If your resolution has to do with losing weight, you may be holding off on buying any more clothes till you reach your goal. Very admirable, but also difficult. Sometimes a new little something stylish to wear gives you the extra boost to keep on trying. Do you know what always fits, no matter what your current weight? A hat! Hats, like shoes are one of those wonderful fashion staples that you can wear for years, regardless of your changing waistline. They also are handy for keeping your head warm!

Lucky for you, this Thrifty Thursday is all about hats! That’s right this Thursday January 19th all our awesome men’s & women’s hats will be 25% off!!

This is just a sampling of our large selection of stylish hats for men & women, you are sure to find one that fits you just right. This Thursday you can find that “just right” hat for 25% off! This is a one day sale, so don’t miss it!

See you this Thursday January 19th for this Hat-tastic Thrifty Thursday!

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It’s the 2nd annual Hawthorne Holiday Stroll! What is the Hawthorne Holiday Stroll you ask? Well, we’ll tell you!

On Saturday December 10th from 12-7pm (We will be open 10-9pm) Hawthorne will come alive with family activities, sales, live music, free movies etc… Many of your favorite stores will be running promotions, giving out treats and staying open late for the event. The participating businesses (like us) will be donating a percentage of their sales from the evening to Fish Emergency Services and raffling off a wreath stocked with free products, gift certificates, etc… We and many others will have sales running during the event too! All you have to do is come shop at one of the participating stores and get a raffle ticket for their wreath, then they pull a name and one lucky shopper gets a beautiful wreath and all the prizes with it! The wreaths will be displayed so you know who is participating & what their wreath has to offer. Our wreath came out wonderful & has goodies & a gift certificate for a total value of $300!!

Come shop with us December 10th for a chance to win our beautiful wreath worth $300, get 20% off all your purchases & help a great cause!! We’ll be taking your raffle tickets (free with purchase), and running our 20% off sale all the way till 9pm!!

For more info on The Hawthorne Holiday Stroll go to: The Think Hawthorne website

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This November 12th & 13th we are having our 22nd Anniversary Holiday Open House!!

Who doesn’t love a party? Especially one with prizes! Every year the second weekend of November we have our Holiday Open House & Anniversary party! We work diligently from the beginning of November right up until party time to turn our store into a holiday wonderland.

What kind of party would it be without a weekend holiday sale? On Saturday and Sunday we have select items on sale for 22% off. 22 to celebrate 22 years of being in business.

Saturday, November 12th, look for all our clothing and accessories on sale for 22% off the retail price.

Come by on Sunday, November 13th, for jewelry all on sale for 22% off

All our ornaments, holiday wrap, menorahs, boxed holiday cards, decorations & other holiday treats will be out before the big event.

We have stocked up on our unparalleled gift selection for easy holiday gift shopping. Many of our lines we will only get one order of this season, when they’re gone, they’re gone. Yet another reason to get your shopping done early, and relax while everyone else is fighting the crowds in December.

Our Open House is tons of fun! We do a prize walk several times an hour where we give out awesome prizes! We also have refreshments & free balloons for the kids!

Our Holiday Open House is November 12th & 13th from 12pm-5pm. We will be open our normal hours of 10am-7pm both days. If you can’t face the holidays till December but still want to avoid our holiday crowds, you will be happy to know starting December 1st we stay open till 9pm Mon-Sat through the 23rd. Evening & morning hours of shopping are always less crowded, and therefore more pleasant. We hope you all can make it to our party, we promise you’ll have a great time!!

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Seasons K. Designs started as an effort by Presents of Mind owner Seasons Koll (in other words me) to create what was missing from the local Portland market place. While we have carried locally designed shirts for a long time, it was hard to find shirts that really showed Portland pride. Local companies like Little Lark gave us some of our Portland loves as tees and onesies with images of  bikes, trees, birds etc… Our local product seeking Portland customers and visitors were all hoping to find more Portland in their Tees and Onesies. So, the “Made in Portland” onesie was born. With log letter script it says Portland in text and spirit. It’s still the top seller.

