In 1961, when she was 23, Margaret Thierry moved from her hometown of St. Louis, Mo., to New York City, where she discovered she could be an artist. “While waitressing, I made friends with a bunch of artists,” she says. “They were always talking about art, so I started going to museums to see what the big deal was and to be able to contribute to conversations. After a year, I was hooked on art.”

After graduating from college, most people try to find a job in their field. Furnituremaker Philip Culbertson took a different route. “I got a degree in behavioral zoology at the University of Michigan in the 1970s,” he says, “but I was tired of using my brain, so I got a job in a cabinet shop outside Washington, D.C., and I stayed there for six years.”

A childhood dream of becoming an animator led painter Marcus Gannuscio to become interested in learning to draw the human form. “When I was 12, I saw ‘The Lion King’ and decided I wanted to be an animator,” he says. “My mother actually contacted someone at Disney to find out what I’d need to do to become one, and the person’s advice was to concentrate on learning to draw figures and anatomy.”

Only a tightwad would make do without a firescreen, right? Sadly, we’ve seen plenty of sparks flying toward unprotected spendy Oriental rugs. And don’t even get us started about the looks-like-a-double-oven trend of hanging a TV above the mantel. Oregon Home asked two interior designers, a fireplace resurfacer and two firescreen makers for tips to ensure that you end up with a fireplace that sizzles.

Think there’s nothing in this Pearl District-bordering neighborhood besides Chinese lanterns and Foo Dogs? Spend a couple of hours in the OTCT shops and you’ll score everything from chartreuse leather to cowboyobilia to architect-cool eyeglasses.

Think there’s nothing in this Pearl District-bordering neighborhood besides Chinese lanterns and Foo Dogs? Spend a couple of hours in the OTCT shops and you’ll score everything from chartreuse leather to cowboyobilia to architect-cool eyeglasses.

Hey, Frugal One! When your staycations become too boring to adhere to, gas up and get away to Astoria, “The Little San Francisco of the Northwest.” The oldest American city west of the Mississippi—it was founded in 1811—the town was once the Salmon Capital of the World. These days, it feels as if gentrification is just around the bend, so get there while the funky and the refined still stand side by side.

Get there while the funky and the refined still stand side by side!