Somebody obviously crawled inside my brain while I was sleeping, and threw together Paxton Gate as a homage to my subconscious. It's like a goth scientist threw a taxidermy garden party at a museum - a museum where everything is for sale. I'm going to give my visiting friends their address so I can pretend I live here. read more

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This place is a life saver! It's a one-stop shop for all your macabre needs, like when you run out of human skulls or pickled mutant animal babies. My friend has a terrible moth phobia, so every year or so I swap out one of her family portraits with one of those huge framed Amazonian or Mekong fuzzy-flies, then just wait for the phone call where she screeches and wails on about how I can't keep doing this silly prank, and asks how I got her new new address. Can't keep besties apart! The owl pellets for sale are not to be used as bullion cubes, nor does a live owl fly out if you leave one sitting in a cup of water in your kitchen for a week. Lessons learned. One last note, apparently there are some rules about how they can obtain their human and animal remains, so don't bother trying to bring your dead pets or grandmas in for a quick buck - not even store credit. Thanks Obama. read more

My daughter and I visited Paxton Gate today to pick up a gift for someone. It was fantastic as always. Today was especially nice though. My daughter who is 4 is super into this place and always has a ton of questions. One of the clerks basically hung out with her for a half hour answering all of her questions and gave her a lot of extra fun info. She was STOKED! I just thought it was really awesome. I'm always a little worried about bringing her into stores like this but everyone was really welcoming and I appreciated them talking to my kid like she was a human rather than staring at her like a wrecking ball. Great costumer service is always worth a shout out. read more

This place had so many interesting things! But I think truly the best thing was that the employees were so willing to talk about some of the pieces and share their own enthusiasm over the curiosities and creative merchandise. This is a fantastic place to peruse when you are looking for inspiration for projects that depart from the ordinary. read more

A pickled, dead baby pig in a jar. Various small animal hearts, compared. A body-less, screaming hippo. Skulls of long-snouted dead things. Taxidermy baby chicks, mice and a skunk. Intrigued? Sound sexy? Go here. read more

My all time favorite store in town. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to everything they're selling and they seem to get very passionate and excited to talk about everything in the store with me every time I visit which is nice. Informative and attentive but not at all pushy. I love supporting this business as often as possible and you should absolutely take a gander at their beautiful selection. read more

I only wish I had the hipster patience and coffee shop lounging required to give this place the review it deserves. Sadly, I do not believe this review will acquire any 'cool' or 'funny' votes due to it's to the point tone. This place is awesome. The staff is amazingly friendly and informative. The price points range from a few bucks to several thousand, so depending on if you are looking for a whole lion or a raccoon bacculum (penis-bone), you can leave with a cool little keepsake. One of the best places in Portland. Go have a look around and if you leave with a fossilized shark tooth, a pocket watch, a monkey skull, or a piece of art, you will love this place read more

Does the world need a store like Paxton Gate? No, of course not, but some people are habitual picker-uppers of stray feathers, road kill, bleached bones, and other wildlife ephemera. Some people find their zen in taxidermy and the macabre. If you like your home decor, your jewelry, and your gifts to include a zoological zeitgeist, then stroll on over. The staff are extremely friendly and enthusiastic. They love what they sell, and they encourage you to try on the jewelry. When we strolled in, we were invited to stay for wine and an evening with a book author. Prizes would be given, stay! A tempting offer, you strange strange minx. read more

This place!! Walk into a world of oddities and be prepared to have your mind blown!! If the rad aesthetics of this place isn't enough to sweep you off your feet, you'll be wowed by the knowledgeable and super duper friendly folks who work here. Erin made our nephews' trip to Portland one that they'll never forget! She took her time showing them around the store and explaining all the coolness. She was extremely patient with their 4 year old brains and answered allllllll the questions from their inquiring minds! You can tell Erin and all the folks here are passionate about their jobs!! Thank you Erin for a phenomenal experience!! read more

Paxton Gate - So rad! - Home Decor Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Paxton Gate is my favorite store in Portland. They have the nicest staff and the best gifts! I highly recommend the classes they offer. The butterfly pinning class is great fun for the whole family! read more

