Portland is full of doers; we build, craft and create, we cut, weld and sew, we design, we manufacture, we work.
Portland Made is a collective of local makers across all industry sectors. From food, bikes, fashion and home goods, Portland Made represents over 500 makers who collectively create thousands of jobs and over a billion dollars in economic activity.
Portland Made is an online hub that tells the stories of these local makers and their products, with the goal of connecting consumers to all of the incredible things being made right here in our city. Every week we will feature a different maker and provide information about where you can buy their products.
Scott Miyako, Portland Razor Company
This time last year, Scott Miyako lived in Los Angeles as a custom cabinet maker, working in solitude in a 2000 square foot shop. A fan of maker videos, he came across an ADX promotional video, and decided that he would rather make things in a community than in isolation. Six months ago he packed his bags and moved to Portland, and on that day the Portland Razor Company was born.
Scott is a maker extraordinaire. In addition to his work on custom cabinets, he has made furniture, bicycles, and knives. Three years ago he got his first straight razor, but was dismayed that the only straight razors available were either imported from other countries or were prohibitively expensive custom pieces. Scott Miyako is changing that. “It’s time,” Scott says, “to make some razors that people can actually afford and that are made in America and handmade, just like they used to be.”
The ADX community has been a vital part of the success of the Portland Razor Company. “ADX has helped build the business in every way,” Scott says, “Without it there would be no way to show up to a city with absolutely nothing and immediately have a working shop.”
Working in a community also allows for a tremendous amount of exposure. People who may never have even considered purchasing a straight razor have seen Scott in the shop, and his infectious excitement for straight razor shaving spreads to everyone he meets.
Kelley Roy is the founder of ADX, a 14,000 square foot makerspace where artists and designers work along side each other to prototype and launch new product lines. ADX is also open to the general public and teaches people of all ages how to make. And if you don't want to do it yourself, you can hire them to do it for you. For more information check out adxportland.com.
Watch the full ADX promotional video here:
Related Slideshow: 12 Things That People in Portland Say
Yes, we are a sensitive, particular, discerning and highly allergic people. Vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, we don’t want GMOs, MSG, or HFT (high fructose corn syrup). There can be no artificial flavors or additives in our cage-free, free range or free run chicken and fresh, wild, line-caught salmon. PS: we can’t eat salt, gluten, dairy, yeast or anything with nuts or legumes in it.
We like to size people us based on where they went to high school. We can basically tell everything about someone judged solely on whether they went to Grant, Lincoln or Jesuit. And there are no bad high schools in Portland when it comes to the alumni. School pride is central to being a true Portlander.
We basically want to know if you have a real job. Maybe you are embarassed that you work as a telemarketer, but are really into cosplay, or happen to spend a lot of time as an unaccredited expert on the Spanish Civil War. We don’t want you to feel labeled by your job. Many of us define ourselves by our hobbies.
If you live far away from us, like more than five miles, we just aren’t going to see you. OK? Our sense of distance is calibrated to 10-minute drives, 30-minute bike rides or 2 hours on a bus. If we have to drive more than 20 minutes, we better be headed to the wilderness.
This often means we'll totally NOT be there. It’s not that we are flaky, but we just don’t like to say no to people to their faces. It would seem so mean to say that we don’t want to go to your show, or art opening, or help you move. Making up an excuse would be too much work. So, you'll figure it out soon enough.
We have our own style in Portland: kilts, corsets, top hats. You name it, we’ll wear it. So whether it’s something vaguely Victorian or something slightly lumberjackish, whatever we have on, we're totally comfortable in it.
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