Zazou Scarves

Zazou is a collaboration between designer Christopher Carroll and founder Claudia Koch. Originally an idea to clothe a mythical “Zazou,” a hipster of early 40’s Paris, Zazou has evolved into a company whose goal is to find a way of combining art and artisan to make beautiful textiles at affordable prices.

Painter and designer Carroll uses a wide variety of techniques to create his original designs, including painting, drawing, cut paper, and collage. Claudia Koch travels the world searching for perfect fabrics to translate the Zazou vision into textiles. She walks through the bazaars of Asia and spends hard time in the cafés of Europe in search of the ultimate scarf.

Zazou designs are sold worldwide and is the only company that regularly creates homage studies of major artists, composers and art movements. From traditional wood block and screen printing techniques, Zazou has progressed into multi-fiber jacquards and complex brocades. They are always consulting textile masters throughout the world for evolving weaving techniques and the latest yarns.

As Zazou's interest in sustainability has grown we have developed Bamboo scarves and fingerless gloves using that wonderful prolific plant. They continue to look for fabrics and techniques that are easier on the planet.

Zazou prides itself on its work on detail, drape, and hand. They like to say "Wear Zazou, Change your life”. Who knows? It might even be true.

Source: Zazou Website

You can shop for Zazou Scarves at Portland Mercantile Company or special order any of Zazou's Accessories by contacting us at customerservice@portlandmercantile.com.

Maruca Design Handbags

Maruca Design proudly cultivates the art of personal adornment…with handbags and accessories that are always right on trend. Maruca Design's distinctive fabrics and beautifully constructed shapes are the perfect match of style and functionality.

Handcrafted in the U.S. in Boulder, Colorado since 1993, Maruca Design's handbags and accessories are designed to become exclusive collectibles that will hopefully beautify your every day life. One look at Maruca Design handbags and it's easy to see that the company was born out of a love for textiles. Owner, Rex Maruca has a background selling high-end jacquard fabrics, which in 1993 progressed into the handbag business. More than a decade later, Maruca Design has become the leading manufacturer of jacquard and tapestry handbags.

You can shop for Maruca Design Handbags and Accessories at Portland Mercantile Companyor special order any of Maruca Design's products by contacting us at customerservice@portlandmercantilecompany.com.

Burnout Velvet Scarves by Dana Herbert

Unique and luxurious burnout scarves from Dana Herbert. Dana lives and works in Portland, Oregon where her line is designed and manufactured. With a lifelong love of textiles and color, Dana started designing accessories over a decade ago.

Every Fall, Dana introduces a fresh new collection of luxurious, yet affordable burnout velvet scarves. Dana travels around the globe, including fashion centers like New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, to see what’s new and beautiful, looking for fabrics that will offer her customers something unique and glamorous.

Available in different styles, the Classic Style shown (single-sided) measures approximately 11″ x 60″ in length. Double-sided burnout velvet scarves are also now available. Dana’s line also includes environmentally-friendly handbags, knit ruffle scarves, silk cotton sateen scarves, loop scarves (including double-sided loop and two color loop), and silk chiffon scarves.

You can shop for Dana Herbert Burnout Velvet Scarves at Portland Mercantile Company or special order any of Dana Herbert's Accessories by contacting us at customerservice@portlandmercantile.com.

Firefly Austrian Crystal and Czech Glass Mosaic Jewelry

Firefly jewelry is intricately embellished mosaic jewelry inset with a combination of Austrian crystals and Czech glass beads. Earrings are on French ear wires that are either sterling silver or gold fill; posts are surgical steel. The Lever back earrings are on high quality Euro wires which are either antiqued brass or silver-plated antiqued brass. Bracelets are 7" long. Necklaces are 16" (17' with extension) unless otherwise noted. The necklaces are either made with silk thread, antiqued steel or antiqued brass chain. The intricately embellished mosaics are inset with a combination of Austrian crystals, Czech glass beads, brass and nickel silver wire. The findings used in the jewelry are brass that has been silver plated and then antiqued.

Firefly provides employment and training in comfortable working conditions and fair wages to the indigenous people of Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala. The workshop employs over 80 skilled artisans both men and women. The indigenous people of the village are very skilled in their traditional arts; the women weave on the back strap loom and are skilled in embroidery the men weave on foot looms and are skilled in making fishing nets.

