Just in time for Small Business Saturday, many local vendors in San Jose are hosting a nine-day pop-up event in the Willow Glen neighborhood.
“This is Happy Hollow Zoo’s honey. The money goes to protect the gorillas in Congo,” Willow Glen Honey beekeeper Steve Demkowski told CBS News Bay Area.
He will be sharing the wonders of his local honey in the Christmas pop-up from Friday.
“It’s all local, unfiltered and raw,” Demkowski said.
Demkowski, his wife Carole and their daughter-in-law sell their goods along with several other local vendors at a vacant building space on Lincoln Avenue. The location was once a Petco building in Willow Glen.
“If we want to survive – which I do, I’m not retired – we have to figure out a new way to reinvent the wheel. And that’s by doing a pop-up,” said Carole Demkowski, owner of the South. Bay boutique Three Sisters.
For sixteen years she ran a shop for her vintage antiques business. But in July, she was forced to close those doors when her rent skyrocketed. Now she keeps her business running on the road, renting temporary spaces for about two weeks at a time.
“Sell our goods instead of having to pay a five-year lease, which is going to be pretty tough,” Steve Demkowski said.
On the first day of the pop-up, many local residents came by to do holiday shopping.
“We love living in this small town and just having all the local businesses. It’s fun to come down and walk the streets and see them,” said San Jose resident Amy Gallagher.
But it’s not just about shopping. For some neighbors it is a trip down memory lane.
“They just bring back heartwarming memories,” said Sunnyvale resident Valorie Rico.
“This brings back a lot of childhood memories. I saw a jar of marbles that reminded me of my brothers playing marbles as a child,” she added.
And a few steps away, Joslyn West is another local vendor sharing her art.
“I do upcycling. I find beautiful fabrics that are undervalued, and I upcycle them and make wearable art,” says West, who runs Joslyn West Design. “We support each other, it’s fun and we all get it. We all do upcycling in our own way and it’s a community.”
And for Carole, the pop-up shows don’t stop there.
“In January, we’ll probably do another pop-up in the first quarter. So I’m going to look for a vacant building that I can rent,” she said.
The Holiday Pop-up runs through December 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office sent CBS News Bay Area this statement:
“San José is one of the most diverse places in the world, and that diversity is reflected in our 60,000 small businesses. From Calle Willow to Japantown and from Little Saigon to Downtown, residents can support their neighbors as they find the perfect gifts this holiday season.”
