Announcing The Department at Viscera!
by Raissa Palacios
We're so excited to announce our newest project-- The Department! From January 15th through March 15th, 2018, Viscera will be hosting a pop-up “department store” featuring three local small businesses. At the Department, you'll find clothing, accessories, home goods, furniture, and even cold-pressed juice! We're creating a fun and interesting retail environment where you'll find new and surprising things. You'll still find the same Viscera pieces you love, but you also might leave with a new pillow, lamp, or juice subscription, too.
We are making a point to showcase and uplift local business through this "retail apocalypse" that is supposedly happening. From Ari's point of view (owner & creative director of Viscera), retail isn’t going anywhere: “Even though everyone’s freaking out about retail dying, small business is filling in gaps where national chains are falling apart. We can leverage our shared customers who care about local, small independent businesses. As a small business owner you have a million things to do so working collaboratively can create the time and space we all need to run the back end of our businesses.”
Our in-house line of minimalist skincare and perfume will be featured along with home goods from Gold and Rust, The &nd Shop (Show & Tell), and Antiquity Juice — all your favorite small businesses centrally located in the heart of Downtown Oakland. Continue reading to learn more about each business and their thoughts on collaboration:
V by Viscera offers a line of streamlined, minimalist skincare and perfume as an alternative to harsh, chemical-filled products. Using simple, high quality ingredients and careful hand-blended precision we’ve crafted products that are actually good for your skin. No fillers, no artificial preservatives, no synthetics, and no alcohol. All made in Oakland!
Gold and Rust is dedicated to providing customers with a thoughtful curation of unique, high-quality vintage home essentials. From furniture and housewares to decor, lighting, textiles, and Americana, we love delighting our clients with the history and stories of these items’ past. Our other offerings include furniture rentals, interior design services, event staging, and personal shopping. We’re incredibly passionate about 20th century design and we love sharing it with our Bay Area community.
On working collaboratively: Wonderful things happen through collaboration. Whether in business or life, we all benefit from it. Collaboration is electric, and it’s a core value for us at Gold and Rust. The opportunity to collaborate is an integral part of our business; it’s the energetic spark which fuels our passion for what we do. With this, we’re honored to collaborate with Viscera to bring a new, eclectic offering of home furnishings to downtown Oakland.
Antiquity Juices is an artisan juice company that creates culturally-inspired juices. Our products are seasonal, produced locally, and made fresh. Antiquity Juices started in San Francisco in 2011 at the heart of the City Farmers’ Market in San Francisco. Over the next few years we opened two more Farmers’ Market locations and were sold in several local stores. We are now part of the Department Collective inside Viscera, providing juice to Oakland.
lifestyle goods + accessories
The &nd Shop (Show & Tell) celebrates little luxuries that make life sweet and details that transform fashion into style. We're here to help you find that signature lip color, the "go with everything" earrings, and the perfect pillows to cozy up your couch. Our assortment, curated with fun, function, and freedom of expression in mind, is handcrafted by women artisans and makers that prioritize sustainable and ethical design.
On working collaboratively: Space is at a premium in Oakland which requires small businesses to adapt and be creative to stay relevant and open. Working in a collective manner is one solution to this challenge. Bringing multiple elements together in one location allows smaller retailers to go up against Amazon and big box "one stop shops" while offering customers the unique "in real life" experiences they crave. Additionally, the participating businesses benefit by working collectively because they are able to share resources, ideas and the daily responsibilities of running a physical location.
Stop by Viscera at 1542 Broadway in Downtown Oakland over the next few months to experience this mini department store for yourself! Chat with the owners and creators one-on-one, Tues-Fri from 12-7pm, Sat & Sun from 12-5pm.