A Letter from the Owner

On behalf of my team at Portland Gear, we'd like to publicly thank you all for another amazing year. Our community of supporters, customers, and loyalists is stronger than ever before, and we have big plans for the future! You all create the fabric of this city, and we love being able to serve you in fun, creative ways through unique products, events, and collaborations.

We know Portland has had a rough few years, but we believe the best is yet to come! Every day, we see individuals, companies, and creatives pouring energy into our beloved Rose City, and the impact is noticeable. We love this town and know it's far from perfect, but who is? We all have issues and challenges that we face every day, but it's only through the support of our community that we continue onward. We see so much potential in Portland and look forward to the next decade of growth, prosperity, and community building.

As we look back on the year, we want to highlight a few of our most proud accomplishments. The team worked tirelessly to bring these to life, and we know many of you got to engage and enjoy these projects.

• Helped our neighbors in Hillsboro when part of Main Street burned to the ground. We raised over $15,000 to help small businesses impacted.
• Sent our videographer Sean to "Portland Maine" on a funny April Fool's prank.
• Collaborated with North Portland creative Shani Storey on a "Give them Flowers" valentines collection and launch party at Jackie's.
• Designed a "Deep Freeze" Winterhawks Hockey jersey for Portland Gear night.
• Sponsored our first NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) athlete, Cameron Brink of the Stanford Women's Basketball team. National Champion and potential #1 WNBA pick!
• Teamed up with the famed Screen Door on our first-ever restaurant collaboration with a special week-long menu.
• Saw our "P" logo on Nike TED Force 1 sneakers - a dream come true!
• Celebrated the historic "Oregon 22" World Track Championship in Eugene with a limited edition collection. This was the largest tourism event in Oregon's history!
• Created O'Hana Day celebration with 808 Grinds.
• Released an officially licensed Oregon State Beavers collection with alum and Blazer center Drew Eubanks.
• Launched a new collection under the moniker "Garden City" as a fun new nickname for Portland.
• Signed Jackson Shelstad and Sophia Bell to the first-ever high school NIL deal in Oregon's history.
• Opened a pizza shop with our friends called Wild Child on NE Alberta.

2022 was full of fun projects, but we have some big things planned for 2023. We're working hard to upgrade our retail store to a bigger, more centrally located location, and we'll also be upgrading our Washington Square permanent pop-up. We have tons of new collections being planned, and we're developing new product categories. I've also been working hard over the last four years to finish a book about the founding of Portland Gear, and I'm proud to say it will be out mid-year!

Thank you all for your continued support, and we hope you and your family have a blessed, safe, and prosperous new year. 

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