Written by Kelly Melillo

Transcription

1 A MEDIA KIT Written by Kelly Melillo

2 Kelly Melillo thebestplacestopee.com HELLO Press Release Looking for a creative way to explore Portland Have you ever considered using bathrooms as a quirky and fun way to navigate through a city? Portland Author, Kelly Melillo s new book: The Best Places to Pee: A Guide to the Funky & Fabulous Bathrooms of Portland, gives you the skinny on the best bars, restaurants and other cool corners to help relieve the pressures from your day and your bladder. From the classiest commodes to the plushest water closets, The Best Places to Pee: A Guide to the Funky & Fabulous Bathrooms of Portland is a whimsical and informative look at Portland s eclectic bar and restaurant scene. Journey through 120 pages of glossy photographs depicting 51 of the coolest loos in town and get to know the backstories of these establishments including their history, some folklore, quirky factoids, and personal insights from the owners. To support the release of The Best Places to Pee... a 90-day event, #BP2P, will be held at a select number of the locations featured in Kelly s book. Each event will feature unique chances to win prizes, and participate online with other bar goers via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Seize this chance to meet the author and explore some of the swanky bars, cool dives, and neighborhood eateries that make Portland the culinary epicenter of the West Coast. Use the hashtag #BP2P to connect with other revelers and to enter for your chance to win cool prizes and swag. Kelly s instincts as natural born tour guide paired with her endearing proclivity to explore the unusual has taken her from CitySearch Scout, to Blogger to Author of this whimsical and informative guide book. As a mother of three active boys under 13, Kelly s research was done in small pockets of time when she could be away from home. It wasn t long before her family and friends caught on, and joined in the search for the next funky or fabulous bathroom. How was the bathroom? became as common as How was the food? Kelly was on a roll, and the rest is history literally. While Kelly was photographing the bathrooms, she became privy to hearing stories from the owners, tales of renovations revealing the historical pasts of buildings,...i liked learning the history of these places, and the stories of the people who are running them. I felt like I was sitting between the seen and the unseen. This book connects the reader to Portland s hip and trending present vibe while also offering a peek at it s past and it s funky and fabulous pissers. Unconventional, eccentric, yet highly informative and one of the best conversation starters! Look for a complete listing of events to be advertised in Portland Monthly and the Portland Mercury. Visit bestplacestopee.com for event details and to purchase your own beautiful hardcover copy for only $ Or visit her on Facebook at Girl on The Go PDX

3 She s the girl who authored the book everyone else claims they could have and should have written The Best Places to Pee: A Guide To The Funky & Fabulous Bathrooms of Portland. Author and Blogger Kelly Melillo has always been intrigued by nuggets of quirky trivia. I love hearing stories... Stories of journeys, accomplishments, history, and the best are foot in mouth stories. Hired as a scout for CitySearch, Kelly began her blog, Girl on the Go PDX, in Happily immersing herself in Portland s hot spots for several years, she finally found herself on intimate terms with the city she relocated to ten years prior. Intrinsically adept at discovering the defining music, events, and people that are the hallmark of Portland s reputation as a hip and happening town with a heart, Kelly immediately began to build a following. ABOUT THE AUTHOR KELLY MELILLO Self-Published Author Mother of three Urban Archaeologist Water closet connoisseur Lady of the LOO Kelly s instincts as natural born tour guide paired with her endearing proclivity to explore the unusual has lead her to pen a book about Portland s most fascinating bathrooms. Kelly attributes her fondness for bathrooms with a fortuitous encounter in the ladies room at the Doug Fir Lounge in After her experience with its dizzying display of 70 s inspired psychedelic mirrors, Kelly recalls that bathrooms seemed to have unequivocally chosen her: Something started to click, and it became a fascination for me. From restaurants to venues all across Portland, I began to wonder, what s this bathroom like? From that moment on Kelly allowed her curiosity to lead the way as she delve through Portland s neighborhoods, driven to find the next beguiling bathroom. As a mother of three active boys under 13, Kelly s research was done in small pockets of time when she could be away from home. It wasn t long before her family and friends caught on, and joined in the search for the next funky or fabulous bathroom. How was the bathroom? became as common as How was the food? Kelly was on a roll, and the rest is history literally. While I was photographing the bathrooms, I started to learn about the history of the buildings, the renovations and the backstories of the businesses themselves. Torn up carpeting revealed original tiled flooring; iconic fixtures of past businesses were incorporated into the modern day décor... I liked learning the history of these places, and the stories of the people who are running them. I felt like I was sitting between the seen and the unseen. The Best Places to Pee: A Guide to the Funky and Fabulous Bathrooms of Portland combines Kelly s passion and desire to connect people with the seen and unseen details, the rich stories embedded within the woodwork and foundations of local establishments, the creative community of artists and business owners, as well as sharing her amassed collection of funky & fabulous bathrooms! This book is a creative twist to the traditional travel guide, offering a unique, fun and very informative way of exploring a city. Kelly currently resides in Portland, OR with her three sons. When Kelly is not busy making lunches, attending sporting events, or doing loads of laundry, she s an urban archaeologist uncovering the next neighborhood treasure trove of backstories and bathrooms. And on occasion, she has been spotted dancing on tables assimilating with the locals.

