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Our
History
Artichoke Music has been
supplying guitars and other necessities of life to the folk music community
in Portland, Oregon—and the greater Northwest—for over 35 years.
The Beginning
The store was founded in 1971 by
Judith Cook-Tucker. Judith chose Artichoke for the name because "artichokes
are all heart." During the first ten years, the company passed to Jim
Fuller, Gary Haggerty, Bill Bulick and Jamie Haggerty.
Steve Einhorn & Kate Power
 In
1981, Steve Einhorn took over stewardship. For the next 26 years, he and his
wife, Kate Power, grew and nurtured Artichoke into the wonderful community
gathering place it is today.
Artichoke was originally located on NW 21st Street;
after a few years, though, Steve
moved the shop to 35th and SE Hawthorne, pioneering the new trend of cool
shops in the Hawthorne District.
Artichoke moved to its current location at
3130 SE Hawthorne in 1997. The new facility gave Steve and Kate the
elbowroom they needed to accommodate all of the talking, laughter,
storytelling and music-making that have characterized the store since the
beginning.
 The
new space also allowed Steve and Kate to create
practice rooms for teachers, as well as
a magnificent performance space called
the
Backgate Stage. Over the years, the
stage has hosted
musicians from around the globe, including Odetta, Dave Van Ronk, Tom
Paxton, Kevin Burke and David Grisman.
Portland was lucky to have
kept Steve and Kate behind the counter at Artichoke for all of these years.
Because both are remarkable musicians, however, their desire to perform and record
finally took center stage in 2006. When they announced that they were
closing the store, Portland's folk community responded with shock. What
would it do without their musical home?
To contact Steve and Kate,
sign up for their newsletter, and keep up-to-date about their classes,
concerts and activities, go to:
www.qualityfolk.com.
Richard Colombo & Jim Morris
 In
late 2006, Richard Colombo, a professional musician and dedicated Artichoke
teacher and Song Circle leader, decided to follow a lifelong dream to create
community through music.
With the support of his partner, Jim Morris, he stepped forward and offered
to take over the Music School and Performance Space.
Artichoke Music is no
ordinary business. It is a community―which means that its needs don't always fit well
within the confines of a traditional business. To solve this dilemma,
Richard
and Jim spearheaded the effort to create a non-profit
organization that would house the Music School and Concert venue.
In January 2007, Richard and Jim
also decided to take over
the operation of the retail store. This gave Steve and Kate the opportunity to
get out from behind the counter and make music full time.
Today
Artichoke Community Music
was officially awarded 501(3)c status in August 2007.
Managed by a dedicated board of directors, it continues the work Steve and
Kate began of "building music community one heart at a time."
Although they are not behind the counter
anymore, Kate and Steve remain a
part of the community by performing on the Backgate Stage,
conducting regular workshops, and teaching through the Music School.
The store remains the
place to come to in Portland when you need a
little music in your life. As the hub of a thriving
community of folk musicians in the Pacific Northwest, it offers a rich
selection of folk instruments lovingly made by North American craftsmen, as
well as a growing selection of vintage instruments.
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