Boys' Fort, Summer 2012

In the summer of 2006, The Husband built a structure in our back garden & dubbed it The Boys' Fort. The name carried over & became the moniker for The Husband's downtown pop-up shop & eventually the name of his shop in our Kenton neighborhood.

We spend a lot of time in the backyard fort, July-October. The space becomes the center of our home in the summer. The fort is very conducive to being lazy, reading a book, drinking a cocktail, having a little romance, or taking a nap.

Each year, the fort is transformed into something different than the summer before. This year, the structure gained a roof & rearranged walls & windows. Summer of 2012's fort has a slightly Asian vibe. This afternoon I was transported to a beach shanty in Vietnam or maybe a Thai trading outpost. I think it is the best fort yet.

Don't you just want to spend a little time having cocktails & conversations in The Boys' Fort 2012?

Goings On At Post Apocalyptic Bohemia

There was a lovely comment on my little spot on the Internet from a Portland reader- Ronnie, who I have never met, but oddly, The Husband has. Ronnie noted: “Isn't it funny, when you don't blog for a day I miss it.” I then turned around & promptly disappointed Ronnie by missing another day. Even with my personal commitment of a post a day, I was just too pooped to post. I am not young anymore & I had such a whirlwind weekend.

Saturday afternoon I attended a summer party on a beautiful Balinese influenced floating home on the Columbia River, with several enchanting, bewitching women & a herd of handsome, hunky men, including my escorts, the artist couple- Scott & David. All the guests were smart & interesting & most of us got positively blasted.

  My artist friends, the handsome Scott & David. I love them. They are enablers.

The Post Apocalyptic Bohemian on the Columbia River floating home, caught in a rare pensive moment. When in doubt, a cocktail always makes a smart accessory for any modern man.

I returned home to an angry Husband because I had stayed out until an outrageous, unheard of 10:30pm: "You were at a party for 7 hours? Who parties for that long? I can only imagine what you were up to!" He hates it when I have fun without him.

Eiric, Yoga Master/Gardner

Kennneth, High School Counselor/Gardener

Sunday Morning was breakfast & Bloody Marys at Mock Crest Tavern with Eiric & Ken of Seattle. The gentlemen, soon to be married when it is legal in Washington State, are friends of 25+ years & Best Men at our wedding. Later, the Seattle pair & I took a walk through my Kenton neighborhood to look at the bungalows & gardens before stopping at BOYS' FORT to harass The Husband.

  The first annual Summer Sunday Supper at the fort.

Sunday evening was experienced at the BOYS' FORT/Solabee Botanicals/Salvage Works Summer Sunday Supper with the proprietors of the 3 businesses & their spouses, siblings & sprouts. Plenty of food on the grill, lots of wine & beer, produce from local gardens, conversation & dancing. As always at social events, I ducked out early & drunkenly rode my bicycle back to Post Apocalyptic Bohemia for evening devotions.

The Husband: "Nice. Classy. Filling your wine glass to the rim with rose... with a big Brie chaser. Your readers would not be impressed."

Stephen:"Worse… I added ice cubes to the rose. My readers understand that I am a hedonist & a peasant. I once shot a man in Reno just to watch him die."

The Husband (rolling his eyes): "Hmff..."

I had engaged in enough substance abuse & naughty behavior, that I need a day of rehab on Monday. I drank chamomile tea, wrote in my gratitude journal, performed my stretches & meditated. Please forgive me, Ronnie!

As you can surmise from this post, I have a penchant for hanging out with handsome fellows, Forgive me, Husband!

Boys Will Be Boys

In the Holiday Season 2011, the Husband & his loyal sidekick- Lil'Jake produced a Pop-Up shop- Boys' Fort, as it turns out, the most successful shop in the Downtown Portland Pop-Up Shop program. The store was to be just for the season, hoping to garner interest in the duo's design services. Boys' Fort, named for a structure in our back garden, created by The Husband, took on a life of its own, with a big number of fans & excited customers.

Every September, the swifts return to an abandoned industrial Chimney in Downtown Kenton

A month ago, The Husband & his lackey re-opened the shop in the neighborhood in which we reside. Some would see it as a risky move. Although Kenton has gradually improved in the 11+ years that we have been here, the 3 blocks of downtown have the look of  a down-on-its-luck area, with several boarded up storefronts. 


I love Kenton, & I feel invested in making it a truly terrific, yet un-commercial (no Starbucks) neighborhood in Portland. Kenton is evolving into something special & something fantastic. For those of you that remember Portland's Mississippi Neighborhood or Ballard in Seattle before they were the hip, thriving neighborhoods, you'll remember that just a decade ago, the areas were basically derelict & empty, rather like me. All it took was a few brave entrepreneurs to come in & begin to fill the void, & am a fan of all each one.


