On Black Friday, rather than wait in gruesome lines at midnight, hundreds flooded through downtown Phoenix’s CityScape to attend the second Alternative Black Friday Vintage Market.
The event hosted over 20 tents of local vendors selling items from clothes to furniture to handmade goods. People came and shopped at the tents from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the same time, there was half–priced ice skating, live music and deals at restaurants like Chloe’s Corner and others. There was also free two–hour parking with validation.
Most of the vendors were located within downtown Phoenix, though some traveled about 20 minutes from Northern Phoenix, such as Audrey’s, a vintage clothing, accessories and household items and furniture shop located at Cave Creek and Cactus roads.
CityScape plaza was lost in the tents of different shops represented at the Alternative Black Friday Vintage Market. The few grassy areas and water fountain, which was turned off for the occasion, were covered by tents of shops, similar to a flea market. The five hours gave people of all ages the chance to shop at locally owned businesses. It also was a destination for families wishing to have fun at an ice–skating rink, grab a bite to eat and do some holiday shopping.
However, for the more eager shoppers, the permanent stores offered earlier and later shopping hours.
Samantha Underseth, a 25–year–old Urban Outfitters employee, said they probably spent six hours spread among the two days preceding Black Friday to set up. Most of the preparation consisted of confirming sale prices. Enticed by the 50 percent off sale from 7 a.m. to noon, about 50 people were lined up outside the doors.
“I said ‘hi’ to everyone, and only one person said ‘hi’ back this morning because they were all on the way to get their deals,” Underseth said, laughing. Urban’s busiest time was right before the deal ended around noon with 30 people in line and others still shopping, she said.
Lawless Denim had a hectic day, beginning at its 7 a.m. opening. The exposure on Black Friday was exciting, employee Nick Cota said.
“As today goes on, more people will come through that normally do not have a focus on downtown,” Cota said. “So there’s going to be a lot greater of an awareness that we’re here.”
Andrea Engelsberg, owner of Annie Boomer Vintage on Roosevelt Row, agreed.
“People are like, ‘Where’s this shop?’ ‘Where’s this shop?’” Engelsberg said. “That’s really nice. We can kind of represent ourselves as a neighborhood as well.”
While the permanent stores opened early and closed late, for local vendors like Annie Boomer Vintage, GrowOp and others participating in the Alternative Black Friday Vintage Market, shopping did not begin until 10 a.m. Most vendors arrived around 7:15 a.m., but they “were scrambling till the last minute to put everything together,” Engelsberg said.
Once the vintage market started, busy shoppers consistently came and left Cityscape in the holiday spirit.
“It’s been good,” Engelsberg said. “I would do it again next year.”
Some local vendors chose not to participate in the Cityscape event, instead choosing to focus on Small Business Saturday, which has become known as a day when people are encouraged to shop local and support small businesses. One such business was Roosevelt Row’s GreenHaus gallery and boutique, owned by Dayna and Cole Reed.
GreenHaus offered 15 percent off boutique items at the flea market in Heritage Square on Saturday. Dayna Reed said the flea market was “tremendous exposure (and) really awesome.”
Dayna and Cole Reed participated in Small Business Saturday in 2012, and Dayna Reed said while First Friday will always have the biggest sales, the store typically doubles the earnings on Small Business Saturday compared to other Saturdays.
Contact the reporter at Taylor.Seely@asu.edu
