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In the past couple of holiday seasons, pop-up shops were considered stopgaps for vacant storefronts in Portland’s downtown retail core.

But the ‘s pop-up shop program has surprised organizers, participating retailers and property owners by generating signed lease agreements.

After the five participating retailers in the recent seven-week season saw revenues increase 45 percent over the previous year, three of them signed month-to-month leases for the spaces they occupied temporarily. And property owners who initially opened their doors for the good of downtown retail are now saying the program is an effective way to land long-term tenants.

As part of the pop-up shop program, local independent design guilds were allowed to sell their merchandise at five high-quality, vacant downtown storefronts rent-free through the holiday season. , and agreed to deals to remain in those spaces.

“When (Flurry) first approached us, we were in no way anticipating that the group wanted to lease the space from us,” said Vanessa Sturgeon, president of TMT Development, which owns the 6,000-square-foot Fox Tower retail space now occupied by Flurry. “We were shocked.”

Sturgeon said that smokers had loitered in front of the space since it had been vacated by , which decided to downsize its neighboring store last year. Sturgeon hoped that people would be less likely to smoke around the space if it were occupied.

“When they got the shop set up I just couldn’t believe how amazing it looked,” she said. “I didn’t know if they were up to it, but when I saw the shop complete, it looked like it belonged in that space.”

Kenneth Doswell, owner of Flurry, said a lease was financially feasible. In total, the five guilds grossed $150,000 in seven weeks. Flurry’s sales were enough for it to add rent to its operating costs and still turn a profit, Doswell said.

Crafty Wonderland leased its space from , which had downsized and was looking to sublease extra space.

“We’ve always wanted to have a store,” said Torie Nguyen, a Crafty Wonderland co-owner. “But it always seemed like such a daunting task and it just never felt like the timing was right.”

Nguyen and Cathy Pitters for the past several years have sold crafts and jewelry at monthly craft fairs they host at the in Southeast Portland. They decided a few years ago to also hold two larger craft fairs annually, at the Oregon Convention Center.

Nguyen said the pop-up program offered a great way to take the next step of opening an actual retail location. They pursued the space near Finnegan’s because their guild offers many toys and other products for kids. But she never thought the temporary space would become a long-term home, she said.

“We got such a positive response over the holidays, and Finnegan Toys was willing to accommodate us with a low-risk lease,” she said. “It just all started to make sense.”

The pop-up shop program, born out of the , originally was intended to show off vacant spaces to potential tenants visiting them, said Cori Jacobs, an independent advocate for retailers in the downtown core.

Success has been so great that Jacobs said the program will expand for this year’s holiday season, if possible. Also, a springtime program may be launched.

“If we have a space available in the future that fits the program’s needs, we will definitely participate,” Sturgeon said. “Flurry is a perfect example of retail that fits in nicely in downtown Portland.”