Due to the success of the Made in Portland onesie, a made in Oregon onesie was added & new styles of Portland Tee’s were created for Men, Women & babies, and so it grew…

Having a high volume store with a highly discerning clientele in a super cool city is a great way to find out what the public is craving. So many times it takes companies far longer to catch on to what customers are looking for in the stores.  Art nouveau, Contemporary Gothic, and Nautical are all under represented themes in the marketplace. I knew I would want to buy them anyway, I hoped customers would agree. So, I started designing a few art tees with themes such as Ravens, Octopus and Art nouveau images.

Of course I knew our Presents of Mind customers still loved Deer and Birds as much as I did so I designed some sweet pieces for women and babies.

The latest development is the use of my own photography in my art tees. Photography has been a passion of mine but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to use my images. I have loved taking photos for this blog and the Presents of Mind Facebook page. I really wanted to use them in another art form. I started looking at the photos as possible shirt designs, and it made perfect sense. This has been the most fun to work with. Photoshop is a temperamental mistress, but worth the effort.

My most recent development has been skirts, and I couldn’t be more excited. These jersey Pencil Skirts are super comfortable & look HOT! They are my new favorite piece in my own wardrobe & a perfect alternative to skinny jeans. The skirts come in some of my best selling art nouveau & photography themed graphics & are already a best seller. They have a very “body friendly” 4″ spandex waistban & hit right at the knee. They can even be worn as a tube top!

What started out as fulfilling customers requests in my store has turned into a very extensive T-Shirt line and a previously undiscovered passion for clothing design has been born out of it. I have already started sketching dress and blouse designs that will be cut and sewn with screenprint graphics. I am designing them to be flattering to a wide range of women’s bodies. Originally the Seasons K. Designs line had been exclusive to Presents of Mind. The line is now available at other stores here in Portland, a few stores scattered around the US & even a store in Canada!  You can also order tees on the Presents of Mind website, or on my Etsy page.

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Happy Holidays!!

Well, Christmas is over and there is only New Years left before this Holiday Season comes to a close. We hope you have all had a wonderful time with friends & family & ate your fill of delicious treats.

We know we have.

Now that the holidays are drawing to a close we are ready to end the year with an awesome After Christmas Sale!!

Come in and get 40% off all our Holiday gift wrap, ornaments, cards, stationery, decorations etc…

Stock up for next year or spruce up those after Christmas gift exchanges.

&

Get 25% off select Winter outerwear & accessories & all 2011 Calenders !!

Also good for those after Christmas gift exchanges or to get yourself a little something stylish for your Winter wardrobe.

Sale runs through December 31st!

Open 10-7 Everyday

Closing at 6pm December 31st

Don’t miss out!!

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100 year old Kwala Shell earrings from Tasi

Did you have any trouble falling asleep on December 2oth? Perhaps it was the Blood Moon! Some believe the eclipse can effect our moods. Eclipse, you ask? Exciting times in the universe, literally, in the Universe. Last night, around 10:33 p.m was the beginning (PST it started on the 20th, EST the 21st) of a lunar eclipse, an astronomically spectacular way to usher in the winter Solstice. That’s right this year’s Solstice falls on December 21st. The last time an eclipse shared the limelight with the Solstice was in 1638. These things don’t come around that often, and you wont see another eclipse with the winter Solstice till 2094. Hopefully, you were able to step out and catch a glimpse of the copper moon.

A solar system of silver by Paper Wings

In celebration of the 1st day of winter, and the celestial events, we are showing some of our ethereal jewelry from Tasi, Paper Wings, and From the Reliquary, to help you get some gift ideas for your astronomy loving friends or anyone that can appreciate gorgeous jewelry.

Tasi's gold vermeil linked galaxy

According to NASA, the best time to have seen the moon was at 12:17 p.m. PST. If you were out and you had a clear night to witness the Earth pass between the moon and the sun (the redness comes from the shadow of our Earth cast against the moon) then you may have also had the chance to see the Ursids meteor shower. We said there was a lot going on last night. What a way to celebrate, and the Romans just had the Feast of Saturnalia, shheesh, 2010 celebrated with two major stargazing events.

Like a Roman symbol of Pyrite by From the Reliquary

The Winter solstice begins officially at 3:38 PST today this December 21st, that means that sunset is at 4:30 p.m. here in Portland. So when you step out of Presents of Mind today after doing your last minute Christmas shopping don’t be surprised to see that it is nighttime.

