Courtesy / Ember
Kristen Camp, of Campfire Pottery, and Tanja Cesh, of Multixply, will open their new business, Ember, at 5 South St. in Portland, in May.
April 6, 2021
Black Box retail incubation mission hasn't been slowed by a year of pandemic
Courtesy / The Black Box
The Black Box, 93 Washington Ave., has two new businesses, Onggi and Alice Yardley, as three other businesses have moved out to bigger space.
By Maureen Milliken
A year of pandemic hasn't slowed the retail incubation mission of the Black Box on Washington Avenue.
In recent weeks, three businesses have announced they are expanding and moving to bigger quarters and two new fledgling businesses are moving in.
When the Black Box, owned by the Dayton Group, opened in November 2018, the idea was to offer flexible leases for the five 300-square-foot spaces. The leases can be for a month or a few years — the mission is to be a low-risk environment for businesses to get their ideas off the ground.
More than two years and one pandemic later, it's a model that's working.
This week, Campfire Pottery and Mulxiply, which have been in the Black Box, sharing a unit, since it opened, announced they're moving to a bigger spot at 5 South St. formerly occupied by South Street Linens. Their new business, Ember, will open next month.
Strata, which sells Japanese cutlery and also offers a whetstone sharpening service, is also moving into bigger space, right down Washington Avenue, in the Nissen building, at 67 Washington St.
Two other business have announced they are moving in.
Alice Yardley, a contemporary handbag designer, is moving into the center unit that Campfire Pottery and Mulxiply are vacating. Onggi, a ferments and foods business, opened Saturday in the unit at the south end previously occupied by Lewiston shoe seller Rancourt & Co., which refocused on online sales last year.
That unit hasn't been dormant since Rancourt moved out. A Very Vintage Holiday Pop Up, operated by Jenn Bravo and Portia Clark, operating there in November and December. In February C.S. Hyde Imports was there for a one-month pop-up.
Other businesses filling the units are Ishi Ishi Ramen, which moved into the space at the north end when The Cheese Shop moved into a bigger home on Washington Avenue in November 2019. The shop has been selling take-home ramen kits during the pandemic.
Another charter tenant, North Optical, a curated handmade eyewear collection shop owned by Christopher Wheaton, is still doing business in its Black Box space.
Businesses on the move
When they spoke to Mainebiz on March 18, 2020, Kristen Camp, of Campfire Pottery; Tanja Cesh, of Multixply, and Evan Atwell of Strata were in the middle of leases. Owners of the Black Box, like many landlords and tenants, had said they were going to take the leasing situation day-to-day as the pandemic played out.
Campfire and Multixply shut their doors, literally, and shifted to online sales; Strata didn't close, but Atwell was working on getting his online store up and running. The three owners said the worst-case scenario was that they'd have to close for good. At the very best, they said, they'd feel the impact long after restrictions were lifted.
What a difference a year makes.
Strata will move to 67 Washington Ave., sometime in the next two months, expanding to add other kitchen tools, as well as classroom space, to its knife selling and sharpening services.
Owner Atwell posted on Instragram that the shop is moving because it needs more space for the expanded product line, as well as space "for all sorts of informative and hands-on classes, starting with knife sharpening and knife skills tutorials, as well as other lessons taught by talented locals."
Campfire Pottery and Mulxiply, as Ember, will be joined by other artists and makers, the owners said.
Cesh, of Mulxiply, sells Maine-designed, Himalaya-inspired jewelry, accessories and gifts made by fair-wage artists in Nepal. Camp, of Campfire Pottery sells ceramics she and her husband, Joe, create in their studio in the Dana Warp Mill, in Westbrook. The business recently expanded their production space in the mill.
“We loved our experience on Washington Avenue at The Black Box,” Camp said. “It was a great location and community to launch our brands in a retail space and we will always be grateful for the opportunity."
Cesh said the name Ember was a natural. "We’ve been talking about growing our retail space, with the idea of a common brand name at the forefront of our minds," she said. Ember "speaks to this common vision, to how our products are made, and to the idea of warmth and community."
Both of the business' primary products require fire as a common ingredient, she said. "Pottery must be fired in a kiln, and with jewelry, the metals must be forged with fire. When people gather around a fire, you end up staring at the embers — the energy and source of the warmth. The ember is the spark. And the spark is what ignites both friendship and creativity.”
The other emerging designers in Ember will be sourced locally and globally. There will also be community events, workshops, and popups.
"We are excited to see what’s to come in our new space and the creativity it sparks," Camp said.
In with the new
“The Black Box was something we've had our eyes on for a couple years now, with its proximity to so many incredible food and drink venues,” said Marcus Im, one of three Onggi founders. “It's in such an exciting part of town, and the size of the units provides a great entry point for an up-and-coming business."
He said he and fellow founders Amy Ng and Erin Zobitz hope Onggi can supplement the food scene on the street. "Stacked between breweries, distilleries, a meadery, and a kombuchery, it's a perfect spot," Im said.
Onggi is named after the Korean fermentation vessels known for their fermentation-friendly properties and role in everyday life, the owners said. The shop's mission is to make the cultures of fermentation more accessible and approachable, they said.
Courtesy / Onggi
Onggi, a ferments business, opened Saturday at the Black Box.
Onggi sells fermented food, as well as fermentation equipment and will also hold classes and workshops. In addition to carrying local products, Onggi will also sell housemade ferments in the coming months, such as kimchis, mustards, shrubs and hot sauces.
Alice Yardley, owner of the shop by the same name, like the Onggi owners, said the Black Box has been on her radar since it opened, while she was still in Brooklyn, N.Y., just starting her company.
“I'm so excited to be back in Portland, where I grew up, and to officially be part of a community of businesses like the ones on Washington Avenue," she said. "This area looks completely different from when I left Portland 14 years ago, and it has an energy and youthfulness that I think really reflects Portland's spirit.
She began the company in 2018, after developing a passion for leather-working, color theory and accessory design while working as a high school art teacher in Atlanta and New York. She's also passionate about contributing to the sustainable and zero-waste movement in the fashion industry, and her bags are made from repurposed leather, including from upholstery shops in the area.
"There's something so powerful about working with materials that have switched hands throughout the Maine community and have been previously used in a completely different way before," she said. She said she's also looking forward to learning from and collaborating with her fellow Black Box and Washington Avenue businesses. "I can't wait for the opportunity to share my work, to be a part of a community."
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