Rad Begets Rad

[June 13th, 2007] In Portland, releasing homespun music and art is hardly a novel idea. In that sense, Tender Loving Empire—a website-cum-retail store (1720 NW Lovejoy St.) specializing in music, small press publications, comics, clothing, jewelry and custom art—is nothing new. But the ways founders Jared and Brianne Mees have made Tender Loving Empire their own are paramount.

Unlike many art collectives and labels, Tender Loving Empire doesn't just carry art by the Meeses and their friends—and it's not all local. Brianne, a spunky, strawberry-blond 26-year-old, says non-Portland artists are "what started it." And Jared and Brianne—who are from Colorado and California, respectively—don't see any reason to exclude those artists now. The TLE roster, from short-story author Brandon Thompson to California-based indie rockers the Starving Daughters, has grown far beyond the couple's social circle: "Oh, we don't know all these people," Brianne concedes.

Jared says TLE was born of his and his wife's belief in their friends' potential: "Sometimes I feel like [I'm] lighting a fire under people. I hate to say that, but they probably wouldn't deny it." A talented screenprinter and musician in his own right, Jared adds, "We were hanging out in L.A., really doing nothing, and I realized we could do some really good-looking packaging for [our friends' CDs]. We said, 'These are good. Let us put [them] out. We might make some money...or lose some, but forever we will know that there are 250 copies of your CD out there.'"

The new storefront will also double as an art gallery and screenprinting workshop, as Jared's custom screenprints—an integral part of TLE's aesthetic—grace the cover of every book or album the project releases. Jared, also 26, says, "It's not just a store, it's an interaction." The Meeses—who met studying abroad in England—hope Jared's screenprinting will bring in added revenue, as well. But he interjects: "We wanna try to stay as art-centric as we can. I don't want to get into making T-shirts for a softball team."

Though TLE's mission: "We believe your art...doesn't belong under beds or in your hard drive," implies a come one, come all attitude, the store plans to uphold high artistic standards. And if the smart folk-pop on Jared's debut, If You Wanna Swim with the Sharks..., is any indication, TLE products should be thoroughly rad. Brianne—who plays "pretty girly" electro-pop in a band called Old Money—says she's interested in selling goods on consignment, but adds, "We won't take anything on the spot."

The couple (which used to play charming guy-girl folk-pop as Julai) agrees that the store—which is furnished with tables Jared constructed, and decorated with on-the-wall paintings by TLE comic artist Brent Harada—has been a creative and inspiring project in itself. "For a long time," explains Jared, "I got jealous when I'd see other people making really good stuff. I'm just not that jealous anymore. I can see all this stuff and be like, 'Wow. This is way, way better than my stuff.' It's something to aspire to."