PENDLETON — As soon as he saw the vault in the old bank building at 256 S. Main St., Pendleton, he knew he had to call it the Maker’s Vault.

Oden and his business partner Justin Alps turned the vacant building into a mini-mall during Round-Up week, inviting high-end Western brands like Stetson to sell their wares in an area with heavy foot traffic.

In a Friday, Sept. 17 interview, Oden said both have experience in vending. Alps sells leather goods through Long X Trading Co. while Oden and his wife Karen operate Espuela Trading Co., an Amarillo, Texas-based bag vendor. Alps had the Pendleton connection, having once plied his trade at Hamley & Co. while Oden had experience organizing vending areas and large rodeos.

Oden said the group invested significantly to get the building ready for rodeo week. The Makers Vault also advertised on social media: anybody who followed one of the vendors on social media and got within a certain proximity of Pendleton would automatically see ads for pop-up. Behind the vendor area, Oden and his partners installed a bar and TV, which broadcast the Round-Up.

Jordan Schnitzer’s Harsch Investment Properties bought the building in 2016 and has filed it with a number of different pop-ups in Round-Ups past, including a Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts gallery and a Lucchese boot shop. Oden said the property was attractive to his group because of its indoor setting, noting the forecast called for rain on Sept. 18, but the vendors’ goods would be protected.

Oden said the Makers Vault was successful enough early in the week that it planned to stay open later than its posted closing time during the final two days of Round-Up. While he would like to come back to the Round-Up next year, he’s not sure if there’s going to be a space for the Makers Vault to come back to.

The city of Pendleton has pitched Schnitzer on turning the vacant building into a permanent “maker’s space,” a place where artists and artisans could make and sell their products while drawing tourists to the downtown area. Under the proposal, the building would be renamed the “Jordan Schnitzer Western Guild Building” or “The Trailhead Building” and also include a bistro, outdoor dining and vacation rentals.

Pendleton Convention Center manager Pat Beard said he was initially involved in bringing the Makers Vault to Pendleton, but he took a step back once he realized that the city wasn’t going to take possession of the building before the Pendleton Round-Up started. Regardless, Beard said he thought the success of the Makers Vault was a proof-of-concept for providing a similar service in the building year-round.

“That’s exactly what I see as the building’s highest purpose,” he said.

Beard said he was happy to hear the Makers Vault did good business, but he was hoping the building will have a permanent tenant by September 2022.