Gretchen Jones

Fashion Designer

After becoming the second winner from Portland on “Project Runway” (Season 8) Gretchen Jones moved to Brooklyn, New York to create he own clothing and jewelry line. Now back in Portland the forward-design thinking Jones joined up with old-school textile giant Pendleton Woolen Mills in late 2013 to modernize all three of Pendleton’s lines. It looks like she's continuing to work with Pendleton on a new collection for Pendleton. 

Madewell's Somsack (left) and Gretchen Jones (right). 

Photo Credit: Byron Beck (image cropped) 

Andy Ricker

Chef

An accomplished restaurateur on both the East and West coast, a James Beard “Best Chef, Northwest” Award winner, frequent guest on Anthony Bourdain’s television shows, and a new-ish cookbook writer Andy Ricker started out as his illustrious culinary career as a teenage dishwasher in New England. Andy spent much of his early time in Oregon working at Bruce Carey’s much-lauded Zefiro before setting his sights on the Thailand where he would gain the traits and tools to make him one of the city’s top chefs and founder of the popular restaurant Pok Pok. Ricker’s restaurant in New York recently received a one-star rating from Michelin Travel Publications. Since the guide was launched in 2005, it has awarded stars to just 126 of New York’s thousands of restaurants.

Photo Credit: David Reamer  via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)

Gretchen Miller

Executive Producer

HIVE-FX is a Portland based visual effects and animation company. Clients include GRIMM, Nike, Microsoft, and a few other TV shows they can’t talk about…yet. Gretchen is the Executive Producer and partner. As the Executive Producer she works to bring in new clients and make sure her employees have what they need to do the fabulous work they do.

Gretchen Miller (right) with Juan Martinez (left). 

As someone who could do your work almost anywhere in the world, why did you choose Oregon and what do you get out of living here? 

My business partner, Jim Clark, and I came here from California in 2005 for freelance work. The moment I landed at PDX, I knew I was going to move here. There are so many reasons I love Portland. The quirkiness, the talent, the air, the trees, the proximity to nature, the FOOD, the quality of our food, Powell’s, the progressive politics (Portland), and I like seasons. I never really got to experience seasons in sunny California.

What do you think are the issues facing Portland and how would like to engage the city in making it a better place to live for all of its citizens? 

My biggest concern is the rapid growth rate here. I think the city planners have done an amazing job preparing for the increasing population. I just hope as we continue to grow, we can maintain the quality of life here and evolve into a bigger and better version of what we already are. 

Is Portland a good place to work in film production? 

We have an amazing film and animation community here. I think we are well positioned to take on more TV shows / films. So many crews have moved up the ranks thanks to Portlandia, Leverage, The Librarians, GRIMM, Laika, etc. The biggest hurdle is getting the state legislature to increase the tax incentives so we can compete with other states and countries.

Photo Credit: Byron Beck (image cropped) 

David Shafer

Author

David Shafer is a graduate of Harvard and the Columbia Journalism School. He has lived in Argentina and Dublin, and has been a journalist, sometimes a carpenter, once a taxi driver and briefly a flack for an NGO. Shafer's debut novel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, was dubbed "book of the
summer" by The New York Times, and has been lauded in the New Yorker, Salon, Time, Seattle Times, and many other publications. Writer Lev Grossman in Time magazine called it a "geniustechno-­thriller à la Neal ­Stephenson, powered by social-mediainfo-conspiracy à la Dave Eggers." Full disclosure, David's spouse, Fiona McCann is the Senior Editor at GoLocalPDX.com

Photo Credit: Patrick Abbey (image cropped) 

Dee Williams

Tiny House Builder

Somewhere along the line, Dee Williams got lost in the big shuffle that is life, and after a life-changing moment, she decided to downsize her priorities to friends, family, and community. In doing so, she realized that her biggest asset - her home - was her smallest concern. Now, Williams stands as the tiny house pioneer, a lifestyle that sounds just like it reads; she lives in a tiny house. Williams' story has been featured in The New York Times, CBS This Morning, and a TED Talk, in addition to others.

Photo Credit: Portland Alternative Dwelling Website (image cropped)