Portland is obsessed with China. First there was the FUSE international fashion show of Portland and Chinese designers. And now that PAM has the China Design Now exhibit (Have you seen it yet? It's running through January 17, and you can read my write-up about it here) there are related events (and blog posts) springing up all over town. The one not to miss is OFFICE PDX's forum/party on Wednesday night (7-9 pm at the Froelick Gallery, 714 NW Davis). Says OFFICE's Kelly Coller:

In short:
The first part of the event is a moderated panel discussion on trends, design, consumer insights, culture and collaboration with 3 pretty amazing design leaders, all of whom have extensive experience working in China: Greg Stobbs | Retail Director for Nike, Doug Cooke | Co-Founder of Tinder Lab: A design research company, Greg Mitchell: Sr Project Manager/Design for LRS Architects, which just opened an office in Shanghai.
The 2nd part of the event is a networking/shopping party: complimentary cocktails, networking, shopping, art viewing, etc. We have selected a nice grouping of all new and cool design books about China that will be for sale that evening (shown below and online now) along with our usual 20% off portfolio sale, which we reserve just for events.
Per usual - it's free - RSVP not required but kindly requested to shop@officepdx.com - there's still room to attend the panel discussion, too.

I've seen the list of questions the panelists will be fielding, and they encompass everything from recommendations of design inspiration (take notes for your next vacation) to comparisons of the office culture in both countries. Plus the books on Chinese design look gorgeous, and New Deal Vodka will be splashing out free cocktails—holla!

(And don't forget to see the exhibit first so you have a sense of context, okay?!)