After a year of pop-up events, vintage boutique finds permanent Tower District home

For the past 18 months, blkmktplc. has sold its vintage goods in a series of pop-up shopping events.

It finally has permanent, brick-and-mortar location on Olive Avenue in Fresno’s Tower District.

The shop — one of several social enterprises of Neighborhood Industries, which also operates a thrift store and recycling center — had its grand opening Friday night at 1525 E. Olive Ave. Normal business hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays, along with by appointment only on Mondays.

This is a curated vintage boutique.

Items — Pendleton shirts, classic Levis denim, cocktail dresses and fur jackets — are sourced from the same donation stream that stocks Neighborhood Thrift. It can be upwards of 5 million to 6 million pounds of clothing annually, says Neighborhood Industries executive director Anthony Armour.

It’s a very limit number of those items — maybe one in 100 — that make it into blkmktplc. That is by design.

“Nothing tells that story better than opening blkmktplc. in the Tower District, providing a space to present vintage products, displaying their full value,” Armour says.

“Having things arranged in a unique way really highlights the product themselves.”

Shopping dollars go back to community

But the goal of the organization is to also reveal value in people. Proceeds from the store go back into Neighborhood Industries and its workforce development program, which provides jobs in the area, but also mental health services, tutoring, microloans for vehicles and financial literacy services.

It’s the same with the people who come through the workforce program, Armour says.

“As we’re highlighting our products, we also want to highlight our people.”

Details: blkmktplc., 1525 E. Olive Ave. 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Mondays by appointment only. 559-375-1933, @blkmktplc on Facebook.