For some Portland vendors, this holiday shopping season could be make or break. That’s why the Old Town Community Association launched a weekly pop-up series, featuring local businesses throughout the holiday season.
That includes Aliyah Santiago, who is just 13 years old. She started her own business last month, making shirts and collaborating with community vendors, in the form of an online boutique.
“I really like being my own boss and I just found like I had nothing else to do during quarantine and it would be nice if I started my own business here local,” Santiago said.
Daniel Klinkert decided to launch the pop-up events as a way to give people like Santiago a fighting chance this year.
“Throughout the pandemic, I felt that the holidays were going to have to be strong for us to retain our existing retail presence here. So with not really making the progress with COVID-19 that everybody hoped for, it’s a very dire situation,” Klinkert said.
The goal is also to increase foot traffic in Old Town, a neighborhood hit hard over the last few months.
“We’re throwing the kitchen sink at the problem, literally. I mean, anything we can do. It’s an unprecedented situation so the path forward to success really isn’t clear. So we’re having to really pull out all the stops and try to, again, drive customers down here,” Klinkert said.
Vendors in Old Town tell KATU they were disappointed by Black Friday sales, comparing it to an average shopping day. This weekend’s event will be at NW 4th and Couch from noon to 6:00 p.m.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is also encouraging people to shop local this holiday season. A catalogue of local businesses can be found online at Shop Small PDX — it even shows which businesses offer in-store pickup or online ordering.