by Kelley Gardiner
It happens fairly often. A couple or a group of friends walk into the cute storefront on Mississippi Avenue, and they start to debate among themselves: “Is this the place? I think it is.”
“No, it isn’t. Could it be?”
The employees have heard it before, so they step in. “Yes, this is the put a bird on it store.” Maybe the most famous Portlandia sketch ever was filmed right here at Land Gallery. If you ask, one of those friendly staff will show you where a little bird figurine from the show still perches in a corner of the shop’s retail space.
“We didn’t realize how much of our stuff does have birds on it,” laughs Amber Castaldo, whose husband co-owns Land, and who helps run the day-to-day operations.
But while a comedy bit like “put a bird on it” pokes fun at the local maker’s scene, it’s in fact widely varied. This store reflects the creativity of the community that surrounds it, okay, and maybe their desire to get cards and shirts with birds on them. Or deer. Or illustrations of cunning cats. Or whimsical whales.
Above the retail storefront sits the art gallery, open the same hours as the store, showing independent and/or local artists. When I visited with Amber, “Portal Land” was showing, a kind of graphic dreamscape in illustrations by local artist Alex DeSpain. Past art shows include the dreamy Emily Martin, inspired by fairy tales, and the super-popular cut paper art of Nikki McClure. A “Triforce Tribute” show had Legend of Zelda fans marking out their spot in line overnight for a chance to buy a limited edition Olly Moss print. You can get those prints on eBay today, but the bidding starts at $300. “We had to call the police,” says Amber, to warn them that there was a reason, if maybe a unusual one, why these people were camping out on Mississippi Avenue.
Land Gallery has been open since 2009, but the business goes back even further. It all started with Buy Olympia in 1999, eons ago in internet time. Buy Olympia was one of the first online stores to sell items by independent artists, and they had a good eye. “I was the first one to wear that ‘Reading is Sexy’ shirt, before it was on the Gilmore Girls,” Amber tells me. I had no idea it was on Gilmore Girls. I just thought that it was really popular with bookish young women. Amber’s husband Pat co-founded Buy Olympia business partner Aaron, and they’ve been off and running ever since. Eventually, the business outgrew the small town that bears its name, and the whole crew moved to Portland to open the retail and gallery space.
Yes, a “Reading is Sexy” shirt is a little racy for the younger set, but parents will find a wide array of cute and functional goods and gifts for kids, with that focus still on goods made by independent artists. There’s the “future librarian or “no tattoos yet” shirt. Clicking on Buy Olympia’s “Stuff for Kids” button will help you stay the hippest parent in town. Handmade “Portland Sasquatch” doll? Temporary bike tattoos? How about
a onesie with a bird (there we go again) and a cat rocking out with a record player and headphones?
Land Gallery was also featured in a later, less-famous Portlandia sketch: Spyke Drives. Customers won’t recognize the store in that bit, though, because it takes place in the warehouse behind the shop.
“Most stores don’t have a lot of back stock,” Amber calls back to me with a bit of a raised eyebrow, while walking through rows and rows of industrial shelves with stacks of t-shirts and prints. Land Gallery is, once again, a little bit different. Any of the goods you can find at Buy Olympia can be purchased online and picked up at the store on Mississippi, saving local shoppers the cost of shipping. Some prints can even be printed on demand, saving the artist production costs as well.
We sit down in the warehouse, me with my coffee from the Fresh Pot just down the street, to chat a bit more. Amber and Pat are the parents, of the whip-smart, and very fun Vinnie, and they love raising a kid in Portland. Once Amber picks up Vinnie from school and brings him home, “we don’t need to get in the car again,” she sighs contentedly. Food, coffee, entertainment is all within walking distance, after homework is done, of course. Amber loves the small town feel in their Beaumont neighborhood, with convenience of big city amenities. And after the work of the day is done, she gets to partake in another very Portland activity. Yep, Amber is also known as Avalanche, of the Rose City Rollers. You can see her with two perfectly curled ponytails jamming for the High Rollers roller derby team at Oaks Park.
Land Gallery is a little slice of Portlandia, a balance of big and small, showing off some of the best and most fun aspects of the artistic community. With carefully-curated items from over 100 artists, Land Gallery shows that the creative side of Portland, birds and all, is more than just jokes, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either.
Kelley Gardiner is a Portland native, a freelance writer and blogger, and the mother of one sweet toddler. To see what she’s up to, visit kelleygardiner.com.
