Made in Portland: 6 Vases for Summer Blossoms

Last month you planted the seeds and starts. Like Mother Nature, maybe you were a bit behind kicking off the sunny season, but all those extra showers will soon (if not already) yield plenty of the late summer flowers we suggested for your last-minute cutting garden.

And what better way to show off those blooms than in a beautiful locally-made vase? We’ve found six unique lines crafted, like your flowers, right in our collective backyard. So take your pick (yes, pun intended) and enjoy summer blossoms all over your home.

Pigeon Toe Ceramics

In just over a year and a half, Pigeon Toe Ceramics has become so popular that some Portlanders don’t even realize the crisp white vessels they’ve seen in Sunset and Dwell are handcrafted right here in their hometown. Sick of being stuck behind the computer, PNCA grad Lisa Jones traded her graphic design job to start getting her hands dirty again on the pottery wheel in January 2009, and within three months, Pigeon Toe was in stores. “I was just making pieces that I couldn’t find anywhere else,” Jones explains. “I’ve always been attracted to really clean, white surfaces, but I love things that are imperfectly perfect, that have the hand-of-the-maker or that organic quality to them.”

So even though the company has grown with lightening speed, each piece in Pigeon Toe’s two yearly collections is created by Jones or one of her six employees in their Buckman studio (and new, month-old storefront!). It’s important to Jones that her “rustic modern” designs, which include tableware and garden pieces, are beautiful and affordable—not so precious that they only sit on a shelf collecting dust. These are attainable heirlooms that fit into your everyday lifestyle.

One of her first designs was the Dent Bud Vase ($32), which is not only (yes) dented, as though the potter’s thumb left its signature mark, but also trades the typical tall, cylindrical vase shape for a wide silhouette and delicate lip of an opening. It’s the perfect setting for a single lush rose or a few sprays of fresh lavender. The Scribble Vase ($56), meanwhile, is fit for large, dramatic arrangements, which will pop against the raw, textured white porcelain. And the large mouth of the inverted Volcano Bud Vase ($24) begs for just a few askew stems so you can get a peek of the glossy contrasting colored interior.

We also especially love the Pigeon Toe slipcast pieces, which reimagine classic vessels like mason jars (Kerr Planter, $26), vintage bottles (Pharmacy Bottle, $28), scientific flasks ($28), and laboratory test tubes (hanging from $32, wall mount $28 each). Look for wood accents to be added to the new Fall line, and although there aren't any “official” vases, a new carafe and pitcher would both welcome an impromptu bouquet. “I love when people use unexpected vessels for vases,” Lisa notes.

FIND: Pigeon Toe Ceramics at Ink & Peat in Boise, Noun in Sunnyside, Small Victories Shop (inside Tribute Gallery) in Old-Town Chinatown and at the Pigeon Toe Ceramics showroom in Buckman.

Leah Nobilette

Don’t let the delicate spikes fool you—Leah Nobilette’s signature sea urchin-inspired vases are handmade from robust earthenware that stands up to pets, dishwashers, maybe even a playful child or two. She’s been creating the vases—oval ($37-$69) or round ($32-$58), in small, medium, and large sizes—for the better part of the past decade, first in college using earthy brown stoneware, and since 2004, in clean white to modernize the look.

In her Boise-Eliot home studio, Nobilette throws each piece on the wheel, then applies the barbs by hand with a pastry bag (inventive, right?). The results are both clean and tactile, an ideal complement to feathery mums or puffball dahlias. Or perhaps, like Nobilette’s most recent gathering from her garden, tropical nasturtiums and some flowering cilantro (creative, no?).

FIND: Leah Nobilette’s designs at Relish Home + Interior Design (where she also takes custom orders) in Northwest District and Tilde in Sellwood-Moreland.

Jampdx

Sometimes things are just better in pairs. That’s what friends-since-high school Jenn Gauer and Meghan Radick (JaM, get it?) discovered when they combined their two talents—ceramics and cake decorating, respectively—six years ago. Intrigued by the idea of making “art you could become involved with,” according to Meghan, a simple backyard musing (You think we could make clay the consistency of frosting?) has “worked better than we could have possibly thought.”

