The epicenter of Obama-related merchandise is the 1500 block of California Street in downtown Denver. Vendors hawking all manner of t-shirts, buttons and original artwork line the street. There are “Obamanator” buttons, “Born 2 Lead” t-shirts and pencil drawings of the Illinois Senator, along with more traditional merchandise.

Ruthie Portillo (pictured) says she drove 32 hours from Oakland, arriving last night, to hawk Obama t-shirts. “We got lost in Idaho,” she says. “I don’t know how we ended up in Idaho.”

In the first three hours of sales today, Portillo estimates she’s sold three dozen shirts. “I’m going for Obama anyway,” she says. “I decided to come out here and sell the shirts, and so far it’s going well.”

A few stalls down is Kurdt Navitski (pictured below), who’s hawking buttons. Navitski says he answered an ad on Craigslist seeking DNC workers. The Boulder resident leaves his house each morning at 5 a.m., takes the bus to Denver, sells buttons all day, and then retuns home at approximately 2 a.m. He’s been working California Street since last Thursday and estimates that he’s sold 200 buttons. “I’m an Obama supporter,” he says. “Change is good. Business has been pretty steady. People really want buttons.”