Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Innovation is Mimosa hallmark for 20 years

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses
For 20 years, Austin Raglione’s Mimosa Studios at 1718 N.E. Alberta St. has operated as a family business. Recently, several family members gathered to paint their own ceramic items. (Left to right) They are son and grandson Kyle and Cameron Chown, Austin, daughter Gabriella Raglione, and daughter-in-law and grandson Allison and Kingston Chown. Photo courtesy of Mimosa Studios

Like many businesses in the Alberta Arts District, Mimosa Studios pivoted its business strategy in the early days of the pandemic and supplied offerings to-go. Other businesses packaged meals. Mimosa boxes contained fired ceramic pieces, paints, glazes, pallets, brushes and instructions.

That strategy appealed to longtime customers, and it attracted new ones who sought activities to pursue at home. It also helped keep the paint-your-own pottery shop stay afloat so owner Austin Raglione could usher in its 21st year this month.

The beginnings of the business were also innovative. “In 2001, this was the emerging arts district, and I just wanted to be part of that community.” She offered space for different activities.

“This was a place for people to come in and talk about art, bring in their own crafting things – knitting, sewing, painting. By customer demand, it quickly became a paint-your-own studio,” Austin explained.

Her creative genes were nurtured as a child under her grandmother’s mimosa tree in Texas – hence the studio name. Just as Austin followed in her grandmother’s love of arts, so did her children. Her daughter, son and daughter-in-law have all helped operate the studio while it has grown across the years. “My grandson is 6 so he probably won’t start working there until he’s about 15,” she said with a laugh.

More tables were added – with pre-pandemic seating for 25 – and paintable shapes inventory increasing from 25 to 300. To accommodate social distancing, painters are limited currently to 15.

Customers continue to order the to-go kits online at Mimosa-Studios.com or visit the studio to select their supplies. “To-go kits will continue to be a cornerstone of our business,” Austin reported.

When she opened the shop, Austin began a tradition of building community partnerships. First she invited neighborhood children to paint tiles that still decorate Mimosa’s facade. That effort has been followed by donating hundreds of items to auctions to support nonprofits and more to local schools and incarcerated women.

To celebrate 20 years of community service, beginning Oct. 1, customers may select from 25 items hand-painted by Mimosa staff and designate from among three charities to receive the proceeds. On the anniversary of the shop – Saturday, Oct. 23 – 20% all sales proceeds will go to the Northeast Emergency Food Program.

For the holidays, Austin and her staff will continue their more recent tradition, “Paint a Tree, Give a Gift.” Through that project, $10 is donated from the sale of each Christmas tree and menorah to Raphael House to purchase gifts for children.

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.

CNA LUTC Meeting, Wed., Oct 20th, 2021: Draft Agenda

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized
Here’s the draft agenda for the CNA LUTC meeting this coming week.

Rachel Walsh from the Columbia Slough Watershed Council will be there to discuss potential pathways for collaboration.

Also, we plan to recap on the Alberta Street Design Walk, and discuss drafting a letter in support of the Historic Resources Code Project, as authorized by the Board.

You can join the meeting here:
Web:

Phone:
316-512-3077
PIN:
417604919#
One-touch:
316-512-3077, 417604919#
Looking forward to seeing you then!
cheers,
~Garlynn

From the Board – Be the change you want to see in Portland

Posted on by Posted in CNA 1 Comment

While it’s only October, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board election, being held at our annual meeting on Nov. 3. I know that a lot of you consider volunteering for the CNA board or other community organizations. I understand this sentiment because I felt the same way for years.

With everything going on in Portland these days, many Portlanders complain that the city government is ineffectual and, like most of us, are pining for positive change.

We are all part of this city, and neighborhood associations are the grassroots level of city government. The CNA board represents 10,000+ Portlanders and, when we endorse issues or write letters, we are usually heard.

For example, this month we secured a meeting with the current owners of the Concordia University property, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, to lobby on behalf of the neighborhood. This resulted in some reassuring updates about the sale.

All of the members of our board volunteer their time because they want to be part of their community. Many of them have been on the board for years, and this continuity is really important in maintaining a nonprofit, all-volunteer board. That said, it’s great to get new volunteers who bring fresh energy and thinking.

At the moment, we are fully staffed. However, this could change in November if some current board members whose terms end in December decide not to run for re-election, and we don’t have new volunteers from the neighborhood to fill their board seats.

Just like any election, when a current board position is up for election/re-election, any qualified person can run for that seat regardless of whether the current board member is running for re-election.

So, if you’re interested in serving on the board, don’t be dissuaded because the position is currently filled. Put your hat in the ring, and may the best candidate win! That’s democracy.

