Altar: Mag-Big's New Identity
Mag-Big has had a rather meteoric rise to prominence in the city as both a retailer and clothing line, thanks in large part to founder Cassie Ridgway's stick-to-yer-guns attitude toward supporting and growing a class of small apparel businesses she's dubbed "designer manufacturers."
But now, it's time for something new. Mag-Big as we know it is slated to close its doors December 27 for a remodel, and will re-open in the first or second week of January as Altar, with a grand opening celebration slated for January 15. Says Ridgway, "It will specialize in the mystical Northwest heritage with an emphasis on occult inspirations" (!). She's also entering a new partnership with the venture, with Iron Oxide jewelry designer Amy Fox.
More, more, moar from Ridgway:
Our clothing line will continue to be manufactured in house, alongside Iron Oxide jewelry, and we will still proudly feature select Portland-based companies. Altar will be known for extremely high-quality jewelry, apparel, essential oils and perfumes, body care products, and art. You'll also find gifts like tarot cards, smudges, precious stones, and other mystical elements. Our dream girl is maybe a little "witchy," but she has extremely refined taste in silhouettes and styling elements. I think I've always told you that one of our best customer bases has always been "metal head babes with incredible taste in jewelry." This store is for them, with a slightly bohemian twist. It's going to be beautiful.
And what of the Mag-Big Houseline?
We believe that the new store will take our clothing company to the next level because our identity as "Mag-Big Houseline" has not come without a set of challenges. It has resonated with so many as an all-inclusive art-based boutique. We have carried hundreds of artists—over 700—and have received dozens of submissions per week for the last few years. As much as we honor our role as supporters of designer-manufacturing in Portland, we would like to take our house clothing line to a national marketplace and give it the room it needs to grow... In the coming year, you will see a lot more coming out from our clothing company, including more complete lookbooks, collections, and boutique accounts around the city...
And will it become the Altar Houseline? Will it too become witchier in style?
The Altar Houseline (yes, it will be called that— or so we think right now. I am 89.9% certain) will definitely capture some witchy and bohemian elements. To some degree, I have to be honest with myself that I have always and will always just design clothing that I want to wear. I don't like over-stated designs... I don't want to be a caricature of gothy clothing... I want to make very clean silhouettes with luscious, wonderful fabric. We are a print focused clothing company, and we adore that beautiful definition that we have found in our textiles. You can expect dark, silky florals, soft comfortable chiffon blouses, and clothing that is meant to be sexy and tasteful. What you won't see from us is some of the kitchy-fun stuff we designed in the past. The hyperbolic prints... we have loved them in the past, but they have always felt a little young for us.
What about the lines now carried in the shop? How much will that shake up?
Not all of the lines at Mag-Big currently are going to change; we will still proudly carry the lines that we feel have inspired and carried us into this new phase such as: Foxtail Jewelry, AmiRa Jewlery, Imaginary Authors Perfume, Deer Dog Apothecary, Sara Bergman Apparel, Barrow... just to name a few. Obviously, over the years, I have had the incredible fortune of getting to know most of the designer-manufacturing community of Portland, so I am going to select the creme de la creme and feature them more prominently. Additionally, we are now able to open ourselves up to other American-made brands that we have been crushing on for years... Mag-Big has "secretly-not-so-secretly" been featuring "visiting artists" since our first few months open because there are companies from all over the United States that I love. Now, we have a new store that will synthesize everything.
