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.

Born On This Day- April 4th... Designer & Hip-Hop Artist Lil' Jake

Today marks the birthday of my good close personal friend, the designer/ hip-hop artist- Lil'Jake.

Jake came into my life via the Husband. They became fast friends while working together at a posh, pricey Portland Pearl District shoppe that sold bedding & linens to Portland's monied, nouveau riche, & old guard. The Husband & the Jaker were held together by their mutual love for the exclusive, entitled customers who desired lavish, lush, luxurious linens... but only if they didn't need to be pleasant.

Lil' Jake & I have always gotten along. We have never had a cross word, intrigue or fight in the nearly decade of being friends. We speak a special, secret language that mortals can not hear- Show Biz Talk. Other people in our lives tune us out, but we can go for hours. One of our favorite pastimes involves recasting Broadway Shows & movies.

Emmy winning rapper & Broadway veteran, Jake France enjoys a rich, varied performing career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, recitalist, university professor, design librarian, editor, publisher, fine arts administrator, set designer & commercial designer. His work as a designer has been featured in Popular Mechanics, Boy's Life, Highlights, & Elle Decor Libya, NW Home Chickens, New Age Traveler & Portland Poser. He also very occasionally posts on his own site: The Kenton Collective.

Jake graduated summa cum laude, with an AA in the Hospitality Arts from Obsorbine Junior College in 2000. His senior thesis involved canning insects for fun & profit.

During the late aughts, Lil'Jake was a leader in the early 21st century Brooklyn Hipster movement & was responsible for several special facial hair selections. While living in Brooklyn, Jake released an EP- Foot & Mouth Disease which spawned the hit dance re-mix- I Wanna Touch Your Body With My Body. He is listed in Who's Who in American Women, Who's Who in Brooklyn, Who's Who in American Design, Who's Gay in America, & the International Who's Ho Is Whose. He has performed with the Biscuit Boys, The Tel Aviv Twisters, Viva Iraq!, & The Tri-Met Clown Posse Players. He was the recipient of The Minnie Maddern Fiske award for his work as Second Whore From The Left in the Chateau d' Ville Dinner Theatre production of the Christian industrial rock musical-  Babble On, Babylon!

Next up for this busy boy? He is working on a special project with my husband. I don't know what it is. Everything is hush-hush. 2011 brings the release of his long in the making Art Book-  The Annotated & Illustrated 101 Gay Love Making Positions.



Today,on this special birthday, Jake comes out as gay publicly, right here at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia!