A Local’s Guide to Buying Portland Gifts

We like to make things here in Oregon, and Portland is no exception. A handcrafted item from a maker in Portland tells a story that carries sentimental value and quality. Throw away those other gift guides because this is the one that will cement your place in the pantheon of gift-giving gods with your family and friends.

Portland is well known worldwide for food products like chocolate and coffee, which can be found in just about any corner of the city. We also have a thriving market for quality leather pieces and home goods. Most retail stores will stock locally-made items, and the staff and owners will be excited to help you with gift ideas. But if you’re on a mission to find exactly what you want the first time, this guide will direct you to the best locally-made stuff money can buy.

Gift Shopping in Northwest Portland

The first step for the discerning local shopper is MadeHere PDX on Northwest 10th. Just a few steps from Powell’s Books, which frequently showcases local authors, MadeHere is a compendium of trendy, cool Portland-made products. Their mind-boggling array of local chocolates comes in a rainbow of colors, ingredients and aesthetics. From classically familiar chocolates like Ranger and Suzanne’s to the absolute riot of fruit in a Wildwood bar or the playful illustrations of Only Child chocolates, they might not have it all, but they’ve got quite a lot of it. MadeHere also boasts an impressive collection of local apparel, jewelry and accessories from makers like Asian-owned Frankie and Coco and Native-owned Ginew. You can even find purses, wallets, belts and more from half a dozen local leather workers like Woolly Made and Primecut.

In this quadrant, Danner Boot maintains residence inside Union Way, an airy, plant-filled shopping arcade. One of few brands that manufactures boots in the U.S., Danner’s factory lies just a few miles away in East Portland. For hyper-local leather, take a 10-minute walk or roll over to Orox Leather Co. in Old Town Chinatown, where a fourth- and fifth-generation Oxacan family makes quality heritage leather goods and accessories by hand.

Gift Shopping in Downtown Portland

In downtown’s West End, peek through the eclectic housewares shop, Woonwinkel; local handicraft concept store and music label, Tender Loving Empire; and feminist clothing brand, Wildfang; all located on the same small batch hand-crafted block.

Nationally recognized as the largest continuously operating open-air arts and crafts market in the country, the Portland Saturday Market offers the largest selection of locally-made gifts on any given Saturday from March through December. Located just South of the Burnside Bridge in Waterfront Park and Ankeny Plaza and stocked with more than 150 vendors, all of them local makers and food businesses, Saturday Market is the place to be, from cat toys to kitchenware to colorful hand-carved candles and everything in between.

In the heart of downtown, you’ll find Amity Artisan Goods, a curated collection of products and art made by underrepresented makers from marginalized communities. Check out the owner’s line, Alshiref Design, for beautiful Portland-specific illustrations on home goods and clothes, or pick up something from another local maker, many of whom are so small they don’t even have their own websites yet.

Look for hand-made Japanese textile goods at Kiriko Made, a boutique shop founded as a response to modern overconsumption where you can find everything from pocket squares to gorgeous tableware.

Coffee snobs and coffee snob-adjacent friends must visit Super Joy Coffee Lab, where nationally ranked coffee brewer Topher Ou set up his own roastery in Southwest Portland. He and his staff will ensure you get the coffee lover in your life exactly what they need most.

Gift Shopping in Northeast Portland

Just off the Broadway Bridge on the east side of the Willamette River sits a beautifully appointed chocolatier called Creo. They ethically source their chocolate from partner farms in Ecuador and have awards in the triple digits. Not to be missed: their vegan-friendly truffles.

In the aptly named Alberta Arts District, you’ll find Blendily, a vegan, preservative-free, zero-waste skincare brand founded by Ivy Chuang as the antithesis of the modern beauty industry. They source the vast majority of their materials from their own gardens or the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Finally, you can’t go to the Alberta Arts District without taking in some art. Just a few blocks from Blendily is Blind Insect Gallery, part gallery, part art sale for an impressive variety of small, portable, and affordable art in multiple mediums. Owner and exhibitor Pepe Moscoso is dedicated to making art accessible to the masses and frequently showcases local artists whose work he then keeps in the shop for sale.

Gift Shopping in North Portland

Home to some of the city’s most aesthetically charming neighborhoods like Kenton and St. John’s, Portland’s “fifth” quadrant hosts a slew of can’t-miss shopping. Find small makers with big styles at Mantel for an eclectic mix of local ceramics, glass, jewelry and home goods. Self-described as Portland’s friendliest resource for spiritual tools, at WOO PDX, you can divine the future and center yourself via ritual supplies and soul-centered gifts. If your honey has a sweet tooth, look no further than The Meadow, a consistently reliable cornucopia of global and local chocolates, salts and other tasty tidbits. For all things old, new and maximalist, head to Flutter and stock up on art, clothing, books and perfume (we recommend local favorite, Imaginary Authors!) End your spree at Weird Sisters and Two Rivers Bookstore – the perfect places to find locally made yarn, knitting supplies and, of course, a good read or two.

Gift Shopping in Southeast Portland

Head to Southeast Division where Native-owned beauty business Coral Story Beauty was founded with one goal: to find beauty products that help instead of harm. Discover local brands like Helen Rose skincare, East Asian-owned Ishq Skincare, and queer-owned Roots and Crowns Apothecary, which also has a storefront off of 23rd Avenue in Northwest.

Tabletop game fiends rejoice; Guardian Games in the Central Eastside offers a warehouse-sized amount of gaming options, from collectible role-playing games to indie and even locally made board games. Find an eclectic mix of local and imported toys for kids and adults alike at Hello! Good Morning, zero-waste makeup and home goods at Mama & Hapa’s and a mind-boggling selection of records and media at Music Millenium, the oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest.

For the psychedelically inclined, Higher Self at Wokeface headquarters offers colorful, illustrative, introspective and spiritual goods and art, along with Wokeface’s eponymous merch. Confident enough in a loved one’s style and fit? Check out Portland’s thrift scene (much of which resides on Hawthorne) for vintage threads that’ll turn heads.