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Allisen here! While exploring the Salamanca District in Madrid, Spain over the Christmas holiday, I realized again how inspiring it is to design shop in big cities. International furniture showrooms, local product fabricators and temporary pop-up shops tend to stick together, making browsing incredibly user-friendly and essentially a one-stop shopping experience…quite frankly, a designer’s version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Each company sits distinctly planted within historic shells and modern storefronts alike, uniquely enticing and drawing in pedestrian traffic. With just a couple hours to walk and explore, my heart was racing with excitement (could have been the cortado), and I won’t lie, my armpits were a little sweaty. Here are a few of my favorite finds

Happy Holidays! It’s that time of year again! Like last year, we have collected a list of well designed (maybe last minute) gift items for your friends and family. All the items featured can be found in local Portland shops. This year we had an extra bit of fun with the categories! YOUR OCD FRIEND (TOP): For your friend or family member who likes to keep things extra organized. 1. Craig Carrying Cases from Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. 2. Heather Lins 2015 Year in Stitches from Tilde 3. Devon Cubicle Box from Vanillawood THE ROMANTIC: Pretty, feminine gifts for the romantic. 1. Wayapi Tights from Lille Boutique 2. Caspian Preppy Fashion Bracelet from Grayling Jewelry

Introspecs LOVES fall! So we decided it would be fun to do some fall-inspired mood boards! We came up with 3 autumn themes to use as inspiration: Changing Leaves, Pumpkin Latte and Haunted House. The themes were applied relatively abstractly and we found elements that evoked the color palette and textural feeling of each one. We also found some eclectic and fun pieces that matched up perfectly with the themes.   Changing Leaves This mood board uses greens, yellows and hints of orange to represent the transitional colors of fall. Wood furniture elements are added to ground the palette and add the neutral tones that are ever present in autumn. There is a mash-up of softer elements and harder

Jessica Yoo is Design Meem: a textile designer who practices Korean Fabric Art or “Jogakbo.” Jessica was born, raised, and studied in Korea, but has lived in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver Canada) for the past 10 years. Her education is in visual design and while in school she became interested in fiber art and traditional Korean techniques. Jogakbo is one of Korea’s traditional crafts, which involved using scraps of fabric to make a larger square of fabric that was used as a bag. While the process is somewhat similar to quilting in western culture, the Jogakbo is unique in that when light is shone through the fabric becomes translucent and the stitching creates a special

The trend of building houses smaller and more efficiently seems to be sticking. Not only has there been a boom in the popularity of tiny houses, modern, open-plan homes and micro apartments, remodelers have also looked to maximize use and space in their homes to create better room to room relationships and an open living environment. One of the key spaces in a remodel of this sort is often the kitchen. Kitchens used to be built so they were hidden from other areas of the house: unfortunately cutting off the person cooking from the people socializing or eating. While this more effectively hid messes and potentially the smell of a burnt bunt cake, as family and

[vc_row fullwidth="yes" css=".vc_custom_1471897752638{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: repeat !important;}"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Wallpaper, aka wallcovering, has gone back and forth in popularity over the years: It can make a strong design statement – options often utilize texture, color or graphic print – and can protect wall surfaces, but isn’t always the right choice for a space. Before selecting a wallpaper, it is important to consider the room or wall in question and factor in time and money. Wallpaper is a more permanent and simple way of adding pattern or graphic, it is durable, customizable (you can get completely personalized small batch prints), and it comes in several different finish types: vinyl, woven, environmental,

[vc_row fullwidth="yes" css=".vc_custom_1471897793829{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: repeat !important;}"][vc_column][vc_column_text]As May nears its close we all get to rejoice in the transition into summer. We can’t help but relish in how much we love this time of year in the Pacific Northwest: the flowers are blooming, the sun is (mostly out) and the days are getting longer – which means more time with friends and family out of doors. Last summer we featured some lovely ideas for making your outdoor spaces special, but this year we wanted to feature some fun ways to bring the outdoors in, especially since many of us spend a portion of our days inside

[vc_row fullwidth="yes" css=".vc_custom_1471897821589{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: repeat !important;}"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Milan Design Week just wrapped up on Sunday and we wanted to share a little recap of some of the items we found to be standouts from the week-long showcase of new products, lighting and furniture! Starting in 1961, Milan Design Week, or Salone del Mobile Milano, is a yearly exhibition which features new furniture and products from around the world. It is a leading venue for the displaying upcoming trends in lighting and product design and showcases upcoming designers who are frontrunners in the industry. It contains thousands of booths and pop-up displays and is the most attended events of

A post that celebrates wood as an interior material! Beyond use as a basic framing material, wood panels and flooring have been used in interiors as a finish material throughout history. Wall panels were first used extensively during the Gothic period and then became a signature of the Tudor and Elizabethan interiors; where they were used throughout the rooms in houses and were often ornately carved. Traditionally the finishes were made of either oak or pine, but during the 20th century a variety of materials came into use for interior application: solid wood (walnut, birch, mahogany, redwood), plywood, vinyl, hardboard, pegboard and translucent materials (composites or plastics). While it has lingered as a relatively popular floor material

Most readers have probably seen the newest Pantone Color of the year for 2014, called Radiant Orchid. Since its debut it has shown up on design blogs, in fashion publications and on Pinterest and other social media – and there have been many reactions to the pick ranging from “huh?” to “gorgeous!” Radiant Orchid is sort of lilac, sort of purple, sort of pink and while it is beautiful, it’s also a bit difficult to imagine its application from first view. The first products to embrace the color have mainly been beauty items (nail polish, eyeshadow, hair color) and wearables – and of course Pantone has plenty of mugs, keychains and notebooks for sale. The application