Hipster Santa Returns to Portland for Second Year

In addition to the numerous “normal” Santas that appear around the state, such as in Washington Square Mall or the Woodburn Outlets, Portland also has its own Hipster Santa. Appearing yearly in Pioneer Square, he sits on a chair patterned like the PDX flooring, and has both a bun, and naughty/nice forearm tattoos. Photos can be found on the Portland instagram, @travelportland. 
“I think Hipster Santa is freakin’ dope,” Suzanna Johnson ‘18 said.
Hipster Santa will appear the the mall every Thursday from noon until 8 p.m., and on Dec. 22 from noon until 9 p.m. He is on the first floor in the west wing with the Regal Theatre. Just look out for the silver tinsel tree and manual typewriter.
This Portland Santa wildly differs from the design that Bent Image Lab imagined back in 2012. Chel White, co-founder and filmmaker claims that the inspiration for the holiday card came from a combination of observations he made as a Portlander, and satirical shows like Portlandia.
“Portland Santa” was created by White, and drawn by Brett Superstar. The overlaid text was written by White, Greg Arden, and Solomon Burbridge. Within the illustration, originally posted on OregonLive.com, it depicts Santa as a skinny hipster with a Where’s Waldo scarf and Pabst beer.
Bent is a studio based in Southeast-Portland whose speciality is animated filmmaking.