NOW THAT the bombast of Black/Small Biz/Cyber days is over, the floodgates are open. The first half of December is go-time for the city's up-and-coming designers, artisans, and sundry creative merchants: Everyone's out, and everyone's bringing their A-game. Making the many pop-ups and bazaars part of your holiday process is the party-person's way of getting shit done. There's usually booze, fun extras like photo booths and charity bonuses, and enough variety among the vendors to accommodate the most eclectic of shopping lists.

It can be wearying to keep track of it all, so here's a cheat sheet for some of the month's biggest and best holiday markets. It's long but not completist—check blogtown.portlandmercury.com for weekly updates, too.


THURS DEC 3

Porch Light hosts a holiday trunk show with ceramics, leather goods, jewelry by artists like Jesseca Anne, teas by T Project, and candles and planters by Aspen Summit. Porch Light, 225 NW 11th, 5-7 pm


FRI DEC 4

Shop Late Williams is an annual flash sale that runs all up and down the N Williams corridor—including retailers like Queen Bee, SpielWerk Toys, Ink & Peat, Myoptic, and Workshop Vintage—keeping doors open until (at least) 8 pm. N Williams between Beech & Mason, Fri Dec 4, 5-8 pm


SAT DEC 5

The Caravan Traveling Market is part pop-up and part flea, mixing new and vintage goods. Look for Moore Custom Goods, New Deal Distillery, Sterling Coffee Roasters, Vintalier, and so many more. 1819 NW Everett, 11 am-6 pm

• The small but excellent Maven Collective vintage market is hosting like-minded makers like Martina Thornhill Designs, Selva Floral, Milk & Honey Textiles, and Modern Artifact, to name a few. Plus: winter cocktail demos, vintage records, and baked goods. Maven Collective, 7819 SE Stark, 4-8 pm

• The quaintly named Decemberville unites virtually all of Westmoreland's merchants and restaurants. Hell, even the Les Schwab is running a deal. There's also a free movie, Santa and/or pet pictures, double-decker bus rides, ornament making, music, and much, much more. All of Westmoreland including every man, woman, and child, Sat Dec 5, all the time

• When it comes to having any kind of good times in cold weather, it's always wise to tap into the Nordic ways. They make icy conditions look more appealing than anyone, and they get down with holiday tradition. The ScanFair hosts more than 70 vendors (like Hovden Formal Farm Wear), plus delicious Nordic food and music. Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning, Sat Dec 5, 10 am-5 pm, Sun Dec 6, 10 am-4 pm, $7

• Friends of Graphic Design's annual GOOD Market features work by PSU art and design students, including prints, cards, zines, posters, jewelry, buttons, stickers, apparel, and more. There's so much, in fact, that they're splitting it between two venues. Simon Benson House, 1803 SW Park, Sat Dec 5, 9 am-2 pm, Land Gallery, 3925 N Mississippi, Sat Dec 5 & Sun Dec 6, 10 am-7 pm

• Betsy and Iya's Better to Give event is where to go for custom-stamped local jewelry, studio tours, craft projects for kiddos, coffee, and snacks, plus 10 percent of the day's sales will go to Friends of the Children. Betsy and Iya, 2403 NW Thurman, 10 am-6 pm

• This holiday sale adds tarot readings and drink specials to the mix of vendors, which includes Brehan Todd Jewelry and Smith River Apparel. Leisure Public House, 8002 N Lombard, 11 am-5 pm


SUN DEC 6

Pop-Up Shop PDX is a group sale, like most of the small-business holiday efforts, so it's worth scanning the vendors for a good representation of gift types if the aim is for one-stop list annihilation: accessories (AK Vintage, Oru, craftLAB), edibles/drinkables (Alma Chocolate, Mizuba Tea, NW Elixirs, Time and Oak, Missionary Chocolates), apothecary (Menagerie, CH Goble), and home (Non-Perishable Goods, Kelly Pottery, Nell & Mary). The Cleaners, 403 SW 10th, 10 am-6 pm

