With Love” the graffiti read, “Everything Has A Story,” “Beginning To End.”
image via olio united website
Q6 Model and Talent Management had just moved from the Jupiter Hotel to this same building and we knew that Jonny Shultz had mentioned something going in next to the Bakery Bar. We now have the answer to our question, what’s in there? Turns out these are the windows of the new shop Olio United (1028 SE Water, Suite 120), a boutique owned by Korinne James, Cathy McMurray, and David Williams who proclaim themselves “eco-modernists” on the Olio United website. What this seems to translate into is the kind of conscientious, thoughtful retail that Portland does so well, telling the stories of the designers, makers, featuring handmade and recycled or sustainably produced apparel, accessories, home goods and gifts alongside the crisp and modern.
Find clothing by Preloved and Ivana Helsinki, Amy Bengston’s jewelry, gorgeous bags or recycled leather by Ashley Watson, Tom’s and Melissa shoes, and Jon Russell’s clear acrylic “Ghost Candelabra.”
Merriam Webster defines olio (what one of our number calls a “crossword puzzle word”) as a “miscellaneous mixture” or “hodgepodge.” There is a delicious, oxymoronic tension in a united hodgepodge, wouldn’t you agree? These seem like our kind of people.
WHAT TO DO NOW?