Category: Animals

I was not expecting to end up on consignment so quickly, but Spirit nudged me to grab my street kit (bag of cards I now carry to sell in person or at street fairs) along with my yellow apron when I went to get my glasses fixed by the retired optician housed at Crystal Heart Boutique in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon last Wednesday 9/10/25. (269 E Main Street, 1 block off the MAX line for the win.) And I’ve learned to follow those nudges lately. They tend to pay off as you’ll soon see.

Of course, my first order of business was my broken trifocal glasses, which are not easy to replace. My temporary McGyver job with a straight pin wasn’t going to hold too long or well.

But as I waited for the optician to fix me up, I struck up a conversation with the clerk behind the counter. I asked if they happened to consign people (it looked like it, from the eclectic array of arts and crystals for sale) and she said yes! Was I interested in buying – or perhaps selling? And I hesitated, but fessed up – selling. And pulled out a handful of my small notecards for her to see.

She was impressed, and said that while she could not make the final decision, she could give me the consignment application form and let her manager know. Plus, the store owner was due back any time from a lunch break, so, if I didn’t mind waiting, perhaps we could actually get a final decision since I was from out of town.

Meanwhile, the optician had my glasses all fixed up as good as new (for reals, he’s amazing) and for very cheap. So we chatted for a bit too. Then I wandered the store for a bit – there’s so much there, I could easily spend a week just perusing it all. And I noticed some other cards for sale on racks, though none quite as bright as mine, of course. (I really do get uniquely vibrant colors on my printer.) But also quite interesting and fun. (Good job I didn’t have any money to spend – there were tons of cute handmade items I’d have loved to buy.)

Anyway, I decided to go explore the nearby area while I was waiting for Norman the owner to return. Plus I could fetch more cards (including my medium and large ones) for them to consider too. Off I went, finding the nearby transit center (MAX line from Portland), and some other cute boutiques and consignment shops nearby. But at 4:45 pmI figured I best get back before closing at 5 pm, lest I miss him! (They said they’d call me if he came back but then didn’t.)

Well, turns out I’d just missed him in person BUT – I was consigned if I wanted to be! And how many small cards could I leave with them? Well! How many would you like? :)

Meanwhile, the store manager came up beside me holding what looked like a large live dragonfly in her palm. But I was so busy trying to do a quick inventory, wrap up business and get out of their hair (they needed to close promptly), that I couldn’t quite tell. Finally, the photographer and naturalist in me could stand it no longer and I asked: “Is that a real dragonfly in your hand?”

Yup! It sure was! She had just rescued it from out front of the store, caught in a spider’s web~! No kidding! I was stunned – talk about a God wink! ;) Unfortunately she had to rush off to pick up her son promptly, so I could only take a couple quick shots on my cell phone. But how kismet was that? Heck, how kismet was the whole day!

We’re still ironing out a few details, but I’m happy to be underway with them, and ahead of the Christmas season. Meanwhile, I really gotta get cracking on those worker bees – we gotta be ready to restock again soon! Plus add some more images. Oh frabjous day, calloo callay! Things like this keep happening, and falling in my lap, so I know I’m on the right path, yay.

Go see for yourselves if you’re in the greater Portland, Oregon area. But plan to make a day of it – the store itself is loaded with amazing locally made art and crystals and gifts to choose from (seriously, chock-full with tons of variety), aimed at the metaphysical community, but with something for almost everyone, truly.*

And they are in the heart of the old-town Hillsboro district, which has lots of other cute boutiques and antique shops to browse as well. Plus lots of good food around. So, take a day and come on out. Of course, there may be seasonal events in store that I’m not yet aware of too. You know I’ll keep you all posted here and on socials (see below).

Back to the hive – I gotta get cracking! A la prochaine… Jan Groh, Photograbee 2025.

*Heads up to my fellow zebras with MCAS – the store is heavily scented with various items including incense, essential oils and aromatherapy, so plan accordingly. (Wear a Vogmask if you have one.)