Firefly has taken many of the traditional skills and transformed them into jewelry making skills. The workshop is spacious and filled with skylights and windows, every artisan has their own worktable and light. It is built around a plant and flower filled courtyard with the ever-vigilant terriers Ricky and Rocky around to greet the workers and roam the gardens.

Note: Firefly jewelry should be cleaned with a soft cloth only since chemicals or chemical baths could strip the beads of coatings and destroy the finish on the metals.

You can shop for Firefly Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company or special order any Firefly jewelry by contacting us at customerservice@portlandmercantile.com.

Fullenstar Studio Nuno Felt Scarves

Fullenstar Studio is the work of Carmen Halverson, a fiber artist in Chicago, Illinois. Carmen has been interested in all things fiber for ten years when she started knitting and quickly became a “yarn snob”, wanting only to handle natural fibers.

Knitting was Carmen's gateway into felting. She began loose knitting very large pieces and fulling (shrinking) them in her washing machine.

"As soon as I laid my hands on raw wool fiber, I was hooked. I felted my first scarf about two years ago and scarves have been my focus since then. I love that scarves are truly wearable art and many of my customers have commented that they are unsure if they should wear them or if they should hang them on a wall. The natural materials are always my inspiration. I use artisan blended wool whenever possible, and I hand dye each piece of silk used in my nuno felted scarves".

Her tools are simple: bubble wrap, environmentally friendly soap, lemon juice, hot water, and hours of physical labor.

You can shop for Fullenstar Studio Nuno Felt Scarves at Portland Mercantile Company.

Camenae Jewelry by Janice Lee Ripley

Camenae Jewelry celebrates the art of adornment. Janice Lee Ripley, owner and principal designer, reinterprets the 3,000 year of history of jewelry in her handcrafted pieces.

Her design style, described as modern primitive fusion is inspired by motifs from ancient cultures. She uses natural elements such as river rock, bone, wood, slate, sterling silver, copper, brass, pearls, shell, and semiprecious stones with colorful glass beads and ceramics.

Camenae Jewelry uses centuries-old techniques of hand-dying, painting and carving bone, hand stamping and antiquing metals, and application of 24k gold vermeil which gives her designs depth and texture.

These techniques ensure that each piece of Camenae Jewelry is truly unique.

You can shop for Camenae Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company.

Sierra by Sonoma Art Works Jewelry

Sierra designs are created in the design studio of Sonoma Art Works, located in Sonoma Valley amidst the vineyards of northern California's wine country.

The jewelry is designed by artist Cheryl Sirkus whose designs begin on her sketch pad and are transformed into works of art.

For the subtle and feminine...handmade in the USA in Sonoma, California.

You can shop for Sierra by Sonoma Art Works Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company.

Marjorie Baer Jewelry

As a jewelry designer, Marjorie Baer is always doing new and interesting things. Marjorie's career began on the steps of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 60's. It was there that the Berkeley grad displayed her first group of handcrafted necklaces, bracelets and earrings - those pioneering pieces that would lay the groundwork for her collections.

Although her style has evolved with the changing times, it's always maintained its original design concept: each piece of jewelry is unique.

"I think my jewelry reflects both my love of art and my training in design. I am concerned with a sense of rightness in the way things are made - in the craftsmanship they reflect. I also strive for meaning in the pieces and for a feeling of cultural connection. The forms and look cannot be random; they have to make sense in cultural terms, connecting us with the symbolic heritage of our ancient societies and indigenous people. Each piece is made to last and resonate the enduring values that inspire me."

You can shop for Marjorie Baer Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company.

Dream Mullick Jewelry

Now in our store.











You can shop for Dream Mullick Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company.

Celtic Jewelry

The Celts were a people who dominated much of western and central Europe in the 1st millennium bc, giving their language, customs, and religion to the other peoples of that area. The word Celt is derived from Keltoi, the name given to these people by Herodotus and other Greek writers. To the Romans, the Continental Celts were known as Galli, or Gauls; those in the British Isles were called Britanni.

In the 5th century, Saint Patrick converted the Celts, the Iron Age invaders of Ireland, to Christianity, but many of the converts retained much of their Druidic religion. This Celtic cross on the left near the Shannon River in Ireland, with its elaborate stylized relief of earth gods and woodland spirits, illustrates how the Celtic people preserved many of their Druidic beliefs.*

You can shop for Celtic Jewelry at Portland Mercantile Company.

*Source: Encarta