Edits Quarterly
Ian Coyle starts Chapter 2 this way: “The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.” – A. Earhart The quote on it’s own is stirring but coupling that with the realization that Earhart presumably died while pursuing... Read More
Poler Camp Vibes
Portland has a reputation (or stereotype) of being a town full of artisan crafted goods for very specific types of consumers. It’s rare to find a company offering a very Portland-style set of products that also have the potential to be offered to a much wider audience. It would be easy at first glance to lump Poler into one of those niche shops I just mentioned. But it’s... Read More
Ellen McFadden
My graphic design education effectively began on Flickr. Class critiques were conducted there, and it was the first place that I really started to explore all the ways that people were communicating visually. It was on Flickr that I also began to explore design history, and started to connect the dots between the graphic trends of the moment and the masters that these trends were... Read More
The Spit Swap – Aaron Draplin & Invisible Creature
Design community oriented events usually satisfy our urges to see our kind in a condensed time & space, almost an excuse to see each other away from our screens, drink in hand, and in our socks, so-to-speak. There are very few occasions however where this is accompanied by the ability to see great work, hear magnetic speakers, and get stuffed with inspiration. This phenomenon... Read More
It’s Official. It’s a co.
The fact that FORTPORT has not featured OMFG co. yet is practically a crime. It’s nearly impossible to be in this town and not be exposed to their stunning array of works strewn about. The three men behind the odd acronym (which when I first heard it looked like swear words, condensed) are Jeremy, Mathew, and Fritz. They have been working hard building out and polishing up... Read More
Starbucks Reserve flagship Portland store
The coffee snob that lives a hearty life inside me generally says “Starbucks” as much as Harry says “Voldemort.” But I am attracted to the only Starbucks in the world outside Seattle that is offering food, wine, and a different atmosphere from the Starbucks I fled years ago. This company has taken its lashes from this town. In SE Portland rocks were thrown... Read More
HMCS Whitehorse + Dunderdon
June is parade month in Portland, which includes fleet week as part of the Rose Festival lineup. Our friendly neighbors to the North usually compliment our banks with a ship or two and this year I toured both the Saskatoon and Whitehorse which are twin Kingston class coastal naval defense vessels. Canada has 12 of these 55 meter steel beauties, 6 on each coast. They’re not... Read More
“The Tree of Life” review
“Tell us a story from before we can remember.” Terrence Malick as a director polarizes his viewers. There are hordes who would rather clean cat litter all night over sitting in a theater under the weight of one of his films. For the record I adore this mans work, and relish in the opportunity to enjoy his films on the big screen. It is a rare event, after all, since... Read More
Guest post – Honest Design
I’d like to introduce a friend of the FORT, one Ryan Bush – who has been instrumental in previous posts, playing an obscured role in the shadows of this blog. No more, we say! Ryan wrote a piece on what he sees happening to our craft, and I’ve a response of mine below if you care to hear it. If you’ve got beef with it, love for it, or are just here for the... Read More
Mi’kmaq legend
For the past few months I’ve really been enjoying a book by Ella Elizabeth Clark called Indian Legends of Canada. It was printed by McClelland and Stewart Limited in 1960, and reprinted in 1981, my birth year. I’m pretty sure new works wouldn’t include the word “Indian” in the title, they’d probably be more sensitive and use something like Native,... Read More