The Artful Home: Plywerk Art at Olio United

Portland's eco-chic boutique, Olio United, just added pieces the the website from its great new art show, Plywerk. The collection consists of affordable, ready-to-hang work from artists Betsy Walton, Yellena James, Kim Oanh Nguyen, and Joanna Bean. The pieces were created by mounting images from each artist to half-inch, FSC-certified Plywerk panels and sealing them with a protective laminate finish.

A few of my faves:

Set Free by Betsy Walton, $70

Rainbow Quilt Mountain by Betsy Walton, $70

Burst by Yellena James, $65

Vintage Ballet Dress by Kim Oanh Nguyen, $45

Geometrics 6 by Joanna Bean, $65

See all of the Plywerk art at Olio right here -- and peruse the shop's other great art selections here.

Cool Stuff: Artist Series Shoes at Olio United

To help celebrate its first anniversary, Portland eco-boutique Olio United recently asked nine great local artists to customize pairs of TOMS Shoes.

The participating artists -- Amy Ruppel, Jill Bliss, Trish Grantham, Yellena James (those are her contributions, above), Ryan Rubnis, Katie Kulper, Aaron James, Erik Railton, and Max Erdenberger -- have each hand-painted several pairs of TOMS. The resulting wearable pieces of art will be auctioned off at Olio's anniversary party on Friday, August 29, from 7 to 10 p.m. The proceeds are earmarked for Transitions Cambodia, a not-for-profit that helps sex trafficking survivors from the Asian nation.

Click here for more information on the event -- and here to see the shoes for sale in Olio's webshop.

Retail Therapy: Life + Limb

On my last visit to Portland, an in-the-know local urged me to check out a relatively new shop called Life + Limb on East Burnside. I popped in just before closing one day, and although my time there was short, it was love at first sight. In fact, I bought more irresistibly affordable goodies during my 10-minute shopping spree at Life + Limb than I did at all of my other PDX shopping stops combined.

Opened in November by graphic designer and photographer Molly Quan, Life + Limb is a full-service urban plant shop as well as a modern homegoods boutique. "I wanted to have a store that featured less-common plants, so I decided to focus on succulents. I also wanted to incorporate my love of modern design and my art background, so I carry home accessories and have monthly art shows, too," Quan explains.

One especially nice touch: Pick a plant (or three) and a vessel to put it in, and Quan will pot it up for you right there in the shop -- perfect for those last-minute hostess or housewarming gifts or if you're the type to let your nursery purchases languish for weeks before you get around to putting them in some soil.

Among the non-plant items Quan stocks are hand-picked vintage modern home accents (she has some awesome retro bullet planters, for instance), as well as a carefully curated selection of ceramics, tableware, textiles, and accessories from the likes of Perch!, Paige Russell, j.mendicino, Suck UK, Jonathan Adler, Sagaform, Loyal Loot, Modern-Twist, and Normann Copenhagen, among others.

The tree mural is by painter Erik Railton. On the "gallery wall" is artwork from Joan McGuire; a new show with pieces from popular Oregon artist Yellena James will take its place come August, with an opening reception August 1 as part of Portland's Central Eastside Arts District's First Friday festivities. Also starting in August, original work by the shop's featured artists will be available online, with full online shopping coming later this fall.

Until then, be sure to drop by Life + Limb the next time you're in Portland -- and leave some extra room in the suitcase to cart home all your new scores. The store is located at 1716 E. Burnside St., and is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 to 5 Saturdays, and 12 to 5 Sundays.

The Artful Home: Yellena James at Giant Robot

Her Etsy prints are universal faves, but here's a chance to get your hands on some original art from Yellena James: Yellena's show, Periphery, is currently up at San Francisco's Giant Robot, and the gallery just made a selection of the artist's otherworldly pen-and-ink and acrylic pieces -- like Rouge, above -- available in its webshop.

A few of my other picks from the show:

Sunday, $350

Rubious, $200

Fluster, $450

Drift, $450

Brink, $500

Stasis, $800

See all of Yellena's available originals from the show right here -- and check out more of her work here.

Pssst -- if you're in the Bay Area, Periphery will be up in the Giant Robot Gallery at 618 Shrader Street in San Francisco through July 16.

Mark Your Calendar: Printed Matter III at Giant Robot

Opening Saturday, February 16 at San Francisco's Giant Robot: Printed Matter III, "a group art show dedicated to prints, including woodcut, silk screen, lithography, relief, etching, and other techniques."

Here's your chance to pick up some affordable art from the likes of Yellena James (whose "Mint" is shown above), Katherine Guillen, Marci Washington, Catia Chien, Lizz Hickey, Hannah Stouffer, and more than three dozen others.

Just a few of the prints that will be available at the show:

Katherine Guillen, Zachary Rossman, and Brian Rush's "Overgrowth"

Marci Washington's "From the Depths," $50

Yellena James' "Allusion" and "Origami"

Hannah Stouffer's "Smoke Diamond"

Lizz Hickey's "Chickenhead"

The opening reception for Printed Matter III is on Saturday, February 16, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The show will run at Giant Robot, 618 Shrader Street in San Francisco, until March 12.

Get more info right here.