They began making vases, since the smooth vertical shape was most like a cake, and have since expanded to bowls, mugs, and other tableware. Their goal: to create pieces that “make your day happier every time you use it,” says Jenn. Inspired by the graceful patterns of nature, Jenn shapes the pieces and perfects a smooth surface on the wheel before Meghan pipes the designs directly on the wet clay. Smaller pieces, like the bud vase and fern vase (both $25), feature velvety unglazed porcelain exteriors, while larger urn shapes ($60) are glazed in luminous pastels. The casual elegance of each piece coordinates well with classic bunches of roses or contrasts nicely with an untamed array of wildflowers.

FIND: Jampdx on Etsy and in person at street fairs or its Irvington studio open house (in December and May). Email jampdx@me.com to receive upcoming dates.

Lisa Johnston Smith

If some cheeky irreverence is more your style, you’ll appreciate Lisa Johnston Smith’s handpainted vases (and bowls and mugs). Sure, she glazes her simple, refined shapes with muted colors, and finding inspiration in the details of nature, adds playful images of flowering branches or butterflies. But then there are the bugs. Pesky bugs. We’re talking giant bees, mosquitoes, bed bugs, and lice. “People are always drawn in by the bugs. It’s a great conversation starter,” Smith explains. “I want to create a juxtaposition between a lovely vase and an annoying bug.”

But of course, bugs and flowers go together like sunshine and summer. Highlight the quietly quirky décor with some bright zinnias or the spiky blue bachelor’s buttons. Working out of her Sabin home studio, Johnston is always scheming new designs—perhaps a cockroach or an ant will be next. And she loves doing custom work, so if you simply must have a vase decked out with an earwig, well, just ask!

FIND: Lisa Johnston Smith’s designs on Etsy, and often at Last Thursday and First Friday on Fremont.

Bread & Badger

Amanda Siska always liked the idea of taking her whimsical illustrations to a less traditional format. She tattooed for a bit, but didn’t like the atmosphere of most tattoo parlors. So when she discovered the technique of hand-engraving on glass, her desire to “draw on something and have it be permanent” was satisfied. She started scouring thrift stores and friends’ cabinets for discarded vases, and began revitalizing them with charming robots, sea creatures, astronauts, and yes, a few tattoo-inspired hearts. They’re the perfect home to display an equally poppy sunflower or a few fluttery tall cosmos.

Though Bread & Badger’s most popular design is the mustache mug—and the business has expanded to the point that Siska now systematically sand-blasts most pieces in her Mill Park garage—she still hand-engraves unique designs when she finds the perfect colored glass vessel. She’s currently working on collaborations with other local artists, including new woodland creature illustrations, and welcomes custom requests.

FIND: Bread & Badger vases at Trillium Artisans in Lents and on Etsy. (Mugs and pint glasses available at Frock Boutique in King,  Land in Boise, Powells for Home & Garden in Sunnyside and ZimZim in Kerns.)

Blumebox

Portlanders Whitney and Wade Flanagan also hated seeing leftover vases go to waste. After seeing how many basic glass cylinders her mother had collected from flower deliveries, Whitney, a marketing and advertising exec, and her husband Wade, an engineer, saw an opportunity to come up a more economical and eco-friendly alternative. And thus, Blumebox was born in 2004. The rigid, reusable paper containers (lined with waterproof plastic) ship and store flat, making them cost-effective for florists to use for their deliveries and convenient for at-home space-saving.

In the past six years, the Blumeboxes—available in two pyramid sizes (6" $3.99, 8" $4.50) and a cube ($3.50)—have proven incredibly popular for wedding and party table settings. The bright array of available colors can fit any style. “There are no rules in designing floral arrangements anymore. It’s exciting to see what customers are doing with our canvas,” says Whitney, who is in the midst of moving their offices to Northwest. Indeed, you’ll find plenty of creative ideas from all over the country on their blog, whether you’re planning the decorations for a huge dinner party or just want a sweet bedside bouquet. The Blumebox makes the flowers the star, whichever variety you’ve worked hard to grow in your own backyard.

FIND: Blumeboxes online and locally at Whole Foods and City Market in NW District.