TRAVELER’S COMPANY Partner Shops are stores around the world that embody and share the spirit of TRAVELER’S notebook with fans and users. Not only can you browse the whole TRAVELER’S COMPANY product line up, but you can also share your enthusiasm with the store owners who are also TRAVELER’S notebook users. In this series, we will take you on a virtual trip to visit Partner Shops around the US. Learn about their charm, the experience, and the neighborhood that brings the TRAVELER’S notebook experience together.
Oblation Papers and Press – Portland, Oregon
Stroll down the tree-lined streets of Pearl District in downtown Portland, Oregon, and you’ll come across the beige and vintage façade of Oblation Papers and Press. As its name indicates, it’s a store that specializes in paper goods and letterpress greeting cards. On a sunny day, you might even see a typewriter set out in front of the window display, inviting passengers to stop and try this old-school experience. Aside from cards and paper goods, the store also offers a wide array of stationery items from around the world. On a refurbished kiosk table, you’ll find the entire display of TRAVELER’S COMPANY lineup, including limited TF items for you to pick up and peruse.
Portland is known for being a place where artists and creators gather, and the community has a high level of appreciation for artful goods. We asked Oblation Papers and Press owner, Jennifer, about how they came to build a store focused on paper experience in Portland.
“Our original impulse was to open a space that could bring the rarest and wonderful papers of the world to the people of Portland, who have a high level of appreciation for artful goods. People in Portland seem to be creative and bookish, and kind of have a pioneer spirit when it comes to new ideas. We had bought our first letterpress in 1994 and figured out how to make it work from a 1940s manual, typesetting our first Christmas card with individual letters formed of lead foundry type. This industrial-arts district was full of antique stores and art galleries at the time, with a train carrying hops to the local brewery right past our storefront each morning. It just felt like home, with its creative, honest ethic.”
When you plan on a visit a store like Oblation Papers and Press, it’s the entire neighborhood experience that makes for a good trip. Around the store are cafes and bakeries to grab a bite. If you venture around town, you can also visit the beautiful Portland Japanese Garden with TRAVELER’S notebook in hand. Powell’s City of Books is also a famous bookstore to stop by and take note of your TRAVELER’S notebook.
Take a trip through Oblation’s neighborhood with the TRAVELER’S notebook Accordion Fold Paper refill.
“While Portland is filled with independent, creative thinkers, the city is also rather fierce about supporting the businesses and local organizations that it loves. During this past tough year, we have seen so much intentional bolstering of our store, both curbside and online, and our neighboring businesses and restaurants (now become sidewalk cafés) by local, loyal patrons. This kind of generosity makes our hearts swell with gratitude to be an integral part of such a strong community”
How Oblation Papers and Press came to carry TRAVELER’S notebook is another serendipitous story. In 2015, Jennifer fell in love with the TRAVELER’S notebook at Merci, a select shop in Paris. In the same week, she coincidentally met the staffs from Designphil at an exhibition in New York, and a beautiful friendship blossomed from there. Through repeated connections in Tokyo and the US, Jennifer became a fierce patron of the brand and was excited to share it with the people in Portland. Her love and vision for stationery goods and the analog lifestyle further strengthened this international relationship, and Oblation became the first TRAVELER’S COMPANY Partner Shop in the US.
“TRAVELER’S notebooks have been our number one imported line, as we have been delighted to offer these smartly designed, extraordinary notebooks to the receptive people of Portland. It is such an honor to be part of this worldwide movement, bringing traveler’s notebooks into the hands of so many people who find joy in expressing their daily meanderings inside these beautifully designed leather covers, in a million different ways”
Next time you are in Portland, Oregon, don’t miss out on visiting Oblation Papers and Press. You can browse the entire TRAVELER’S COMPANY product line up, including selected TRAVELER’S FACTORY limited items. Say Hi to Jennifer and her colleagues who are all TRAVELER’S notebook fans and users. They might show you the stories between the pages of their notebooks!
516 NW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Have a nice trip!
