St’ArtUp317 Season 4

Recap!

We caught up with some of the Season 4 pop-ups to ask about their experience during the month of May! We asked them, “What challenges did you face that were unique to a store front?” AND “What’s next for you?” Here’s how they replied!

Written & Styled by Thailand Burris & Kaylee Williamson

Lou Met Jane 

“I didn't face many new challenges due to previous experience from previous pop-ups, but I was very excited about the new clientele that I gained being in the storefront. 

I'm available on DoorDash, and I'm hoping to continue to grow my business through delivery, my website, and pop-ups.”

Enlighten & Love

“I think the biggest challenge I faced was marketing to this specific area. I came in not knowing if I would be received well which isn't typical because I have a very specific brand type. Another challenge was knowing when to restock to keep products in the store! Timing it out correctly was a craft I had to learn. 

I am hoping to find a store front here of my own soon, and I will be continuing my work in LA.” 

Shuē Clothing 

“A challenge I faced was trying to figure out what would draw customers in so I could have consistent traffic to the store. This pop up experience really helped me polish my in person customer service, because I was doing face to face sales and not online.

I AM getting a storefront VERY soon. This experience was a game changer for me and I'm very excited about this area. Apparel is always available on our website!”

ZURRI Boutique 

“The challenge, if any, was making sure that the inventory I had matched public demand. ZURRI Boutique is for EVERYONE at every price point so we had to make sure our bases were consistently covered. 

I will continue doing pop ups! This is only my third pop-up so I’m excited to do them as much as possible in the future!”

Keep It 100 LLC

“Some challenges I faced in the beginning were learning my peak business times. Learning when my busy and slow times happened made things run smoother for me. My products would consistently sell out, so it was helpful in keeping products stocked. 

I’m going to go back to selling online until my next pop up opportunity. I’m going to continue to educate people on skincare and healthy ways to indulge in all natural products.”

Vintage Vagabond

“A challenge was sharing a location with three separate vendors. We all sell similar products so we had to make sure we were all on the same page when it came to pricing, marketing, and how we placed our products in store. We also had to make sure we were welcoming to each other's customers which wasn't a challenge, just something unique to being in the store front. 

You can continue to shop with me on my website, but typically I'm in the community doing business with local thrift stores! You can always catch me driving around the city with bags full of goods! Hopefully a permanent storefront is next!”

Lifted Thrift

“A challenge we faced was finding what to do with our time! We were used to working on other people's time and being told what to do, but with the storefront we had so much more space and opportunity to do what we wanted. Another challenge was the business aspect of a store front. We definitely learned a lot like how to keep better track of our sales and organization in general. 

We are definitely going to start looking for a space to move into and will do a few pop up events! We’ve had a lot of different people and venues reach out to us so we are excited for the future!”

Classic Buffalo

“A challenge was working and sharing business space with people I didn’t know before this, however, it was nice to work with them and made filling out the space in our storefront easy. Before this, I was not a person that was not great with handling conflict, but this set up forces you to learn and grow so I’m grateful for it. 

I have a very clear vision of where I want to take Classic Buffalo. I will be forming a nonprofit to help people get access to therapy and other resources with the money we have raised. I’m hoping to make Classic Buffalo an ally to the community.”

SuperMom Headquarters

“The biggest obstacle would probably be location. We are on the side street so we don't have a lot of foot traffic. I’m also on the second floor so people can’t immediately see my product when they come in. It taught me different ways to market my products including social media.

My goal is to have a retail space in Fountain Square, my life is here and it's an important community to me. I’m hoping to get a location more central to fountain square with more foot traffic.”

Fly’s Nest

“I don’t really see my obstacles as negatives, being here has shown me what I need to work on if I was to continue with a storefront. It has helped me learn different ways of advertising and marketing to my customers. 

I will be looking into getting my own space. In the meantime I will be more consistent online and my socials to continue growing my brand.”