2. Full disclosure:
I brought my boyfriend with me because we thought
it might be fun to check out the shops together.
3. I had no idea NR
had rolly carts. I
checked and they
really do roll!
Although the
ceilings aren’t too
low because the
store’s so huge,
their height, along
with their office
building inset light
style felt pretty
warehousey.
Our first stop was
The real shocker:
Nordstrom Rack. Of all the places we
It’s a strange entry with went, including the
modern Apple store,
separate sets of doors on
when I asked my
two almost edges of the boyfriend which he’d
same corner of the building. store he’d like his house
to be like, he said the
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t Rack! Because it was
noticed the security entrance the lowest pressure!
sensors before !
4. Sloth animal in
front of modern
art piece. Totally
unrelated. This is
My boyfriend noted that
Fuego creeped me out they used vertical space
just how I
because it had my number. and none of the other decorate! Really
pretty freaky. I
My boyfriend’s impression stores did.
feel so marketed
was: cluttered! My feeling to.
was, ooo, pretty here,
The interior was cozy with I can’t believe
pretty there, pretty, cool, an emphasis on warm anything at
and interesting wood tones. I felt invited Fuego is $149 !
everywhere. and free to wander.
5. Only one store in the mall dared
not to post it’s name above.
Apple.
I was surprised to find that our Apple store’s
lighting looks like film sprocket holes! I also hadn’t realized that, like AT&T, Apple
employs a fulltime, in uniform security officer.
The interior was minimalist when it came to He wouldn’t let me take his picture.
product, but packed with employees...who How had I missed him all this time?
were just milling around.
6. Sunglass
Hut
isn’t a shop
either of us
frequent….
Neither of us had
much of an
impression of it. My
boyfriend felt its
vast emptiness
made it
unapproachable. I
guess I felt like
something should
be going on in there.
They did have a rotating-brand central display, but beyond all that space,
it felt……………unapproachable…………….
Their idea of impulse buys was eyeglass cleaner…. Not very exciting.
This store struck me as conservative and doomed to fail, especially right after visiting Apple.
7. The antiquey and out of place valances,
the severely worn floors, and the about
business attitude of the staff at
Bath & Body Works made it clear
enough to me that this business was in it for the very
short term or at least needed a serious makeover.
8. It’s not
really a
shop, but
then we
headed
to our
favorite
local
Japanese restaurant, Koji.
We’ve been coming here for years, but I
noticed all sorts of things! There’s a shelf
below the ceiling, The ceiling lights are
spaced differently. The ceiling lights are
recessed. The interior paint is dark peach
and…dark ocean green! The display in
the case on this counter is ALL sake! By
this point, my boyfriend was done
playing because it really was my
homework, but I was having a blast!
9. But once we got outside, I was
full and relaxed and forgot
about observing, but my
boyfriend didn’t. Look what he
saw! A bank with…a crane
inside it!! Those are two things
you don’t normally put
together! People were in the
building working on it as we
walked by.
After that, and this last part
blew my mind, we saw three
hotel security guys chasing a
guy in a green Adidas jacket.
Hot and heavy pursuit! I didn’t
get a picture. I was too shocked.
Things like this just don’t
happen in Portland!! I’ve never
seen it before. But…apparently
they do. They ran right past us.
Couldn’t miss it.
Crazy night! Thanks for making
us get outside to look around
and witness it.