The Fine Grind

Fine Grind is Lyrik now!

2009-10-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks for following what we've been doing, and your support.
Finally, we are ready to take over the shop.
It is a process that started about 2 months ago... and finally, the change... that is still going... many changes still to come...

Please check our new blog http://www.lyrikpdx.blogspot.com/, and soon our new website http://www.lyrikpdx.com/.

Thank you,
J.Shea and Keiko

Coming soon: Lyrik!!!!

2009-10-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

Joe and I bought the shop in January of this year, and slowly, here and there, we've been making changes to make this shop into something special... a place where our friends will come and hang out, make new friends, be part of the community that surrond us...

We feel like we are getting there... and our next step is changing the name and graphic to something that will represent us better.

It took us 2 months, and we decided that it will be Lyrik (after our cat Liric)... and we are so lucky that we found a character in a Yoskay's painting that is just perfect!

Here is our new logo.... character by Yoskay Yamamoto and lettering by Joe Shea:

And here is our daaaughter (photo also by Yoskay :) ) :

bryon schroeder solo @ the finegrind arts cafe

2009-09-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

local artist & curator bryon schroeder has invaded the fine grind arts cafe with a fresh solo exhibition titled......"love / hate".... the gallery's 1st solo exhibit to date........ schroeder is the co-owner of igloo gallery in downtown portland......... he is also know for his amazing shoe design skills internationally........ but this exhibit is filled with his fine art............ in all forms of mixed media....... like painting...... collage......... paper sculpture....... and assemblege ........... drop by and check it out........... if your in the neighborhood.........

"love /hate"
an exhibit of mixed media work by bryon schroeder
on exhibit till october 22,2009
the fine grind arts cafe 2035 se 39th ave. @ lincoln portland,or. 97214
pdxfinegrind.com

Changes... changes.... changes...

2009-09-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Since we became the "new owners" of The Fine Grind, we've been changing things here and there, trying to make a more comfortable space, more food options, drinks and now more drinks...
We've got our beer and wine menu, and now I am working on the appetizer menu...
Our hours are extended starting this week....
And the name change is happening gradually to Lyrik Food Arts Drinks.
Yoskay Yamamoto is making the new graphic, and Joe will paint the sign and lettering.
So, still... lot's to be done!

Thank you my friends for beeing around.
Keiko

Taiko is back at Richmond Elementary School!

2009-09-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kazuyo (taiko sensei) will focus on the Taiko skill especially " Ma" in Japanese this year.
Accordingly to her, " Ma/ 間 is space and moment. Taiko music has a uncountable moment during the song, this is the different part from other music."
I am looking forward to start taking her classes!
Here is her schedule:

For Kids (2-3rd) class
· Grades 2-3rd
9/11 - 11/20 Fri
2:20-3:20pm + Japan Fest performance
$115
Kids HONKI
· 4th& up
(no permission required)
Tue 2:20-3:20 &
Fri 3:30-4:30
9/11 - 11/20
$145

OYAKO
· Adults& Kids
Tue 9/22 -11/10
$125 for 2 people

ADULT
· 9/29 - 11/17
Tue 7- 8:30pm $99

For more information, e-mail Kazuyo at ran@entaiko.com
www.entaiko.com

"Coexisting" show opening

2009-08-26T16:45:00.001-07:00

"Coexisting" Photography show - two artists...two styles....one show- is at The Fine Grind until mid September. Please come by to check it out.
We are very pleased with the new work hanging at the walls…
here are some pictures of the photographers, the opening party, and their work.

cristina mihaescu & ian james roberts and friends...

our mascot for the night.... the lost cat (that bites!)

"lizard king" by Ian

"piano" by Cristina

"Landscape" by Ian

"Firetruck" by Cristina

Chinese Neighborhood Supper

2009-08-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great food, Peter!

fotos from "COMPAÑEROS" opening

2009-07-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

It was a "hot" party with dj A-Minus.
Thanks Leslie for putting this show together, and Alex for the great music and energy!

"when free will becomes destiny" trip

2009-07-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

June and July have been busy months.... I am so behind!

But still wanted to post some pictures of places that we enjoyed in our trip to Vancouver BC for Joe's show with Jesse Reno, Dave Barnes, and Mandy Tsung at Ayden Gallery.

Here is one of the pieces when still in our back yard (his natural habitat). This piece was one of my favorites (sold, of course!).

The day we got there, we were really hungry and Joe saw this place called "Foundation". We got lucky. It was really good, and it seems that it is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in town. It was around Main and 8th.

The next day, we went to Stalney Park, north from downtown....

And we headed to downtown, where we had a bite in a little place called Cambie Cafe (on Cambie street). It was this little little place that surprised us. Aparently, they are renovating the place, changing the name etc (kind of like us at the shop)... they are a bakery and coffee shop. Food was really good and very affordable.