If you find yourself in Portland, you may very well find yourself On Mississippi, and if that is the case there is no reason for you not to stop by Paxton Gate. There are some amazing things in there. My home decor does not run in this direction, but I have many friends who would love most of what the store has to offer. At the very least take a look and you might find yourself bringing back a steampunk, taxidermied mouse. read more

Paxton Gate - Steampunk Mice! - Home Decor Near Me - Portland, Oregon

What is not to like about this place? Incredible taxidermied animals that range in size from baby chipmunks to a full grown lioness, bones, skulls, dried animals, pickled animals, oddities, rarities, knit art, collage art, sculptural art, jewelry, books, knick knacks, plants, mounted bugs and MORE. Incredibly knowledgable and helpful staff that are so happy and excited to show you anything and everything they have, even if you haven't asked them to. I got a lot of 'Check this out!' And 'Wanna see something cool?!' Why YES. YES I DO! Even if you're squeamish this place is worth checking out. You may just learn something fascinating about the animal kingdom. Or get to see a royal stuffed squirrel on display wearing a crown and holding a fancy scepter. read more

Paxton Gate - Cutest ever taxidermied baby possum. - Home Decor Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Most unusual things to buy for the curious customer. Perfect place to shop for the friend that love things that are strange and very dead.

I spend entirely too much time and money here. But thats only because it is so wonderful. I always find several things which I cannot live without, and many more which qualify as "that perfect gift" for someone. The staff is always friendly and eager to show you new arrivals and interesting additions, and the stock is constantly changing. I go almost weekly, and there are always enough new items to hold my interest. The prices are a bit steep on some things, but given that they are in a high rent district and provide such knowledgeable and friendly service, a markup can certainly be forgiven. Plus they stock items by many local artists which you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, and host classes and open houses at least monthly. You can't get that from an online store. read more

I love Paxton Gate! I've come here so many times. I really miss Sky and Hide working there, but I guess it's still a great shop without them. BUG CLOSET read more

This store is so Portland that I didn't know what to do. great place for: christmas gifts. not a great place for: newborn gifts. if you ever need odd fun curiosity gifts that can get rather pricey (what kind of friend do i need to be in order to get a taxidermied animal on my wall?). i need more friends who would appreciate gifts from here. the staff gets a bit overexcited...and i get scared. read more

pretty sure paxton gate is a museum meets quirky shop... wow, what a trip! i've never walked into a store and immediately felt overwhelmed with curiosity. The owners were so nice and patient with my never ending questions... some of which, may be considered ridiculous and borderline stupid (although there is no such thing as stupid questions ;)) rad stuff for sure... i wish i had a huge room with ginormous cozy leather furniture, some animal busts up on the walls, a million books, and a crackling fire to just hang out in. obviously the busts would come from paxton gate. duh. read more

Wow! My newest favorite store! If you like rocks, minerals, fossils, plants, animals - NATURE IN GENERAL, you can't help but love this place. It's like a museum but with the exhibits for sale. Also has a great selection of nature inspired jewelry, books, cards, and great activity kits for kids (or kids at heart). Knowledgeable staff - or at least the person I talked to was. Prices for some items seemed high but everything is quality - at the very least, a great place to see nice specimens to comparison shop. read more

I had been hearing about this place since the day it opened, but hadn't made it over until just now and all I can say is "WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG!?" Paxton Gate is THE place to go in town for taxidermy, nifty plants and animal inspired jewelery. They have a wide range of taxidermy animals (from a full lioness to butterflies), as well as skeletons and skulls and bones, and jar specimens. There are wonderful, quirky plants, including Venus Fly Traps! There is also a fab selection of jewelry made using animal pieces, all of which are nothing short of spectacular. There is also a small selection of books on various topics of anatomy and plant life. There are chemistry bottles magnify glasses, just the sort of things to fill your steampunk inspired library with. The staff is incredibly helpful and nice too (though I can see how one reviewer felt the staff was pushy, the staff was very vocal about the items, explaining what the items were made from, asking if there was anything we wanted to look at in the variety of cases, and telling us the price of pieces without us asking)! My husband and I were on the hunt for Christmas gifts, and settled upon a taxidermy bat for my dad, choosing a hanging one over the framed ones, and we were able to look at a range of bell jars as well as sticks for the little guy to hang from. Everyone was very kind and patient while we made our selections. The atmosphere is really great too. It's woodsy, and very well lit, which is great for inspecting the items! The place is pricey though, but honestly, nearly everything in the shop is one of a kind! And one needs to keep in mind all of the time and work that goes into the creation of the items, so it's all well worth it! read more

