Pop-up: Behind the scenes!
How to guide for creating your own Pop-Up Shop
Pop-up shop: a magical sales space that appears in unexpected places. This flash retailing is used to generate interest, create a sense of urgency, and get people to visit your business for a fun, limited time event. For Sand & Pine, it all starts with the product.
AmericasMart Atlanta is more than just a buying trip for the Sand & Pine girls. It’s a time to reconnect and reaffirm. Days are spent shopping for just the right products for our online store and adding specific items for the specialty pop-ups that have become such an important part of our marketing strategy. With her business acumen and financial savvy, Sidnie is our enforcer and keeps us on track when it comes to staying on budget!
Nights are for fun, relaxation, and shop talk about the next day’s activities! While shopping is the most important daytime activity, nighttime dining takes a strong second. At Sand & Pine we are very serious about our hydration and nutrition!
Every market comes with those specialty buys. Items that are cash and carry. Sand & Pine is always searching for bargains that we can pass on to our customers! This trip’s dough bowls (soon to be a new item on our website) were one of those finds, and when I say carry, I mean carry! We hand carried the dough bowls over four blocks before we got to the hotel, where Chloe ran up and got our cart! This was just one of two trips!
For every pop-up shop, it’s important to get just the right look that says who you are as a retailer. What is your vibe? What look are you going for? Who is your target market?
Behind the scenes, Chloe spent weeks gathering display pieces that would show off our products. The table above (Shown displaying our Long Oval Cutting Board with Glass Cloche) has become the Sand & Pine pop-up center piece and was a Facebook market find. The trunk beneath the table was passed down from our Nana. Together these display pieces make up a small portion of the items needed to stage our product. An island cart with wheels, ladder shelves, folding tables, metal podium and various baskets, crates and risers finish the look that says Sand & Pine.
Location, Location, Location! Need I say more? At the Martinsburg Christmas on Main, Sidnie was able to garner the perfect spot. Make that two! Our Unimog Swiss military transport made an excellent photo op while doubling as our product carrier.
Each pop-up shop comes with a unique set of logistics. We have gone from 4 cars, one truck and an open trailer, to the Unimog, to a rented U-Haul. Now, as of this week, Sand & Pine is the proud owner of a covered trailer, a must in transporting product in all kinds of weather!
Upon arriving at the pop-up destination, heavy lifting begins! The average set up time for the Sand & Pine crew can be anywhere from 2-3 hours and requires both muscle and visual merchandising. For the muscle, Drew, Eric and Sam are a blessing here, but we ladies can hold our own.
Once all the crates and fixtures are inside (for an indoor pop-up like this one at Solace Brewing in Sterling), the set up begins and Chloe’s visual merchandising experience is key.
For every space there is a product and for every product, a space!
Grouping “like” items is key when merchandising. It is important that your customer can experience the flow of your retail space and not have to search and find. Chloe makes great use of this island cart by using all aspects of the cart’s design. Notice the “S” hooks for hanging and the cart baskets for merchandise overflow. The cart handle also doubles as a towel rack, showing off our gorgeous Cabana Stripe Tea Towels
Ladder shelving is the perfect way to showcase multiple items of the same shape and size. With it’s sturdy foundation and flat surfaced shelving, this unit also does well for breakables like our Home Fragrance Collection!
At Sand & Pine we love to repurpose and that shows not only in our decor ideas but in the items used for display. The old trunk above was a super Chloe find and now holds our collection of Pillows and Throws.
All good things must come to end and so goes the pop-up. Crates are brought in and the pack-up begins. There is nothing as important as making sure every product is packed and labeled. No matter how tired or how late in the evening, this is one area where there are no shortcuts. Once packed, everything is loaded up and taken back to the warehouse for re-shelving.
Once the take down ends there will be nothing left of the pop-up, but shared memories and hopefully monies in the till. To mark these special moments every company must have their memory maker and Sand & Pine has Maddie, who fills that role beautifully, with her social media savvy and photographic eye.
As always, thank you for letting us share our Sand & Pine experiences with you. Make sure you check out our upcoming events at the bottom of our Home Page for future pop-up locations, dates and times!
Now go out and…
Find your fancy!