I dropped into Hermitage this week and had my usual head spinning desire for everything in the shop. Jennifer June is the talented proprietress of Hermitage, with an exquisite eye for the stupendously cool and unique.
One of the things Jennifer does best is bring work from independent artists living outside of Portland into Portland. I like that when I go to her shop, I can say, who is this by? Instead of ... oh I love this, it is by so and so, right?
While Hermitage is the home to many lovely home accessories, the main focus here is on wallpaper. Jennifer retails some of the most unique and special wallpaper designers I have come across. Much is handmade, screen printed, block printed or hand painted. A perusal of her books made me consider wallpapering my whole house. But I have refrained. For now.
If this sounds too good to be true, it is. Jennifer will be closing Hermitage's Portland doors in January and relocating to Seattle. I am not sure what Seattle has done to deserve such a treat, but it is truly our loss and their gain. In Seattle, Jennifer will focus exclusively on wallpaper, limited edition prints and other hand printed items.
Act fast and catch her while you can. If you can't get to Hermitage before the end of the year, be sure to drop in on their online shop, hermitageisahome.com which will be up and running for e-commerce soon.
