Memory Den | Vintage Mall — Attraction in Portland

In August it’ll be a year of vending here, and while I’ve had a few bumps with some of the staff, overall it’s been great. They’ve now implemented anti-theft devices which was my main concern. Many of the vendors who stayed through the switch of management have been paid back from the debts the previous owner left behind. Vendors that left and led smear campaigns have not been paid back. And personally, after being publicly bullied by some of them, I don’t blame MD for not making these people a priority.

I am one of the few new vendors that actually did try to help the other vendors, in the beginning. However, all they want to do is boycott and have everyone they know boycott in the hopes that they’ll be paid back. Meanwhile, there are still many women, poc, queer, disabled people still vending here that need your support. When boycotting a business that’s dependent on individual small businesses, it’s not the owners that are affected by the smear campaigns, it’s the other vendors in this community that are. So it’s wild to me that people within this community would do that to other small business, while asking customers to support theirs. I attempted to help these people file claims in small claims court, but was bullied mercilessly for it by a previous vendor that isn’t even owed any money. So rest assured, when you’re shopping here you’re not doing anything wrong.

As for prices, personally I try to set mine reasonably, but any time you feel something is priced too high, I would encourage you to to use google image search to price check. I use google image searches when pricing all my items, and you would truly be surprised how much some things are worth. 🤯

The smell and dust; is unpleasant. I haven’t noticed the smell personally, but the dust is definitely out of control lol. If you’re sensitive to dust, I suggest wearing a mask since you will have a hell of a time avoiding it here.

The bathroom: I saw one review about the bathroom being an open layout, and the stalls being out of order. I’m not sure when that review was, but I believe the stalls have been fixed now.

The bags being checked; yes they will ask you to check your bag, and at times you may see vendors with larger bags doing both maintenance, or checking on our friends booths. They have lockers now, so everything is safe. Many of us have cameras and will check in with the front desk if we see someone with a large bag, since we’ve had a massive theft problem. Please know it is not personal, or how you look or your sexual affiliation that causes the staff to take your bag.

Grumpy staff: even the vendors have to deal with certain personality types at the front desk. Some are vendors that have stayed through the management switch, and are unhappy with MD. Some are current vendors that are new to being behind a register. And some are just very busy people with a lot on their mind. I know how hard it can be when you feel personally attacked by a retail worker. I’ve worked in retail for a long time, and even I still have a hard time when employees are rough with me. But I will say, that usually it is not personal. They are typically juggling about 10 things at any given time, since there is so much to do and so few to do it.

As for messy booths! Please don’t judge MD for that. All the vendors are in charge or they’re own booths. We have vendor nights to spruce and restock, but don’t typically do a lot of that during the day. So you may be catching us right before a vendor night. Sorry 😅😅

Lastly!! If you want to see everyone’s booths at their very best, and keep up with new stock, I highly suggest following MD on IG. The social media manager does a great job reposting vendors updates and events. MD does events monthly, if not bi-monthly and they are a lot of fun!

And if you ever do go, please take a quick stop at my booth on the first floor! 😍 Hope that...

Memory Den is a Cyclopean cavern of crafts and couture clothing; a labyrinth of long-lost literary legacies; a font of forgotten fashions and finery; a Sisyphean selection of souvenirs, substance and style; a mythological mish-mash of...alright, enough of the Odyssean adjectives! You get the idea!

What I'm trying to impart to you is that this warehouse of well-worn wonders is big. Real big. How big? My wife and I ran out of time before seeing it all, and we were spread out and moving quick. Hell, we only really had time to skim the surface, and still spent the better part of a C-note before the clock ran out!

Granted, we only had about an hour, having arrived in the early evening on a Sunday, but honestly, you could spend an entire day here and still not see everything this place has to offer and, according to the assistant we spoke with, even working here doesn't guarantee a complete assessment of all the articles available for sale, as they rotate regularly.

While I perused and mused over mounds of media, electronic and analog (particularly the sizeable selection of second-hand books scattered throughout both floors), my wife reconnoitered rack after rack of raiments, garments and assorted apparel, accessories, jewelry and other objets d'vetements. Like many vintage and antique malls and galleries, each diorama boasts the select inventory of a different curator or collector, with their own themes, tastes and types of collectibles, ensuring that there is literally something for everyone here: if you don't see something you like, move on to the next display!

Adding to Memory Den's already appealing incentives for attending, they host regular family friendly, during-and-after-hours events where music, cocktails and light bites are on offer, turning your shopping experience into a shopping EXPERIENCE. We're all about that, and my wife and I intend to drop in next weekend, when their October event happens, to continue where we left off, and scour every corner, nook and cranny of this wonderous warehouse, at our leisure!

With unusually reasonable prices throughout, helpful employees, and enough stimuli to engage, entertain, and possibly overwhelm just about any shopper, window or otherwise, Memory Den is absolutely worth your time, effort, and the threat of potentially getting stabbed by a fentanyl zombie wandering around the wastes of Central Eastside industrial district. In a pinch, I'm sure you could find something to use as a weapon here, to fend them off....

Great selection but woefully overpriced. I'm so tired of resellers "curating" everything good from the reasonably priced thrift shops and selling them at an upcharge. I would much rather search for those items and find a gem at a good price then have things "curated" and sold at ridiculous prices. I grew up shopping exclusively at thrift stores out of necessity. I was afraid of people seeing me go into these stores because I didn't want them to know how poor I was. Now it's an overpriced Boujee thing and I find that suuuuuper annoying. I literally saw an item here that still had the goodwill tag on it and they were selling it for 4x what they bought it for. Also I can't tell you how many times I've seen shein items being sold here for 10x what they cost. The whole point of secondhand is to NOT support those kinds of businesses. I will say that since I went last they have added many hand made local artists and I think that's really awesome. I don't mind paying good money for something someone made with their hands, for someone's art. But I'm not paying quadruple what someone paid for an item they found cheap...