Spotlight: Tiny Brambles

Tiny Brambles Vintage Marketplace is a home decor store curated by Blaine Peters, who is a potter himself. The store features a roster of local vintage vendors. Visit their downtown Portland shop this holiday season for a unique present. 

How did Tiny Brambles get started? 

Blaine: My goal is to inspire people to bring more art into their lives while lowering the impact of home décor purchases on  the environment. I started out thinking that I was creating a plant shop, but it didn't go well. I pivoted into the home décor, which was something that I was already connected to.  

I am able to sell unique, one-of-a-kind items. It is a treasure-hunt experience for people. As the business grew, I had booths in antique malls and sold at flea markets like Portland Flea. I made connections with other venders who had a similar or complementary aesthetic.  

I came from a “band-of-misfits” place. We all worked together to make this happen. People rent spaces from me, which helps stabilize the business. It’s been wonderful to help my friends grow their businesses alongside mine.  

How do you feel Portland shapes or influences your business?  

Blaine: Portland influences Tiny Brambles in so many ways. I get to lean into being myself. I am just a guy from here who found a bunch of things I like and now sells them. It fits into tourists’ expectations of what Portland is.  

By teaming up with other local businesses, we have created a store that is a little crunchy and rain-drenched, which feels right for locals too. The art here is made by people who are part of Portland — artists whose work can be found all over the city. I grew up here and went to art camp at the PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art). I have been around this my whole life. I used to go thrifting at the Big Bang warehouse or visit Mother Goose.  

I’m from here. Tiny Brambles was grown from Portland itself. 

If you could go back to the beginning, what would you have done differently?   

Blaine: I wouldn’t have spent the first year building a greenhouse :) Honestly, not a lot. I don’t regret what I have done. Sure, sometimes I think, “Oh, I passed on that item and it would have done well,” or “I undervalued that piece.” 

But I don’t know how much I’d really change, because the path led me here. I needed to make those early mistakes to realize I’m better with design than plants. 

What is your favorite part about owning a small business?   

Blaine: I enjoy getting to involve my son. None of the rest matters. I needed a place to take him every day and having a store gave me that. Now he is at the YMCA six blocks away. He knows all my vendors by name. He knows many of my customers and consigners. He asks questions like “Papa, why are you a potter?” He gets excited about making art and putting up a painting. He has learned about the value of art here in this store. It is fun.   

What has been your biggest success to date?  

Blaine: Securing this space and the lease was a huge success. When I was building out this space, I realized that this store would be the one my son remembers. This store would represent his whole childhood. Not doing pop-ups or selling in other people’s businesses but having my own space.  

What has been your biggest challenge?  

Blaine: All of the office-y stuff. Managing cash flow and vendor sales, being responsible with their payments, and delivering checks on time. When you work in the treasure-hunting business, you have to be ready to buy the good stuff when it walks in the door. 

Staying on top of compliance, such as taxes, insurance, business registration with the Secretary of State and Multnomah County taxes threshold, can be challenging. It’s great to grow, but you have to remember to save for those taxes. 

What's your best advice for someone who wants to start or run their own small business?  

Blaine: Show up and take advantage of every opportunity that you are given. I have watched many people get pop-up opportunities and not take them seriously. Some don’t even show up or some spend their time complaining about being downtown.  

The reality is, if you are not opening the doors and selling things to customers, you are not running a business. Build something with real customers.