From noon to 5 p.m. on October 12th, businesses on NE Glisan Street, from 70th to 74th Avenues, will host the inaugural “Gored Gourd Gala on Glisan,” featuring food, music, and retail specials. Over 15 vendors and four bands will join the collection of events sponsored by the local businesses as they welcome the community for a family-friendly fall event. People will find vendors in pop-up tents on both sides of NE Glisan Street between NE 71st and 72nd avenues, along with other promotions by area shops.
The businesses Wildcard Barber, Hinterland, and NightOwl Custom Apparel will present live music on the back patio behind the shops from 12:15 to 4:30 p.m., featuring Base Band, Tragic Lovers, and Diludead. Booth vendors on the sidewalk include Sam Pletcher Goods, Wolf Tea Creations, Yellow Heart Sunshine, Cat Around Stamp, The Way Home Shop, Smash Me Daddy (smashed burgers), Rose City Rec Room, Sister Garden PDX, Think Tank Woodworks, EAB Crafts (crocheted items), Pet Bloc Mutual Aid, Mending Bloc Mutual Aid, and People’s Free Library. Additionally, the majority of businesses on NE Glisan, from 70th to 74th avenues, will open for the event with fall specials on October 12th. Attendees will find other vendors providing face painting and tooth gems. Wildcard Barber will host a flash tattoo artist to offer permanent inking from a set library of artwork.
The NE Glisan business community hopes people will attend their Sunday afternoon inaugural “Gored Gourd Gala on Glisan.” They intend to keep this as a new tradition that attracts neighbors within walking distance and others in the wider community to visit this growing commercial corridor.
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Otter Wax, a neighborhood producer of small-batch specialty goods handcrafted in Portland. Using only natural ingredients, they make modern care products that are steeped in tradition. We thank them for their support.
This weekend, Montavilla businesses will host two days of events along NE Glisan Street, featuring music, vendors, and activities. It starts on Saturday, May 31st, with the Montavilla East Tabor Business Association’s (METBA) 2025 Spring Block Party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NE 70th Avenue north of NE Glisan Street. Then, on Sunday, June 1st, Wildcard Barber and their adjacent businesses will host a Pride Month kickoff block party from noon to 5 p.m., with flash tattoos inked by Austin Fillmore and free gender-affirming hot towel face shaves.
The 2024 MEBA Spring Block Party booths
METBA’s event is part of its Spring Fling 2025 celebration and will create a mini street fair with three musicians scheduled by the street activation nonprofit Curbside Serenade. Seven vendors and activity booths will line the block party site, including many neighborhood establishments from around the district.
The May 31st music schedule starts at 10 a.m. with performer Jake Soffer, and then, at 11:15 p.m., Jet Black Pearl takes the stage area. Maeve Steir will close out the live performances with a set starting at 12:30 p.m. More information about the first block party can be found on the METBA.org page.
Wildcard Barber and NightOwl Custom Apparel recently took tenancy within the building that hosts Hinterland Coffee at 7112 NE Glisan Street. The three businesses are collaborating on a June Pride Month party to celebrate the global recognition of LGBTQ+ culture and identity.
Austin Fillmore posts previews of the flash tattoo options at the artist’s website, awwwsin.com. These pre-designed permanent body art designs speed up the inking process, allowing for walk-in service. This vendor is a fitting event for Wildcard Barber to host, as it recently took over the former Highway Tattoo storefront at 7110 NE Glisan Street.
The business owners on NE Glisan invite people to attend their block parties this weekend, marking the cultural start of summer in Montavilla.
On Sunday, May 4th, Wildcard Barber will host a grand opening celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. with food, refreshments, and discount tooth gems. Montavilla’s newest barber shop recently took over the former Highway Tattoo space at 7110 NE Glisan Street. Owner Danielle St. Pierre shares the two-station shop with established Portland barber Erik “Gator” Heglund.
