PORTLAND, Ore. — With many Portland shops struggling during the pandemic, one small business owner came up with a new take on "window shopping" that allows for quick, no-contact sales.
Juval Prevatte, owner at Carpentry PDX, said when the pandemic hit, he and other vendors went into survivor mode.
"We kind of saw what was happening to restaurant workers and makers and service sector workers in Portland, so I reached out to a few friends who had similar ideas and we started a program called Makers Union PDX."
It's an online platform for local makers to sell their goods. But now with the holidays, they're feeling the impact of COVID-19 more than ever. Many of the holiday events where makers earn a large portion of their sales have been canceled.
Two weeks ago, Prevatte came up with a creative way to support local makers during COVID with a project called Window Shop 2020.
"Finding vacant spaces in Portland, which they are a lot now, and using those windows to advertise our makers," explained Prevatte.
Dressing up vacant windows with local products and a QR code for an easy shopping experience. He teamed up with another hub for local makers —Portland Made.
"With Window Shop 2020, there’s no need for anybody to go inside. It is window shopping at its purest form," said Meghan Sinnott with Portland Made.
People can literally “window shop” by scanning a QR code on the window, which will direct them to PDXwindowshop.com, where they can purchase the items available in each window.
"From there, you can link to the Makers Union PDX website, you can link to other Portland Made artists," said Prevatte, "the idea being just to get more eyes on local products and put more money in local makers pockets.”
Window Shop 2020 products range from accessories to food. To start, items will be on display through December at three locations in Portland.
Half of the 70 brands represented are owned by BIPOC makers and 15% of all sales will go to the Black Resilience Fund. For local makers who've had a tough 2020, there’s hope this new view on "shopping small" can lead to better sales in 2021.
"Big corporations are going to pull through this, but if you live in Portland keep, your money in Portland. There’s someone who makes something that you want. There's someone that makes something you can use," said Prevatte.
The first windows in the series were unveiled Nov. 28 on "Small Business Saturday." The initial pop-up locations were at Northeast 16th Avenue & Northeast Alberta Street; Southeast 28th Avenue & Southeast Ankeny Street; and Northwest 22nd Street & Northwest Quimby Avenue.