Salem's Small Business Saturday: Slab, Ma Valise, Arbor, & One Fair World

When I moved downtown, I imagined myself being a true urban dweller, roaming around the bustling streets, and becoming knowledgeable about all the little shops that would now be my neighbors. Reality has not lived up to that fantasy, and I have only myself to blame. When I first started this blog, one of my goals was to highlight small businesses as a way to make myself venture out into my world and get to know it. Well, Small Business Saturday has encouraged me to finally take those first steps!

If you've never participated before, Small Business Saturday is an event that takes place the Saturday after Black Friday. According to my research, it was started in 2010 by...American Express. Now before you judge the event by its somewhat unfortunate parent, hang tight because I actually think it has value. Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers who have spent a lot of time and money at the national chain stores the day before to spread the wealth and intentionally patronize the small local businesses in their city. These small businesses of course won't be able to offer the huge markdowns and doorbuster deals the shoppers saw the day before, so to some degree this event is asking us to sacrifice something - to forego a good deal in order to live out a value you and I might hold of supporting those people who take a risk to start a small business in our area and who contribute to the diversity, vibrancy, and economy all around us.

I can't remember ever intentionally participating in SBS before, but this year I was bound and determined to! I got up Saturday morning and first headed over to support my favorite small business coffee shop....which if you've ever read my fan-girl posts of the past, you can probably guess that I'm referring to Archive. I kind of wished that I could order coffee and pick up a couple of delectable donuts from BigWig Donut's pop up shop inside of Archive. But I wasn't feeling that great, so I grabbed a scone and a steaming cup of "feel better" tea and settled in to get some stuff done on my computer.

After I was done, I popped back across the street to my apartment to drop my computer off, then I set out to explore some small businesses!

My first stop was a store that I had been in before, but not for some time - Slab.

Slab is a local handmade soap company with lots of great smelling gems. I walk past them all the time and see their pretty soaps in the window and had been meaning to pay them a visit. With Christmas coming, and Small Business Saturday upon us, it was the perfect time. I walked in and started perusing.

There was such a large variety to choose from! There were manly scents and girly scents. There were strong scents and subtle scents. They had a handful of Christmas scents with names like Taunenbaum and Fireside. The Oregonian in me loved that they had a Douglas Fir scent.

There was even a soap with coffee grounds in it! And, the prices are pretty good as far as handmade soap goes. Each bar is $5, with discounts available if you buy larger quantities. I circled the store a few times smelling a bunch of the bars. When I made my purchase, I was super impressed that the girl helping me simply looked at each bar, smelled it, then wrapped it up in paper and wrote the name of the soap without hesitation. And I even had one bar that was almost identical to another one and she didn't miss a beat!

After Slab, I had my mind set on trying out a few places that I had never been in before. I didn't really have a plan, so I just started to wander. The first place that caught my eye was a cute shop called Ma Valise.

I walked in and could feel the Parisian/European vibe. It's set up like many downtown businesses seem to be - in a long, narrow space. It was packed full of treasures. Every space of the store was used and there was a ton to look at. They had Christmas displays up front with beautiful trees and ornaments.

The rest of the shop was a mix of interesting novelties, cute plush toys, aprons, clothing, pictures painted on old dictionary pages, various Paris themed trinkets. Nothing seemed to really be cheaply made, and it all kind of gave off an "I'm special" vibe.

I didn't find anything to purchase there except an anniversary card for a party I was attending. Earlier in the day I realized I needed a card and I almost planned to go over to the local pharmacy down the street to get one before it dawned on me that there are so many little shops around here that I could support instead! I'm glad I realized that!

When I left Ma Valise, I walked out the door and noticed its neighbor, The Arbor. It looked cute enough, so I went in there too.

The Arbor is also a novelty/gift store. It had a way different feel than Ma Valise though. Whereas Ma Valise was packed full of European-ish things, The Arbor was spacious, light and airy, and spread out and had a modern vibe. It had a calm and bright feeling about it.

Its inventory seemed to be fine/high quality gifts, but without a shocking price tag. It had unique items like engraved flasks (which I was tempted to buy for my brother!), gardening supplies, nice bath treats (including a tiiiiiny tin of harvested sea salt which I couldn't quite figure out the use of), and more.

There was a kids section that had interesting toys, as well as my favorite thing there - classic literature books that were adapted for toddlers!!  How cute is that?