In odd-numbered years like 2021, odd-numbered board seats are up for election. CNA board members serve two-year terms. The chair position, currently held by me, is only a one-year position so is up for election every year. So, by my count, that’s six board seats and one chair up for grabs.

Next month, I’ll provide an election primer. Meanwhile you can reach out directly to me with questions and/or check out our CNA bylaws to learn more: ConcordiaPDX.org/about-cna/bylaws.

Native Portlander Peter Keller has lived in Concordia since 1997. He runs a small marketing agency with partner Max, out of their home studio. He loves exploring outdoors with and without his dogs.

Concordia Art Works – Artist’s efforts pay tribute to his family, culture

Posted on by Posted in Arts & Culture, CNA
William Hernandez applies the culture of his native Peru to his allegorical art. Photo by Maquette Reeverts

Trained as a painter at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts) in Lima, Peru, William Hernandez worked as a fine artist and graphic designer there before settling in Portland in 2009 at the age of 32.

William is one of the organizers for the first Intercambio de Artistas Latinos (Latin American Artists Exchange), which aims to create a network of artists in the Northwest. He is also an exhibitor, artist-in-residence and instructor at Milagros Theatre, and he organizes painting classes for immigrant workers at VOZ Workers Rights Education Project here in Portland.

Starting with a blank canvas, the artist paints without an initial sketch which he feels places limits on his creativity. Using oils or acrylics in bright rich colors he allows the creative process to be spontaneous.

William’s allegorical art reflects his culture. He expresses the stories of his childhood memories, his life before coming to the U.S. and the realities of the people of Peru. The past becomes a metaphor and, by using humor and sadness in a playful and dreamlike way, he draws in the observer.

“I would say that in many of my pieces my two sons and wife are represented in some form,” he pointed out. “The concept of family is very important to me as a visual expression.”

During the pandemic, his studio is now a more shared space with kids’ toys in the corner and a set up for online classes in another carved-out space. Although several public art projects were put on hold, he has stayed busy painting commissioned work.

To find out more about William’s work, visit WilliamHernandezArt.com or stop by the Blind Insect Gallery at Alberta Street and 29th Avenue.

Michel Reeverts, aka Maquette, holds a master of arts degree in art education, serves Alberta Art Works as director and Alberta Street Gallery as a board member. She is also a practicing artist. Contact her at Maquette@AlbertaArtWorks.org

LCEF seeks ‘like-minded’ buyer

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, CU Sale
The land, the buildings and everything inside them are part of the Concordia University property sale – including the George R. White Library & Learning Center. Current owners reported to CNA they want to sell the campus as one piece for “highest and best use” to a “like-minded” buyer. Photo by Gordon Riggs

The owner of the Concordia University campus wants to sell it to “like minded” owners for “the highest and best use.”

Those terms peppered a Sept. 2 video conversation between Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) representatives and two Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) officials.

LCEF took ownership of the property in the June foreclosure after Concordia University had defaulted on nearly $38 million in loans. Since the college closed in April 2020, neighbors have asked what will become of the property. Answers to several questions posed by CNA were answered by Bart Day, LCEF president and CEO, and Rick Lauer, LCEF Real Estate Solutions senior vice president.

Can a buyer make a totally different use of the property? “The highest and best use is the easiest transition,” pointed out the LCEF president.

The property is zoned campus/institutional. “When new owners want to change the zoning, there’s usually a lot of pressure from the surrounding areas, and we’ve seen that take years in some cases,” Rick explained. “We’re not interested in pushing this out for years.”

The LCEF leaders also said they want to sell the campus as one unit. That includes not only the property and buildings, but also the fixtures, furniture and all other contents in the buildings. They pointed to that strategy in Boise when “like minded” University of Idaho College of Law leaders purchased the Concordia University Law School campus.

What Bart again called “like-minded people” have expressed interest in purchasing the Portland property, although he declined to name them or the price being discussed.

“We’re not looking to windfall some huge cash off of this sale,” he said. The goal is to cover the debt.

Another Concordia University creditor, Hotchalk, has attempted to delay the sale until its lawsuit is settled for the $302 million it claims Concordia University owes for an online education system. Hotchalk filed a similar suit to delay the property sale in Boise, but the Idaho court dismissed it.

Judgment on the Hotchalk suit for the Portland property from the Multnomah County Circuit Court didn’t arrive before press time. Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/CUSale for the judge’s order.

Meantime LCEF has a full-time maintenance person on the Portland property. “We are trying to keep a presence of people working on that campus to show that we’re actively engaged in it,” Rick said.

