Our Portland Story

Our Portland Story Announces Launch Party

Melissa Delzio — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:23:30 +0000

All printing/proofing hiccups have now been overcome, and I have finally been able to reschedule the Our Portland Story Volume 1 launch party. Hip hip hooray!

This time there are a few changes. The party has moved to a new venue thanks to the wonderful folks at Mississippi Studios. The date is set for September 23rd. We will host the party out on the patio unless the weather pushes us inside. The party will be private, limited to authors, designers and their guests from 5:30-6:30. Then from 6:30-8:30 the party will be open to the public and feature readings from selected OPS authors.

Below are the details about the event so far. I will post more information as the time draws closer.

Date:
September 23rd

Location:
3939 N. Mississippi, Portland, OR 97227

Timeline:
5:30 – Doors open to authors and designers only, each allowed one guest
5:30-6:30 – Welcome + book buying/giving + author/designer meet and greet
6:30 – Party is open to the public
6:45-7:45 – Speakers + readings
7:45- 8:30 - Closing party with DJ

I look forward to meeting all of the wonderful contributors, and welcoming the public to celebrate this initial launch!

The Design Process

Melissa Delzio — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:45:05 +0000

Our Portland Story has been actively seeking local design talent since January of 2009. Over the course of the past seven months, we have been meeting with several designers a week, going over the project and matching them up with a story that fits their particular design/illustration style and interests. Since all 77 stories get a page in the book, and every page in the book is assigned a different designer, this has been a long, but rewarding process. There are 11 pages yet to be assigned to a designer, so if you are a designer interested in contributing a page, please contact melissa@ourportlandstory.com.

Portland photographer, Bryan Hoybook, met up with OPS page designer, Matt Morasky, of Citizengraphics to document Matt’s creative process for his OPS page on camera. Matt was assigned the story “Old Town Chinatown Chinese” by Brian T. Wilson. This story takes you on a journey through Chinatown’s various food offerings complete with the author’s recommendations. The author writes: “I quite often hear people say that Chinatown is disappearing, but we still have more than a half-dozen restaurants to choose from daily. Many only eat in Chinatown for lunch, but there is a notable amount that go for a morning or Sunday dim sum. I often suggest families go to House of Louie or, for someone looking specifically for dim sum, I direct them to Wong Kee. For friends and residents, I often do a cheer for Mandarin House…”

Matt concepted and sketched several ideas that combined photos he took, with the text and images that Brian provided, and Chinese restaurant menu scans. Matt’s final design concept (shown above, right) was described by him as the following: “…this approach plays off the travel/tourist guide. Speech balloons carry the copy like a narrative. In the background, the city blocks that make up Chinatown are constructed of cut paper copies of Chinese food menus (taken from the Golden Horse). The top title is an illustrated version of the Old Town Chinatown MAX stop.”

Thanks to Matt, for letting us take a peek into your design process and thanks to Bryan for the photography. Please view a sampling of other completed OPS pages on our facebook page.

Meet Sarah

Melissa Delzio — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:41:35 +0000

No book would be complete without an editor. With 77 stories and authors to work with, this project was no small task. The editor had to take into consideration the fact that many contributors may have had no previous writing background. Because of the personal nature of these stories, it was also vital that the “voice” of the author relating the story was retained. Such are the challenges that faced Sarah Koch, volunteer editor of Our Portland Story. She has taken on the task with professionalism and grace. Here is a bit more about Sarah:

Sarah Koch, aka Julia Sarah Koch, is a second- (on her father’s side) and third- (on her mother’s) generation Portlander. Not surprisingly, she has a deep affection for–some would say a mild obsession with–all things Portland. By the age of 12, Sarah had already revealed a tendency towards nit-pickiness that would earn her both friends and enemies. Even so, it took her a couple of decades to recognize and accept her true calling as a proofreader and copyeditor. Once she did, however, the days of riding the rails and living a carefree existence ended. (That last sentence is made up. She never rode the rails, nor has she ever been particularly carefree.)

Her life as a freelance proofreader, copyeditor, researcher, and writer has proved very satisfying. As a writer, she may be most proud of her “A Henry James Filmography,” an ongoing project first published in the Henry James Review (Fall 1998), which melded her love of James with international TV and big screen adaptations of his work. Both the love affair and the resulting project came to life while Sarah was earning an MA in literature at Portland State University.

Currently, besides her regular work and–joyously–volunteering as editor to Our Portland Story, she is working on a series of suspense novels built around a character suspiciously similar to the author, set in Portland and the surrounding area. As anyone reading OPS can tell, this town has a rich history and a remarkable character for any author to draw upon.

OPS thanks Sarah for all of her hard work!

Our Portland Story Featured in The Oregonian

Melissa Delzio — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:47:14 +0000

Put your love for our burg in words, images

by Laura Oppenheimer /The Oregonian
Thursday October 09, 2008, 3:00 AM

Perhaps you want to broadcast your passion for the Rose Festival, thank a stranger who made your day or describe your favorite bus driver. Melissa Delzio wants to hear from you.

The 26-year-old graphic designer is creating “Our Portland Story,” a collection of words and images that pay homage to the City of Roses. Delzio describes the project as part coffee-table book, part yearbook, part guidebook. Here’s the scoop.

Her Portland story: As a student at Northern Arizona University, Delzio toured Portland’s design community with a professional group. “I just fell in love,” she says, so she returned in 2004 to start her career. She’s now at Staccato Design.

The PDX appeal: “It felt neighborly. It’s very green. It had a certain charm, a relaxed atmosphere.”

Staying put: On a recent trip to New York, Delzio’s boyfriend wondered if they’d fall in love with the city enough to move. Nope, their hearts were home in Portland. “As cool a city as it is and as much as it has going on, it just doesn’t compare,” Delzio says.

An idea takes root: An online magazine picked Delzio’s six-word memoir for publication (Smith magazine; “Put whole self in, shook about.”) “It got me excited about the idea of a book generated by all these people,” she says. So she researched local travel guides, found a niche and launched “Our Portland Story.” Delzio says she’s looking for a broad range of people and ideas.

How to apply: You’ve got until Oct. 17. Write a paragraph or so describing why you love Portland, be it a place, a person, an incident or a general quality. Create an image to go with your entry. And submit them both to Delzio by e-mail: melissa@ourportlandstory.com. For more details, go to www.ourportlandstory.com.