And as an added bonus, The shop owner announced that she was offering a 15% discount store-wide for Small Business Saturday. Great! I found some gifts and enjoyed the discount.

My time allotted for shopping was getting short, but I decided to make one last stop. I had walked past One Fair World many a time, but had never set foot inside. I had wanted to check it out for quite sometime, so I set my sights down Court Street and headed that way.

What I found was yet another shop full of special items. From what I could tell from the tags on the merchandise and from what the shop workers told me when I asked, it's a non-profit organization that pays the artisans up front. They also appear to sell some other less-crafty fair trade products. There was so much to look at in the store! Most of it seemed to be made by artisans in various countries. There were instruments, books, candles, soaps, bags, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, baskets, wooden goods, food, clothing, hats, etc. My favorite was all of the nativity scenes; they had quite the variety.

I grabbed a small gift for someone and went to check out. I noticed their sign asking for cash instead of credit to save on their costs (something I don't ever really consider unless someone tells me!) and I was thankful that I had cash on me to help out with their cause, even in a small way.

Overall, I had a great time on Small Business Saturday! I'm glad I did it! I hope this will spur me on to check out more of my neighbors in the near future. When I do, trust that you will get to peek in on them with me :)

Live Jams at Taproot

One of the great things about downtown Salem is the fact that there are many opportunities to partake in live music. Awhile back when I was feeling down about life I made a list of things that genuinely made me feel happy, and live music (especially as seen downtown) made it on that list. I love the energy of live music in little bars, I love the community aspect, I love the culture of it. I often find myself just simply smiling as I listen and watch the musicians do what they love.

There are a couple places around downtown that pretty consistently have live music, and Taproot is one of them.

Taproot is a relatively new bar in Salem. (Some of you may remember back when that spot was "Pete's Place.") It has an interesting vibe to it. It's definitely not fancy or classy but not really a dive bar either (the food is too cultured to call it that). It's probably somewhere in between. The interior is a little cluttered (lending more to the dive bar side of the spectrum) but I like the fact that it's decorated to kind of make it feel like you are outside. It's a long and skinny space with tables and booths up front and a spot up there for musicians to set up, the main bar in the middle of the space, and then a quieter/loung-ier section in the back complete with a random fish tank in the wall aaaannnnnnd a shuffle board table (which can make for a super fun chill night if there's no music to entertain you.) It's generally an easy going place to pass time with friends.

I haven't checked out live music at Taproot enough to give a good and balanced view on what they showcase there. Before the event I recently attended, I'd been there before when the music was super loud and I couldn't last very long because I've reached that fabled age range in your 30s of "loud music drains me." I'd also been there once for an open mic night (which I think is still happening on the first Tuesday night of the month if you want to check it out) which was fairly weird and surreal and suuuuuuuper eclectic. (I can't even accurately describe it, but imagine random people coming off the street to get on the mic with various results, a beatboxer, a poetry guy, some polished musicians, good and bad stand up comics, and laser lights going the whole time).

This time I headed over to Taproot on a Friday night for something I thought I'd like - a night of three musicians from the local Salem music scene each doing solo guitar sets. That sounded up my alley! Plus, it didn't hurt that I have a somewhat biased positive opinion of one of the musicians that I was specifically there to see and support :)

The music started at 9:00pm. When we showed up, the place was pretty crowded. We hovered for a short amount of time, almost took a booth (which would have made it hard to fully engage with the music) but kept a watchful eye and ended up swooping in to get a table closer to the action.

As we took a seat, I checked out the scene. It was a busy night there. It appeared to be the dinner crowd which makes sense because I think Taproot's food is pretty popular. They offer some unique/unusual favorites like poutine, Brussels sprouts, davocados (fried avocados), juices, smoothies, various bowls, etc. The crowd also appeared to be for the most part, pretty young. My friend who came with me and I ordered ginger beer, herbal tea, and later, french fries. And yes even though we're both about 30 we got carded :). Should have expected that with our order!

I've had the service be really slow (hard to get waited on) in the past, but this night seemed ok, so perhaps that aspect of their business is improving.

The night started with Jon Fro up first. He was the organizer of the night and was the opener and closer. He performed some of his original music which has a folksy/bluesy tone to it. I was told that he has the vibe of a modern day Bob Dylan or Neil Young. It was pretty mellow, which is kind of my jam, so I liked it.

He has a CD out that was for sale.

