Photo courtesy of www.portlandground.com
I love Portland. We’re not the city that never sleeps. We’re not the windy city. And, we’re not filled with tinsel, bleached hair and botox. But, we are overshadowed by other cities, especially when it comes to creative – and that’s a shame (or a sham depending on how you look at it). Creativity thrives here in our fair City of Roses (regardless of what Fast Company thinks). And with more than 1,500 companies, large and small, in the creative services industry, we contribute a fair share of professional services business revenue and jobs. Yet for some reason, we’re afraid to toot the horn let alone blow a low whistle (a little music once in a while is okay people). Maybe we think we’re great but need proof. Or we’re overly modest. Either way, consider this:
- Creative services industry employs roughly 15,000 people in Portland
- We have 344 designers per 100K residents – more than LA and Austin (according to Bureau of Labor Stats ‘08 in Greater Portland Prosperity 2009)
- The creative vitality here (based on the National Creative Vitality Index - yes there is such a thing) is more than twice the national baseline
- Portland is among one of the most innovative cities, ranked 6 by Forbes for most patents, and 6th for both entrepreneurship and small business (Creative Capacity Project)
- Creative industries generate nearly $2 billion and a payroll of nearly $1 billion annually (that’s no chump change) (Creative Capacity Project)
- More than half of Oregon’s creative firms are concentrated in Portland (Creative Capacity Project)
Portland is a great place to be – to live and work. But we know that already. Even though we’re pushing through a rough spot and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, we don’t have the brain drain other cities are facing. In fact, we’ve got some brain gain going on. More people are moving here from out-of-state than to our western compatriots (that’d be Seattle, Albuquerque, Austin, San Diego, Denver, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacremento). The region is a magnet for all kinds of talented professionals – a chunk of them in the the creative industry and they’d rather be here than someplace else. Some get the entrepreneurial bug. It’s quite catchy here. Some freelance for local agencies or work directly with clients and supplement with other jobs. Baristas or bartenders are common, but more often they are artists, writers and musicians. Perhaps this is why Forbes dubbed Portland one of the best metro areas in which to ride out the recession. The great coffee, local microbrews, top notch wineries, and growing spirit distillers are definitely a bonus. And innovation abounds (the coffee, beer, wine, and spirits help) with the booming food scene, developing clean/green tech industry, the variety of arts and yes, our creative services industry. There’s no doubt the quality of life here is a big pull for newbies and the anchor for those of us here. But to keep all this quiet, to simply sit idle hoping the great creative work gets noticed, isn’t the best strategy to help grow an industry sector. We all want good clients whether they reside here locally or in other regions – and other regions are touting their creative (some quite loudly).
So, what makes Portland such a great creative place? I posed this question (on Twitter) to fellow Portlanders and here’s a short list of what they said:
Portland is a great creative city because there are no rules. @DanFellini
Because Portlanders are real people. The lack of restriction and openness promotes a more creative and less stifled spirit. @massagepdx
It’s not that I don’t play well with others; I just want to choose where, when and with whom I play. [It's the] PDX attitude. @LogoMotives
Despite local chagrin, the influx of creatives from all over the country converging here brings broad perspective. @Metroknow
I have mixed feelings about it as a creative city. It’s like a college graduate: full of potential. Now it needs to find its way. @swestbrook
PDXers are curious and not too self-obsessed. Our lives are generally balanced and we leave room for non-work projects. We’re generally tolerant and open to new ideas=innovation. We’re risk takers and revel in a good fail-as-learning experience. @thisKat
Portland creativity=cuz we have twice the creative fuel with half the financial pressure. @vizeboogie
Because in PDX, there is life other than work, and that drives us to be more creative and inspired. @KevMurphy
We are passionate about living. We are free spirits. We celebrate…our ability to listen to ideas that we might not hold dear to ourselves. We live our lives out loud. @dtboyd
It’s this last point, living out loud, that strikes home. Portland should take pride in our creative abilities and capabilities and not be afraid to shout them to the world.
June 17, 2009
I think these are all great points, where was this in the Rosey campaign?
Instead of using that campaign to point out how great portland is, or how bright our future is, we turned it into a pissing match that left Portland looking like Kermit the Frog talking shit to Lebron James on the basket ball court. Silly. Let’s take a look at some of the tweets you posted:
“PDXers are curious and not too self-obsessed.”
“We are free spirits. We celebrate…our ability to listen to ideas that we might not hold dear to ourselves.”
“Because in PDX, there is life other than work”
Again, all great points that are rendered moot by the Rosey campaign. At the end of the day, this isn’t the end of the world: this is an awards show for local players, and frankly, my friends in many of the cities this campaign rips on are too busy with their accounts Portland isn’t remotely prepared to take on to even give a damn. But I left a job in Brooklyn to work in Portland because I love living here and because I believe this city can and will be important in the creative industry. Instead of talk, lets bring the fire! Lets bring the work that will show everyone we’re for real instead of telling them we are.