Salvage Works & Solabee Botanicals had work represented at The Pop-Up Shop version. Now BOYS' FORT shares a space with Salvage Works & Solabee at 2030 North Willis Boulevard. These local, small businesses are helping to make Kenton a spot worth exploring & dropping some money in.


The following photos were shot by my buddy, the bodacious Bobby Bell at Third Thursday,  the Kenton neighborhood's monthly street party.

To the distress of neighborhood Mommies, this is the official Boys' Fort Slingshot, not to be confused with the official Boys' Fort Sling.

Q. What does Boy's Fort have in common with your host- Stephen?

 A. They both feature old wood.

The Chicken Coop is by the guys & gals of Salvage Works. The plants are from Solabee. What Portland homestead should be without the ubiquitous chickens? Very Portland.

An unidentified Portland Dude eyes the fort.

Boys' Fort, Solabee Botanicals & Salvage Works collaborated on the must-have Baby Doll Head Planters that sold out during the holidays. They're back & they have their eye on you.

Finishing The Fort

Only 2 days left, & I remember when it was just a seed of an idea, prompted by me, to get The Husband & his sidekick- Lil' Jake a little focus. They had started their design company- The Kenton Collective, The Husband leaving his designer job with a local firm & Jake moving to Portland from Brooklyn, just in time for the depth of The Great Recession.

There they sat in the Post Apocalyptic dining room, bouncing off their ideas, as I passed through & tossed out: "You dudes should open up a pop-up shop in Downtown during the holidays." I didn't actually think that the design duo would really run with idea, I just wanted the Kenton Collective to get out of the house & take their defeated attitude with them.

6 Months later, Downtown Portland had 5000 square feet of consummately curated retail space, unlike anything put out before. Boys' Fort was on the must list, during the Holidays, for Portlanders looking for something new & something expressing masculine fun. I could not possibly have been more proud. I think that the pop-up is the Husband's best work of his career & the encompassment of his aesthetic. The store is as if one of The Husband's small assemblages had exploded into an eye-full of unique masculine stuff that was actually for sale. The shop was offering the work of nearly 100 of Portland's world class artists, artisans, craftsman & journeymen, & skilled crazies, full frontal exposure at one of the best corners in Downtown Portland... during the busiest shopping time of year.

Boys' Fort has been an unqualified success. Arguably the most well received & highest revenued pop-up so far. The Kenton Collective & their artists are meeting on the close of business on Monday 26th (the feast day of Saint Stephen) to open some champagne & toast the retail holiday season. Then the boys will deconstruct their creation & take down the fort. But you know how boys are... another fort could pop up where there wasn't a fort before.

The Cash Stand has a monitor embedded that shows endless loops of Harold Lloyd shorts & other silent classics.

A little secret, just between us... promise not to tell?  The Kenton Collective boys fabricated their fort with no cash, no automobile & not a lick of common sense between them. Amazing, astonishing & absurdly brilliant.

A Bit Of Catching Up

2 days in a row with no posts? I don't believe that has happened in 35 months.

I have been working at my place of employment, babysitting my 15 wards & spending time at The Husband's little Pop-Up shop in Downtown Portland when I am free.

Boys' Fort

I have been simply bursting with pride as I witness shoppers exclaim: "This the coolest shop I have ever been in!" or : "I want to live here!"

It seems that The Husband has decided that it was David Hockney look alike day.

This photo is by his designer friend, the talented- Kimberlee Jaynes.

Embedded under glass in the Boys' Fort, is part of my own personal collection, NFS & labeled: From The Private Collection Of Stephen.

Anderson Hayes Cooper continues to send me messages through my TV. Why won't he leave me in piece!?!

I admit that I have embraced the World Wide Web & Email is my preferred method of communication. Yet, I am a life long fan of the United States Postal Service. I remain impressed & astonished that a letter can leave Portland, Oregon & arrive in Portland Maine 3 days later. The USP, having lost 29% of its first-class mail volume in the last decade, will slow its delivery service in 2012,  the first time in 40 years, in an effort to eliminate nearly $3 billion in costs. The USPis an independent agency of government & does not receive tax money. It is subject to congressional control of large aspects of its operations. The changes in first-class mail delivery can be implemented without permission from Congress. All we need is a Republican President & the whole operation will be toast & that makes me very sad.

In Seattle we had the same carrier for 15 years. He knew us well from our mail & never complained that I subscribed to 25 magazines. He was professionally discreet, of course, but he understood that I was an actor from the residual check envelopes.

My favorite song of 2011

I will catch up on reading my favorite blogs this week, & I will deliver more posts about the things I love. I am wishing you all health & happiness.

