A few days ago when driving through town, I saw a banner in a store front for “HERE. a pop-up shop.” Now I remember thinking, what’s a pop-up shop?? However in my typical forgetfulness fashion, I started thinking of something completely different 10 seconds later.
That was until today when I stumbled across a press release that answered my pop-up shop question! A pop-up shop is a temporary shop that is only open for a limited amount of time in another vacant storefront. Annapolis has never had anything like this before and “HERE. a pop-up shop” is the first boutique of its kind in the area… and I have to say, I warmly welcome the idea!
Little did I know this was already a trend among boutiques in New York and Los Angeles. Frankly, it was nice to see what is normally empty commercial space.
From the press release:
Co-owners Amy Fresty and Ellen Lunay, both local residents with a flair for fashion, were looking for a way to combine their backgrounds in fashion merchandising and fashion photography to bring something unique to the Annapolis area. “This is an amazing opportunity to bring fresh, fun and unique merchandise to the area without a full commitment to a retail store or lease,” said Lunay.
“Pop-up boutiques have been trending in other cities for quite some time,” said Fresty. “We knew this would be just the right timing for fashion-forward shoppers in this area.”
Their first “pop-up” run from March 1st to March 10th, with a location at 47 Spa Road in Annapolis. Their first theme is “Flirting with Spring.” Looking through their website, I was excited to see that they will offer not only apparel, but accessories, jewelry, home decor, and other gifts. Browsing the designers, I was even more excited to see many local names and brands! As a Maryland native, it is always great to see local businesses support other local businesses.
This is a new concept to Annapolis, and I truly hope it becomes a trend around town, the State, and beyond! Why leave empty storefronts around town, when temporary shops could bring life and a more visual pleasing look to empty commercial buildings?
Have you ever heard of pop-up shops?
Have you seen them in your town?
I think this is a great concept. I bet retail fronts love it too b/c at least they get some income while the storefront is vacant and it allows for small businesses to have a little storefront during busy seasons. Cool idea.
I have never seen a Pop Up Shop in person; however, I’m a mark. representative and we have them. About four times a year corporate will surprise the reps with a pop up shop. We can get tons of great things for a good price. They usually “pop up” when I don’t have extra money though lol
That sounds really neat, I did here the term before but had no idea what it actually was. Thanks for sharing, I’d love to see some locally in Rhode Island too!
Dawn I would love to see them in RI too! I live in Newport when I’m not working down here in Maryland. I would love to be able to support local businesses in both my towns.
No, I’ve never heard of it before but it sounds like a neat concept!
I have never seen a pop up shop. What an interesting concept. I wonder if we will start to see them here soon.
I have not heard of a pop-up shop before but I think it’s a cool idea. It’s definitely better than an old building sitting around. However, if the people who run the pop-up do it to avoid the commitment of a full store, it sounds like a TON of work to me to be moving their stuff to new locations all the time. :)
Dawn
I never heard of a pop-up shop before, but I could think of a lot of areas in my city that could really benefit from something like this. Sounds like a neat idea! It’s a win/win for everybody involved too!
I’ve never heard of of pup up shop before. I’ll have to keep an eye out.
Hi Ashley!
Thanks for the awesome post about us!! We are super excited about our Grand Opening Pop-Up!! We are currently in the space making it look fab ~ you will love all the local designer’s jewelry, accessories & home goods … great variety and very reasonable prices!
To answer Dawn’s comment about a lot of work for a temporary boutique, yes it is, but we will only pop-up every 6-8 weeks, for no more than 10 days at a time (we will even be closed a few days, aside from “private shops” (think book club or GNO), which is a good business model for us, since we have 5 kids (ages 4-9) between the two of us!
We look forward to meeting Ashley & anyone else who is local to Annapolis …HERE.!