2008 was a busy, productive year for Needmore. And, that’s good news for a few environmental non-profits; through 1% Percent for the Planet, we’ve donated one percent of our annual revenues to environmental organizations. Over the past year, we’ve mentioned donations to a number of environmental non-profits, such as Earth Share, and even adopted a polar bear through the World Wildlife Fund.

This past month, we took some time away from holiday shopping to round out our donations to a handful of local organizations.

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How about no more references to the “got milk?” ad campaign ever, ever again. Pretty please.

For the second year in a row, we spent the days between Christmas and the New Year in Forest Grove at the Grand Lodge meeting about the year ahead (never fear, we found plenty of opportunity to relax and rejuvenate). Over the next week or so, we’ll be sharing some of what came of these valuable sessions.

We are excited to be back in the studio and working on a handful of inspiring projects. Thanks to each of you who made 2008 the best year yet for Needmore and we look forward to more in 2009.

Happy New Year!

We’ve just helped our friends at Literary Arts have just launch their new podcast: Three to Thirteen Writery Minutes. The podcast will include Q & A clips from an archive of prominent authors and cultural icons speaking at Portland Arts & Lectures; Oregon writers reading bits of poetry, fiction, and other short works; and writing prompts shared in a workshop format. Check out their website or subscribe via iTunes.

After our last couple shopping guides focused on online shopping, we’re turning our attention to the city we love. Strolling around Portland these days is just the thing to put one in a cheery holiday mood. We’ve been delighted to see so many Needmore friends and clients dotting the city with their own brand of cheer.

Backyard Bird Shop

Backyard Bird Shop has a handful of locations dotted in and around Portland. Check out their latest newsletter for holiday gift ideas, like these locally made bird and mushroom ornaments, as well as a handy coupon.

Presents of Mind

Presents of Mind, located right in the heart of Hawthorne, has a delightful assortment of locally made gifts – everything from clothing to paper and art (including a collection by Kendra Binney).

Nourishment

All of this shopping must stir up quite an appetite. Head over to Belmont area for a delighful lunch at Hoda’s, followed by a warm coffee just a hop across the street at Stumptown. And really, as long as you’ve gone this far, why not stroll right down the lane and grab a cupcake (or 12) from Saint Cupcake (or grab a cupcake stocking stuffer coupon).

If shopping has run late and you find yourself on the east side of the river, we highly recommend popping into Cava, a restaurant that reminds us weekly how fortunate we are to live in walking distance. While the restaurant is always warm and cozy, we’ve heard the place has just been decked with yards of cedar garland. If that doesn’t get you into the holiday spirit, what will. Happy hour from 5 to 6:30!

For those of you ending your shopping day at Powell’s Books downtown, try skipping over to Masu. The japanista may be the most divine sushi roll yet invented. Happy hour from 4:30 to 6!

Finally, just in time for jolly a jolly holiday, Portland also has a cozy pasty tavern conveniently opening at 11 am, so there’s always a relaxing beer and warm pasty waiting for you in the mist of, or after, a long shopping day.

All in One

If you are feeling particularly shoppy this evening, check out the CRAVE party, featuring an array of local businesses, including form & flora. The event is this evening from 5 to 9 pm.

What are your favorite Portland holiday haunts?

Still on the handmade gift kick today. In the last few years, Etsy has grown into an mind-boggling array of local, handmade gifts in a variety of colors. And, this is good news for artists! In their recent article, Making Artistic Careers Lucrative, the New York Times highlights Etsy as an important piece of the puzzle for helping independent artists make it. We’ve been thrilled to see a number of our friends and clients open their own Etsy shops.

Kate Endle Collage

Kate Endle’s bustling Etsy Shop is chalk full of one-of a kind images and prints. Our current favorites are Kate’s adorable owl collages (although we remain smitten with our own Kate Endle deer collage). Kate has many talents, ranging from collage to illustration and beyond. We’re impressed with the way Kate has used Etsy to create a space for her collages, while her overall site gives a glimpse into the variety of her work.

