Art pays the soul; eBay pays the bills

City’s young ‘creative class’ finds unorthodox ways to make ends meet

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Nov 19, 2004, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Andrew Dickson once sold a matchbook for $5,006 on eBay. It was, the president of a matchbook society told him, the oldest intact matchbook in existence. A big score.

Not all of his ventures have been as profitable. Last month, he tried to auction a $280,000 Mercedes-Benz for Portland Trail Blazer guard Derek Anderson. No takers there.

“I sort of have a zen,” he says with a ready smile. “It all evens out in the end.”

Dickson, an unabashedly self-promoting 31-year-old who writes, directs and stars in his own comedic screenplays, has blended his creative spirit with an entrepreneurial edge over the past four years and successfully eked out a living from eBay.

As an eBay “power seller” (elite users who sell at least $1,000 of merchandise per month and have access to group health insurance and other perks), Dickson spends 10 to 15 hours a week listing, tracking and shipping the collectibles he owns or picks up at thrift shops and estate sales.

Other thirtysomethings in Portland’s coveted “creative class,” as they’re called, also are carving out their living with pieced-together freelance work as best they can in a lackluster job market.

But as much as they love working in Portland, some are leaving town for bigger opportunities. Dickson and his fiancee, a 30-year-old entrepreneur, are moving to Los Angeles in February for a couple of years to pursue screenwriting where those avenues are more abundant.

“Compared to New York, there are so few jobs with mobility” in Portland, Dickson says. “It’s so competitive to get into the places that pay well and have benefits. Portland’s in danger of losing its mid-career artists.”

Ann Mangan, creative services liaison for the Portland Development Commission, doesn’t agree that Portland is losing artists. However, she does agree that the competition for jobs here is getting tougher as a steady stream of thirtysomethings move to Portland for creative-industry jobs.

Mangan said a lot of firms are adding jobs, expecting revenue to grow and being nurturing of Portland as a creative Mecca.

“People seem to be more optimistic” about jobs, she says. “I just think they tend to be getting more work. There’s definitely a heightened interest in putting Portland on the map as far as design goes.”

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