Boston Pop-Up Shop Offers Local Goods, A Chance To Smile

BOSTON (CBS) -- The clock is ticking on the shop at 119 Newbury Street.

1630 opened six weeks ago in a second-floor space that typically rents for $20,000 a month.  But the retailers in there right now never intended to stay beyond this weekend.  They're among the business owners reinventing brick-and-mortar retail.

At a time when a shopper can buy anything online, Susan Battista and Fritz Klaetke want to offer 1630 shoppers "an experience."

Part shop, part salon, 1630 was named for the year Boston was named a town. All of the merchandise either depicts Boston or is made by a local artist or craftsman, or both.  And, Klaetke says, many of the items will make you smile.  There's a clever take on a Fenway t-shirt, soaps from a local farm, antiques, jewelry and more.  Most items cost between $25-$75.

Roughly once a week, the back of the shop becomes a place for discovering. Historians, MassArt students and descendants of the Cabot family (who make local spirits) and others have shared their local knowledge with history-lovers.

"This place is so much fun!" exclaimed retired history teacher, Barbara Yeoman.

Moving into the Newbury Street space gives the owners a chance to test their concept—a local shop selling only local goods—and it gives the property owner a chance to show the space to prospective renters at its most vibrant.  And while 1630 becomes "history" in this space at closing time on Sunday, November 15th, its owners hope to write a new chapter somewhere else.

1630 will offer merchandise online for a while. But look for it to "pop up" in another Boston location sometime in the not-too-distant future.