Walking around downtown Ballard on Friday afternoon, holiday shoppers seemed few and far between. Perhaps that’s because the final shopping crunch had yet to come. Or perhaps it had something to do with the time of day. In any case, considering the economy, a number of shops in Ballard are satisfied with how sales are going. Some, such as Blackbird, even say they’re doing well.

“We’re getting a lot more foot traffic than last year,” said Nicole Miller, owner of Blackbird, Inc., adding that, “online sales are growing tremendously.”

That’s great news for the company, which runs Blackbird, Blackbird Candy Shoppe, and The Field House. Since they sell seasonal clothing, among other products, they depend on the holiday shopping season to sell their fall merchandise. (In related news, Blackbird’s women’s store, Birgitta, closed this past weekend. In a press release, Blackbird reported that almost a year after opening Birgitta they, “realized that the other Blackbird businesses were more successful and took far less effort.”)