Skip to main contentThere will be no assembly line. No industrial robots. It is not located in Manhattan, nor is there any connection to the famed Warhol Superstars. But The Factory just may be Portland's next big meeting place for artists, designers, musicians and crazy characters alike.
But all that aside, The Factory, (919 NW 23rd and Lovejoy) slated to make its debut come March 2007, will primarily be a place where clothes and other goods are designed, made and sold. A small-scale Fred Segal, if you will. Here's the breakdown:
Three rotating designers, to occupy three of four "studio" rooms on the second floor of the house in six-week intervals, will be offered a free studio space, fully equipped with sewing machines, sergers, mannequin forms and cutting tables to work their craft. The fourth room will be used as a studio for The Factory's in-house designs. The first floor will be a storefront for the designers' wares (with a 50/50 split of the proceeds), plus a stream of other merchandise brought in from unique vendors out of LA and Europe.
But before you assume that this is just another hoity-toity shop for people to spend loads of dough on that one dress, you must know that founder and operator Tacee Webb's whole M.O. is to bring in designers who make great pieces at reasonable prices. Having worked in the fashion industry for the last 14 years, as both a location manager for American Apparel and original owner and creator of the Northwest vintage haven Red Light, Webb knows a thing or two about clothes.
"The stores that I admire most carry high-end, well-made apparel, but I'm not willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a dress. I'm trying to sell to the customers that I know—that I am in touch with. The Factory will bridge the gap between cheesy, low-end disposable crap from Forever 21 and that $300 dress." In order to do so, The Factory family has created a structured set of price points which each designer must keep in mind and apply to all of their pieces: one-third at $48 or less, one-third at $68 or less, and one-third at $98 or less, give or take.
So, we're talkin' a free studio space. A 50-percent cut on all items sold. A chance to be a part of an exclusive initiative that will directly support and further Portland's local design community. So now, you ask, what is the catch? Well, let's just say it's a bit co-op meets Project Runway. Each designer is required to churn out 20 pieces each week. For six weeks. That's a total of 120 pieces in less than two months. Depending on what kind of design you are doing, that can be a huge challenge. Every six weeks will culminate in a trunk show, displaying the finished designer's collections, as well as introducing the next set of incoming designers.
Two local designers are set up thus far: Le Ciel Divine, a streetwear line of 80's inspired tops; and Luxury Jones, a mix of knitwear and one-of-a-kind dresses (whose fans include Sarah Jessica Parker). Both lines have only been sold in L.A. and New York—until now.
So between now and March, Webb is getting this fashion house (literally, as it's the last residential property on Northwest 23rd) fully underway, with designers generating their first crops of Spring inventory and fully equipping all of the sewing studios and working retail space, all under one roof. No cat fights just yet. While the first three designers to unveil The Factory goods will all be singular in their crafts, they will also complement the whole—something that Webb has had in mind all along when contemplating which designers will be included. "It's just as much a collaboration among friends as it is a place for things to be fashioned and sold—and I want that sentiment to always be present in what we do." Elianna Bar-El
WWeek 2015