Love this place! Its a super funky store just to come check out even of you're not in the mood for buying anything. The staff is super friendly and helpful and they don't make you feel rushed to make a purchase. Cool pieces of jewelry that aren't like things you'd find everywhere else. We always check it out when we're in the area read more

I could buy everything in this store. BEAUTIFUl things for your home, curious things to look at. Great for a non-traditional gift or a fun conversation item for your house. Love everything in here. read more

I love Paxton Gate! It's one of those places that, you could TRY to window shop when you pass by, but, the taxadermy, plants, and little nick nacks in the window will be sure to draw you in. When you walk in, the giant african beast heads on the wall might be the biggest attention grabbers, but, don't let that fool you, there is WAY more then plants and animals to this place. Awesome books, rad posters. I was not in the market for anything they offer at the time, but I could look around at Paxton for a long time. I suggest, if you have kids, take them out to the food carts across the street, and then take them to PG and let them explore, the different stuffed beats and skeletons are awesome to look at and even educational. This place deserves some patronage. Also, if you're looking for rare carnivorous plants, you may find what you're looking for. read more

So awesome. Highly recommend a stop here. The staff is super friendly and love discussing all the cool stuff they have

I have frequented the Paxton Gate in San Francisco for something like 25 years or so. I have to say that although I would love to go in to browse I most often left without purchasing anything. Over the years though I have indeed made purchases from them. In San Francisco I always felt the staff was a bit abrupt and stand-offish, a bit snooty. I was very curious to see the Paxton Gate here in PDX and assumed it was a branch out chain from San Francisco. This is not at all the case. In fact there is a relationship between the two however they have complete separate different owners and a different selection of the same genre of curios and natural wonders. First off I found all the staff here in PDX to be very friendly, chatty and helpful. I also was amazed with the space of this store and the layout and the huge selection of all kinds of things. Much better IMO than the San Francisco store. However the SF store does have a landscaping section. I love this Paxton Gate and all the great well selected things they offer as the way everything is displayed. The people working there made it a joy to be there and yes I did find things to buy on my first visit! read more

This store is my favorite store to shop in portland! They have some of the coolest oddities in town. Everyone is very friendly and the displays are amazing. Anytime a friend comes to visit from out of town i always take them here! read more

Suck an amazing store with such a amazing things. I can shop there all day and get everything. They people that work there were so help full read more

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Oh man. For freaks like me, this place is heaven. In the course of two days, I got my friend a shiny rock, myself a bird skull necklace, and my mom and sister dead butterflies for Mother's Day (shh don't tell). They have SO MANY DEAD THINGS. AND ROCKS. IT'S AWESOME. In addition, the clerks there are super-helpful, very informative, knowledgeable, and friendly, complimenting which is generally my motivation for bothering to write a review. For the items they sell and the work that goes into creating them, the prices are actually very reasonable. Expect to spend thirty-ish on the average item. read more

Was an interesting place, lots of plants and various stones and taxidermy if you're into that sort of thing. Very friendly staff and workers there, all of them eager to answer any questions of offer suggestions for a plant or some decor. I'm personally not a fan of animal skulls, horns, and stuffed pelts as far as decor goes but this is the place for you if you are interested in suck decor. To me I start dreaming of dark wood paneled nicotine stained walls with a bear head.. But they've got awesome plants read more

Came in today with my girlfriend to look for succulents, while we were deciding which one to get, one of the workers comes in asking if we needed any help, my girlfriend politely declined as we were just looking, the lady went went ahead and very rudely gave us a lecture on what direct and indirect sunlight was despite us telling here we din't need any help, and very condescendingly told my girlfriend that our explanation of were we would be putting the plants didn't help here at all with her giving us advise. We felt she was very condescending throughout her explanation. and made our experience getting succulents there a very bad one. We come in regularly to this store, and were never treated like this. We will probably stop going there after today's experience. read more

