Notching its seventh successful year, Design Week Portland returns April 6–13 with seven days of programming, open houses, talks, and tours. GRAY is thrilled to once again be a media sponsor of this annual celebration that celebrates of Portland’s vital design and creative communities. Herewith, we’ve rounded up the must-attend events throughout the week.
April 8
GRAY’s HOT NEW NEXT competition is back. Join us at Design Within Reach’s showroom for our Shark Tank–style competition where contestants pitch their design-related idea or product to a panel of industry experts: Eric Hildebrandt, Regional Vice President, West, Design Within Reach and HA; Sara Bauer, Founder of Immaculate Space and Open Haus Market; Stephanie Plymale, President and CEO of the Heritage School of Interior Design; and Nathanael Chown, Marketing Manager, Chown Hardware.
The winner will take their pitch to the GRAY Stage at IDS Vancouver in September for a chance to win a cash prize, professional mentorship, and a profile in GRAY magazine. Post-competition, head over to Chown Hardware’s event space, The Eleanor, to raise a glass (or two) at our Meet Me in the Bathroom afterparty.
Also on April 8, the League of Women Designers hosts Changing Course, a session at Holocene in which nine designers describe a moment in their career or design process when straying from their initial intent offered an unanticipated outcome.
April 9
Diversity in Design: Storytelling Mixer is a new networking group dedicated to bringing together professionals of color in the fields of design, engineering, and contracting. The panel, hosted at the AIA Center For Architecture, will highlight the speakers’ personal experiences and projects that have been meaningful or made a positive impact to them, to society as a whole, and/or to local communities of color.
April 11
Senior creatives from the digital agency R/GA will open their office and sit down with industry expert Tim Allen, lead of Microsoft’s Modern Life and Inclusive Design teams, for a discussion on designing for inclusivity.
April 10–12
Staffers from Skylab Architecture, Anderson Construction, and the engineering firm Catena will offer six guided tours of b76, a new mixed-use building that houses a restaurant, bar, and workspace. Featuring a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structural system and open ground-level retail shops, the building acts as both a gateway to the city’s Eastside and an anchor for the Burnside Bridge.
April 12
In collaboration with Vespa Portland, the Portland Apparel Lab will host a moto-themed fashion show, “Nod to Mod,” at Vespa Portland. A spirited and educational way to showcase apparel and accessory design, the presentation will also highlight the culture the classic Italian scooter has inspired.
Check out the DWP website for the full week’s schedule.