Seedy motels and a nonexistent street scene used to define this inner east gateway to downtown Portland, but the transformation of a former Travel Lodge into the hipster The Jupiter Hotel (the site of the successful art fair The Affair The Jupiter in Sept.) has helped turn this district into a worthy shopping outpost.

GOOD FOR THE EARTH ADORNMENTS

Trying on the kicky bracelets and necklaces at REDUX (811 E. Burnside St., 503-231-7336 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), you see why Tamara Goldsmith (right) left a career as a property manager to become the Decider of what she sells in her two-year-old jewelry boutique and gallery: Jewelry is her passion. “Even when I was at the University of Oregon, I made jewelry on the side,” says the 35-year-old, who stocks the works of 40 local vendors as well as her own pieces such as the necklace she wears here.

Lately the jewelrymaker has been marrying estate sale necklaces with sterling silver liquor tags that say VERMOUTH ($195) and selling Vinylux cuff bracelets made from old records ($8 if all vinyl; $50 if lined with silver).
But jewelry only makes up half of the fresh finds in her shop. The rest of the offbeat mix, much of it made from recycled or reinvented materials, includes scarfs made from recycled wool sweaters ($36), purses made from highway signs (the NO PARKING bag she wears costs $195), and Steel Toe Studios’ forged steel belt buckles adorned with house parts such as a house number, a doorknocker or a key ($80).

“I try to be the local version of Crafty Wonderland,” she says of the show that bills itself as Portland’s monthly art and craft extravaganza.

BEAUTIFUL BOLTS

Two years ago, you had to risk getting a parking ticket when you entered THE WHOLE 9 YARDS (1820 E. Burnside St., 503-223-2880 or go to w9yards.com), then in the heart of the Pearl District.

Happily, Amy Estrin and Jamie Eoff, the husband-and-wife co-owners of this 17-year-old interior fabric store, packed up their nearly 1,000 bolts of upholstery and drapery fabric in 2006 and turned this former neon sign shop—with its own parking lot!—into a sprawling home couture store for their furniture line, sumptuous fabrics (for slipcovering, drapery and upholstery), trims, and The Sewing Work Room, where you can learn, say, to recover dining room chairs.

“Fabrics with strong graphics are really walking out of the shop these days,” says manager Pamela Hartzell. “And 100-percent post-consumer recycled fabrics like this one, which is made from plastic bottles, are big, too.”

SETTLE INTO THE OPPOSITE OF STARBUCKS

When you’re ready to refuel, head for a couple of E. Burnside St. haunts that capture the quirky boho energy in so many of the boutiques. Grab a copy of somebody else’s recycled Food & Wine or The New Republic off of the large bookshelf at GRENDEL’S COFFEE HOUSE (729 E. Burnside St., 503-595-9550) to paw through while you wait for an offbeat thirst quencher such as a hot apple or ginger cider, or a Mayan hot chocolate (right). The establishment, which provides free Wifi and two computers for customers’ use, also serves coffee (including Americanos and lattes), tea, cookies and made-to-order sandwiches.

Whether you crave a burger or a full breakfast (served here until 3 a.m.!), settle into a booth at DOUG FIR (830 E. Burnside St., 503-231-9663) at THE JUPITER HOTEL (800 E. Burnside St.,503-230-9200). Yeah, the décor is set designlike (Paul Bunyan and Quentin Tarantino would both feel at home), but the restaurant’s small yet oh-so-yummy Fir Burger can be had in beef, buffalo, garden burger or chicken breast ($7.75, includes French fries or a small side salad).