X marks the spot in Newport

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

If you’ve ever visited a friend and had trouble focusing on them because you’re too busy looking around at all the cool things in their home, visiting Linda’s Treasures in Newport’s Nye Beach district is just like that — except in this case, all the cool things are for sale.

“I’ve always been a collector but it used to be mostly for my personal collection,” owner Linda Briggs said. “When I worked for Multnomah County I had people offering to buy things I had in my office space. When we bought this two-story house in Nye Beach, I realized we had the space to open a shop on the ground floor. I like shopping and this gives me an excuse to shop.”

Housewares, jewelry, children’s books and games, hats, lamps — the list goes on and on.

“Anything I find that I think anyone else might want, I pick it up,” she said. “I pretty much have a little bit of everything.”

The prices often come as a surprise for people that visit the shop.

“I’m not trying to make a killing,” Linda said. “I’m just trying to make a living.”

Linda also gets a real kick out of having people come in to peruse the wares.

“People love to look around and even if they don’t buy anything and that’s fine with me,” she said. “I enjoy people and they enjoy me. I’ve always been a people person; people can sense if you enjoy them.”

In conversations with Linda you will get not only fun stories of her very interesting past, but also learn that not everything in the shop was purchased — she learned early on that she enjoys creating as much as she loves collecting.

An oil painter and jewelry maker, she has original art on the walls and, adorning the front counter, necklaces she has made from repurposed objects.

“I got out some old coins I had from India and England and created jewelry out of them,” she said. “I use zippers as the border and people don’t even notice it until they know what it is, then they get excited. People absolutely love them. I’ve done custom orders too — I can create pretty much anything from an heirloom.”

Linda, who many are surprised to learn is in her late 70s, has been both a collector and creator since a very early age.

“When I was nine, my father moved the family from Iowa to California,” she said. “We were living in a motel and just down the street was Al’s Salvage. My mother would give me 50 cents and I would go down and buy scraps of material. I hand sewed that material into little purses and made fringe. I have no idea how I knew to do that but years later, shopping the swap meets, I saw beaded purses and started collecting them. I also collected vintage hats having 250 at one time. That’s how this all started.”

Linda moved to Oregon in 1965, then landed on the coast with her husband 16 years ago.

“I’ve never regretted the move,” she said. “I like rain. If I had the choice between sun and drizzle, I’ll take drizzle.”

And the coast loves her, too.

“People tell me all the time my shop is one of Newport’s hidden gems because it’s so different,” she said. “The prices are really low and there are things that you won’t find anywhere else. I stay open a bit later, too, and people love that because there are no other shops open later in the day.”

The shop is open “most of the time” from 11 am to 6 pm.

“Everything else will be dark and our open signs will be flashing,” Linda said. “I live here so I might as well be open. I tell people I have a very short commute.”

Of her many stories, one of Linda’s favorites has to do with a widely famous star honoring one of Oregon’s favorite sons.

When Woody Harrelson was touring to promote “Go Further,” a movie about using bio-fuel instead of gas, he outfitted a Ken Kesey-type bus and started driving up the coast from LA.

“He stopped in Salem,” Linda said, “and my husband and I went to see the movie and meet Woody. My husband took a photo of him and came home and superimposed it on one of my oil paintings.  He posted it to Woody’s website and his website host contacted us and said Woody would like a copy. So we printed it and sent it off.  We also sent one to the Triton Hotel at his request to be put in his room there. We got a card from Woody and his wife saying it was hanging in their living room.”  Linda has the original painting and whoever buys it also gets a print with Woody on it.

What better way to shake off the winter gloom than perusing Linda’s jewelry, paintings and colorful collections and trading a few stories? You might even be that lucky person who goes home with the original “Woody” print.

Linda’s Treasures is located at 751 NW 1st Street. For more information, call 541-574-0455 or 503-851-5160.