Next up was Jayson Selander. He also mostly performed original music. He has a singer/songwriter vibe and people say that he sounds a lot like Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins. He's a great guitar player and it's fun to listen to his his skilled playing and the melodies he dreams up. I also really enjoy the introspection of his lyrics which are undefined and universal enough to allow for your own interpretation and connection to them, which is my favorite kind of lyric. Besides his own music, he also performed a creative cover of the Beatles "Help" in a haunting, reflective way.

While the first two performed, the dinner crowd (and thus the main crowd) had thinned. I observed that most of the people who had been in attendance seemed to be there to eat and hang out with their friends and that taking in the music appeared to be their secondary purpose. This was interesting to me because my frequent/favorite live music scene, Gov Cup, has a very different vibe where most of the people there seem to be attending TO hear the music.

At any rate, it was time for the last performer to come up and since the dinner crowd was gone, the music could get a little more raucous. This guy went by the stage name "Mr Fredricks Production Company" and the unique nature of his name foreshadowed his musical style. When he first started performing, I sat surprised and couldn't figure out how to classify him! He was definitely a performer and had a lot of energy. He was eclectic; his style changed even within a song. He had some Freddy Mercury/Queen-ish moments. He had some elements of screamo-rock at times. The one word that kept coming to mind was "theatrical." He seemed like a cool guy and his set was definitely entertaining.

By this point, the night was getting pretty late and I had to work the next day (boo), so I took off around midnight as Jon Fro was getting into his closing set to finish up the night. As I walked a couple blocks back to my apartment, I was slightly sketched out by a random guy who told me he could walk faster than me. What? Downtown Salem is weird sometimes.

It was a good night of live music! I'd suggest following Taproot on facebook if you want to see other upcoming events there! (And if you choose to go on open mic night, just make sure you go with an open mind and broad expectations!)

Downtown SLF Film Screening in a Speakeasy

If you begin paying attention to the Salem social media world, you start to realize that there's a pretty hip group of creative people doing some pretty cool things and generally making our little sphere of the planet a more interesting place. They are business owners who specialize in carefully crafted drinks, food, flowers, photography, written words, music, and film, or who promote intriguing and smart activities around our town.

Last year I got to experience one branch of this cool kids group - Star Light Films (or SLF) - in person. One of my friends happened upon an advertisement for a film screening party of their short films that was to be held out in the country under the stars with Archive bartending, other local vendors, and a local band ("Yaquina Bay" which, FYI, I later came to love so much. Hopefully I'll blog about them someday).  We dressed up, headed slightly out of town, and enjoyed the whole fancy evening...which even ended in fireworks!  I'm also a follower of SLF on facebook, had a connection to someone they made a love story film for (which I loved, btw), and came to really appreciate their work in film and photography.

So when this year's film screening rolled around and I saw the event advertised on facebook, I knew I had to attend. What made the event even more appealing was the fact that it was going to be held at Archive this year (and everyone knows I love that place), in their semi-secret downstairs speakeasy (do you see the cool factor rising??), AND it was advertised as a formal/dapper event (fun!). I RSVP'd online for 2 in order to hold our place.

Even before the event happened, it was fun to anticipate it. Oregon (well, actually the Pacific NW in general) is not, what you would call, a very fancy place. Oregonians tend to prefer flannels and hoodies rather than suits or skirts. I liked having a reason to put thought into what I'd wear, and my date and I had fun planning out our outfits ahead of time.

When the night arrived, we dappered ourselves up, walked about a block down the street to Archive, down the stairs, and into the speakeasy. A greeter met us at the door to mark us off the reservation list. Pretty fancy :). We had been instructed to arrive timely, and the evening started off with drinks and food for purchase (from Archive) and some dessert treats that were freely available. Archive was even serving a specially created drink just for the event! I grabbed a glass of wine (Malbec I believe) and we settled into the speakeasy's den-like furniture for awhile.

Awhile later, the live music started and we made our way out to the larger open room (where Archive roasts their coffee, btw). There were rows of benches set up for the later film screening. We sat on a bench near the musician (who was playing right next to the coffee roaster, which was a pretty cool vibe) and took in his acoustic guitar performance. He was really great, pretty mellow, did some fun covers, and we enjoyed listening to him a lot.

As the screening time inched closer, so did we :), and we moved up towards the front of the room and chatted with some other party attenders. Throughout the night we enjoyed getting to know some of the other attendees. It was a great little crowd of people.

