Last night We Are Pop Up had an event at IdeaLondon. We were joined by landlords and pop up space owners, pop-up brands and curators, and others with an interest in tech, the city, and independent culture – a powerful and disruptive intersection.
We chatted to food scientists ready to leave corporate life and looking to our community for inspiration and the owner of a well known group of bars planning to run pop-ups in fresh, exciting locations to bring something new to their clients. We heard from a brand on the hunt for a 350 sqft retail space who also owns a 5000 sqft warehouse – and did we know anyone that might be interested?
You couldn’t turn without starting an engrossing conversation with someone full of pride and passion for their venue, their brand, their programme, or their product. With an enthusiasm and a sense of urgency, we shared stories and discovered new opportunities.
These opportunities are what Nick, in his talk, referred to as resulting collectively in a movement. We Are Pop Up has consciously identified itself with this movement since the start. Our values are those of the sharing economy and true marketplaces. We aren’t always outspoken about it – but relish opportunities where we can be. These values underpin every conversation and every decision we make – concerning our growth, our culture, our role in our community, and our product.
Introducing the evening, Nick mentioned that two years ago We Are Pop Up set out to create an online marketplace that made it possible for landlords and tenants to directly connect and rent commercial property without the need for an intermediary. Now it exists. To the best of our knowledge it is the only platform of its kind in the world focused on commercial property. How people end up using it continues to be a source of inspiration for us, and over the course of the evening we were lucky to hear more.
Jude is pop up curator at Camden Collective C159 – a creative marketplace that serves as a retail incubator for brands. Jude talked about how being part of our community has amplified C159’s voice and introduced her to thousands of innovative businesses looking for space. In searching for the first 10 brands for launch – she received over 100 enquiries. This meant that she could select the very best mix of brands and talent. Putting them together means they learn from one another, compliment each other and result in an awesome consumer experience.
Tim, the founder of BrewBar Coffee House at 11 Camden High Road, rented his shop for 3 months via We Are Pop Up. He talked about the speed at which he found the shop, made an offer and signed an online commercial licence. The whole thing only took 8 days, and 1 day of that was because the landlord temporarily backed out – something Tim attributes to the speed and ease of getting the deal done actually seeming ‘too easy’! After opening his shop Tim re-listed it as a sublet opportunity to lunchtime food pop-ups to compliment his coffee offer. This recursive aspect of the We Are Pop Up licence meant that he could move from being tenant to landlord in a matter of days.
One of the most interesting shifts Nick highlighted, is a new type of relationship that we are helping faciliate between landlords and tenants. Traditionally this could be a somewhat adversarial one, with both sides stuck in a persona and an agent in the middle mediating a technical and rigid process. Nick described how the messages that pass between landlords and tenants on our platform are now in a different tone. They are a negotiation, and more often look a lot like a collaboration.
We see people using We Are Pop Up in a multitude of ways, to achieve a diverse set of outcomes. Hearing these stories not only inspires us, but helps us feel connected to a shared set of aspirations and values. We want to thank everyone that came along and hope to see you at the next one!
Big shout out to all our friends who took part:
Monty and Lisandra at Popdogs for the amazing hotdog bar complete with neon sign and literally one of the best hotdogs I’ve ever had. Check them out at their more permanent Camden Lock home (http://www.popdogs.co.uk/).
Annabel and Andrew from Honest Brew who brought a selection of delicious ales, stouts and larger (you can order them here: http://honestbrew.co.uk/ (And of course Honest Frank to oversee proceedings!)
Tim from the BrewBar Coffee House for an amazing tale of breaking bad inspired coffee brewing methods – check out his antics at 11 Camden High Road (http://twentysomethinglondon.com/brew-bar-coffee-house-in-mornington-cresent-camden/).
Jude from C159 for her second We Are Pop Up good deed of the day (you may spot her in a We Are Pop Up film production premiering this week!) Jude we love you! And if you haven’t been already, get yourself down to C159 (http://camdencollective.co.uk/159-2/).
And finally to the brilliant Chloe from IdeaLondon (http://www.idea-london.co.uk/ ) for letting us come, cook hotdogs, drink beer, and generally make a pop-up ruckus!
You must log in to post a comment.