Last November–December Tabbisocks ‘popped-up’ in our first ever brick & mortar event, sponsored by a program called 2021 PDX Pop Up Shops — a collaboration with Downtown Portland Clean & Safe and the Portland Business Alliance. Seven local businesses (many minority, woman and LGBTQ+ -owned) were hand-selected out of a sea of applicants to occupy vacant retail shops in Downtown Portland through the 2021 holiday shopping season. We were thrilled to be chosen!
Witnessing shoppers light up when they met their sock sole-mates was a joyful way to engage with the excited bustle of the season. After 15 years of being exclusively online, selling our socks in person and getting to greet new and pre existing customers was a blast. Without doubt, Portland is a hub for sock enthusiasts. We got to share our iconic Japanese sock culture, connect with our community and match Portlandians with socks that reflect their colorful lives and environmental prowess.
When Maarlie Wada — our company founder, moved to the United States from Japan in 2001, she brought her love for socks and eye for style along too. Receiving countless compliments on her ‘sock-appeal’ she was inspired to bring Japanese fashion and craftsmanship to the West. In 2006 she founded Tabbisocks and started selling socks made in Nara, Japan (famous for quality sock-manship) to sock-lovers across America. In 2018 Tabbisocks moved to Portland, Oregon, as it became increasingly clear the people of Portland live their colour and love their socks! Maarlie was excited to seat her company in the center of this sock-passion.
Our big-on-personality socks have met their match with Portland’s big-on-personality people.
Riding the success of the 2021 PDX Pop Up Shop, we feel more energized than ever to fulfill our dream of opening our own permanent brick & mortar in the Downtown Portland area. We absolutely love trying our socks on you. Did any of you attend, if so, what did you think?
Read more about the pop-up event here: https://downtownportland.org/seven-pop-up-shops-are-popping-up-in-downtown-portland/
2021 PDX Pop-Up Shops are back with a record number of 7 local makers taking the storefront for this holiday season. Tabbisocks, a Japanese made sock shop, will get a full brick and mortar shop experience and says, "It's been amazing to connect with different people in Portland and actually see them face-to-face more." Mari Wada, the shop owner, also mentioned that having a brick and mortar store of her own has been a dream of hers. This program is allowing it to come true for the holiday season.