The PDX Pop-Up Shop program—part of the Downtown Marketing Initiative—has claimed another victory in its quest to fill the empty storefronts in Portland’s city center. Trillium Artisans, the non-profit aimed at supporting low-income artists in their development of sustainable small business plans, has kept a storefront on SE Foster since 1999, but as one of four holiday pop-ups in the 2011 edition of the program, they’ve tasted the success that visibility and foot traffic can bring and have reopened permanently at 318 SW Taylor after having gone dark with the others after the close of the season on December 31. Trillium celebrates its grand re-opening today, so stop in from 4-5:30 these evening to browse around with some wine and cheese, and take 10% off all items today through the 11th.
While Trillium wasn’t my favorite of the four 2011 pop-ups—that would have been Boys’ Fort—its eclectic brand of environmentally minded (all products must be at least 50% recycled/reclaimed materials) adds a nice counterpoint to other recent, more corporate additions like Sephora, the new Nike store, and… the new Target store moving into the Galleria, which has been openly discussed for months but has today gotten final confirmation.
The city has something of a reputation for fending off big box stores whose politics aren’t up to Portland’s liberal snuff, but the push to revitalize downtown overrides such concerns. The fact that confirmation of this comes on the very same day as Trillium’s celebration seems like a healthy indicator that downtown can handle both ends of the commercial scale. Target’s not slated to open until 2013, though, so fair warning to downtown boutiques and shoppers alike. Oh, and Wieden + Kennedy too; living close to an ex can be so awkward.
Uh huh. Because Big Box Stores have such a long track record of “revitalizing towns…”
The reason many people don’t shop at Target isn’t some liberal whining about how the corporation supports Michele Bachmann and anti-gay legislation. The reason many Americans don’t shop at Target is because, like Walmart, Target can’t survive without Chinese suicide slaves, oil companies like BP, and tax break giveaways.
And they’d rather buy American or from local entrepreneurs and small businesses.