Civic Pride

I have never made a secret of my support & admiration for the openly gay Mayor of Portland- Sam Adams. Back when the Mayor was a city commissioner, I sat on a committee that he chaired- Keep Portland Moving. I always arrived early enough to insure that I would sit next to him. I understood that he would one day be the Mayor & I had designs to be the First Lady of Portland, a dream dashed when I realized that I was decades too old for his taste. But, I was never bitter. Sam Adams has always had my support, even if he ended up not supporting me in the style that I fantasized about: going shopping in foreign cities while Mr. Mayor was speaking at conferences, cutting ribbons & christening ships, standing beside him at press conferences, fashion spreads in details.

It is a bit of thrill when the Mayor of Portland calls me by name. Yesterday, I was in attendance at a meeting of The Downtown Retail Council where Sam Adams gave an engaging, witty, upbeat update on the Occupy Portland situation. He got angry at a question once & I became so excited that I was unable to stand up from our table. He was strongly stern a few times, making my head spin... Yes, I was in a room with another 50 retailers & I was stuck being hard & dizzy at the same time, not at my best.

Just a few hours later, I stood with The Husband, Jake, & The Boys' Fort Artists as Mayor Sam Adams gave a speech about the holiday season in Downtown Portland & the opening of the 3 Pop-Up Shops. Standing at the door to the store, while thanking him for his words earlier in the day, I just tossed off that my Husband happened to be one of the 2 partners of Boys' Fort.

Mayor Sam Adams (looking mayoral & handsome): "Really? That is so great. May I meet him, Steve?"

Stephen: "Of course, Mr. Mayor... you know I would do anything for you." (the Mayor & Stephen walk together across the atrium, seemingly aglow, as if in a Merchant/Ivory film)

Stephen (in a cornflower blue shirt to bring out his eyes): "Mr. Mayor, this is The Husband..."

Mayor Adams (reaching for The Husband's hand & seemingly brushing up against Stephen): "So very good to meet you & congratulations on Boys' Fort. By the way, you have excellent taste in men." (the crowd goes silent as Stephen levitates)

The Husband: (dry & weary) Oh, don't I know it..."

Portland is all about Bikes & here is a nice shot of The Husband, The Mayor & Stephen getting ready to ride.

BOYS' FORT Officialy Opens!

The product of 6 months of intense hard work, The Husband's & Lil' Jake's new Pop-Up Shop- BOYS' FORT opened today with a speech & ribbon cutting by the mayor & a visit from a jolly, ruddy cheeked fat man in a red suit, & I don't mean me...

Boys' Fort... Opening November 9th in Downtown Portland

The Bull's Eye is by The Husband

BOYS' FORT

I sit on the Downtown Retail Council so it is sort of my fault. One afternoon in late spring, The Husband & his buddy Lil' Jake, the Portland Hip-Hop artist & designer, were sitting in the front room at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia, writing in their gratitude journals & sipping green tea. I walked through the room & casually tossed off: "hey, you dudes should open a pop-up shop in downtown Portland this holiday season & show this town what you've got." What I meant was you guys need to get out of the house & drum up some business, but it came out "pop-up shop".

Made possible through a patchwork of partnerships: Portland Business Alliance, Downtown Retail Council,Portland Development Commission, the Downtown Marketing Initiative, & the city of Portland offers the gift of Pop Up Shops during the Holiday Season. I work in downtown Portland & serve on the Downtown Retail Council. I know that there are a bunch of vacant commercial spaces available downtown & I think it is a brilliant idea to make use of them while the building owners search for permanent tenants. This is a totally smart & rather Portland-ish idea. The Pop Ups give talented local designers & artisans a place to sell their wares & services, something they couldn't normally afford, & it creates buzz & publicity for the spaces. So not only do both parties involved come out winners, but so do all the shoppers who love their guys because now we have more places to shop for the holidays!

The Husband & his business partner in Kenton Collective are set to open their own Pop-Up: Boys’ Fort in late autumn. BOYS’ FORT will be a shopping spot for guys & those that love them . The shop will be featuring the works of local artists & designers using re-purposed materials & found objects with other local products & treasures with a decidedly masculine bent, offered for the modern urban male. As the Husband tells it- "think 'Manthropology'!"

This project has taking up much of the Husband’s time for the past 5 months. This pleases me that he has been focused, forceful, fresh & frisky, willing to jump off the cliff into the unknown, but giving voice to his artistic zeal. The Husband & the talented Jake have been overwhelmed with the beauty & beguilement of the offerings from their artists. Boys' Fort hosted a little affair for the participating artists, designers & crafts people in the space, their first view of the wares in the store. The crowd was over the moon. 

Boy's Fort opens with a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 9th featuring our out & proud Mayor- Sam Adams, who lives in our neighborhood & with whom I am friendly. I have included photographs of some of the views.

I feel that this project is The Husband's best work yet. I am so proud to introduce myself as his spouse. I hope you will be able to visit Boys' Fort during the holiday season in downtown Portland, the do-it-yourself capitol of the USA, the Brooklyn of the Pacific Northwest, "keeping it weird", hipster heaven...