4 Paul Gerald - Breakfast in Bridgetown Portland is a weird place - and also funny, quirky, cute, original, creative and charming. All of that, it turns out, can also be said about its bathrooms. I ve seen more than a few local loos in my breakfast career, but Kelly Melillo has opened my eyes to the wonders of our WCs. The Best Places To Pee is informative, entertaining, clever, a little odd, and therefore pure Portland. david k. israel - behind every man As someone who only visits Portland occasionally, and as someone who rates restaurants and bars more by their bathrooms than their food (I know, strange right?), Kelly Melillo s Best Places to Pee guidebook was a must-own. Her writing is fluid and funny, accessible and entertaining. So before you go, go read the book! THE LOO TALK POWELL' S ORDER OFFICE We need more! J & J HAUGEN Bravo on The Best Places to Pee, we picked up a copy this weekend and loved paging through it! My wife and I grew up in Minnesota and Illinois and enjoy the Midwest humor. TESTIMONIALS What people had to say about the Best Places to Pee. E. NACE Hey Girl on the Go! Bought a few of your clever books. Love it! S. JOHNSON I sent this book to all my out-of-town friends and relatives for Christmas to show them another great side to living in Portland. Kelly nailed the mix of whimsy and solid interesting facts about some great spots in Portland. T. CROWDER This book is awesome! It is full of fun facts and shows you a look at Portland that was unexpected when I picked up the book. I now have a list of all kinds of fun places to explore in Portland! A. DEVITA The Book has great pictures...i now relate to her book when visiting these places.

5 THE BOOK D E TA I L S Released: November 2013 Publisher: Silent 7 ISBN: Format: Hardcover Pages: 120 Price: $16.95 BOOK SHEET Sparked by whimsical inspiration, fueled by an eccentric exploration an unrivaled travel guide that provides readers with a peek inside 51 of Portland, Oregon s unique water closets, johns, and loos. A hardcover book that offers 120 pages of eye-catching imagery, alongside colorful and witty narratives that reveal an alluring mix of history, folklore, and personal insights from some of P-town s most talented restaurateurs and business owners. This offbeat book s distinctive sketch of Portland lovingly mirrors the city s renowned reputation as one of the most irreverent and popular places to visit and live. STORY IDEAS A creative twist on the traditional travel guide, exploring Portland via its porcelain. Portland s restrooms represent the creative, fun-loving and free spirit nature of our popular city. Bathrooms become an opportunity to make a statement, tell a story and even showcase art. After all, you have a captive audience! Profile Kelly Melillo, the young first-time author whose proclivity to explore the unusual has led her to pen a book about Portland s bathrooms. Beyond the stall walls, revealing Portland s historical past, commitment to sustainability and creative community of business people. SPONSORS Loo love goes out to our generous book launch sponsors