Pretty soon the two owners of SLF were up front introducing the series of films that we were about to see, and we were off. I believe there were about 10 films that were shown sequentially. Some of the films were advertisements for businesses. I like the style that they tend to use where they really focus on the craft and the human element and the care that goes into the product that you're purchasing. They tell a story about what's important to that business. We also saw some love story and wedding reception films. I've always enjoyed their love stories, which seem to be a more modern version of the old-school engagement photo shoot. Instead, they capture the love between the two people in moving film and words. The last category of film that we saw (though, I might be forgetting some!) was my favorite. I'm not sure what I'd categorize them as, but perhaps they were lifestyle films? There was one with a couple in a little cabin in the woods, and another that followed a free-spirited couple traveling around in a van. That last one was called "Coastal" and you can check it out on their facebook page  I really liked these lifestyle films; they were refreshing and kind of remind you that life and love are worth it.

When the films where over, closing remarks were made, and then...and then there was a glorious shower of gold confetti :).  What a way to end the event with a bang!  And, what a pleasant way to spend an evening - fancy clothes, food and drink, great live music, meeting new people, and lovely films.

This is a once-a-year event, so I suggest you start following SLF on facebook and don't miss out next time!

Missed Connections at Capitol City Theater

Capitol City Theater has been around for awhile now, and I had heard about their improv comedy show over the years, but it took me until this year to finally check them out. I'm not sure why it took me so long because there really isn't any other live comedy action happening in Salem, so they are definitely filling a void. As far as I know (and here I apologize for not being a very good investigative reporter because I don't care to really investigate it at the moment and would rather just tell you what I think is true :)), they used to rent the Elsinore theater for their shows, but in the recent past (maybe a year ago?) they got their own location downtown on Liberty Street. They must be moving up in the world!

When I visited them a few months back, it was for one of their early-ish evening improv nights. It was entertaining and funny enough, but the crowd was pretty small and mostly made up of parents and their children, so you can probably imagine the level of complexity in the jokes. It was still a fun outing, but I didn't have a huge desire to go to that same show again.

BUT the early evening/kid-friendly comedy isn't their only option! I heard about their "Missed Connections" show where they parody that section of Craigslist (seriously, if you've never spent a half hour reading those, you totally should), and I knew I had to check it out.

So on a Friday night we headed down the street a few blocks and joined the queue of people waiting to get in. I was surprised to see such a line since there had been so few people on my last visit. There was a different show before the Missed Connections and once they done and had filed out, we were allowed in.

This time it was a packed house! We found a seat at one of their small round tables. The seating is a little awkward because the seats are staggered around the table so you end up in front of or behind the person you came with, but I suppose that's about what would be expected at your run of the mill comedy club. There are food and drink available, but I'd recommend just coming for the comedy. (That's my nice way of saying that the food and drink selections are nothing special and seem to be more concession stand-ish than not.)

It wasn't long before the show started, and it was pretty much everything I would have wanted it to be. Each scene started out with one of the two actors (they seemed to be more serious actors, but perhaps they were improvers who were acting serious?) dramatically reading the text of the missed connection itself. That was really the best part of the night and what we considered the highlight of the show. Just imagine a crazy and sometimes desperate online post that often has elements of something that should be kept private but is, by its very nature, very public, being read sincerely and passionately. It was great. After each reading was over, a troupe of 3 improv actors acted out the scene as they (humorously) imagined it. It really was funny and pleasurably kept my attention all night. I wish I had written down the improv actors names, but I'm slightly failing as a legit blog writer here because I didn't....but it was two guys and girl and they were all funny, but the girl definitely stole the show.

One last tidbit. I loved that the Missed Connection articles that they chose to feature all came from around our area! Way to embrace the Willamette Valley's weirdness, Capitol City Comedy! :)

I would definitely recommend checking out this show! (The next one is coming up on November 26th at 9:30!)  They also have some other events that look interesting, like a weekly open mic night and some other special events that I think are worth a shot too.  Check them out :)

Sultry Sunday Nights at Archive

Disclaimer - Given that today is Thursday, I figured it was the perfect time to do a "throw back" blog that I've been meaning to write. This urban outing actually took place in the end of August, so I can't guarantee that you'll get the same experience today, but I'm sure it will still give you a good idea of what Archive is like on a Sunday night.

