New Location, New Hours, New Products

Whew! Weíve survived the holiday season, packing up and moving, and setting up the new store (at SE 21st and Division). We are now  mostly back in the swing of day-to-day business and settling in more and more to our new business neighborhood. Since this is also the neighborhood where we live, we have a very short commute and usually walk the few blocks, although you may also see our ìnewî 1984 Vanagon occasionally parked in the parking lot when we need to take boxes home for recycling. 

Weíve also expanded our hours along with our ìexpandedî store -- we are now open Monday - Saturday, 10:00 - 6:00.
 

Eco-Paper from Tropical Fibers

We are really excited to have found paper that is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper mixed with banana, tobacco or coffee fibers. These fibers are from agricultural waste and help ease the burden on landfills in Costa Rica, where the paper is made.
 

Cast Iron Cookware

After many requests, we have started to carry some cast iron cookware. Many people like to cook in cast iron because it distributes the heat evenly and also provides some extra iron. We now have skillets,  griddles and corn bread pans in stock; weíll be getting more items soon.
 

Columbia Gorge Flower Essences

Many of you are aware of the Bach Flower Essences and perhaps others flower essences from around the world. Thanks to 3 Flowers Healing, we are now gifted with the Columbia River Gorge Flower Essences ? local essences of the vibrations of the wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge. There are an astounding 84 in all. Mirador currently has 6 of the single essences, 6 childrenís formulas and 6 general formulas. 
The  formulas are a bouquet of wildflower energies to create greater awareness and gentle shifts.  An example is a formula called Safe Passage. Think of a historic Safe Passage through the gorge for early settlers in the area and then think of your own Safe Passage through an experience, change  or ? ?  These essences are powerful and subtle at the same time.
Camilla Bishop will speak on the essences at Mirador on April 26. Refer to the class schedule for more information.
 

Endura Cutting Boards

Endura Hardwoods of Portland makes wood products out of wood that is certified by the SmartWood program to be sustainably produced, and wood scraps from lumber mills. We are carrying cutting boards made from Eastern Hard Rock Sugar Maple (certified) and Pacific Madrone (from scraps). These are beautiful, durable cutting boards, large and small, made with the future in mind.

We also carry cutting boards made from Oregon Red Alder, with hardwood accents, in a variety of shapes and sizes.

 Incense

If you're an incense freak, like us, or even if you're not but do enjoy incense, we've got some new products for you to check out.

Shoyeido incense has been made in Japan since 1705 and comes in a variety of scents, in sticks or cones. It smells heavenly; in fact, the cone incense (a special treat, because it is spendy) transported us to an earthly heaven one night recently. We also carry some of their burners -- ceramic bowls and plates and some beautiful painted porcelain burners.

Another incense we just started carrying is coil sandalwood incense. This is an intensely-smelling incense made in China and reminds me of some sandalwood soaps I've had in the past. It comes in a box of 24 coils and includes a burner.

We also got in some Copal incense from Guatemala that is burned on charcoal (which we also carry). This is a pungent, woodsy-smelling incense, quite different from the Asian incenses.

These new incenses augment our previous offerings of Auroshika (Indian), Chinese and Native American incenses.

Cards

We have built up quite a greeting card collection, adding some colorful, whimsical cards by James Christensen and five lines by regional artists with varying styles -- cards with photographs of small villages and rural buildings in Europe and the US, hand-drawn cards with herbal themes, cards using Victorian magazine illustrations, cards with photos processed to give them an "old" look (but with color!), and cards with colorful watercolors of birds, insects and other natural scenes.

Earth Day 2001

Mirador will have a booth at Earth Day 2001: A Celebration of Localization on April 21st. This year there will be service projects in many Portland neighborhoods in the morning and a celebration at Laurelhurst Park in the afternoon. See http://www.cityrepair.org/earthday/ for more details

Recycle Your Books

Mirador is now accepting, on consignment, used books on the subjects that we generally carry new books in ­ raw, vegan or vegetarian food preparation, baking, special diets (allergies etc), alternative health books, books on sustainability, aromatherapy and herbal medicine. There may be areas that we venture into used that we do not currently carry new books in; we'll know when we see it. The formula is as follows: We will resell at 60-65% of imprint and pay the owner 33% of that in cash or 40% for in-store credit. It is consignment though, so payment occurs after we sell.

