I’ve lost track of just how many DDC Pop-Up Shops we’ve done over the years. Hell, just trying to sort all the Portland stuff is enough to make my medicine ball head spin. For the record, it was Leigh and I who huffed all this stuff around. Restocking it in the shop, loading it into the Gas Pig, transporting it to the venue, unloading it out of the Gas Pig, setting it all up, tricking shit out and then being there to sell it when the hordes are let in! And the same at the end of the thing, but in reverse of the list above. All in all, a ton of work, but so cool to see all the people and get my mess out into the world every couple months.
Special thanks to Jacob and Leah for chipping in here and there to lessen our load. Always appreciated.
DDC Pop-Up Shops
DDC Pop-Ups at
World Famous Original
The last three Christmas seasons we lugged it all down to World Famous Original to invade Ben Goetting’s space on behalf our shared constituent Mark Phillips of Upstairs Basement a couple business down. Always cool to be on Division Street for a change of pace. Thank you to Ben for putting up with us! And thank to Mark for being such a force of awesome with this kind of stuff. Love you long time.
We did it all just to be close to Skully.
DDC Pop-Up 2018
“Ice Station: DDC”
We’re going to the mall! Lloyd Center, baby! I’ll spare you all the goopy, cynical bullshit about the “death of the American Mall” and all that. The Lloyd Center? Still holding on with thriving businesses making it work in there. It was cool to be a part of that energy for a couple weeks. Plus, it was cool to lurk in the cavernous halls behind the scenes. Some eerie stretches back there and beneath the place. Thank you to the Lloyd Center for having us!
Here’s the full panoramic of the ICE STATION: DDC pop-up winterscape at the Lloyd Center! Check Leigh holdin’ it down.
DDC Pop-Up 2015
Our second DDC Pop-Up Shop downtown on behalf of the city. We had so much room! Orange the place out something fierce dug out our “World's Largest Field Notes” display from the previous Christmas. This one was pretty busy! The weekends, especially! Thank you, Portland!
DDC Pop-Up 2014
This was our first official pop-up shop, so we wanted it to go off with a bang. The city had approached us and offered up the shop for a pretty good chunk of time. We painted our corner as orange as we possibly could, got a little carpet to warm the place up and lugged it all in. We were down there for just shy of a month in December of 2014. Thanks to all who came shopping, and helped out along the way. It was quite the group effort! Special thanks to Leigh for being a rock and holding shit down.
Merch island!
Merch island, looking east.
Many, Many, Many
Portland Night Markets
I don’t know exactly how long the Portland Night Market has been at it, but I do know Leigh and I have been doing a couple a year since 2017!
Our hope is when you come up to our booth, it’s a colorful explosion of fun, accessible merch items, and at fair prices. We work hard to keep it that way! But please know, behind all the smiles, handshakes and general conversation, A LOT of work goes down to truck our little mess down there. If the event starts on Thursday, the Monday leading up to it we start checking our stock and get some graphics for Instagram going, then on Tuesday we make sure all the boxes are replenished and ready for loading, on Wednesday we load the van and rip down and build the booth, then on Thursday we put finishing touches on items to be ready to open that night! Then we work the booth Thursday 6-9 PM, Friday 4-11 PM, Saturday 4-11 PM and finally Sunday 11-4 PM. At the closing bell, we tear it all down and load the van back up and rip back up Sandy Boulvevard to the shop. Monday, we put it all away. That’s seven days of wildness, all in all. Phew!
Leigh and I would like to take a second to thank everyone who came to the Portland Night Market, got a drink, hit some booths, then hit our booth and made a purchase. Always, always appreciated! We’ve met so many cool folks through the Portland Night Market! Betting we’ll be back there for the Christmas event!
Special thanks to Dustin, Emma and the Portland Night Market crew for our corner spot over the years!
Extra special thanks to my brother-in-law Jacob Ashley for help manning the booth over the years! You’ve rescued our asses many times. Viciously appreciated!
“Get yer asses in here, Portland!” –Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
We shoot rainbows out of our eyes with each purchase. That’s just DDC policy.
Brother-in-law Jacob Ashley holding it down!
We have new Field Notes, and scrillions of other spirited merch items!