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The primary reason for my visit to Portland last weekend was to spend time with Tanner Goods. While sampling some of the best coffee in the country, visiting factories, and attending my first soccer game were all experiences I enjoyed, the highlight was definitely my last day that was spent in the Tanner Goods workshop. They moved a few months ago into this brand new space that functions as a centralized location for design, sampling, manufacturing and shipping.

Throughout the day, I got to see the entire process of manufacturing a belt. Sam receives and inspects every single hide that is purchased; anything that isn’t up to par is sent back to be exchanged. He then marks each piece of leather out to minimize waste.

I was shocked to learn how little usable space there is on a hide. Cow hides are organic shapes, whereas belts come in straight line shapes. Plus, only a select part of the hide is consistent enough to be utilized for belts. Some remnants can be cut into bracelets and keychains, but the rest of the pieces are tossed into a pile to be brought over to the Tanner Goods flagship store. They sell these scraps by the pound to aspiring designers who might want to try their hand at making something themselves.

In this new workshop, the team has every tool necessary to make anything in their product range. This setup didn’t come together overnight; over the years, they’ve been able to acquire both equipment and knowledge from older leather artisans who helped guide them along. I could tell how grateful they were to have everything in one place – it certainly helps with efficiency.

One  thing I admired about the Tanner Goods team was their versatility. Everyone has his specialty but is able to work multiple stations as needs arise.

While there, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try my hand at making some of the items that Tanner Goods produces for us. Sam gave me a scrap piece of black chromexcel leather to strap out some bracelets.

I also got to use the hot stamping machine to create a few leather 3sixteen patches that go on our jeans. It’s a process that takes time to dial in, as there are heat, pressure and cycle time variables on the machine. I definitely developed a deeper appreciation for all the work that goes into the products they make for us and for their own range.

 

The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best coffee roasters in the world – these are the guys leading the charge with quality in-house roasted single origin beans coupled with labor intensive preparations. Being that I was in Portland for the weekend on business, I had to sample some of the shops that I’d been reading and hearing about.

The first roaster everyone thinks of when it comes to Portland is Stumptown, but we’ve got one in NYC so there was no need to visit. I first checked out Heart Coffee Roasters on E. Burnside – this shop is less than two years old but serves up some amazing product. Their vintage Probat is proudly on display right in the shop, where they roast after hours:

I went with an Ethiopian Kochere pourover, which they prepared in a Chemex carafe. One thing that I noticed about Portland was how inexpensive the coffee was; this carafe only cost $4 and served up 3 cups!

The next morning, we stopped by Extracto after brunch.

This is their second, smaller location that was opened more recently (they roast onsite at the original location on NE Killingsworth). I sampled some single origin Papua New Guinea coffee for the first time:

While fruity and acidic, the coffee has an earthy finish and even seems to get a little sweeter as it cools down (the barista advised me of this to make sure I didn’t add too much sugar initially).

I got to sample Ristretto‘s Mexico Chiapas on my last day in Portland. The earthiness that I love so much in South American beans was definitely present here, but it was lighter bodied than I expected. I’d definitely have this again.

While there were several notable spots that I didn’t have time to visit, my experiences with these three shops certainly make for a compelling reason to return to the Rose City sometime soon.

Heart Coffee Roasting
2211 E. Burnside
Portland OR 97214

Extracto Coffeehouse and Roastery
1465 Suite B NE Prescott
Portland, OR 97211

Ristretto Roasters
3808 N Williams Ave
Portland, OR 97227

 

 

“Play Their Hearts Out” is the result of 8 years of investigative reporting by Pulitzer-prize winning author George Dohrmann. As a reporter for Sports Illustrated, Dohrmann gained access to the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) through Southern California youth basketball coach Joe Keller. Dohrmann asked for complete access in exchange for a promise to publish his findings only after the youth graduated high school. These are the stories of how youth basketball phenoms get their start.

Although I’m only halfway through the book, it’s already been quite eye-opening in terms of revealing the parasitic and symbiotic relationships between parents, players and coaches. The smart parents recognize the power struggles – Carmen, the mother of a recruited player astutely states:

Joe is going to use my son to get what he wants, and I’m going to use Joe to get what Justin wants.

I’ve also enjoyed reading Dohrmann’s coverage of the youth basketball world because it shows, with great intimacy, how few players actually make it through. For every recognized NBA star’s name that is mentioned, there are plenty of stories of heartbreak to outnumber them. The book focuses on Demetrius Walker, Keller’s star recruit, who was at one point dubbed the best 8th grade basketball player in the country. You don’t have to read the book to find out that Walker didn’t live up to the incredible hype that Keller manufactured for his game (he spent his freshman year at ASU, where he only averaged 4 points per game. He’s since transferred to New Mexico). Dohrmann doesn’t point fingers at who is to blame; in truth, it’s a complex system whereby both coaches and parents fail the youth at many junctures.

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine.

Last week I got a haircut at Freemans; while the cut and the experience were less than stellar, I did get introduced to a new pomade from Japan called Cool Grease.

Up until now, I’ve been using Dax Wave & Groom; while the hold is super strong, I really can’t stand the perpetual film it leaves on my hands and the total inability to wash it out (plus, Dirbab was right… it smells like old man). Cool Grease is a water-based pomade, which means that it washes off my hands and hair with great ease. I don’t think I’ll ever be going back to the petroleum stuff. It also has great sheen and smells much better than most other pomades I’ve tried. I think we have a winner.