Some pictures in downtown....
Coffee breaks....

the view from the room balcony....

it was a short trip, but it was fun!

Upcoming Art Show - July 18th

2009-07-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

we are pleased to announce that lesley reppeteaux has curated our 1st national show........ here's the deal.....

"companeros"

an exhibition of limited edition prints curated by lesley reppeteaux

tina darling

logan hicks

daryll peirce

ironclaw

christine laporte

john palmer

tanner goldbeck

lesley reppeteaux

show opens sat. night july 18th,2009

6pm - 10pm
live beats by dj a-minus

show runs through august 21st,2009

the fine grind art cafe

2035 se 39th ave. portland ,or.97214

sincerely.......

j.shea & keiko okuda

japanese meeting Monday, July 13, 2009 @ noon

2009-07-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hello my Japanese speaking friends,

As many of you already know (or noticed), I have canceled all activities in June and July because I’ve been trying to organize the shop…
By beginning of September, we are hoping to have our deck, the beer and wine license, and a “new seasonal menu” with appetizers and fresh greens and fruits from our neighborhood farmer Kollibri.
There are still lots to be done!

But it happens that my friend Mika’s parents are in town, and they would love to meet some Japanese speaking Americans!
They live in Brazil (very close to my parents!) and they are visiting Portland for another week or so. They are Tomohisa Sunago e Kazuko Sunago.

The best day for them will be next Monday, July 13 at noon. Can you let me know if you can come?
Ah! The theme… the theme will be about a trip again: “ryoko”.
Please bring us a good story of one of your trips and tell us in Japanese.

Tomohisa-san please bring us your sketch book with your wonderful drawings of places you’ve been visiting in this trip.
They are now in Canada, coming back Sunday… isogashii-desu neh!
I’m hoping to have a good and fun Japanese meeting group next Monday.

See you soon,
Keiko

Metal Plaster Wood show artworks

2009-05-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

From Kirby, a loyal customer: Like Andrew, the spirit behind the metal works in this show, I enjoy sitting in the far corner, consider that "pirate's corner". The fact that Brandon's skullhead looks so straight out of Hollywood, except darker, has me feeling very Johnny Depp, not my usual, plus these other two creatures are just as goofy. As Joe already knows, I'm a sucker for "manga" (he pointed me in the right direction). The wooden pieces inspire me with feelings of health and honesty (truth in advertising). This multi-media show is both generous and family friendly. Don't think you have to be a Jungian psychologist to love it in here. Today was especially fun in that I put a hunk of Flextegrity next to the cash register, with Keiko's permission of course, and retreated to my corner. An aircraft inspector started checking it out with has flashlight and mirror. What fun! Also, Keiko gave me a peek at their private collection, some of the sketches the artists have left, other drawings. I've added those to my slideshow for Coffee Shops Network, where I'm the marketing chief.

Craft Night

2009-05-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Craft Night was fun with mellow meditative music by C. Tray and his flutes.
We had girls from last show (She's Crafty) drawing, Bree making earrings etc...
Thanks for coming! Keiko and Joe

New Glass in our Door

2009-05-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

Many of you know about the unfortunate incident that happened few weeks ago and left us with a broken glass in our door.

We are doing our best to be a good neighbor and accomodate our customers' needs... but in some cases, there is nothing we can do... sad...

But yesterday, we had the glass replaced with a much safer glass by Trace and Joe.

Gary Burkhhart got the glass for some weeks supply of coffee :), and he also is the "guy" that fixed the "big front window" that was broken for almost a year.

Yes, some good friends we have...

Thank you all customers and friends for your support.

the broken glass- an interesting pattern... pretty cool, but unsafe and "scary!" .

the new one, like it is not even there!

Metal Plaster Wood Opening Reception

2009-05-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Metal Plaster Wood is a show curated by J.Shea9 exhibiting works by Andrew Kirk, Gabe Drecker and 78.
As many of you know, Andrew is one of our dear baristas who is leaving to Spain next week. He is leaving a “piece of him” at the shop for a while (about one month). If you have not seen it, you will be surprised with his amazing work.
Gabe has learned to work with plaster and resigns with his father. The plaster with the wood creates beautiful shapes and colors.
78 embraces the future with all the changing sky lines and cosmical creatures he imagines….
Here are some pictures of the opening reception. Soon, I will have the pictures of the artworks.

Thanks for supporting our shop!

Next Learning Groups...