Such a cool little shop! It's fun to just look around, or for surprisingly reasonable prices, you can get some VERY unique things that make great gifts. They have succulents, gem stones, taxidermy, and miscellaneous items. read more

This place is sooooo cool! I am a fan of everything bizarre, and actually have an oddities room in my home that is filled with old medical devices, science diagrams/models, taxidermy, articulated bones, etc. (Yes, I'm a huge dork who loves anything science or medical.) Anyway...this place blew me away. They have such amazing taxidermy, a huge butterfly collection, every skull of every animal possible, etc. It is such a fun store. I left with a little taxidermy baby possum hanging from a tiny tree. It is adorable. read more

Paxton Gate - Just a tiny portion of their taxidermy collection. All are for sale... - Home Decor Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Most of the dead stuff is too creepy to be artistic, IMO, but they had a great selection of small and interesting living plants that we loved! We got three small exotic-looking ones for about $10, took great care of them, and they've lasted for over a year in our kitchen window sill. That alone was worth it, but we also bought some bird and butterfly items framed and wrapped for a very reasonable price! Compared to places that sell similar displays, Paxton Gate was actually two to three times less expensive. Staff was very good at selling, informing, not being pushy, and overall being very professional and friendly! Highly recommend! read more

So I usually I don't think to write reviews for anything but restaurants but the staff here was so genuine and friendly I had to! I'm not usually into taxidermy, which is what you can mostly see just from walking by, but I went in anyways. And thank god I did! They have something for everyone. The framed butterflies were so beautiful and the employees explained everything and were so knowledgable, which I was impressed with. I also never felt like they were being pushy or trying to get me to buy something which can often happen with small boutiques. They have amazing art, beautiful succulents and air plants, home decor, all kinds of books, and so much more! And can't forget the animal eyes... So cool. Also, it's all very affordable. The only reason it has $$$ is because of the taxidermy but everything else is a steal! Especially for the quality and style. I can't say enough great stuff about this place! Just go! read more

Amazing stuff here! You will def want to go home with something. They have something for everyone here and the staff is super friendly! read more

Paxton Gate - Home Decor Near Me - Portland, Oregon

One of the coolest stores I have ever been in! Very great prices too. Their plant selection is solid. I would have purchased every single item in the store ! read more

This place looks like a wealthy, eccentric octogenarian's Park Avenue library, and I can't get enough of it. Between the taxidermic mice in tutus pirouetting under glass domes next to a tableau vivant of insects at a picnic and the shelves of books with titles like "Mütter Museum: Historical Medical Photographs" and "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder," a person could wander around gawking at everything for so long that said person might finally incur some serious side-eyeing from the friendly staff. There's also a greenhouse-type area in the back of the store for those with a green thumb, and it seems to have lots of interesting plants and mosses to use in the construction of terrariums.The only thing that keeps me from giving this establishment 5 stars is the area in the front of the store dedicated to rocks and gems; it's boring. They could fit so many more marvelous things into that space! That's only my humble opinion. (...sorry gem lovers.) read more

Perfect curiosities shop. Very personable and fun staff who also teach classes here like spider pinning! great spot for a unique gift or to decorate if you have a sportsman/morbid aesthetic. read more

A bunch of everything weird! Totally up my alley. I found a few gifts to get people for Christmas here. Things you just wouldn't even think of and really stir up your curiosity. read more

This is like a museum mixed with a store. It's really cool to just come here and look around :)

Neat place. But the staff don't know anything about the products there. At least on the day I went. There were 3 people working there - 2 of which were on their phone talking about Snapchat. (I went there for butterflies in cases because I had saw them before but didn't have time to buy them.) and to get a few necklaces.. I asked "What kind of beetle is this?" The response from 2 of the employees. "I don't know." I was looking at Labordorite. And asked the guy behind the counter "Where does it come from?" His response. "All over really." I continued to ask questions about what type of species an animal was, or where it came from because I find all of it super fascinating!. But, none of them had answers for me. And I was thinking.. "Do you guys even know where you work?" They literally weren't able to answer a single question I had. And then there was one point at which they all had walked outside and I was left in the store alone for a couple of minutes. Long story short; Neat place. Ignorant workers. read more