The corner shop on 13th
Nell opened Tubwell in 2014 in a 1920s corner shop in Sellwood, after ten years as a vet tech. It’s still one room of tables, a room of tubs and a small room just for cats.
Twelve years on the doorframe
The building was a shoe repair for forty years. Nell painted the walls herself, bought one table, and borrowed a dryer from the clinic she’d just left.
Every time something changed, somebody marked it on the back-room doorframe in pencil, the way you’d mark a kid growing. The frame has been painted around ever since.
’14 8 12
First coat of paint, August 2014
Milestones marked on the doorframe, oldest first
- 2014Opened with one table, one tub and a dryer borrowed from the clinic.
- 2015Groom card No. 500. Started closing Mondays so we could sleep.
- 2016The old storeroom becomes three self-wash tubs, with a side door on Tenino.
- 2018Tomás joins. The doodle wait list finally gets shorter.
- 2019The cat room opens behind its own door. June runs it.
- 2021Ruth joins, and senior mornings start.
- NowCard No. 3,290 and counting. Same corner, same wall colour.
Who’s on the table
Four groomers, three tables, five days a week. This is the rota on the back wall. Ask for someone by name when you book.
Nell H.
Owner, lead groomer
Full grooms, skin and coat problems, first visits.
Ten years as a vet tech before this. Still has groom card No. 0001: her terrier, Pickle, who hated baths.
Grooming since 2012 · Opened Tubwell in 2014
- Tueworking
- Wedworking
- Thuoff
- Friworking
- Satworking
Tomás R.
Doodles & scissor work
Doodle and poodle cuts, teddy faces, hand scissoring.
Keeps a photo of every doodle cut he’s proud of, sorted by blade length.
Grooming since 2016 · At Tubwell since 2018
- Tueoff
- Wedworking
- Thuworking
- Friworking
- Satworking
June P.
Cats & anxious dogs
The cat room, nervous dogs, short and gentle visits.
Talks to every cat in the same low voice and swears it works. Keeps salmon skin in her apron.
Grooming since 2017 · At Tubwell since 2019
- Tuecats amcat room, morning
- Wedoff
- Thucats amcat room, morning
- Friworking
- Satoff
Ruth
Seniors & special needs
Older dogs, sore joints, dogs who can’t stand for long.
Brings a folded yoga mat for stiff hips and grooms in twenty-minute stretches with breaks.
Grooming since 1999 · At Tubwell since 2021
- Tueworking
- Wedworking
- Thuworking
- Frioff
- Satworking
Three rooms and a counter
The plan that hangs by the front door. Dogs, cats and muddy dogs each get their own room, so nobody has to share the noise.
Tubwell · ground floor
Hand-over and pickup happen here. Five minutes at drop-off to check coat, skin, ears and nails, and the shop shelves behind the till.
Three tables, one pet on each, and never more pets than groomers. Dogs are dried by hand with quiet velocity dryers. We don’t own a cage dryer.
Its own door and its own table, and no dogs, ever. Cats come in on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, when the salon is at its quietest.
Three waist-high tubs with ramps, warm water and a velocity dryer at each. Muddy dogs come straight in through the side door on Tenino.
Laundry, the towel shelves, the fridge covered in your texts, and the doorframe with twelve years of pencil marks.
Come by, or drop us a line
Grooming Tue – Sat, 8 – 5
- Grooming
- Tue – Sat · 8 – 5
Drop-off 8 – 10 - Self-wash
- Tue – Fri · 10 – 7
Sat – Sun · 9 – 5 - Cats
- Tue & Thu mornings
- Nails
- Walk in · 1 – 4
Getting here
- Free street parking on 13th and on Tenino.
- A five-minute loading spot by the side door for drop-offs.
- Buses on 13th stop at the corner. Bike rack out front.
Thanks. Here’s what happens next
We read messages between grooms and reply the same day, Tuesday to Saturday. Notes left on Sunday or Monday get an answer Tuesday morning.
Messages from this page aren’t switched on yet, so this postcard hasn’t reached us. Call or text (503) 555-0148, or email hello@tubwellgrooming.com.