Two pubs have raised £1,500 with a pop up boutique at The Brookmans Pub in Potters Bar by selling donated items from staff and customers of The White Horse in Hatching Green in aid of The Willow Foundation.
Lauren Bailey, who organised the sale, said: “The community were so supportive of the event and I’d like to thank everyone who played a part. The Willow Foundation is an amazing local charity which does so much to support young adults living with life-threatening illnesses.”
30th March sees the launch of a temporary cake shop called ‘Sacred Tarts’, featuring creations from Nicola Shipley of Tattoo Cakes. The shop will feature cake Popes, cake truffle eyeballs on a plate and a representation of St Lucy. Other contributors include Francesca Mattea and Laura Edwards of Mama Jamma Cakes.
Carla Connolly, Assistant Technical Curator at the museum and creator of the Sacred Tarts event, said: “Easter eggs are always well received, but are pretty boring when you know you’re going to get them every year. The Sacred Tarts team will be busy over the next six weeks coming up with some pretty exciting alternatives – from crystal sugar crowns of thorns to butterscotch crucifixes and edible saints.”
Designed to highlight ‘the darker side of religion’, the show is free to enter, open from 11am to 6pm and located in Barts Pathology Museum in the Robin Brook Centre, West Smithfield, London.
For the first time in 115 years, prime estate agency Harrods Estates will be showcasing their property in possibly the most famous shop window in London.
The pop up will run until 2nd March and will be in the Harrods window on the corner of Old Brompton Road and Hans Road.
This collaboration between Harrods’ interior design service, The Studio, and Harrods Estates is designed to show off the ‘complete home solutions’ offered to buyers and marking a return to the estate agency’s roots. Shirley Humphrey, Director of Harrods Estates, said: “There is no more popular window in the capital and we are delighted that we can showcase some of London’s most high-profile residential developments and houses to the international market.”
Forest Hill becomes an essential destination for fashionistas from 15th-19th February, as the team behind the SEE3 pop up shops stages ‘Forest Hill Fashion Week’.
SEE3 is one of Boris Johnson’s London Portas Pilots, which was awarded £300,000 in order help revitalise high streets and promoting job creation in Lambeth and Tower Hamlets. Lewisham Council is providing an additional £137k to help rejuvenate the areas high streets with new street markets, start-up opportunities for new businesses and creative exhibitions. The aim of the team is to provide a springboard for businesses to trial their propositions in the high street and to stimulate long-term demand for empty shops. With The Butchery, who had a pop up shop at Christmas in Forest Hill, opening the doors of their permanent shop later this month the team have a pretty good record at bringing businesses to the high street that meet the needs of the community.
Louise Brooks, the Project Manager tasked with delivery of SEE3‘s pop up shop programme ‘The Shop Revolution’, said: “Forest Hill has become a hub for designer-makers and fashionable boutiques in recent years and so it is an ideal time to stage a celebration of local design talent and style. And of course the event will see the opening of our latest pop up shop SEE Boutique on Dartmouth Road with pop up tenants Love Ur Look selling their fabulous reproduction vintage outfits.”
With collections from local designers at Forest Hill’s boutiques, in-store events, textile and accessory workshops, fashion and jewellery upcycling, frock-swapping, markets, catwalk shows (including a dress-up catwalk for children) there will be something for all ages. For a full list of events taking place during this festival of local fashion interested you can visit www.see3.co.uk/fhfw.
Swatch opened a pop up project store on 26th January on Oxford Street, London, featuring the brand’s Spring/Summer collection and a new campaign to launch the newest addition to their collection. The ‘True Love Has Nothing To Hide’ campaign is up and running and the store features a Swatch kissing booth and Swatch cupids to celebrate the launch of A La Folie.
There will be competitions for visitors to win watches, and from 15th February the store will also host a variety of live art projects to showcase talent and creativity.
