It’s official. The ink is dry on an agreement for Kate Towers and Holly Stalder to sell Seaplane after 8 years as The Boutique at ground zero of Portland’s independent fashion community. Pioneers in what is now a more evolved boutique scene, Towers and Stalder built the link between local designers and local consumers (which has paid major dividends for designers and the local economy), generously promoting the work of designers too numerous to name both in store and with fashion shows and events.
When Towers and Stalder opened Seaplane on SE Belmont in what had been a vintage store (and their employer), there was no shop in Portland carrying a variety of local designers with a modern aesthetic. They began selling modified vintage, added a few designers (Susan Stars was first!), sold accessories, paper goods, and even local music, and grew from there. They’ve carried upwards of 80 designers at a time, most local, a few from up and down the Left Coast.
Eight years is an incredible run. Many boutiques are gone in two, but Towers and Stalder were committed, splitting time between working in the shop and designing and producing their own lines. Now they’ll finally have time to grow their wholesale lines (while continuing to do custom work).
Next time you see them, thank them for being catalysts, lightning rods, and the inspiration for myriad younger designers and entrepreneurs. They proved the concept and paved the way.
Who’s buying? Serial entrepreneur, Tacee Webb who owned Red Light Clothing Exchange, owns Lovecraft Biofuels, has worked for American Apparel opening locations around the country, and who launched a Fashion Camp for Portland kids. So what will happen? Unclear, but we understand that Webb has a lease for a second Seaplane in LA, so we’ll assume that for now it will be business as usual.
WHAT TO DO NOW?