Camden High Street Archives -

5 Questions with Designer Jumble Sale – Pop Up Shop Interview

What is your pop-up history to date? Where have you been and how long have you been in operation?

I began hosting one-day charity sales during London Fashion Week, popping up at a stunning Edwardian Gothic church in Marble Arch, called The Church of the Annunciation, while at home with two small children. I had worked at VOGUE.com for 12 years, so I asked all my old friends to donate their fashion cast-offs and the British Fashion Council very kindly put us on the London Fashion Week events schedule. I wanted to go back to work once my children had both started school, so I decided to launch a profit-making arm of the business, so that I could also continue to run the charity sales every six months. With my brother’s help, I won my first rent-free popup shop in December 2012, in a competition run by retail agent Farebrother, on Lambs Conduit Street. What a fantastic launchpad! We were lucky enough to be there for 5 months. Next we are taking part in a community project in Willesden Green from 30 May… and then on to Camden.

Why pop up?

I want to communicate a message about the longevity of good craftsmanship, ethical fashion and sustainability in a fun and friendly environment – and rather than expecting customers to come to me, I want to go to them! We aim to pop up in new places every 3 months.

Why did you decide to enter the Collective Competition?

It was a no-brainer: Camden is a great fit for our offering – think Camden, think secondhand clothes; it is a very vibrant street; and Camden Collective and WeArePopup are very good at what they do.

What can people expect to find in the Collective shop during your spot?

The Designer Jumble Sale is a collection of high quality secondhand clothes and accessories, curated by a member of the fashion industry (ahem… *blush*… me). Brands include classics like Schiaparelli, YSL, and Dior, alongside Best-of-British brands like Rupert Sanderson, Bill Amberg, MCQueen and Terry de Havilland. Adam Hill of Retrouvius will be loaning us some fantastic salvaged furniture and Tamsin Flower of beldirugs.com will be showcasing her beautiful vintage Moroccan carpets, too. No neophiles here, folks.

How would you incorporate 300 bananas, 5 tons of golden syrup, and 2 peacocks into a future pop up?

I would commission Hussein Chalayan, Stephen Jones and Jean-Pierre Braganza to help me make something deliciously sculptural out of crystalised syrup and feathers. The bananas would be required for energy. It is part of the Designer Jumble Sale message: a LOT of work goes into these pieces.

Pop Up Shop Interview: 5 Questions with Pop Up Ping Pong

What is your pop-up history to date?

Pop Up Ping Pong has been in operation since the beginning of this year plotting our first pop up. Our launch event had such a great turnout with a classic American frat party vibe, people just turned out in their masses and made the most of what we had – Ping Pong tables, cheap booze, awesome street food burgers by #BRGR (www.hashtagbrgr.com) and shaped the party as much as we did to make it happen. So at one point we had people asking if they could put together some tables so they can set up a Beer Pong match, without knowing too much about the rules or the consequences we rustled up whatever we had in storage and put out a make shift table and watched the ants take over the ant hill! We’ve incorporated Beer Pong ever since as testament to our first customers and you can come to any of our pop ups now and see hulking crowds teeming over our dedicated tables complete with regulation markings. So that’s how the story goes, and we’ve been popping up and at ‘em ever since!

Why pop up?

*Rolls sleeves up* Pop Up is the way of the future. As I heard Daniel Young (www.youngandfoodish.com) pop up entrepreneur once say, and I quote, ‘pop up restaurants are restaurants with no walls’. This applies to any pop up business or art. We are obliged never to settle and always aspire to create a new experience for our customers. This agenda is simply dictated by the economics of having ‘no walls’. As a pop up you’re not burdened with the overheads of rents, gas, electricity, wages, but for the period in which you use your space. You are only committed to use your space as long as you wish and this gives us the freedom to create. It almost forces you to be artistic and ‘things to do’ in London are better for it!

Why did you decide to enter the Collective Competition?

This may sound a little evangelical but we thought with a high street location we could really do something special for that part of Camden High Street. We’ve spoken a little about this at Pop Up Ping Pong and we’ve always loved the idea of Camden. It’s a hotchpotch of what’s trendy and cool and there’s always something a little bit romantic about that. Problem is it’s not always been that accessible for the rest of us! Koko has been a shining beacon on one end of the high street in that respect. They always have something good on that you can see with friends or on a date but somewhere along the middle of the high street the buzz dwindles and we think we can add to it with a bit of sparkle. People often meet for the first time over a game of ping pong at our events and that’s quirky but we like it!

What can people expect to find in the Collective shop during your spot?

The PUPP Shack is a boutique-style ping-pong pop-up parlour featuring one Olympic-sized table combined with a street food diner offering dainty and delicious sliders by mini burger purveyors #BRGR. They use the finest ingredients, with their golden brioche buns sourced from Miller’s of Wimbledon and their grass-fed beef from The Ginger Pig butchers. A drinks bar will also be featured, with the legendary PUPP beer pong table (complete with regulation size and cup markings) making a stalwart appearance alongside it. Throughout the course of the four-day pop-up, expect events ranging from sporting competitions with prizes to ping-pong masterclasses and more.

How would you incorporate 300 bananas, 5 tons of golden syrup and 2 peacocks into a future pop up?

It would be a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Great Gatsby themed extravaganza no doubt!

Pop up shop interview: 5 Questions with Atomica Gallery

Atomica Gallery is the first of four pop-up experiences coming to Camden High Street for the month of June. Winners of the Camden Collective Pop Up Shop competition, Atomica Gallery owners Holly Lander and Orla Bennett have shared their ideas about Pop-ups, Camden High Street and life as a pop-up with us!

^{What is your pop-up history to date? Ex. Where have you been and how long have you been in operation?}

From the get-go Atomica was always planning to be a permanent gallery and shop, but as the idea started to take shape it made sense to do some sort of test trading to see if people would like the concept and the artists we planned on showing, so we launched Atomica as a three week pop-up in December 2012. The pop-up was alot of fun and gave us the confidence and collateral to open up our new permanent space which is located Hackney. Atomica pop-ups are still on the horizon though – we are very excited about our week in Camden at The Camden Collective and we would like to do more around London this year and possibly in other parts of the UK. Maybe even one in America in the next few years!

^{Why pop up?}

Its a great way to expose what you are doing and get a feel for different audiences.

^{Why did you decide to enter the Collective Competition?}

We love Camden, we grew up going to gigs and and spent alot of our teenage years hanging out there. When we heard about the competition we jumped at the opportunity to do our second Atomica pop-up there. It is great opportunity to be part of one of our favorite parts of town and having the chance at a rent free space for a week on a busy high street is something we didn’t want to miss.

^{What can people expect to find in the Collective shop during your spot?}

People can expect to see under-exposed contemporary artists, illustrators and lowbrow weirdness from around the world. We specialise in beautifully framed affordable art, as well as books, magazines and collectable, artist made objects.

^{How would you incorporate 300 bananas, 5 tons of golden syrup, and 2 peacocks into a future pop up?}

We would ask an artist to do a massive artwork on the floor with all the items, make a time lapse and show the video in the pop up “Art Attack” style.

And here’s a bit more information directly from Atomica Gallery about their launch.

The facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/378051902300970/?fref=t

Music: DJ Paskal from Rough & Tough crew will be spinning classic ska and reggae vinyl

Drinks: Sailor Jerry are sponsoring the event and will be providing rum cocktails

Atomica’s launch will also feature the debut of Honest Brew’s “We Are Pop Up x Camden Collective” brew!

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