A Vicarious Visit to the Ultimate Expo

Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the Willamette River Photo from Welcome to Portland website
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On my short list of places to go some summer is Portland, OR which seems from what I've read to be a very progressive and beautiful city, with enough antique stores in town and the surrounding area to keep me happily investigating for at least a week. Take a look at the shops listed in the Guide, just as an example (click on Contents, above, select Portland and follow the arrows from page to page).

I never visited Portland in summer, though decades ago I lived on a farm outside Eugene for about a year. Yet I know a lot of people in the Portland area now, since Cochran's Collector's Guide has been covering the Northwest for five years. And the dealers there all report that the Palmer-Wirfs Expo this weekend is the biggest thing happening in Portland all summer. If your mind is on antiques, anyway.
"...it was a real thrill to have a chance to shop there," says Barbara Crews in an article on antique shows on the About.com website.

This morning I came across Cindy Dockins, the Queen of Tarte, exhibiting at this year's Expo, and just from the photos on her blog of her truck loaded with merchandise it should be a very enticing display, with lots of vintage touches that are French, feminine and funky. If you're lucky enough to get to the Expo, be sure to look for her at Space 161.

If you have some special treasure you've been wanting to have evaluated, you can bring it to the Expo. For $5 each, you can present your items to one of five appraisers in the Evaluation and Identification Booth, who can give you informed opinions on everything from fine art to machinery, glass to costume jewelry.

If you can't make it this weekend, mark your calendar for October 25-26, when the next Expo will be held.