Planning on visiting Portland, Oregon in the coming days? Think you’ll have a few minutes to step away from the city’s incredible food, coffee, and nature to do a little pen and paper shopping? If so, here are the best stationery shops in the city.
While Portland has many stationery stores, including some unique ones, finding good pen and pencil selections isn’t as easy as in a larger city, like New York. That said, finding nice paper and cards isn’t a problem in Portland.
Little Otsu
Our favorite stationery shop is in Portland is Little Otsu, located in southeast Portland, on a wonderful stretch on a wonderful stretch of Division Street. True to its name, the shop isn’t very large, but it still manages to have a strong collection of pens, paper, pencils, and stationery good for sale. As an added bonus there are some really wonderful cards and books for sale as well.
As far as pens and pencils go, the shop sticks to the sub-$50 range with a fun selection that won’t break the bank. Lots of nice pencils are available as well. It’s not a huge amount of writing tools, but it’s enough.
The middle table of the store (pictured above) has a really nice selection of paper goods. These include some great stuff from Bindewerk, Craft Design Technology, and others. I saw a few items here that were new to me, which is always a goal of any store visit.
And lastly, the cards and books were just really cool. The shop isn’t large, but everything feels incredibly curated, which is exactly that most of us want from an in-store experience.
What’s Nearby?
While Little Otsu is worth a trip on its own, it’s actually in a great area. Within a few feet of the store you have some of our Portland favorites.
- Pok Pok – This famous Thai food outpost is right across the street. The restaurant is known for its incredibly wings and spicy takes on Thai street food.
- Salt & Straw – Often considering to be Portland’s top ice cream spot, one of the Salt & Straw locations is right down the block. It’s a great spot for a waffle cone and seasonal ice cream flavors that you can’t find anywhere else.
- Bollywood Theater – Just a bit west on Division is one of Portland’s best, and most entertaining Indian restaurants.
- Dapper and Wise Coffee – Portland has a lot of incredible coffee, so you might be overloaded on caffeine at any give time during your trip, but Dapper and Wise is still a nice stop. This is a low-key coffee shop that’s a good place to have a rest or catch up on some reading.
Little Otsu, 3225 SE Division St
Other Portland Stores
Of course there are other great stops in Portland. None have a place in our hearts like Little Otsu, but there are good stops if you are nearby.
- Kinokuniya – The wonderful Japanese goods store that you might have visited in NYC or LA has a spot in downtown Portland that is just great.
- Oblation Papers – Handmade paper and cards in Portland’s Pearl District
- Ecru – A paper store with a few locations. Mostly selling cards and letter-writing supplies