The 2023 Super Bowl has drawn hundreds of thousands of fans to Phoenix. With many people coming to town, Downtown Phoenix Inc. partnered with Arizona Center and city of Phoenix to create “AZ Shop Like A Local,” a series of pop-up shops for local vendors.
AZ Shop Like A Local uses the Arizona Center’s vacant retail spaces to house vendors, giving football fans a chance to see local artisans until Sunday afternoon. There are 15 different businesses, ranging from letter-printing to cat toys.
Each of the vendors was contacted by Downtown Phoenix Inc. to come and participate in AZ Shop Like A Local from Feb. 4 through 12.
Strawberry Hedgehog
Stacks of fragrant soap, vegan wallets and candy bars line the tables of Strawberry Hedgehog. Owner Tracy Perkins warmly greets customers from behind the counter as they walk in.
Since she set up shop last Saturday, Perkins has sold many bars of her soap “Desert Rain,” which smells like rain in the desert.
“My best seller so far this week has been the desert rain soap, so that one is– I usually make it just during the monsoon season, but it’s got ground creosote. It has three different types of extractions of creosote, that’s the scent that you smell when it’s raining in the desert,” Perkins said. “It’s just a nice way to sort of take a slice of Arizona with you.”
Perkins said she enjoyed interacting with fans, students and other local business owners.
Look See Draw
Colorful prints of drawings hang on boards surrounding a single table. Aileen Martinez, the artist behind Look See Draw sits behind it, her sketchbook open as she works on a commission.
Martinez sells drawings of local Phoenix buildings, like Crescent Ballroom and Footprint Center. She started drawing local landmarks after moving back to Phoenix in 2016.
“I had an idea of drawing, just the city. And in the beginning when I was making these drawings, I would go and sit on location. So I would sit there for like eight or nine hours. That was really rough, I’m not torturing myself like that anymore,” Martinez said. “So now I work on reference pictures, if it’s like an indoor place, great. I do still enjoy drawing on location. Just I don’t do it for each and every one of these drawings.”
Martinez said she enjoys being a part of AZ Shop Like A Local because of the energy that she feels while she’s working downtown and from the other vendors around her.
“It’s fun walking over to Hazel & Violet, or Ben’s Bells or people down there and just kind of like chatting for a bit, and I like people watching from the window,” Martinez said. “But I think working with Downtown Phoenix Inc. is great, the employees are super kind and they have like, just really positive, like cheerful energy, so I kind of like being surrounded by them all day.”
HausPanther
Cats is the name of the game for HausPanther owner Kate Benjamin. Her pop-up is all things cats; cat jewelry, cat toys, cat stickers, cat books – she aims to serve both cats and cat lovers.
Benjamin’s company is mostly online, so she was excited to be a part of AZ Shop Like A Local.
“I was really interested in getting in front of a lot of the crowd that would be down here as well as locals who I don’t really see that much,” she said.
In preparation for the football fans, Benjamin created cat toys that feature Eagles and Chiefs team colors.
“My goal here is to try and catch all of the sports fans who also have cats,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin’s experience during AZ Shop Like A Local has made her want a storefront with other local business owners.
“Honestly, the people that I’m sitting here with are so much fun. So everybody from DPI (Downtown Phoenix Inc.) and all the other vendors, we’re actually just completely having a blast…And I love being in this part of town,” Benjamin said. “I mean, you know, if I could afford to have a store here, I’d like to participate maybe in a group store or something if anybody wanted to put in a permanent kind of local vendor collective down here. And have us all have little shops and that would be really fun. I think this kind of demonstrates that this would be a great place for that.”
The Diaspora Collective
Bath products, brightly colored clothing, elaborate necklaces, wooden bracelets, tea, coffee and packaged snacks take up a corner spot at the Arizona Center. Safiyyah Johnson, a member of the Diaspora Collective, is wearing a camouflage duster jacket and enthusiastically helping customers looking through the various products.
The collective is made up of a group of African artists who have come together to share their works with others.
Johnson has enjoyed meeting new and old customers at the Diaspora Collective pop-up.
“My favorite part is always meeting new people and just connecting with our customers, because then our customers become friends and family sometimes, you know, so, they come back and visit us, they find us,” Johnson said.
Johnson was also excited to see more activity in the Arizona Center after several businesses closed and left the spaces vacant.
“We’ve met some wonderful people that have come in and that have literally been excited about a storefront being in here…you know, growing up with the Arizona Center, it really kind of made me sad about the emptiness of it,” Johnson said. “And so being back here in a storefront in a space, it just kind of, you know, gave me joy to be back here in the Arizona Center. So I love that they filled the retail spaces with small businesses, you know, and it’s been an amazing exposure for people.”
CreatedByDVO
Glittering crystal and copper bracelets, necklaces and rings shimmer from a table covered in black cloth. CreatedByDVO owner Monyea Gandy carefully lays out bracelets with tiger’s eye, lava rock and amethyst for passersby to peruse.
Gandy views AZ Shop Like A Local as a chance to meet more people and expand her business.
“My favorite part about the whole experience is getting the brand out interacting with people that I usually don’t interact with. So meeting new friends, new potential customers,” Gandy said.
As the Super Bowl nears, Gandy expects there to be more customers wandering around Phoenix and coming into the Arizona Center to look through the various pop-ups.
“It’s been a good week and we are revved up and ready and excited for the busy weekend,” Gandy said.
Hazel & Violet
A wire grid displays cards with brightly inked sayings. Notebooks with various images and quotes printed on them lay on the table. On the counter sits a metal letterpress that visitors can use to print their own poster or card.
Michael Leeder is a printer and “right-hand man” to Hazel & Violet owner Nancy Hill. He rolls the ink onto the type, carefully places the paper down with ink-stained fingertips and steps back to let the visitor roll the press over the type.
Leeder has been helping visitors and DTPHX Ambassadors print their own posters or coasters during AZ Shop Like A Local. He expects for the crowd numbers to pick up going into Super Bowl weekend.
“It’s fun so far, but I’m gonna say that I have no idea what tomorrow and what the weekend will be like.,” Leeder said. “So it’s been fun, it’s been cool. I can do [whatever] right now. But tomorrow, I don’t know. It’s gonna be wild. It’s gonna be crazy. And I’m looking forward to it because I’m a huge NFL fan.”
While Leeder is excited for football, he also sees AZ Shop Like A Local as a way to share the love he has for letterpress with others, both visitors and locals.
“[I love] meeting with people and sharing letterpress with them because I know the power of it. I know that it’s not just like a thing you forget about, especially if they print it themselves. Then they’re tied into it, so sharing it, letting people use it and welcoming more people into the art form,” he said.
AZ Shop Like A Local will end Sunday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.
Contact the reporter at icaro@asu.edu.