In honor of the Earth and our red moon

Don’t feel too blue about the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, because even though this day marks the beginning of winter, it also marks the beginning of longer days. Slowly, but surely the sun will be hanging out longer, and longer reminding us that summer will be returning soon.

From the Reliquary's necklace looks like the moon turning red from the eclipse

An interesting note, according to Time and Date.com, solstice falls on the days between December 20th and the 23rd, but it rarely falls on the 20th or the 23rd, in fact on the Gregorian calendar the last time the Solstice fell on the 23rd was 1903 and it wont again until 2303. The Solstice taking place on the 20th is so rare that we wont see one until 2080.

From the Reliquary

So, how will you celebrate? Like The Romans as they had a debaucherous party that lasted seven days? Or maybe you are a little more like the Scandinavians who celebrated The Feast of Juul and enjoy an huge Bonfire and a night (or twelve) of eating. Bonfires and all night dancing to drums till the sun rises has been a modern tradition along with staying up late and exchanging homemade gifts. However you celebrate it is a time to be thankful that the sun will be returning.

Tasi has the Universe on a silver chain

Regardless of the early night, we at Presents of Mind will still be open till 9 p.m. so that all you last minute shoppers can still find that one final present.

Happy Solstice!

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Mustaches. Yes Mustaches. Portland loves them. You can find a mustache on just about everything. A mustache of any style. You can find them on mugs, baby pacifiers, the customers that come in the store. If you can’t grow a mustache, that’s fine because we have plenty of stick-on ones.

You need a clip to keep your chips fresh? Why get a boring clip when you can have a mustache. We know you know someone who will just die when they get this in their stocking.

Happy, sad, angry, blue, we have a mustache for every mood.

We carry books on mustaches, wine openers with mustache handles. The mustache sky is the limit.

Even bags and coin purses have the mustache mark like this bag from SugarLust.

And of course t-shirts. We have your face and your body covered with mustaches, and beards if you like. Check out these great tees from Jedidiah, Tender Loving Empire, and Ames Bros.

Mustaches are not the only things going hog wild in P-Town. Another popular trend is our love, love, love of our bicycles. This is far more than a trend, the love for bikes in Portland is old and will never die. Boasted as one of the best bike cities in the United States Portland puts the pedal power to the roads and shows the bike pride daily, winter or summer the bike revolution grows.

Fixies or old style classics or hybrids, it’s all bike love to us. Your bike loving friend will dig these pint glasses that have been flying off our shelves.

SugarLust strikes again with this bike emblem bag that screams: I LOVE BIKES.

Locket2you makes locket bracelets that show of your pedal pride.

Lockets have been another Portland favorite this Christmas (along with last Christmas) and why not? Especially when you can carry a picture of your love, your joy or your art around your neck safely enclosed in a rad bike locket or whatever image your person may fancy.

This resin necklace from Affixments has an antiquated image of a 19th Century cyclist.

Polli makes sweet bikes with a basket full of flowers for your ears and for around your neck.

And of course t-shirts. Gama-Go has a line of Dirty bird bike crash tees, and Ninja Kitty has also been responsible for a few Gama-Go bike trash ups. Check out our t-shirts sections for men and women to find all of our bike tees and more.

Lastly, what is Portland into? Portland. Yes, Portland loves Portland. We have Portland tees, Portland shot glasses, pints, wallets and cards. Our local designers use images of Portland’s many bridges like our favorite the Saint Johns bridge as depicted on wood by local designer Frawn.

P.S.- we almost forgot… Beer and wine. Organic or Plaid Pantry style (our mini mart) Portland loves its libation. We have so many micro brews and awesome vineyards someone wrote a book about it- several books by several different authors.

If you are looking for that “thing” for your friend, co-worker, relative or maybe even you, come by our store and see if we carry your “thing.” Odds are we do.

If you can’t make it in be sure to peruse our website, we carry many, but not all of the items, online that you see on our blog. Happy Christmas Shopping.

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The men in your life.