St. Pierre is a Worcester, Massachusetts, native who relocated to Portland almost two years ago, bringing over a decade of barbering skills to the area. She has worked at many other locations across the city, feeling out the West Coast barber community and ensuring Portland was a good fit. “I was trying to figure out if this was a place I wanted to stay more long term,” recalled St. Pierre. “I’ve worked at collective salons where you’re just renting a chair and then at neighborhood barbershops. Neighborhood barbershops are my favorite. I like building a sense of community in a neighborhood area.” She heard that Hinterland had retail space available in its NE Glisan Street building and instantly appreciated the location as a place to create a people-focused barbershop. “I like that it’s very walkable. There are so many coffee shops, restaurants, and other small businesses that I’ve chatted with. It seems like they all work together on projects or little events, and I like the sense of community,” said St. Pierre.
Century old Koken barber chairs
Converting the space took appreciable effort, with the team repainting the shop themselves and then bringing in electricians and plumbers to create the hair washing and two cut stations. St. Pierre is a fan of classic barber finishes, installing antique barber chairs and an electric spiral-striped pole. “These two chairs are over 100-year-old Kokens, which are the original [hydraulic barber chair makers] from St. Louis. And the barber pole is a [William] Marvy pole. I definitely want to continue to fill the space with antique memorabilia because I enjoy old-school barber stuff,” remarked St. Pierre.
Although the space is slender –having once been the alleyway between the century-old commercial storefronts on this street before being enclosed– it is the right size for the two-person shop. “I enjoy the two-chair space a lot. I like that it’s a quiet environment. We always have music, but there is also the feeling that you can have a personal conversation with your client. I’ve worked in other big spaces that can be a little overwhelming. I like that [our location] is a low-key neighborhood shop,” said St. Pierre. She hopes everyone will feel welcome coming in to receive cuts and shaves. “I’m queer, and I think having a queer-owned, women-owned business in this neighborhood is going to be cool. I really enjoy the sense of having a community here and being able to build both his clientele and my clientele.” Gator and St. Pierre worked together at a previous location, and she brought him into the new shop. Since the soft opening on April 8th, his established client list has reliably shown up at the new location. “I would say he’s very booked; he’s killing it. We’re just trying to keep growing here in this new space,” explained St. Pierre.
Although they priced haircuts for grown-ups, they can accommodate younger patrons if requested but anticipate mainly servicing teens and adults. Otherwise, they will see all types of customers, provided they need a style fitting their offerings. “It is a barbershop, definitely a little bit more androgynous as far as who we cut. It’s not necessarily short hair, but we lean shorter styles,” said St. Pierre. People can order haircuts, hot towel shaves, and beard services from the posted price list. They steer clear of coloring and other add-on services that are not traditionally part of a barbershop but have some restorative options. “We offer a shampoo and hot towel 10-minute service, a little relaxing thing, and we’ll do small cleanup stuff in between your bigger services. We wanted to keep it simple with our services and not get too expansive,” explained St. Pierre.
The name Wildcard Barber comes from a nickname St. Pierre received early on in her career for being good at switching between various styles –wildcards being a playing card that can substitute for any other card in a game. “I started in salons and would take all kinds of clients. It was just sort of the joke because I would cut all different people and types of hair, which I enjoy.”
Wildcard Barber is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Danielle St. Pierre and Gator invite people to attend the grand opening event on Sunday night. They anticipate serving pizza, soda, and some local pastries. They will sell logo merchandise and plan to have a raffle basket. Icy Fangs Tooth Gems will be at the shop from 6 to 8 p.m. during the opening to adhere some sparkle to people’s teeth at a discounted rate. If interested visitors miss the event, Danielle St. Pierre hopes to have regular events every other month, with the next one being a Pride Month event planned for June 1st. Follow the company’s Instagram page for more details.
Promotion:Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Otter Wax, a neighborhood producer of small-batch specialty goods handcrafted in Portland. Using only natural ingredients, they make modern care products that are steeped in tradition. We thank them for their support.
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