Pop-up Shopping brings unique gifts downtown
BY BRAVETTA HASSELL World Scene Writer
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
12/04/12 at 5:25 AM
It's too early to tell what the favorite items are this Pop-up Shopping season as there's so much to pick from.
But as far as crowds go, it has been more than what NU2U Resale co-owner Michelle Wilson had expected.
"I was a little skeptical about how many people would come down here to shop, but I've been really surprised, really surprised," Wilson said. This is her first season participating in downtown Pop-up Shopping.
One recent afternoon at the Enterprise Building, customers could be seen browsing merchandise at a number of pop-up shops open now through Dec. 28 for holiday shopping.
Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Wilson said most of those who have been coming into her consignment home decor shop have just been shopping for everything, not just holiday-themed items or "unique gifts, which is what we are kind of hoping for," Wilson said - "that people would like to get that instead of something they can just go get at the mall."
Most of her favorite items, including a set of vintage luggage, had been sold. She also has some cigar holders, plenty of holiday decorations and a slew of porcelain novelty dogs one might put on a side table.
At the Tulsa Zoo Zoofari Market pop-up shop around the corner, things were a little quieter, but sales associate Christina Little said she anticipated more visitors in early evening.
Little and a co-worker said the customers who did come into the shop, which is an extension of Tulsa Zoo that focuses on their stuffed animal merchandise, typically gravitated to the store's beanie balls and toys resembling zoo animals with bead-like material inside.
Jennifer Roudabush, co-owner of Theraganics, said she and her sister received a lot of great feedback, with customers coming to the midtown-based store and saying how they saw the shop at the downtown shopping event last holiday season. This is their chance to see what has happened the second time around.
"Our shop did really well last year, and I wanted to do an expansion of that, because if I can get people to come to The Farm Shopping Center (where Theraganics is based) and start shopping more local, it helps all of us," Roudabush said as she stood in The Farm Holiday Boutique, a temporary shop that includes wares from Abelina's, The Dog Dish, Spiceology and others. Near lunchtime that afternoon, the small shop space was consistently filled with four to five customers milling around.
So far, many shoppers were gravitating to the scarves, knitted headbands and jewelry, Roudabush said. Shoppers will also find organic soaps and body lotions, herbal supplements, spices, sweater capes, and dog beds in the collaborative shop.
"Hopefully, it will be a tradition," said Roudabush, who hopes to bring more attention to the locally owned shops found at The Farm Shopping Center at 5321 S. Sheridan Road, as well as garner more interest in bringing permanent retail to the downtown area.
Wilson said she would like NU2U's presence downtown to become a tradition.
"We've had really good luck so far," Wilson said. "We're hoping to continue. If we can find a place downtown that will work for us, we'd love to stay."
Pop-up shops to check out
Here's a list of the downtown pop-up shops:
Park Center Building
Northeast corner of Sixth and Main streets
Ellen J Gifts
Theraganics
The Farm Holiday Boutique, featuring shops at The Farm Shopping Center, such as The Dog Dish, Great Harvest Bread and more.
Books are Fun
Tulsa Jewelry Collective
Laser Z Studio
Ponca City Savings & Loan Building
Northeast corner of Seventh Street and Boston Avenue
Celebrating Home
Flash Flood Print Studios
Enterprise Building
Northwest corner of Sixth Street and Boston Avenue
NU2U Resale
Vestida
Tulsa Zoo Zoofari Market
Alter Ego cupcakes
Philcade Building
511 S. Boston Ave.
Bison & Bear
Made
Ariana Jakob
Gallery on 6th Downtown
- Compiled by Nicole Middleton Marshall, World Scene Writer
Original Print Headline: Pop-up favorites
Bravetta Hassell 918-581-8316
bravetta.hassell@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Antique Christmas items are offered for sale in the NU2U Resale pop-up shop in the Enterprise Building in downtown Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
Wilson
Roudabush
Stuffed animals line the shelves at the Tulsa Zoo Zoofari Market pop-up shop in the Enterprise Building in downtown Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
Jamie Presley and her mom, Glenda Presley, sample the items at the Theraganics pop-up shop in the Park Center Building. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
|
