Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Glass Door Knobs and Mango Donuts: a Portland Peek

Did some tootlin' around with Clementine yesterday, and we hit a couple of Portland institutions that happen to be just a few blocks from each other, on East Burnside. First off, a place we hadn't been in years, not since we were scouting out some fixtures for our current house. It's Hippo Hardware:

(Did you know hippos moo? At least, so says Clementine, and I can't with authority refute it.)

Hippo sells all sorts of new and salvaged house stuff. Portland is a treasure trove for vintage salvage, by the way. There are a number of places, including the non-profit Rebuilding Center, where people can bring their old sinks and balusters and door knobs and stuff when they're renovating or tearing down an old house. It was door knobs I was looking for -- cool old ones -- and Hippo had them by the bucketful.

Isn't this a byoot?

Lots of glass, so pretty.

And every shape of plate you can imagine. Love these.

{more below}

But ooh, these Victorian pretties! Aren't they fabulous beyond fabulous? 
I want to make something with them. I don't know what. Just something.

I'm thinking of these blue glass pulls for the kitchen cabinets.

It's three stories of cool and weird, vintage and antique, and sometimes just junk.

Tons of lighting.

Like this $3000 bad boy. Crystals the size of golf balls.


I never thought too much about chandeliers before, but buying an old house (1885) with high ceilings (11 feet) does weird things to a girl. However, for the near future at least, there will be IKEA place-holders for future chandeliers. Because youch! Chandeliers don't grow on trees, mama. But wouldn't it be pretty if they did?

These kinda look like pastries, no?

Heater grills.

It's also where sad old hippo paraphernalia goes to retire. If you have any old hippo figurines or stuffed animals you're looking to offload, here's your place. (Moo!)

Oh, and have I mentioned, Clementine is discovering the power of words?


East Burnside around here used to be dumpy with car dealerships and general not-cuteness, but it's come a long way. There's a climbing gym, one of the city's best alt live music venues (The Doug Fir), and some other cool stuff, like this building, where the sliding blinds were each painted by a different artist. There's a wine bar upstairs called Noble Rot. Good.

I hear tell Le Pigeon is one of the best new(ish) restaurants in Portland, and that's saying a lot.

Funky retail space. Great names, no? Haunt, I didn't even notice what they sell.

And, up a few blocks on Sandy Blvd, the notorious, the glorious . . . 

Voodoo Donuts. A dream of pinkness. A place of pilgrimage to all who come to Portland.

I'm not sure what's going on here, but involves the giving away of buckets of donuts. 
Day-olds maybe? Buckets of dontus.

Their motto is "The magic is in the hole." heh heh.

Oh, and they do weddings at the other (original) location. Like, right on sight. When Stephanie Perkins and her cool hub Jarrod (who is in a Harry Potter rock band!) were coming to visit, the four of us thought we might do a vow renewal there, but they haven't gotten here yet. Hopefully soon!

You hear a lot about the Voodoo maple-bacon bar, and geez, the apple fritters are seriously as big as your head, and they do have a gigantic ginormous glazed, and much ranting is done over the Old Dirty Bastard, but our favorite is the Mango Tango, which is sprinkled with Tang. Tang! Who knew they still made Tang?!

Just don't get eaten by the parking lot monster on your way out! Aaaaahhh!!!!



nikkebirde said...

Oh my goodness!! I now want to drive up there JUST to go to Hippo Hardware. I absolutely love vintage hardware stores!! And all those eastlake fixtures!!! I would be in hardware heaven!! hahaha!

Q said...

I love that there is a unicyclist in the first picture of the window blinds.

Justine said...


Deb said...

That hippo place looks like the kind of place I would be lost in for days! How are the prices? Not that it matters cause I am in Arizona. And we do not have stores like that.

Candice said...

Oh my. Voodoo is evil! But in a good way. *snicker* A location was opened here in Eugene in the past year and for weeks the line extended down the block all afternoon whenever I drove by. Needless to say, it was some time before I got in to get my donut. Heaven. Delightful, evil, sugary, creamy, fluffy-goodness heaven. Mmmmm....

(Now that I think about it the location here may not actually the the *same* as what's in Portland, but it's a decent imposter if it is in fact one!)

nameless wonder said...

Portland looks a blast! I have no idea how big it is though; in my mind I imagine Portland, Maine, which is rather small, and has some similarly nice little/unique shops, but not quite so many. I would very much like to go, but I think my boyfriend would get bored.

And that donut place looks AWESOME (we have mouths full of sweet tooths).

Anonymous said...

You said those light fixtures looked like pastries. It's not my fault I misread that as "pasties." It was a perfectly understandable mistake!

Anonymous said...

Love your little mini-adventure blogs. I don't know where you find time to do all this, but keep 'em comin'!

LOL re: "pasties!"

Laini Taylor said...

Nameless Wonder, Portland is medium-small, but still has a city vibe to it, lots of distinct neighborhoods, etc. As for your boyfriend getting bored . . . ? What does he like to do? There's a ton of live music, outdoor activities, etc. And yes, the donuts alone are worth the trip! :-)

Anonymous, ha ha, they do have a bit of a lingerie look, come to think of it!

Candice, the Eugene Voodoo IS affiliated. Haven't been, but I see it is on their website.

Deb, Justine, Nikkebird, yeah, there's fun shopping!

Q: I KNOW. I want to bring a unicyclist with me on my adventures, to always be at the edge of photos :-)

persnickety_jen said...

Al these eye candy and neighborhood posts are totally making me want to move to Portland... even if it's just so I can eat evil delicious donuts and but glass doorknobs. So much love!

Stephanie Perkins said...

Have I mentioned lately that this Portland campagin of yours is PURE EVIL? I am in a very delicate condition right now, missy. This temptation must cease!!

Also, we're still up for the vow renewal if you are. :)

Laini Taylor said...

Steph, I am just warming up. Mwahahahahaha HA!!

And yes, vow renewal is definitely on :-)

Double Glazing said...

What a great way to look rich. Those crystal doorknobs will do the trick!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...