The LCEF representatives said they cannot, however, allow local groups to use the property. For insurance reasons, they continue to decline requests from organizations that used the grounds and facilities previous to when the university closed.

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.

CNews Update – Grove info, tour are on tap

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News
Eleven local organizations are asking builders to avoid harming the International Grove while reconstructing the 42nd Avenue Lombard overpass. Representing three of those organizations are (left to right) Angelique Saxton, Native American Youth and Family Center; Bruce Nelson, Cully Tree Team; and Barbara Wharton, Concordia Tree Team. Photo by Chris Baker

Local tree advocates met recently with city representatives to discuss how to protect and preserve the International Grove. A report on that meeting is at ConcordiaPDX.org/pbot-grove-trees. To learn more about the challenges to the 10-year-old grove and to tour it, meet Saturday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m. at Holman Street and 41st Avenue.

Note the date change from what was announced in CNews at ConcordiaPDX.org/2021/09/tree-teams-celebrate-groves-10th and ConcordiaPDX.org/2021/09/advocates-rally-to-preserve-grove.

News from the NET – PublicAlerts system offers best disaster info

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News

In the case of an emergency such as flooding or forest fires, it’s important to have accurate information about the situation, including information about when to evacuate.

In the past, government agencies used tools such as radio, television and automated calls to landlines to reach households. These days, those methods are less reliable to reach many people.

Luckily, in the Portland area, the PublicAlerts system allows individuals to receive these types of notification through text, email or calls to cell phones.

Although landlines are automatically registered to public alert notifications, cell phone users must sign up at PublicAlerts.org. The service is available in 11 languages, and it has an additional feature that allows people to identify if they have special needs that might require assistance during a disaster or evacuation.

Supplying this information ahead of time allows emergency responders to deploy resources and personnel more efficiently.

PublicAlerts is likely to distribute the most accurate, location-specific information quickly. However, if cell phone networks are not working during or after a disaster, local radio and television intend to broadcast the most accurate information.

Pay attention to official announcements from official sources such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.

In a major disaster like a Cascadia earthquake, the damage to power lines and cell phone towers makes it difficult to access information through television or the internet.

Each emergency kit should have a radio tuned to emergency frequencies in case the disaster is widespread enough to prevent other news from getting through. Make sure you have extra batteries for your radio if it doesn’t have a hand-crank for power.

Know where your nearest Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node (BEECN) is, since this is a place to get information if other sources are unavailable. For most Concordians, that’s in Alberta Park, but check for information on other nearby ones at PortlandOregon.gov/pbem/article/483656.

Planning how to get reliable information can save lives.

Erin E. Cooper is a marine biologist living in Woodlawn. She spends a lot of time thinking about disasters and has been a NET member for many years. Contact her at OceanListener@gmail. com.

Concordia Art Works – Sound of a chainsaw draws this wood artist

Posted on by Posted in Arts & Culture, Concordia News, Local Businesses, Trees
Kevin Poest doesn’t have to purchase the materials for his medium. He lives in Oregon, where supplies from wood millers, arborists or neighbors are plentiful – and he puts each offering to artistic use. Photo by Maquette Reeverts

It wasn’t long ago that many people had workshops in their homes or garages. When things broke, you fixed them.

By the age of 10, Kevin Poest was using the workshop’s table saw while his grandpa made repairs on the family furniture. One day Kevin brought home a to use the lathe. That old chair was never repaired because little Kevin became inspired.

That chair leg became his first real piece of art and he never quit. Today by his backyard studio sit piles of materials garnered from wood millers, arborists or neighbors.

“When I hear a chainsaw I start walking toward the sound.” With a little effort and friendly neighbors, his material is free.

“I started with wood pallets. Once you cut and sand them, they are great pieces of wood.” His driveway stores his loot of street tree segments and burls waiting to be pulled into his workshop.

Kevin enjoys creating utilitarian pieces, including plates and bowls that show off the natural grain patterns while highlighting the irregular voids and edges of the natural medium. He is just as adept at making spindles and balustrades for historic homes, but the urns he makes for people’s loved ones are his favorite.

“It honors my work.”

Visit PoestsWood.com or @poestswood to donate wood or purchase his work.

This nonprofit plants trees, grows community

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Trees
Haley Miller loves trees, and she’s even been known to hug a few. The Friends of Trees employee not only lives in Concordia, she’s responsible for planting efforts here and in Vernon, Woodlawn and Piedmont neighborhoods. Photo courtesy of Haley Miller

Haley Miller has her dream job at Friends of Trees. In fact it was trees – and the outdoor recreational opportunities – that brought her to Portland in 2010.

