Bend’s Makers District promotes local companies

Art, food and furniture. You can find it, all local in two blocks.

“There really are some interesting, innovative and creative people in a very small area that people might otherwise not find,” said Sara Wiener, owner of Sara Bella Upcycled, said Tuesday.

Say hello to Bend’s Makers District.

“It’s attracted something that someone makes with their hands, and if you look around, Locavore, that’s all things people made, Bend Velo, that’s things local people are making,” said Michael Ross, owner of Natural Edge Furniture.

“And so we started brainstorming, threw a bunch of ideas around, and the one that kept surfacing was the Makers District,” Ross said.

Created by nearly a dozen local businesses, the district sits on First and Second streets between Greenwood and Olney avenues.

“This was created with the idea that the makers and owners themselves, along with the city, are hoping to make this area more pedestrian-friendly and shopper-friendly,” said Patrick Brown, director of Central Oregon Locavore.

Sara Bella Upcycled, a company creating fashion from trash, is packing up shop in NorthWest Crossing and moving into the Makers District this weekend.

“It’s time to move on — my lease is over,” Wiener said.

The Makers District has just the potential she’s been looking for.

“I really want to bring people down and make sure they realize, hey we are just a hop, skip and a jump away from downtown,” Wiener said.

A collaboration for the makers, to make their mark.

“And when you can walk in the front door and see what we are doing in the back room or the workshop, that’s powerful,” said Ross.

Sara Bella will open it’s new location on July 1st. The Makers District is also hosting a Labor Day event the last weekend of August for you to check things out.

While the Makers District doesn’t have a Website yet, one of its new arrivals does: Far Afield Cider, at 1201 NE Second Street, Suite 180. Learn more about them at http://www.farafieldcider.com.