2009-05-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

Craft Night 5/20: 5 to 7 PM - Live flute music by C. Tray
We’ll have a craft night on May 20th between 5 and 7 PM. Come work in your individual projects: knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing etc… whatever you are working on and you can bring to the shop (sorry, no sewing or weaving machines, pottery wheels etc!).We will share our expertise, experiences, opinions etc…. Chat, eat, drink, and learn from each other.
Craft Night 5/20: 5 to 7 PM

Portuguese 5/28 – 12 to 2 pm
PORTUGUESE group will be Thursday, May 28th between noon and 2 pm.We had an amazing group last month. I hope you guys can come back! We will discuss the movie “Favela Rising”. I saw it a while ago and it is a great movie about a real story in Rio. It is another movie about the poverty in Brazil but in a positive way…. I thought. Let’s talk about it em PORTUGUES!

Breakfast in Japanese 6/3: 8:30 to 10 AM
We will meet June 3rd from 8:30 to 10 AM to speak in Japanese.If you are fluent and want to helps us… or is just starting to learn; come to join us for a coffee, tea, or muffin while you are practicing Japanese.In this second meeting, as suggested, we will prepare a short introduction about ourselves and home (“katte”) and/or tell a story about a trip (“ryoko”).

"Metal Plaster Wood" Art Show opening on Saturday, May 16th

2009-05-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Taiko classes

2009-05-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if you all are familiar with the Japanese drum called "Taiko"... but I'd like to share with all our blog followers and readers that just a few blocks from us, at Richmond School, there are taiko classes available.

Kazuyo-san, who came to our Japanese learning group with her mother visiting from Japan, is the instructor.

She has a website with videos and more information... just check it out: http://www.entaiko.com/

In the summer, we are planning to have some events outdoor and have a group playing taiko for us all! It will be so much fun!

Breakfast in Japanese

2009-05-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

Japanese learning group was yesterday.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take some pictures…
There was a mix of beginners and fluent native speakers…. And some people in between, like me and Scott, who lived in Japan for 6.5 years!
For the next meeting, suggested by Emi-san and Yumiko-san, we will have everybody to talk about their “katte” (home/family) and some memorable “ryoko” (trip)…
We agreed that having some theme will allow everybody to prepare something to talk about with the group…. But you can come just to listen too if you feel like you are not ready to speak Japanese!
Thanks to the group, and especially to Emi, Aya, Yumiko, Kazuyo, and Keiko-san (Kazuyo's mother)! K

craft night!

2009-05-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

keiko and our friend bree hosted our very 1st craft/art night last week..........and it was good fun.........we had some crotchetiers.......knitters.....sewers
drawers....... painters.....and some collaboration action.....it was nice little get together...........with music to get crafty too..........we'll be sure to let you know of the next
craft/art night.........special thanks to bree for getting us motivated to get crafty........... 9

She's Crafty artworks

2009-05-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Portuguese Speaking Group

2009-04-23T18:06:00.001-07:00

It was fun! I really did not expect this many people!
I am still euphoric! Usually, I don't talk much, but I did a lot today.
There are so many Brazilians and people that are interested in learning Portuguese in Portland! Fun! Fun! Fun! I am really happy to meet you all.

Obrigada por terem vindo. Foi muito divertido e estou super contente por ter conhecido tanta gente nova com algo em comum... falamos portugues!

Keiko/Beth :)

PS: don’t forget, next week we have craft!
PS2: next time, we shoul take a group picture before people start leaving....

"Popping the Question"

2009-04-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

A film was shot at The Fine Grind.
It was back in end of February, and it is already out there!
Andrew Heckman with help of his wife Lisa (who is the main actress and producer) made the film as his final project for a Digital Video Production class at the Art Institute of Portland, and is submitting it to festivals.
It is a comedy detailing the experiences of a married woman who develops a sudden crush on a barista that happens to work at The Fine Grind! No... he is not Chris or Andrew....
Here is “Popping the question”... click the link: <http://www.vimeo.com/4232326>

"She's Crafty"

2009-04-12T23:43:00.000-07:00

showed up to bring some positive energy to the cafe.............there is some really beautiful work gracing the walls............it will be on exhibit till may 14th...............so if you missed the show feel free to stop by and check it out.........special thanks to all the creative ladies that contributed to the exhibit...............

Learning Groups: Portuguese 4/23, Craft 4/29, Japanese 5/6

2009-04-06T23:34:00.001-07:00

PORTUGUESE group will be Thursday, April 23rd between noon and 2 pm.
Come to practice your Portuguese… learning from more experienced speakers… and helping others….
It will be an informal lunch meeting. You can try our “Misto Quente”, “Bauru”, “Americano”, “Pao de Queijo”, “Bolo de Cenoura” etc…
There will be no theme, just introduction…. For the next one, my suggestion is to discuss the movie “Favela Rising”. See you then… K

Craft Night!
We will have a craft night on April 29th between 5 and 7 PM.
Come work in your individual projects: knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing etc… whatever you are working on and you can bring to the shop (sorry, no sewing or weaving machines, pottery wheels etc!).
We will share our expertise, experiences, opinions etc…. Chat, eat, drink, and learn from each other.

