Durham offers first-ever DIY District Pop-Up Shop

Shoppers looking for one-of-a-kind gifts this holiday season should stop by the first-ever DIY District Pop-Up Shop, located in downtown Durham at 723 Rigsbee Ave., to buy hand-crafted goods made by local artists and businesses.

The pop-up shop is a collaboration between the Durham Storefront Project, The Makery, Mercury Studio and Open Art Society. It is part of the Durham Storefront Project’s theme for this fall: “Artists, Makers, Entrepreneurs.”

Jessica Moore, co-organizer of the Durham Storefront Project and owner of Open Art Society, said the pop-up shop is something the Durham Storefront Project has not done before.

“We decided we wanted to try something different where people are actually able to go into the space and to involve some of the local makers, designers and artists and give them an opportunity to sell work,” Moore said.

A pop-up shop is a temporary store that “pops” into a retail space for a specific holiday and then closes down once it is over. The DIY District Pop-Up Shop is open Thursdays through Sundays in December.

“There’s definitely a range of installations,” she said. “An interesting thing to see play out is that these are people who are all making things, but at the same time, they have a real concern for their community and real interest in it.”

The shop features local artists and businesses such as Arrowhead, Boss Manatee, Clyde Oak, Hawks & Doves, Modern Radar, Runaway, This Paper Ship, The Vintage Collective and White Whale. The shop offers a variety of handmade products like drink mixers, bags, clothing, ceramics, furniture, paper products and vintage items.

Katie DeConto, community director at Mercury Studio, said the pop-up shop gives artisans from the greater Triangle area a place to promote and display their products, helping them sell more of their goods.

“November and December are kind of the biggest retail months, and that’s when people buy the most stuff. It’s a great place where they can go and know they’re supporting local vendors and also get quality-made things,” she said.

Krista Anne Nordgren, co-founder of The Makery, said the shop has been an evolving project that has been organic and community directed.

“It’s just a really fun environment,” she said. “We have North Carolina bands playing on the radio and new people being added all the time who stop by and see our space and share their work with us. It’s a great way to connect with creative people around town.”

One of the vendors, Renee Cagnina Haynes, owner of [neoretro], sells vintage items like home goods but mainly focuses on clothing. Her business is part of a collaboration called the Vintage Collective, which also includes Grimm Vintage and Handmade by Hjermitslev.

Haynes said the pop-up shop is not like a traditional craft market.

“It’s a more open format, and we all have our own little sections, but we’ve all curated them and put them together in a sense where it feels more like individual stores or displays,” she said.

The pop-up shop captures the essence of Durham and its creative constituencies and rallies everyone together, Haynes said.

“We all share the sense of passion and excitement for doing creative adventures and are also trying to make a community for ourselves,” she said.

arts@dailytarheel.com