We do have gifts for the males in your life, fun gifts like guitar spatulas and cheese graters. How to books, watches, wallets and jewelry, and of course, we have cool t-shirts from Gama-Go, Heavy Rotation, Rise-Up, Ames Bros, Fluffy Company, Seasons K. Designs, and more.

New to our store are WeWood watches. From Florence, Italy to L.A. WeWood has created a new line in eco-luxury. These watches are made of natural wood. They come in brown (Red Wing Celtis), black (Ebony), beige (Maple), and army green (Guaiaco). The watches are beautiful and lightweight. As we had mentioned earlier, they are completely natural and environmentally sound. For every watch purchased from WeWood the company plants a tree to maintain the survival and sustainability of our amazing planet.

From The Reliquary (pictured above with the WeWood watch) makes and designs necklaces ( along with rings and bracelets) out of base metals, raw gems and stones. A wonderful gift for any man who loves jewelry and the adornments of art. You know who he is and you know he would love to have it and wear it.

He is great in the kitchen and he is funny. He loves old video games, he is hardcore into music, he is a history buff, he is a renaissance man with a comedy routine.

Check out our toy wall, for guitar pick toothpicks, 48″s pot holders, Ice Invader and Gin & Titonic ice cubes. A guaranteed laugh, and oddly useful.

Does your man friend need a thermos for the great outdoors? Maybe he’s a writer, or maybe he’s a huge fan of “The Shining”- This thermos is great for the guy on the go, the hard worker, and of course, the one that knows the necessity of his leisure time, because as we all know: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Check out our book section to see what your special man may want. Is he crafty? Make toys? Love vinyl art? A beer and wine aficionado or wants to be? We have the book for your bibliophile.

Is he in need of a new wallet? Capriano Designs makes these amazing recycled leather wallets. They are durable, fit right in your back pocket and have that classy yet cool appeal.

And of course we have t-shirts galore.

Come into the store and see what we have for the men in your life. Visit us during our Christmas hours: We are open Mon-Sat 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sun 10:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m.

Also be sure to check out our website, we may not have everything in the store online, but we do carry a lot of what you see here. Happy counting down.

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In celebration of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday & Sunday Funday (We just made that up) we are offering 15% OFF STOREWIDE ALL WEEKEND LONG!!!! Our shelves are jam packed with the many gifting finds we have scouted out all year from near & far in anticipation of your holiday gift giving needs. We truly do have something for everyone, so this is a great opportunity to knock out your holiday shopping in one weekend, or at least a lot of it. Plus you get your “Black Friday” discounted shopping while still shopping local at a store that carries many local & indie designers, and doesn’t that just feel better

This is a vary rare opportunity to enjoy our gifting bounty at a discount before the holidays
Don’t miss out!!

In store sale 10am-7pm Friday Nov 26th-Sunday Nov 28th

Not able to make it in to our store this weekend? Use the code “holiday” on our website for 15% off your web order. Discount on the web will run through “Cyber Monday” too!

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Bicycle Love

Locally proud, locally loud (in creativity and design), designers/artists, Jduct and Sock it to Me have dropped of their latest products and designs, all in an effort to get you some much needed stocking stuffers. Yes, it is that time.

Sock it to me women's knee highs

Sock it to me’s fun and punchy name is an emphasis to their clever sock art. Their socks are funky, cheerful, and lovely. They have bold colors, they are comfortable to wear, and they keep your fashionable feet nice and warm. They have a plethora of stylish, and silly designs, and as a company they are known to do fun things, like a “design your own sock contest”.

Let’s face it, not one of us can resist the urge to pull up our pant leg and say, “check out these socks,” especially, when you know you are about to show off killer flying ninjas or shazam style lightening bolts. But, if unicorns or mustaches are more your style, we carry those too. We carry both women’s knee highs and men’s socks.

Got What?

Jduct, also from Portland, Oregon, has taken precious time to wrap your new flask with duct tape to create a design that will make all those plain silver flask holders jealous. Imagine pulling one of these stylish flasks out of your inside jacket pocket or better yet, your back jean pocket. Everyone will want a swig.

After you put your flask away, when you are asked to show your id, you can pull out one of these hip wallets and impress them with your style and joie de vivre.

Remember, if you don’t see it on our website, it doesn’t mean we wont be willing to find a way to get it to you, just call us.

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