St Johns Farmers Market Featured BIPOC Vendors of 2024
Happiness Family Farm (HFF) is a black-owned business founded by husband and wife, Prosper and Roseta. They are originally from Burundi, but were forced to leave due to the civil war.
They established Happiness Family Farm in 2016, which is lovingly named after their now teenaged daughter, Happiness Annabelle, whose dream is to study health sciences in university.
The farm’s mission is to create accessibility for African vegetables which were hard to find when the family first moved to the United States in 2007. Roseta and Prosper started planting their new roots in a 12x12 foot plot at Village Gardens @villagegardenspdx in 2010, and in 2013 they expanded to land in Sauvie Island donated by the Martin family. HFF provides multiple local restaurants and farmers market communities with the freshest assortment of vegetables.
In 2020, HFF partnered with Equitable Giving Circle to provide BIPOC families in the Portland area with CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes — a subscription service for seasonal groceries which connects small farmers closer to consumers.
Happiness Family Farm aims to spread joy, food accessibility, and Burundian culture for many years to come! Learn more about their journey at happinessfamilyfarm.com
ELLA DEAN HAIR PRODUCTS
Nicole Rose, the founder and curator behind Ella Dean hair products, is part of a fourth-generation legacy of Oregon’s oldest black-owned salon—Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop, established in 1954 in the Lower Albina Neighborhood. In 2022, the salon became recognized as a historic property under the National Register of Historic Places. It is actively owned and operated by Rose’s aunt.
Nicole’s grandmother, retired stylist Gloria “Ella” Dean, was the inspiration and namesake for her business. Gloria’s parents were the original owners of Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop.
Rose founded her passion “Ella Dean” in 2020 and the following year, her first news interview with KGW8 assisted in her exposure to shelving her products in reputable stores and salons in Oregon and Washington.
Hair oil production is no joke. It takes days to curate, mix, and bottle the finished product. Nicole works with a chemist to ensure the natural ingredients are long-lasting and target specific hair and scalp concerns. Hair oils can be kept in or washed out; the products are versatile on the scalp or the ends of the hair whether you have straight or curly hair. Anybody can use Ella Dean!
Find Ella Dean products online at elladean.com.
Victoria Ascencio is the pastry chef behind @pinkgoosebakery named after her fond memories of feeding geese with her Grandpa Billy as a child. Victoria’s love for her family is folded into every aspect of her bakery. Last month, both of Victoria’s grandmothers — Grandmother Betty (her Cantonese name, Bow Yok Chuck Eng) and Abuelita Susana — passed away within a week of each other. As she grieves, Victoria has found solace in remembering times spent with her grandmothers and how their memories and values are reflected in her business and recipes.
In honor of Grandmother Betty, Victoria introduced an egg tart — a Chinese custard tart made with a sweet, whole egg filling — to her usual line-up of macarons and cookies. The dessert is a reminder of the summers she spent in Chicago’s Chinatown when the two would run down the streets hand in hand and buy a dozen of those golden pastries before they sold out.
Victoria built Pink Goose to respect the work-life balance. She lives with an auto-immune disorder called endometriosis– a condition which affects around 10% of people who experience menstruation globally — which causes her to take time off for rest. Ascencio advocates for other business models to be ethical and provide leniency for people working with chronic illnesses. In the future, Victoria hopes to contribute Pink Goose’s consistent earnings into endometriosis research.
Visit https://www.pinkgoosebakery.com/ to find your next favorite sweet treat!
Salsas del Barrio
Salsas del Barrio is a home away from home for partners Juan and Lena. In 2023, the couple moved over 2,200 miles from Monterey, Mexico to St. Johns so Lena could be closer to family.
Juan and Lena are the cooks and entrepreneurs behind Salsas del Barrio, which started as an after work and weekend project. When Juan and Lena moved to the United States, they found it difficult to shop for their favorite salsa macha in stores. They soon started making their own to satisfy their cravings, and share with the community as a vendor at the St. Johns Farmers Market.
Salsas del Barrio translates to “salsas of the neighborhood” as an ode to the sense of family and community the couple feels in St. Johns. Juan and Lena enjoy partaking in the traditions and celebrations of the neighborhood. The St. Johns Farmers Market, the St. Johns Parade and Bizarre, and Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, amongst others, reinforce their sense of community and belonging. Juan and Lena enjoy being regular vendors at the market because they have the opportunity to be in the company of familiar faces and friendly visitors.
The small-batch salsas are cooked in the kitchen of the St. Johns Swap n Play – a local non-profit where parents can play freely with their little ones. Juan and Lena hope to one day grow their own ingredients; this year, they started planting chiles on a plot in a community garden. Salsas del Barrio is a labor of love, and the satisfaction of connecting
Alshiref Eskander @alshiref_design sells hand-drawn prints and other goods at Alshired Design & Print. St. John’s is Eskander’s only participating farmers market because it is his beloved neighborhood. Alshiref Design & Print was established in 2014 by Eskander to highlight hand drawn icons made popular in Portland, Oregon. Eskander crafts all of his designs and prints at the Amity Artisan Good @amitypdx storefront on Morrison Street. His storefront, Amity Artisan Goods – a place where visitors can find pieces from a rotation of over 50 local artists in the Portland area – was established in 2021 with the support of @prosperportland and Livelihood NW.
Eskander says his background and multicultural experiences had a profound impact on his work and passions. Growing up on the coast of the Red Sea in Egypt, Eskander became a scuba diver and fell in love with all aspects of life in the sea. In his early twenties, Eskander moved to Switzerland and spent his time gaining perspective on European culture and identity. Later on, Eskander immigrated to the United States, first to the East Coast, then to California, and finally to Portland, Oregon where he and his family call home.
The St. Johns community is thankful for Alshiref Design & Print and their presence in the farmers market. Learn more about Amity Artisan Goods at https://amitypdx.com/.
Visit Amity Artisan Goods: 962 SW Morrison St, Portland, OR 97205