For further information see http://shop.swatch.com/gb/en/Home.aspx
Marble Arch was the location for the new M&S two day Oxfam pop up shwop shop. Over 40 celebrities including Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Plan B all donated items that were sold. To gain entry to the shop you needed a special ticket – something to “shwop” (an unwanted or unused item of clothing).
Adam Elman, Head of Plan A Delivery at Marks & Spencer, said: “The Shwop Shop is a celebration of shwopping. Fashion influencers, designers, stylists, thought-leaders and visionaries have given their sign of approval by donating their unwanted items and we hope this will inspire a new generation of shwoppers who see fashion and sustainability as one. The aim is to change people’s attitudes towards clothes recycling and give unwanted garments a future.”
“By opening your hearts, minds and your wardrobe and going shwopping, you can not only bag an outfit worn on the red carpet or to a glitzy awards evening, but help the environment too. Fashion with a conscience, it is perfect isn’t it? By shwopping all we want you to do is give your unwanted items stuffed in the back of your wardrobe a future. Simply bring an old item back every time you buy a new outfit, shwop and shop! Come to the Shwop Shop, shwop and shop and leave with a smile – the world will then feel a better place!”
Marks and Spencer has pioneered the idea of shwopping – a revolutionary clothes recycling initiative where customers can donate any item of clothing, of any brand, to be re-used, resold or recycled by charity partner Oxfam.
The campaign aims to put an end to the one billion items currently ending up in landfill every year. All M&S clothing stores now accept used and unwanted items of clothing from any brand, all year round. The ultimate aim for M&S is to collect 350 million items a year – recycling as many clothes as it sells.
Wanting a swift and responsive planning system to assist in getting empty and underused buildings back in use, the coalition government is in the process of increasing the scope of permitted development rights in order to facilitate growth. Getting empty town centre building back into use is a large part of that with the idea being to create opportunities for new and start-up businesses and improve the viability of town centres.
The decision has been made to allow a range of commercial buildings to convert temporarily to a set of alternative uses including shops (A1), financial and professional services (A2), restaurants and cafes (A3) and offices (B1) for up to 2 years. Whilst the changes have been approved, it will take some time before they are actioned. However the Government is working to amend regulations as quickly as possible.
Great news for pop up shops everywhere!
Chris Bracey, a London collector and creator of neon art (and in fact the first to create Soho’s perennial “Girls Girls Girls” sign) has recently opened his own pop up shop in central London.
God’s Own Junk Yard is packed with vintage props and choice phrases in neon, including Morrissey’s ode to another miserable night, are on sale with prices from £350.
So if bright, kitch and garish is your thing pop in to 47 Beak Street, London until the end of January.
Storm Thogerson (who owns and runs graphic design company StormStudios) has launched a pop up shop – StormShop – in his native Cambridge city centre. The shop on King Street has been launched in conjunction with their other pop up shop of the same name in Soho.
The aim of the shop is to showcase the StormStudio’s artwork. The studio specialises in album covers for rock ‘n’ roll bands including Pink Floyd, Muse and Biffy Clyro.
The StormShop will be open from now until 7th January at 6 – 16 King Street, Cambridge, CB1 1LN and 46 – 48 Beak Street, London W1. Find out more about the project at www.changing-spaces.org and www.stormthorgerson.com.
Thames Valley Vision have been awarded £30 million by Government energy watchdog Ofgem to discover how energy usage can be reduced and how large companies can monitor their energy usage and store energy at street level – and Thames Valley Vision is now hoping to speak to bill payers from their new pop up shop in Charles Square, Bracknell.
Allen Cook, Head of Engineering at Bracknell & Wokingham College, who has been working with the initiative, said: “The project team carried out a full investigation into our building with specialist engineers, and were then able to make some excellent suggestions as to how we could cut down our energy bill. Many of these have been implemented as they had no initial outlay costs, saving the college money at a time when all businesses need to be vigilant. He added: “It is nice to know that Bracknell & Wokingham College has played its part in what will become a national blueprint for the future.”