“Trees have just such a calming effect to me,” she explained. “If I feel really stressed or overwhelmed, I go to anywhere they have big trees.

“That’s why I think it’s important to get more trees in the city, so people who can’t make it to a national park can take a walk in their neighborhood park and see trees, and be around trees.”

Just as important are trees in parking strips, Haley added. “They provide shade and protection from wind and rain.” They also provide barriers for pedestrians from cars and tend to slow the traffic.”

Beyond emotional and esthetic qualities, environmental science credits trees for improving air quality and reducing “heat island” effects on hot days. “I love putting more trees in places that need them the most.”

She goes further than helping neighbors select trees to put in the ground. Friends of Trees has spawned community engagement around tree plantings. Although the organization serves the entire metro area, neighborhood trees senior specialist Haley is responsible for planning the planting events in Concordia, Vernon, Woodlawn and Piedmont neighborhoods.

After Friends of Trees accepts requests from local residents for trees in their yards, she plans morning-long planting efforts in the four neighborhoods.

Pre-pandemic, that meant creating a central staging area where about 200 volunteers met for breakfast and training. They divided into teams, each with an experienced team leader and about 10 trees to plant. They’d return by noon for a celebratory potluck lunch.

“People would meet each other, neighbors meeting neighbors,” she said. “The whole community aspect is really important to us.”

In a typical season – October through April – 6,000 volunteers donate about 40,000 hours.

During the pandemic, 21,311 trees and native shrubs trees were planted, but volunteers worked mostly solo. Those experienced volunteers were provided trees and locations to plant them.

“I was grateful and in awe,” Haley recalled. “They still came out in the rain on their own and planted the trees. It just shows how important trees are and how these volunteers respect that.”

Haley and her 27 colleagues at Friends of Trees are now planning how COVID-19 concerns will shape the upcoming planting season. For details as they become available, contact her at Haleym@FriendsOfTrees.org.

There’s one thing she can predict now with certainty. “We’ll engage the community in a way that feels safe and respectful.”

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.

Volunteer organization fights food insecurity

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Trees, Volunteer Opportunities
Kris Balliet, Concordia resident, chairs the board of directors of the Portland Fruit Tree Project. The pandemic has put a spotlight on how many people need fresh food, so the nonprofit has increased its efforts to harvest the bounty of Portland residents’ back yards. Photo by Michael French

A local grassroots organization is fighting food insecurity with fresh food. The Portland Fruit Tree Project, a community-based urban food recovery project, works with homeowners, orchards and partner organizations to glean and distribute unused fruit.

Food insecurity is up in Oregon. Nearly 25% of households in the state experienced food insecurity in 2020, up from 10% in 2019. Households of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) are especially hard hit, according to a study by Oregon State University.

“There is no reason people should go without good food, especially when it is growing and dropping on the sidewalk,” said Kris Balliet, board of directors chair for the Portland Fruit Tree Project. She is a Concordia resident and the organization’s business office is located in nearby Leaven Community.

“We get there before fruit starts getting bad, gather it and put it into a system that gets it to people experiencing food insecurity.”

To distribute the food, the project works with community organizations, such as Black Mental Health Oregon, Hollywood Senior Center, Friends of Trees, Mudbone Grown’s CSA program, Davis Elementary School and other schools in diverse and low-income neighborhoods.

Kris said the organization, founded in 2006, struggled with finances prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Since then, it’s turned a corner fueled by strong community support, ongoing demand for services and the hiring last year of director Heather Keisler Fornes.

“The pandemic illuminated how many people need fresh food, and how great the need is. Our expansion has been remarkable over the course of the last year,” Kris said. “We wanted to make sure that fruit was not going to waste, and kids were not going without fruit, even during a lockdown.”

Lately, increased donations are funding new programs.

The organization recently established a new BIPOC work training program in partnership with The Blueprint Foundation, a Black-led green workforce development nonprofit. The program aims to raise wage opportunities for youth and established workers in landscaping or other lower-wage work.

A new service helps property owners care for home orchards. Coaching helps do-it-yourself owners to better care for their trees. A full-service care programs offers comprehensive maintenance for fruiting trees, vines and shrubs.

“We invite everyone in the Portland metro area, and particularly the inner northeast, to participate,” Kris said.

Homeowners can participate by harvesting their own fruit or requesting volunteer help.

The project also welcomes cash donations, in-kind gifts and volunteers to harvest trees or offer skills like legal, grant writing or accounting services. For more information, visit PortlandFruit.org.

Michael French is grateful to live on 28th Avenue in Concordia, a place where neighbors talk to each other and he can get most places on foot, by bike or transit. Contact him at MFrench96@gmail.com.