Makool Clothing

Our friends at Makool Loves You put up all of their samples, one-of-a-kind, and collection pieces for their clothing line in their Etsy shop. This is an ideal use for Etsy, as it not only promoted these one-off products, but also spreads the Makool name. I’ve disussed my fondness for Makool’s ketchup coat in much detail, so this time I’ll point out the cute as a button Pantalette Set (hint, hint Santa) and a divine tea dress.

Paper Milk

Paper Milk has a super cute pack of notecards up in their Etsy shop. This is Paper Milk’s debut year on Etsy and we’re interested to watch the shop grow over time.

We’d love to hear about your favorite Etsy shops!

This year, Seth Godin’s holiday shopping guide especially resonated as powerful, particularly his first (quite simple) idea: Buy handmade items from people you like. In no particular order, below is a list of Needmore friends and clients who are creating amazing handmade gifts, just perfect for the holidays.

Amy Tavern and Portland’s Jill Bliss have teamed up to create a stunning twig and flower necklace. There are only four of these incredible pieces that were just put online today. I still have yet to wear Amy’s exquisite flat egg links necklace without receiving multiple comments throughout the day.

Portland artist Amy Ruppel, along with Bishop Lennon, is having her last art sale before the holidays starting today at 11 am (these sell out quicker than you can bat your eye). We have a number of Amy’s pieces in our home and just love them.

Anyone with a sweet tooth will flip over delicious cupcakes or decadent handmade biscotti (and do we have just the coffee to pair them with). We’ve also just discovered a new favorite chocolate shop in town – these folks are passionate about chocolate and are my current favorite for most delicious mocha in town (they even let you choose from a variety of chocolates for your mocha).

We hope you enjoy checking out some of our personal favorites for this year. We’d love to hear yours!

I am in love with a coffee called Ethiopia Koratie Natural right now. In like where have you been all my life kind of love. Like I’ve started a diary and I’m making a mix tape kind of love.

It’s grown in Dilla, in Northern Ethiopia, at 1750 meters altitude. It’s of the Ethiopia Heirloom varietal. I can even tell you that the owner of Koratie is Salomon Worku.

How is it that I know so much about my current favorite coffee? In part, it’s because I have a small card next to me, that came from one of these bags.

These bag designs are brilliant! Not only do they cut costs by making the bags identical, but they give you a piece of information to take with you, so you can remember which coffees you liked and which you didn’t. Before throwing away your old bag, you grab the card and you can bring it with you next time you go shopping. You can also save it and keep notes on your favorite coffees, as well!

In fact, this clever idea reminded me of another idea I’d heard of a while ago.

Wine labels you can tear off! Good stuff.

We’ve spent the last year getting to know the folks at Beam Development, spending large portions of our days designing away in our studio in Beam’s historic Olympic Mills Commerce Center. Thus, it was with great enthusiasm that we took up the redesign of Beam’s website. After spending some time in their buildings, we had a good idea of what they wanted: simple, uncluttered spaces; an emphasis on history and imagery; and a space to gather.

We especially enjoy the serendipity of visiting the Beam home page; with random backgrounds and an evolving slideshow, no two visits are exactly the same.

We hope you enjoy the site! And, if you are as inspired by the space as we have been, take a look at our studio for lease.

Interesting NY Times interview from the designer of Obama’s campaign logo: The ‘O’ in Obama.

On Motiviaton

We were excited to work on the logo and energized by the prospect of Mr. Obama’s campaign. However, we didn’t pursue or develop the work because we were motivated exclusively by ideology. It was an opportunity to do breakthrough work at the right time in what’s become a predictable graphic landscape.

On Preparation

When we received the assignment, we immediately read both of Senator Obama’s books. We were struck by the ideas of hope, change and a new perspective on red and blue (not red and blue states, but one country). There was also a strong sense, from the start, that his campaign represented something entirely new in American politics — “a new day,” so to speak.

On Impact

The design development was singularly inspired by the candidate’s message. Like any mark, the meaning and impact really come from what people bring to it.