Feel free to bring by books anytime, but it is possible that we will have to get back to you, especially on larger numbers of books. Please focus on books in good condition and realize that there will some books we just won't be able to accept for various reasons.

Classes

Thursday April 26, 7-9 PM
Blessings of Safe Passage with the Columbia River Gorge Flower Essences Wildflower Slide Show and presentation by Camilla Bishop, co-creator of the Columbia River Gorge Flower Essences. Donations appreciated. Call Mirador to register: 503.231.5175.

Tuesday May 8, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Common Herbs and Their Medicinal Uses with Vickie Sanderson. This class introduces some of the common and easy-to-grow herbs for the Northwest garden. It also covers how these herbs can be used medicinally. $25 class fee includes materials. Call Mirador to register: 503.231.5175.

Tuesday May 15, 6:30 - 9:00 PM.
Moving Into Summer with Kristin Surrat. Kristin discusses nutrition, prepares raw and living foods, and gives lifestyle tips, all with Summer in mind. $20 class fee. Call Mirador to register: 503.231.5175. Kristin's Fall class was very popular, so call early.

Tuesday May 22, 6:30 - 8:30 PM.
Wild Wonders with Vickie Sanderson. This class will teach you about the medicinal properties of plants usually considered weeds. You will learn plant identification and how to use these wild wonders medicinally. $25 class fee. Call Mirador to register: 503.231.5175.

Division Street Fair

The Division Street Fair is Saturday, July 21. There will be booths at our parking lot and at the Nature's employees' parking lot. Contact Nancy or Jo Ann at 503.774.2832 if you would like a booth. The booth spaces are 10' x 10' and include a table.
There will be music and fun at 22nd & Division arranged by the folks at Red & Black Café. Proceeds from the fair will go to Friends of Trees.

It's a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

We've been in our new location at SE 21st and Division for a little over two months now and we are still pinching ourselves. We've gained so much: a store close to our home, a better location, more space and just a really cool old building to nurture along. Another great thing about the location is the cluster of small businesses in the immediate area.

We have the makings of a veritable shopping district and we suggest that you check in with these folks if you haven't already:

Red & Black Café (2138 SE Division). A collectively-owned café with organically grown coffee by Stumptown Coffee, pastries and such, as well as a lunch and dinner menu. The café is available for meetings and musical events.

Gallery Schmallery (2132 SE Division). This space is studio and gallery for jewelry artist Lael Easton as well as monthly shows for other artists in the community. Check out her First Friday showing each month for some interesting art and community spirit. April's show will feature art made with recycled materials.

Climb Max (2105 SE Division). An outdoor clothing and equipment store, this store is a magnet for rock climbers and other people that want to be prepared for the whims of Mother Nature.

Lush Life Café (2633 SE 21st). This café with an inviting atmosphere offers up Illy Coffee, pastries and other goodies as well as vegetarian soups, quiches and sandwiches.

Flotsam & Jetsam (2100 SE Clinton). This store run by a group of collectible dealers is a great find in itself. You'll find furniture, dishes, books, clothing, pictures and more here; reasonably priced and a friendly staff to back it up. Many of the display pieces at Mirador were found here.

People's Food Co-Op (3029 SE 21st). We have lived close to People's for five years and we are thrilled that Mirador is now close by as well. The Co-Op is now member-owned, so, as they say, "We Own It"; and what we own is a great source of organic foods run by staff and working members dedicated to their work. Already off and running is the Wednesday Farmer's Market that only gets better as the weather gets warmer. (See below for a Wednesday afternoon tie in at Mirador's parking lot.) Mirador offers a 10% discount to People's members. If you want to help us help them with the planned expansion, shop on Wednesdays and 10% of our gross goes to People's.

We hope you get to know these other small businesses in the area and keep them in mind when you shop.

Craft Market at Mirador

Starting Wednesdays in April, we will host a craft market in our parking lot. This coincides with People's Farmers' Market, which is just down 21st Avenue from us. The market is open to local craftspeople who are working with natural, eco-friendly or recycled materials (please call for clarification ­ we're flexible!). You must supply your own table/awnings, etc.We will probably charge no fee or just a nominal fee to start with, although we may change this if there is more demand than we can handle. Anyone interested in space should contact us -- call 503.231.5175 or email us.