The owner of a Kitsilano e-scooter store is sharing her space after a car crashed into the store last month.
While they wait for repairs, the owners of Urban Machina are inviting Vancouver artists and entrepreneurs to use the space as a pop-up shop.
Last month, a car rammed into the glass storefront causing major damage and halting sales, but this spring and summer new businesses will get to use this space for free.
“Local businesses online/on Instagram, crafters, anyone who’s interested in having a physical location for a one-week pop-up to showcase their items, to meet their customers whom they’ve been interacting with on social media … I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Co-founder Olivia Yau.
Yau says, shortly after the crash, workers hired by the building’s strata put in a secure door that locks but because of a glass shortage, repairs will be delayed for at least two months. Instead of letting it sit empty, she says she wants to help out Vancouver’s artists and entrepreneurs.
“Everything’s so expensive, the interest rate just went up again, it’s a hard situation to be in when you’re a small business owner. We just want to help in a way we can.”
Bahar Taheri creates pop-up markets and says Yau’s generosity could have a huge impact.
“Otherwise there’s very little opportunity for these small businesses starting out or even ones that have been in business for like five years to have a retail storefront,” Taheri explained.
She says demand for pop-up markets rose after the pandemic. She adds more space for them in Vancouver is a good thing for business owners, so they can “grow their customer base, test out their products and build brand awareness.”
Yau says she’s giving back to a community that’s also given to her. She explains students from the elementary school down the block left encouraging sticky notes after Urban Machina’s temporary door was built.
“It just shows this community is super supportive of us and it fuels us to not give up.”
Urban Machina is accepting applications for pop-up shops until the end of July.