COLORADO SPRINGS – They come and go every holiday season in Colorado Springs: pop-up shops.
While they’re only in town for a few months these small businesses bring a lot to the local economy.
The Holiday Pop-Up Shop Program has been around since 2014 and the initial idea was to bring new retailers to downtown Colorado Springs while also filling vacant buildings during the holidays. Since then, more than 50 retail brands and concepts have been featured in spaces downtown.
This year’s shops opened November 1 and will stay open through the end of the year.
At 121 East Costilla Street you can find Art&Article. It’s a home goods store with items made by artists from Scandinavia to Japan.
The other shop is Eclectic Co located on Tejon Street. Inside the shop are 25 local vendors based in Colorado Springs who sell handmade goods.
The program is a great way to help these budding entrepreneurs grow not only their business, but the local economy as well.
Alex Armani-Munn, economic vitality coordinator with Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs, said, “When we can get them into a brick and mortar location and help them supplement those online sales they’re able to experience growth that then allows them to hire new people and create new jobs.”
Armani-Munn said some of the goods in these shops are items you can’t find anywhere else, making these destination spots for holiday shoppers. The hope is that these businesses will sign leases at these buildings after their seasonal run.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting of both of these stores is this Saturday.
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