Breakfast in Japanese:
We will meet May 6th from 8:30 to 10 AM to speak in Japanese.
If you are fluent and want to helps us… or is just starting to learn; come to join us for a coffee, tea, bagel, or muffin while you are practicing Japanese.
In this first meeting, we will just introduce ourselves… but for the future ones, I will suggest that we watch a movie or read (something short) in Japanese then we can discuss it in group.

She's Crafty

2009-03-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Coming up "She's Crafty"...

Window and Nossa Familia

2009-03-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Fine Grind Friends.

Two great news:

1. Finally! The window is fixed. It is doubled-glass isolating most of the noise from the busy 39th Ave.

2. Fine Grind is in our partner newsletter... thank you Nossa Familia team for the kind words: http://www.familyroast.com/aboutus/news/newsletters/2009/03/index.htm

And Thank you all for supporting what we are doing,
Keiko :)

Great Art From Our Neighborhood Folks

2009-03-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

The art work from our neighborhood artists are hung at the shop since Saturday, March 14, 2009.
The opening was very successful.... friends, art, music, drinks, food, good conversations... what else can we ask for? It was great! Fun! Fun! Fun!
Thank you soooo much to everybody that collaborated in one way or another... supporting the shop, the event, being my friend (still!)... Thank you! :)
This show will run through April 10th. Enough time for you come to see it if you missed the opening!

Here are some pictures of the event... and the link of the slide show with pictures of each piece:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fgartcafe/NEIGHBORHOODFOLK#slideshow

Neighborhood Folk

2009-03-02T23:59:00.000-08:00

We will have another opening.
It will be in March, second Saturday of the month.
Please come by between 6 PM and 10 PM to enjoy good art, music, beer, wine, food, and meet the people and artists in our neighborhood.

Thanks for supporting.
Keiko and JShea

Teens Book Club

2009-02-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

If you came to The Fine Grind recently, you probably saw that we have a little email list book… as we’d like to keep you posted on events that we are organizing.

In February, we had the art opening for “Hand Crafted” show.
In March, we will have one show with artists that live in our neighborhood.
And in the near future, I am planning to have meeting groups for Portuguese and Japanese languages, and crafts. But I still had no chance to organize one…

But we will have one next week!
Organized by Sheila and her daughter, Marcella, and friends, please see below information about it.
I am really happy and honored that they chose The Fine Grind for these meetings.

Thank you so much!
Keiko

New activity for 12 – 14 yr olds

Are you a 12 – 14 yr old homeschooler who is longing for lyrical literary discussions, or undying in your unfashionable enthusiasm for unplugged games? Do you want to connect over conversation? Would your mom like to linger over a licit latte locally vended? Or an espresso equitably exchanged? Or perhaps taste a tea grown totally taintless?

Bring along your mom or dad and join us for a Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure Book Club/Unplugged Games Day at THE FINE GRIND on the corner of SE 39th and Lincoln (on the 75 bus line). Bring your favorite board games to share with old and new friends, from 2:00 til 3:30 on the 4th Tuesday of the month, beginning next Tuesday, Feb 24th. Come and share your experience after reading a new book on our booklist at 2:00 on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, beginning Tuesday, March 10.

We have compiled an initial booklist to take us to June, after which we can come up with new titles suggested by fellow fantasy/mystery/adventure seekers. The present list is as follows:

March 10 - Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
April 14 - Magyk by Angie Sage
May 12 - A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin
June 9 - 39 Clues by Rick Riordan

Parents are encouraged to read and discuss the books with us also. Please email offlist with any questions. Hope to see you there!
Sheila and Marcella, Anne and Natalie

FYI: THE FINE GRIND is a locally owned and operated coffee shop selling fairly traded, organic coffees and teas, juices and vitamin waters, sandwiches and in house baked treats. They have a rotating exhibit of works by artists that call Portland home.

The Hand Crafted show opening

2009-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Hand Crafted show went really well. Thank you all!!!!
It was great to see so many people in our first art show opening.
The show is beautiful, all the pieces are amazing, and I feel so lucky that I can enjoy them for a whole month.
I can’t thank enough the support of all the artists, people that came to the show, and my dear customers that are keeping our business going…. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
All the art pieces are in this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxthefinegrind/HandCrafted#slideshow

And here are some pictures of the event….

january show

2009-02-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

January, we started The Fine Grind as our business (another 9-kei project? No, more like K but a lot of 9 at the shop…. http://www.9-kei.blogspot.com/).
We want it to be special, homy, cozy, pretty...
We did not have time to do much as everything happened so fast.
So, we hang the art that we had at home... to make us feel like home.
I hope you all enjoyed.
Here are some of the pieces......