Real Deal - Staff Pick
Best Place to Pretend You Live in Portland
Rustbelt Market
Published: April 25, 2012
22801 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 810-441-9115; rustbeltmarket.com
If you've got friends in town and you want to impress them without trying, lead them to this 15,000-square-foot space, the former home of an Old Navy, and let them get lost in this circular bazaar filled with DIY crafters. Maybe it's not as rad or edgy as Detroit's Russell Industrial Center, but it's not bad for the easygoing burbs, and it still attracts its fair share of eccentrics. Splurge a little on a soy candle or a soy smoothie or a robot-shaped throw pillow. Sure, you don't actually need much of this stuff, but you'd be surprised at how much you realize you need at least some of it — from shoes to seeds to soaps. Dash in the soundtrack of local musicians serenading you from the center of the charmingly cluttered floor and you could be standing at Portland's renowned Saturday Market, only with less hemp. Get there before something corporate swoops in.
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