Tender Loving Empire - NW 23rd | Fieldwork Design & Architecture

Tender Loving Empire, located a 750 sq. ft. space on NW 23rd Avenue in Portland, OR, is a boutique for handmade goods and a record label that supports and facilitates the work of local artists.

Tender Loving Empire has evolved with Portland and it’s maker community. Founded on a DIY bootstrap aesthetic in 2006, knitting together musicians, visual artists, designers and craftspeople, it has matured into a company that though growing fast, remains eminently approachable. Tender Loving Empire has a clear message and mission based in a community that grows ever more refined in its aesthetic sensibilities.

Fieldwork’s approach to the work was to develop a spacial experience that both celebrated and elevated the mission and branding of Tender Loving Empire. The idea of community, so integral to Tender Loving Empire, provided a wonderful creative resource. The geometry of a city skyline arose from the coupling of folding hearts (the TLE logo,) and offered a jumping off point for design. Forms for the fixtures and furniture playfully echo the built environment and support the Tender Loving Empire iconography. The material palette embraces simplicity and the familiar, transforming everyday construction grade plywood into the extra-ordinary. Furniture and fixtures resonate and support the brand and environment, their intent to be both immersive and deferential to the products on display. Salmon colored ceiling/wall mural and neon lighting act as an invitation to passersby, and once inside, whitewashed plywood and key notes of brass support highly considered fabrication detailing and interior design.

The design team provided architectural, interior and furniture design services. In addition, furniture and fixtures were designed, prototyped and hand built by the design team in its workshop in conjunction with a small team of on-site fabricators, in an efficient and budget conscious 7 week timeframe. Local painters, a neon sign maker, and locally built lighting were included in the project to reflect the community-based ethic of Tender Loving Empire.