Where do you work?

Monday, August 8, 2011

We were interested to find out where children’s clothing company Smudge Clothing has ‘set up shop’.

A year ago, Jemma Stark, owner of children’s clothing company Smudge, discovered a ‘pop up’ shop in Wellington. It was one of the first in the city and the concept made perfect sense to her as a small business owner working from home and mostly selling online.

Pop-up shops are where a group of retailers pull together to turn empty retail space into a temporary shop. While each shop is only in-situ for about four-six weeks, the organisers decorate and furnish the space and create an atmosphere conducive to browsing and buying.

For Jemma the pop-up shops are one step up from markets and craft fairs (which she also attends) and provide her with another means of getting her goods out there, without having to man the stall all day since each seller takes turns to be in the shop.

Other advantages of pop-up shops include:
  • not having to pay rental costs and other overheads such as power bills, and
  • typically, paying a percentage of sales or a minimum one-off fee.
So far, Jemma has participated in three pop-up design stores and is currently working on new stock for another two this year – one in September, coinciding with the World of Wearable Arts show and another in the run up to Christmas.

In our next blog we talk to former redline editor, Louisa Picker, about her new work location and why an online presence was important for her business.

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