We love the history of our items and appreciate the story they tell. We still find it fun to go out on house calls and get down on the ground and literally dig for some of our items — it’s a real-life treasure hunt.
But brick-and-mortar mom and pop retail everywhere has been struggling for at least the past five years due to the ubiquity of Amazon and Instacart and the like.
This underscores the importance of shopping small and local. More of the money you spend stays in the local community and, if you support small businesses, it will hopefully allow them to keep doing what they love to do. There are also benefits to the community unique to second-hand local stores like ours. Since opening nearly 50 years ago, Feathers Vintage has saved a lot of things from the landfill. And many small businesses feature unique items not found at the malls or websites like Shein and Temu.
The Oregon District is our home and offers so many unique local businesses. What many might not understand is that small business districts like this face a number of challenges.
Out on Fifth was program started during the COVID-19 pandemic that closed the street to vehicular traffic to give bars and restaurants more space to accommodate customers needing to social distance. This program has been successful for bars and restaurants, but retail businesses like ours have suffered. While local people may know about the weekend street closure, having the street closed is not something the out-of-town shoopers know about. Parking in the Oregon District has always been tight, so having the street closed puts more of a strain on finding a space to park. Our business especially has a lot of older people coming downtown to show us vintage items or to possibly buy something and they cannot walk long distances while carrying their items to and from their cars. And companies that charge money to park downtown hurt our business when we have to compete with the Fairfield Mall, or The Greene, where parking is free. It doesn’t feel like an equal playing field.
Those are just some of the problems we as retailers in the Oregon District are dealing with. So, what can you do to help? Tell your friends about where you like to shop. Word of mouth is a powerful tool to help businesses like ours that don’t have marketing budgets. Tag businesses you like and enjoy on social media. If you had a good experience at a local business, leave a good online review. Support small and local businesses other times of the year than just the holiday season. And a good rule of thumb when shopping at small businesses is to bring cash — the fees on credit cards are a drag on our and most small retailers’ bottom line.
In the warmer months, visit the Trolley Stop for the best patio on the street.
Looking for plants? Go to Luna for a unique gift.
Bonnett’s Book Store has been family-owned since 1939.
Oregon Express has some of the best pizza in town.
Mike’s Vintage Toys is a destination crammed floor to ceiling with everything from Easy Bake Ovens to G.I. Joe missile launchers and Sword and Sorcery figurines.
All of us in the Oregon District community need your help to continue to do what we love to do. After nearly 50 years of being in business and seeing generations of customers walk through our doors, we want Feathers to be there for you and your families for many years to come.
Aaron Phillips has been collecting and selling records, toys, t-shirts and other vintage items at Feathers since he was in high school and he’s been in the shop since he was a baby in a playpen. He’s also a local trivia host and stand up comedian.
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