Black-owned businesses in Oregon create books, beer, food, candles. Here’s an easy way to find them

Black-owned businesses are highlighted on the Built Oregon Marketplace to celebrate Black History Month. These makers, who invented food, books, and captivating products, can arrange pickup from their store or delivery to your door.

The builtoregon.shop site also makes it easy to find emerging small businesses by region.

The Built Oregon Virtual Marketplace is open to makers statewide and is part of Built, a nonprofit with 150 business experts who volunteer to support the state’s growth. consumer product industries.

Storyteller, artist and designer Steven Christian participates in the Built Oregon Marketplace and his portfolio of work is displayed at his Iltopia studios in northwest Portland.

His Black Superheroes Matter Artbook ($30) features 110 full-color illustrations to empower and inspire young readers and redefine popular superheroes through the eyes of black kids. Each book is handmade, numbered and signed by the artist and includes a coloring book and mini sticker pack.

Christian also creates comics and cartoons such as the little creature Roscoe, his friend Vanessa and Cadbeary, a escaped circus bear, who seeks to avoid trouble on the island of Iltopia in “Eyelnd Feevr”, a visual art series that uses comics, animation and augmented reality. Shop the entire line of Iltopia Studios products.

Here are other black-owned businesses with great products listed on the Built Oregon Marketplace as well as Amazon and Etsy.

Best Damn BBQ Sauce’s West Coast Tang ($40 for four 20-ounce bottles) enhances steaks, tri-tip, chicken, pulled pork, lamb and other meats. Sweet Lady Love Sauce won first place in the 31st Annual Royal American World Series BBQ Sauce Contest. See more barbecue sauces from the Salem company.

Eleni’s Kitchen Berbere ($5.95 for 2 ounces) is a blend of medium hot chili peppers and other authentic Ethiopian herbs and spices. It can add spicy heat to sauces, stir-fries and stews. Toss with olive oil for an easy dip. See more Ethiopian food offerings from the Hillsboro company.

Exilior Coffee’s Medium Dark Champion Coffee, with beans grown in Kenya and roasted in Oregon ($15 for 8.8 ounces), has notes of blackberries, brown spices and berries. The Dundee company also produces light to medium Savannah coffee with notes of blackberry, sweet orange and honey graham cracker. A portion of the proceeds are donated to scholarship and mentorship programs for young people in Kenya.

The Hibisbloom Cocktail Mixer and Soda Syrup ($15 for 16 ounces) uses premium hibiscus flowers and Savanna cinnamon. See more flower drinks and mixers for cocktails and lemonade from the Tigard company.

Honeybee Lemonade Syrups Jamaican Sorrel Syrup ($14 for 8 ounces) works as a drink mixer or garnish. It is free of preservatives, added sugars, gluten and GMOs. See more vegan and all-natural syrups from the Portland Company made with whole fruit.

The 3-ounce pack of Mamancy Tea Truffle Praline Black Tea is on sale for $17.80. Discover other premium loose and loose leaf teas from the Beaverton Company, as well as handmade chocolates.

Mathilde’s Kitchen Hibiscus Flower and Ginger (12-pack for $48, regular price $60) contains flowers and seeds from West Africa, spice bark from the Caribbean and Asian roots. See more Haitian-inspired beers from the Portland company.

The Baked Clay Studio in Portland offers handcrafted polymer clay earrings and vintage jewelry on Etsy and thebakedclaystudio.com.

Crystal Ball Botanicals Moisturizing Elbow, Knee & Toe Balm ($15) is made with infused calendula oil, shea butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, beeswax and lemongrass essential oil. See more self-care products from the Portland-based company.

Portland’s Big Cat Insignia sells handcrafted Black Pride, Black Girl Magic and other buttons, pro-math and other pins, and PDX Airport Carpet stickers and other graphics, starting at $3.25.

Portland’s Hero Masks Studio handcrafted reusable face masks with a filter pocket ($15).

Leonard and Andrea (“Dre”) Allen’s EcoVibe store at 1906 NE Alberta St. in Portland offers sustainable and ethically made products, ranging from indoor plant pots and home decor to apparel and gifts. They select one-of-a-kind items made by local designers, minority and family-owned businesses, and small manufacturers and manufacturers, and they donate to 1% For the Planet to support environmental causes.

The Ritual + Fancy’s Apple Spice Candle in a Votive Glass is on sale for $26 (regular price $32). The five-ounce, hand-poured, small-batch candle is made with 100% pure, aromatherapy-grade soy wax and essential oils. Each candle has a wooden wick and is topped with a pressed floral design. Learn more about Portland’s company Ritual + Fancy.

R&ARIE’s Intentionally Crafted Candle ($13.49) is hand poured and adorned with metaphysical ingredients. Votive or wax cast is unscented unless ordered with vegan scented oil. See more self-care products from the Portland-based company.

Signs Of Justice in Portland is selling yard signs (two for $48) that state “No Justice No Peace”, “MLK Love”, “Healthcare is a Human Right”, “Protect Kids Not Guns”, “Hate Has No Home Here” and other statements. Bumper stickers start at two for $16.

“African Americans of Portland: Images of America” ​​by Kimberly Stowers Moreland, published in 2013 ($21.99 paperback), features black residents enduring Oregon’s hostility and exclusion laws and the tragic Vanport flood.

A series of well-crafted and thoughtful children’s books dealing with topics such as racism, bullying, voting and white privilege. Learn more about the Portland Publishing Company at akidsbookabout.com

“Blacks in Oregon?” by rapper, music video director, photographer and screenwriter Marlon “Prxscott” Abah focuses on a state with a 3% black population and the Black Life Matters protests.

“Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family” by Mitchell Jackson is a memoir on the growth of black people in Oregon.

— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman