All you need is Loving

Listening to Brianne Mees speak, it doesn’t take long for her passion to catch you completely, and pleasantly, off guard. At first you’re curious, and within a few well-articulated sentences and shared insights, you’re converted.

Brianne Mees, along with her husband Jared, is a proud cofounder of Portland’s own aggregate of local talent, Tender Loving Empire. In a recent interview, she playfully summed up TLE as a unique, unassuming conglomerate of creative endeavors.

“Music meets fine art meets zines, and comics meets craft meets friends,” says Mees. “It is our goal to break down the commerce oriented ‘cooler than thou’ ideal that often constricts and terrifies potential creatives and fans.”

Judging by the loyalty of TLE’s growing clientele, the formula is working.

It also takes a heck of a lot of work.

“Jared and I are working harder and longer hours than we’ve ever worked before,” says Mees. “And since we’re married, it’s really hard not to eat, sleep, breath, dream TLE.”

Perhaps that’s because their list of obligations include managing a record label (complete with production and promotions), a publishing house and a fully stocked retail consignment store on the corner of Northwest 18th Ave. and Lovejoy St. The record label is home to genres from experimental pop to psychedelic folk, with countless open-to-interpretation genres and a strict no-limits policy.

The TLE store houses CDs, local art, attire and books, all with an inviting feel that the best communities for such expression have offered artists and appreciators for generations.

“No band or artist or store attendant at TLE will ever feel inaccessible, self-absorbed or intimidating,” says Mees.

Portland’s music scene is one of the most saturated and elite in the country, often making it difficult for new ideas to squeeze in, unless they’re pre-approved by reigning vanguards of style. Rather than attempting to convert to this social mechanism, the Mees family decided to throw the old hierarchical system out completely.

“There are plenty of groups of people that are creative together,” says Mees. “But we want to break down the invite-only, snobby, cool-kids club vibe that so many of those groups give off, so that everyone feels comfortable and welcome.”

For the Meeses, the inspiration for the work they do is derived from the success of those around them. There is a true belief in the most essential powers of music, artistic expression and personal attention that resonates from everything they have touched. Perhaps most impressive is the humility that accompanies all these elements.

“My personal proudest moments are those when I can witness someone else feel a sense of accomplishment or recognition for their music or project or craft because of the systems and community we started,” says Mees.

Tender Loving Empire has a respect for music not as a moneymaker, but as a life force. It’s a renovation of the industry and a merging of fine, musical, literary and avant-garde artists. And it’s been created with a very particular consumer in mind.

“Our customers are those who have burned out on the products of mass culture and desire a more intimate and unique experience with the music, literature, fine art and craft which they purchase and subsequently interact with on a daily basis,” says Mees.

Tender Loving Empire is exactly what self respecting, socially aware connoisseurs of art are looking to support, and Brianne and Jared Mees make it easy to do so. There are regular concerts listed on their Web site (often complete with such unexpected touches as an on-hand portrait artist) and First Thursday openings April through October.

Whether you’re in a band, a fan or a local friendly shopper, Tender Loving Empire is an excellent embodiment of the best those communities strive to be.