Give Good Gift is trusted and true. This is year five for the festival-like event, which also features food carts, a tree lot, a Santa Claus GIF photobooth, carolers, a canned food drive for the Oregon Food Bank, and a happy hour with $1 PBRs. Vendors include some pretty great brands, too: Ace & Jig, Altar, Bridge & Burn, See See Motorcycles, Strange Vacation, Betsy & Iya, North of West, Caravan Pacific, Golden Rule, Modern Macrame, MadeHere PDX, Worn Path, , Bee Local, Jacobsen Salt, Olympia Provisions, Pistils, Portland Apothecary, Hand-Eye Supply, Cargo, and more. Union/Pine, 525 SE Pine, 10 am-6 pm


FRI DEC 11

The Makery's fourth annual winter pop-up is helmed by Pigeon Toe Ceramics, but also features design-centric vendor gems like Anna Joyce Design, BOET, Heart Coffee, Hilary Horvath, Imaginary Authors, Laura Irwin, SE Wine Collective, Studio Olivine, the Good Flock, Tiro Tiro, Wildwood Bespoke, and Woodblock Chocolate, to name a slew. 923 SE Hawthorne, Fri Dec 11, 5-8 pm (ticketed, with free tickets passed out on social media by the vendors and organizers), Sat Dec 12, 8 am-8 pm

The Portland Bazaar is another worthy beast of a group sale, with more than 30 curated sellers. Among the mix: Wood & Faulk, Seaworthy, Draplin Design Co., Maak Lab, Marshall's Haute Sauce, Phloem Studio, Revolution Design House, Kiriko, House Spirits Distillery, Union Wine Company, Oaks Bottom Forge, Fieldwork Flowers, Löyly, Stumptown Coffee, Portland Juice Co., Snow Peak, and more. Jacobsen Salt Co., 602 SE Salmon, Fri Dec 11, 5:30-9 pm, $10, Sat Dec 12 & Sun Dec 13, 10 am-4 pm, free

Crafty Wonderland's holiday sales are legendary. There are 250-plus vendors in 60,000 square feet. Plus goodie bags for the first 150 shoppers each day, a DIY project space, a Nikki McClure signing (from noon-2 pm on Saturday), and more. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK, Fri Dec 11, 5-9 pm, $20, Sat Dec 12 & Sun Dec 13, 11 am-6 pm, free


SAT DEC 12

• The Lombard Street Tattoo Pop-Up Shop & Party Time is a good place to find offbeat vendors like Stay Home Club (an excellent choice for surly customers on your list, they actually sell T-shirts that simply say "Sulk" and bags that rightly proclaim to be "Full of Shit") and Explorer's Press (better gift the sketchbook emblazoned with "People to Kill" extra judiciously), plus tattoos for $150 or less, Kim Jong Grillin', booze, music, and pictures with Santa for $5 a pop, with proceeds benefitting Outside In. Lombard Street Tattoo, 8937 N Lombard, noon-7 pm

BikeCraft is, obviously, a good gift destination for the bike-riding set, with tons of handmade items from 30 vendors. Among them: North St. Bags, Velo Gioielli bike-themed jewelry, and a company called Portland Pogies, which makes insulated tubes you attach to your handlebars to keep your hands warm and dry in inclement weather. Bike Farm, 1810 NE 1st, Sat Dec 12 & Sun Dec 13, 11 am-5 pm

Gifted is the annual sale featuring some of the very impressive artisans affiliated with ADX and Portland Made, now in its fifth year. Expect products from highly skilled small Portland manufacturers. ADX, 417 SE 11th, noon-9 pm


SUN DEC 13

• If supporting the theatrical arts is a priority for you or those you shop for, Twist Your Giving is a gift bazaar hosted by Portland Center Stage, and featuring affiliated artisans (their work includes jewelry, soaps, textiles, furniture, art, and more). There'll be "free hot chocolate, cider and cookies, holiday liqueur tastings from Eastside Distilling, live comedy and holiday music, a festive photo booth, and an Armory scavenger hunt." The Armory, 128 NW 11th, noon-5 pm

• There are some seriously rad, and/or funky gems up in this winter bazaar's vendor roster, which touches on "vintage, handmade and vintage jewelry, clothing, records, housewares, books": Jahdess Bless, Julia Barbee, Nationale, xobruno, Kat Seale... worth seeking out! North Star Ballroom, 635 N Killingsworth, 10 am-4 pm