Logo
ISSUE #33.23 • NEWS •

Sustainable art


Cannibals: Objects for the art-hungry.

Recently in "News"

February 3rd, 2010
Rogue of the Week • Clearwire | For a communications company, it doesn’t listen too well.8 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Paulson Shoots, Scores | The Timbers’ Owner closes a sweet ballpark deal, but doubts remain.3 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Sex And The City | Will gender reassignment surgery be a new city insurance benefit? 2 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Second Time Around | What the mayor will likely tout in his State of the City Speech. 0 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Hot Seat • Gov. Ted Kulongoski | Why the governor wants to deal with your kicker check in his last session.5 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Murmurs • Always Asking, Always Telling.1 comment

February 3rd, 2010
Dr. Know • Dr. Know1 comment

February 3rd, 2010
Letters to the Editor • Inbox3 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Cover Story • The Crusaders | Eight relentless watchdogs who hound public officials in pursuit of answers.44 comments

February 3rd, 2010
Ask the Editor • What Were We Thinking? | WW Editor Mark Zusman answers your questions about our coverage.2 comments


Cannibals Owner Pamela Springfield
IMAGE: Jenna Biggs
BY MIKE THELIN | mthelin at wweek dot com

[April 18th, 2007] Cannibals is not a restaurant—human flesh is a hard sell in Northwest Portland. It's a new art gallery (518 NW 21st Ave., 224-2663) that showcases handmade objects by artists who use recycled materials. It's longtime vintage clothier Pamela Springfield's boldest endeavor to date, located right next door to her original store on Northwest 21st Avenue, Keep 'Em Flying.

Springfield envisioned a gallery that featured original art at a price that would appeal to all budgets. Pieces range from tiny $20 trinkets to expensive collector's sculptures—all handmade by local artists. There are mod multicolored clocks made from scrap Formica, hats hand-sewn from single vintage ties, unicorn-themed handbags in period fabrics, handcrafted dolls from bits and pieces normally used for medical devices, and perhaps the most bizarre: Jon Brittingham's Ink, a huge metal octopus comprising 690 valve covers, an exhaust manifold and other metal salvaged from a body shop. It's a showcase of DIY Portland, and everyone can afford something. In other words, it screams PDX.

Springfield is hardly a new face in the world of secondhand. She's been outfitting Portland in what she dubs "contemporary vintage clothing" at Keep 'Em Flying since 1985: recycled fashion in the land of recycling. She moved to Portland from California in 1969, and she remembers initially being annoyed by Oregon's newly minted bottle bill in 1971. "I wasn't used to recycling," she remembers, "but I soon realized the streets were so much cleaner...after a while I didn't mind." Later, on a visit to Houston, Texas, she noticed people throwing everything in the trash. "I realized...I'm part of the solution—not the problem," she recalls. "Imagine what the world would think about America if they saw a wealthy country choosing to make art and clothing out of trash." And last month, Cannibals was born.














icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

It's no surprise Cannibals would surface here. No city in the United States recycles more than Portland does. With organizations like SCRAP and the ReBuilding Center, Portland has built a unique culture out of recycling, one Springfield says has been brewing for years. "Portland has an alternative fashion and furniture movement that has been around for a long time, so the idea of thematically vintage recycled retail is very honest to Portland."

"When people come to visit or migrate to Portland, they see how cooperative we are in addressing environmental problems and how creative and inventive we are in solving them," she stresses, "there is no reason why Houston couldn't do it, too."

Cannibals is located at 518 NW 21st Ave., 224-2663.

 

Rate This Story
5 average/10 votes

 
read all 1 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “Sustainable art”

1

Great store! A perfect place to get lost for a while. Right near Cinema 21.

Flax, Dec 6th, 2008 6:01am
 
 
 




 

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55838) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55842) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55844) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=58781) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55843) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55841) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55839) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61

Warning: file_get_contents(http://portland.wweek.com/online/exports/Rss.xml?section=55840) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/wweekco/public_html/xml/rsscacher.php on line 61


More


More


More


More


More


More


More


More

Ad

Ad
Music Millennium
Ad

Sponsored Links: WW Personals
Musician's Market
Snowboard Jackets
Legal Tips
Camping Gear


Recently in Willamette Week
December 31st 1969Washington State | The Canada of Oregon has it all—a Stonehenge replica, a longboarder's concrete wet dream and dark, damp underground lava caves. Vive les rocks.
December 31st 1969Oregon's Outer Edges | Crater Lake. Hell's Canyon. Wallowa and Steens mountain ranges. Hell, yeah.
December 31st 1969Central Oregon/High Desert | No rain, plenty of snow, obsidian flows and great local beer. The folks from the real eastside know how to unbend outside.
December 31st 1969Great Cascades/Columbia Gorge | With plenty of room to roam—and hot springs for your weary feet—it's the place to ramble and relax for the weekend.
December 31st 1969Willamette Valley | Monks, tracks, tubing and wine make the fertile strip a virile place to play.
December 31st 1969Stumptown | Tons of public parks, an extinct volcano and nude beach volleyball to keep you jolly. Get out and collect those merit badges, without leaving the city.
December 31st 1969The Coast | The beaches are public. You own them. Go play—hike in the old-growth forests.
December 31st 1969Cycle Tour 101: Your on-bike guide to Highway 101 | To ride the greatest bike route in Oregon, you need to get out of Portland.
December 31st 1969Doggin' It | What happens when a Portland running club jogs with pooches from the pound?
December 31st 1969Over the Edge | Sam Drevo will paddle yr ass.