There's more to exploring Northwest Portland than shopping up and down the bustling N.W. 23rd and N.W. 21st avenues. North and south of Thurman St., when the vibe starts to go industrial, the pickings become more one-of-a-kind. Here are some of our favorite shops to explore after you tire of the national chains' outposts and the hipster boutiques.

ARTISAN FRAMING 

If you collect art, expect to end up at Katayama Framing (2219 N.W. Raleigh St., 503-224-3334) one day or another. Entering the large bright-red door will put you in the proximity of owner Marilyn Murdoch (right), who lives and breathes one-of-a-kind framing in this 10,000-square-foot building. "We don’t like to do cookie-cutter framing," she says of the dozen craftspeople who fabricate specialty frames of all kinds and tackle frame restoration services such as regilding. "In fact, 35 percent of what we do starts with raw moldings like these."

She waves her arm Carol Marol-style over a display of tens of frame corners pointing skyward—think carved-ins, added-ons, scraffitos (see sample, which starts at $198 a foot, at the top of this page), etc.—and picks out one of her current favorites: a wide "ribbon" frame that looks like something Portlandia would use to embellish the neckline of her hammered-copper robe. "Nothing shines like gold," she says as she runs her hand over the molding.

Murdoch says many Pearl District loft owners have found their way to her warehouse-looking building as Katayama Framing is one of the few shops in Portland set up to frame art as large as 20 by 15 feet.

The frame shop also has an on-site gallery that displays Katayama-framed works by such artists as Mary Josephson, Rick Bartow and Maude Kerns. "I just can’t stop buying art!" the framing maven says. "Plus, the best way to sell frames is to show great art that’s been well-framed. Good frames are timeless."

Which doesn’t mean they have to always be museum-serious. Above the doorway in the company’s employee lunchroom, for example, is a three-ruffled art dress fashioned out of potato chip bags. Its perfect frame? A super-wide molding decoupaged with a 7-Eleven-worthy assortment of primary-colored chip bags.

GREAT SEATS

With a slogan like "If your home doesn’t stand out, don't blame us," HIP FURNITURE (1829 N.W. 25th Ave., 503-225-5017) stocks the modern goods to keep you from living with what the masses are buying.

If you’d rather ride Max in a never-ending loop than take it to Ikea and spring for four of its ubiquitous Stockholm chairs to put around your dining room or kitchen table, come here. You’ll find surprises such as the Jam Chair by Calligaris Furniture ($264), a two-toned acrylic-seat and chrome-leg chair that smacks of freshness.

Natuzzi leather sofas such as the Greta ($2,155), ergonomically correct IMG chairs, and Bo Concept 10-inch-high platform beds ($1,520 for the Limo) and chests of drawers ($788) in wenge, cherry, oak or walnut—and lots of other well-designed modern furniture!—round out the mix in this 12,000-square-foot warehouse.

MAN OF METALWORK 
Don’t let the locked door and RING THE BELL sign scare you off from ducking into TROVO DESIGN (2662 N.W. Vaughn St., 503-223-2690), especially if you’re a metalhead when it comes to such house parts as furniture, fireplace surrounds, mirrors, planters, gates, railings, range hood panels, sconces and mailboxes. Robert Thomas is the designer and fabricator of the architectural metalwork—many pieces of which are treated with specialty patinas and tints (right)—in this storefront showroom with the in-the-back studio, but office manager Ellen Baird is the one that will unlock the door and let you peruse Thomas’ wares and a thick portfolio of his custom work. We especially liked his chemically stained panels ($2,500 for a 35-by 48-inch panel) that looked like an established landscape painter had created a foggy-day masterpiece on a metal canvas.