Apparel maker and retail store Union Rose will close its Montavilla location at 8029 SE Stark Street in late October after it completes its move to the Plural Collective in Sellwood. Store owner and clothing designer Rita Hudson-Evalt is making this move to reduce operational costs and free up more time for creative work in her craft as well as pursue other diversified work opportunities. The brand remains committed to creating the same locally produced soft goods in the size ranges shoppers appreciate while experimenting with more small-batch designs.
The Plural Collective at 8012 SE 13th Avenue hosts several businesses that provide a range of products from local makers. Collaborating brand owners and retailers, soon to include Hudson-Evalt, share responsibility for operating the store during its daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours. Union Rose products will have a dedicated space within the store, but brands can intermix throughout the shop as merchandising opportunities benefit from cross-promotion. This collaborative shop design reduces the operational burdens and payroll impacts while maintaining much of the direct-to-consumer sales strategy that makes locally produced products possible.
Hudson-Evalt explained that this change in business model was needed to keep her working in the industry. Union Rose moved into its current storefront in January 2021 after years in a smaller shop a block west, where Wink Vintage now sells vintage items. The larger retail space allowed the company to consolidate much of the production and sales into a single space. Union Rose had been in its current location since before Hudson-Evalt bought the store in 2014. The original owner, Nicole Prevost, opened the store on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in 2007 and moved to Montavilla shortly thereafter. Hudson-Evalt was a designer who sold clothing to the store when Prevost was looking to leave the business and could not imagine it closing. With that same appreciation for Union Rose and the loyal customers who have supported the store, Hudson-Evalt felt it necessary to reimagine the shop and clothing brand as a sustainable company so it can continue to be there for the community.
Rita Hudson-Evalt explained that clothing production will revert to its previous location. “I’m going to move that back to my house, where it was before, when we were in the smaller location where Wink Vintage is now. In some ways that’ll be nice and in some ways that’ll be a pain.” The end of the lease at the shop partially influenced this change. When weighing the choice to re-sign with the landlord, Hudson-Evalt felt there was enough uncertainty in the retail market and wanted to make the company lean enough to continue. “Whether you’re directly importing goods or not, you are definitely being affected by the tariffs. I think we’re going to see a huge spike in costs, especially around the holidays,” said Hudson-Evalt. With that concern in mind, and other changes in her life, this was the right time to refocus on apparel design and less on the daily responsibility of running a retail location.
As the SE Stark Street store winds down, most items at the shop have a 20% discount, including online purchases. The discounts will increase closer to the closing date, including the ability to buy fixtures and other items not making the move to the Sellwood location. Hudson-Evalt expects to bring some product lines from different businesses currently in the shop to the new location. However, the new storefront has an existing diverse assortment of products. “Because the collective has so many people there already that have their own categories. There’s a jewelry maker, Stacy [Vickery’s] Modern Madini. There are many artists. There’s a ceramics person. I couldn’t really bring a lot of people over with me. So I’ll have to be focusing on apparel and those kinds of soft goods,” explained Hudson-Evalt. She hopes people will see the moving sale as a good opportunity to support a longtime Montavilla business and get ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Hudson-Evalt is excited for the change and what that can do for her creative work. “Of course I have ideas, lots of ideas, and no time to make any of that happen right now, so I’m really hoping that this change will give me the time that I can do that experimentation and risk making mistakes. Whereas right now, I’m having to fill a whole store all the time, so there’s just not a lot of time.” Although the change benefits the business’s health and the owner’s well-being, it was not made without appreciation for what the old location meant to Hudson-Evalt. “I’ve managed to raise my two kiddos and support my family over the past 11 years because of Union Rose and because of the neighborhood.”
People can continue to shop at the Montavilla Union Rose location and online until October, or until they sell out of goods. The Plural Collective space will open with mostly new inventory, and online shopping will cease for some time after the old location closes. The website will remain an informational resource for Union Rose and may return to e-commerce at a future date. For now, the moving sale is the best way for local customers to buy from Union Rose, and shoppers can plan a trip out to the 8012 SE 13th Avenue location later this year to see the new Union Rose alongside other locally designed goods.
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Otter Wax, a neighborhood producer of small-batch specialty goods handcrafted in Portland. Using only natural ingredients, they make modern care products that are steeped in tradition. We thank them for their support.
