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Portland Saturday Market opens for the season

March 19, 2010

by Megan Quint

The Portland Saturday Market recently reopened after being closed for two months following the end of the holiday season.

Most visitors to Portland take a trip to the Saturday Market, but in case you have not made the trip yet, now is the perfect time to go. The market is closed between Christmas Eve and the beginning of March, giving the vendors plenty of time to renew their inventory, not to mention the appeal of the increasingly nice, warm weather.

The Portland Saturday Market has been an important Portland fixture since its inception in 1974. Located at the junction of SW Ankeny and the Naito Parkway under the west end of the Burnside Bridge, an easy walk from Pioneer Courthouse Square, the market attracts an estimated 750,000 per year, and is the largest outdoor market in the United States. It is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Spoonman Creations

Spoonman Creations is one of the original vendors of the Portland Saturday Market, begun in 1974. Mike is the original Spoon Man—he began making items out of silverware in 1971.

“I saw a ring in a shop in Seattle and thought it was something I could make,” said Mike.

The business has since expanded from rings to a variety of kooky cutlery-related items, including fork back-scratchers, flatware chimes, and knife door-hooks. The Spoonman Creations shop, because of Mike’s creativity and hard work, is now easily the market’s most well-known stop.

“We love working at the Saturday Market because we get to meet tons of people, including a lot of tourists from all over the place. It’s a fun atmosphere and, for the most part, the weather is pretty nice,” said Ed, who Mike took on to keep up with the demand.

Mike and Ed work full time during the week to make products for the stall and their website, which ships to private patrons and gift shops across the country.

“We make it all ourselves,” said Mike. “Everyone here does. It’s a requirement of a craftsman market like this one. The person behind the counter is always the person who made the product.”