The prettiest bag lady in Portland
Friday, September 18, 2009 at 2:39PM ;)
Jane's showing off her new fall/winter collection which is a darker palette than her typically vibrant bags you see over the shoulders of Portland's hippest gals. If you're lucky enough to live in Portland, Jane Raymond has a trunk show tomorrow at Soho Boutique on Broadway from noon to 3 pm. Jane Raymond's bags are so popular in Portland that she can't keep up. I don't eat red meat so I tend to go crazy for bags that aren't made of leather. Jane's bags are made of vinyl and I love them because you can clean them easily and they are rain and kid resistant.I met Jane maybe two years ago when I asked if I could sell her stuff in the now defunct Hello store and we struck up a friendship when she moved to my neighborhood.
I can't talk her into a website because she can't make these babies fast enough. She sells pocket-size purses, coin pouches and eyeglass cases for as little as $20 and her more sophisticated bags rarely cost more than $80 and average around $60. To keep her prices low, she has to sew these herself so if you are lucky enough to get one of her bags (I have 6), consider it a bargain and a treasure.
I started my first post promising not to blow sunshine up anyone's ass, and this particular entry reeks of sunshine because Jane is so talented and her house and her bags are so fabulous. But I am happy to report it's all authentic and this is not the gal you might expect to snub you at the playground. Jane is a down-to-earth, thrifty and nifty creative goddess, and she deserves some kudos for putting it all together with so much style.
Here's Jane's house, and the reason I am featuring it is two-fold. The nexus of this article was inspired by an amazing inquiry from a famous national magazine. After blogging only two weeks, I was surprised to see anything in my blog's inbox from anyone besides the IRS. The unnamed magazine asked me if I knew anyone cool they could feature, and if so, there might be some work in it for me. Jane was my first stop (out of a few more to come.)
Jane's house is a bit of a paradox for niftyliving readers. It doesn't look "nifty" or "thrifty", it just looks just too damn good! But it is. Jane is an artisan, and like myself dabbles in just about every art and craft you can think of. The more we talked about the details of the house that were too intimidating to analyze in the past, the more I realized that her amazing decor was about 30% retail expense, 30% thrift and ingenuity and 40% elbow grease. Surprisingly, Jane was not a cover girl in her youth, she was painting houses with her sister in Michigan and she painted her house (here in Portland) all by herself with the same techniques she invented in the past. On top of that, I think she made every beautiful lamp downstairs herself. And her most remarkable furniture pieces were pieces that she painted herself! I knew that a lot of the artwork on the walls was hers, but she explained a lot of the art was her kids (it doesn't get more affordable than that!)
I promised Jane I wouldn't take her picture too often because for some bizarre reason she doesn't love to have her picture taken but if I looked like Jane I'd pose naked on the internet every day.
Family photos are displayed on two pieces of sheet metal she picked up at the hardware store. 
2 girls and 2 boys. Surprise! They're good-looking too! 
Dining room features luminous curtains she made from $3 a yard sale fabric.
Jane's bag matches the room (entirely by accident)
But the pieces I like best are the furniture pieces she painted herself.
And the ceramic lamps she made herself. 
And the harlequin textured walls she painted herself.
Funky lime entryway is juxtaposed with traditional, preppy paintings...
with a sculptured lamp that throws the prettiest reflections.
Going upstairs... 
Her daughter's room was a cross between a girlie-gasm and a DIY masterpiece. 
Dresser hand painted by Jane. 
And the art was created by her daughter (some cool hybrid of ceramics and sharpie markers.) Jane painted the walls with pretty blue swirls over a lavender background.
I have always wanted one of these "Summer Lights" by Artecnica (an old and very cool vendor of mine). Artecnica
Jane's sister hand painted their comforter covers (which means she has a lot of extra time on her hands.)
I snuck a picture of the bathroom with another great handmade lamp by Jane.
On the 3rd floor we quickly redecorated to make the space look enviously cool. Oh shit, I also promised Jane I wouldn't show her rear. 
I can't wait for Jane to go on vacation so I can break in and steal this cool sign. 
Jane's childhood dollhouse had deteriorated into a guinea pig pen by the time she was a rebellious teenager. She cleaned it up and repainted every detail herself for her daughters. 
Hand painted cabinet that I made look fuzzy because it was a crappy shot. 
The side of her extremely patriotic garage was already like this when she moved in. 
I love these vintage chairs and frankly her back yard was pretty cool. 
Jane showed me the grapes growing between her house and her neighbor's driveway. 
They were freakin' delicious. 
And Jane took an opportunity to show off the damn, I mean gorgeous, bracelet she made herself! Is there anything this woman doesn't make? Do you think she made those fabulous boots too?Craftsman houses, Jane Raymond, Portland OR, Style Sisters, bags, decorating, nylon, purses, sewing in DIY, cool crap, decorating, portland