Earlier in the life of this blog, you visited Archive for breakfast with me. Archive is such a special place that it deserves to be featured for more than just breakfast coffee and scones. It has a whole second side to it as the coffee shop gradually turns into a bar as the day wears on (which is exemplified by the "Coffee & Bar" string art on their wall!). The nightlife at Archive can be varied. I've been there on some busy weekend nights when it's hopping and crowded, or weekday nights when it's chill and relaxed.

I've never had a bad experience at Archive. The bartenders are not only super knowledgeable, but also creative. I've visited before with people who have an idea of the type of drink they want and explain it to a bartender who thinks for a moment then whips something amazing up. They won't find you pretentious or out of line if you ask a bunch of questions or want their advice. You can tell they actually love what they do and want to do it well. If you have a chance, sit at the bar and watch the bartenders at work shaking the drinks with flair, using wood chips and smoke, shaving off lemon zest, etc.  It really is the detail of it all that gets me. I love details in pretty much all aspects of life, so I love the little things they do like the fact that the drinks are made so carefully, that they use metal straws (which caused me to get some of my own), and that they have really interesting and varied types of ice (I know that might seem dumb, but their crushed ice is perfect and their huge block ice cubes are classy).

When my cousin and her boyfriend from Long Island, New York (who currently reside in southern California for school) came to visit, I knew that I needed to take them to Archive. First they came and checked out my downtown loft-ish apartment. It was really fun to hear their reactions and their estimates of what an apartment like this would go for in NYC and how lucky they thought I was to live in a place like I do. Sometimes I kind of forget that I live in a cool place!

It was a Sunday night which can be a somewhat dead time for the city of Salem, but we knew Archive would have some life left in it still. We walked a block over and were met by a pleasant sight when we got to Archive - the lights were all turned down low and candles were flickering on all of the tables. A bartender seated our group of five at one of the larger long solid wood tables and passed out menus.

Before long we were also handed little slips of paper where we could request sultry songs to be played. We had fun thinking up some slow jams to request and waiting to hear them.

Archive has a drink menu that changes fairly frequently and that is quite unique. It seems that they are always thinking up interesting new flavor combinations. I've had some really great drinks there over the couple years they've been open. My favorites so far have been Tequila Daisy - a lemony drink with blueberries (which I loved so much that my friend once made a cheesecake version of the drink for me for my bday), and Tequila Thyme - not sure if I'm remembering the name right, but it came in a tall glass with a sprig of thyme in it. I also once tried a few sips of a friend's glass of this super interesting drink called Yaquina Mountain that basically tasted exactly like Oregon in a cup (one of the ingredients was moss tincture!).  And last Christmas I had the Candle in the Dark (Gin, Port, Cinnamon, etc) which was pretty much the best Christmassy drink ever. So what I'm trying to say is, try one of their specialty drinks on the menu and you probably won't be disappointed. But, if you want to get even fancier, feel free to get creative in your ordering. Also, I have to point out, they do have food too. We didn't get any food on this visit, but they have some fun and unique dinner options as well as snacks. My friends and I especially like their rotating gourmet popcorn recipes.

This time around, I think I ordered the Household General. I feel that things with shrubs in them are pretty classy :).  

My brother got the Tiki Madness which definitely looked like a little slice of paradise.

The most interesting drink at our table though was ordered by my cousin's boyfriend. I unfortunately don't recall the name of, but maybe it was The Marriage, and it looked awesome. I love to watch the Archive guys make interesting drinks that involve smoke, but I had never seen one like this before. It was delivered to our table under a glass cover that reminded me of the enchanted rose in Beauty and the Beast. Within the glass was a haze of smoke which was, I'm sure, enhancing the flavor of the drink as it swirled. The bartender let it sit for a moment, then dramatically lifted the glass. It was pretty cool.

We also had fun watching one of the bartenders climb their ladder to retrieve a bottle.

We enjoyed sipping our drinks, chilling in the candlelight, listening to some slow jams, and chatting. Our out of town guests were thoroughly impressed by the parts of Salem that they had seen. Given their NY and Cali leanings, the Salem-ites of the group were surprised by how much they liked Salem! It was fun to see the city through their eyes.

The night got later and we wrapped up our time together and walked back towards my apartment building. As we said our goodbyes, my cousin's boyfriend rummaged around in their car then pulled out a vinyl record he wanted us to have. That, my friends, was the perfect hipster ending to the evening. And yes I do have a record player :)