Craft Gossip

The largest independent craft review site since 2007

Homesteading Supplies in Portland

by

Kristl and Doug Bridge turned their teaching skills into helping support  homesteaders by opening Portland Homestead Supply Co.

They sell everything you need for your own urban homestead. That of course includes candle making supplies. They carry beeswax in one pound blocks and soy wax in bags.

If you would like to scent your candles with essential oils, they have a wide variety of them to choose from.  Essential oils also come in handy when making your own soaps. Do you want to learn how to make soap or candles? Try taking one of their do it yourself classes! If you’re so inclined, you can also try your hand at canning, pickling, or even purchase a chicken or goat!

It’s great how this homesteading store has taken off in the city! It appears that many people want to simplify by being self sufficient. According to Doug and Kristl, they’ve had 100 people visiting a day since opening on June 14.

They’re located at 8012 SE 13th Avenue in Portland, OR and you find more information at www.homesteadsupplyco.com.

Read These Next

Have you read?

Book Review: Off to the Nursery

One of the best things about the return of warmer weather is getting to plant new flowers and starting the vegetable garden if you have one. Off to the Nursery by Alice Oehr is subtitled “a celebration of gardening, plants and seasons,” and it’s also a celebration of diversity (because gardening is for everyone) and caring for the earth.

The book starts with the work of getting the garden ready for spring, pulling out the old plants and spreading compost made from kitchen scraps. They grab tomatoes and peppers, learn about zucchini and eggplant and explore the tasty world of herbs.

They also look through the seeds, succulents, berries and fruit trees, flowers and aquatic plants, talking about the benefits of different plants and how fun they are to grow. Maybe you can relate to the family buying what seems like way too many plants?

The book was originally published in Australia, so some of the flowers mentioned might not be familiar to your or your kids, but that’s kind of fun, too. You can also use this as an opportunity to talk about which plants in the book can grow where you live and that just like animals, plants have preferred habitats, too.

Illustrations are colorful and the book combines a standard font and a hand written font to make it feel more like a journal about the garden. The illustrations include fun facts and growing tips such as always planting mint in a pot or germinating seeds on a wet paper towel before planting.

If you want to introduce kids to gardening or just talk about what kind of plants can be grown at home where you live (yes to tomatoes, probably no to the kumquat tree), this cute book is a great addition to your spring reading list.

About the book: 30 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Scribble US. Suggested retail price $18.95.