But I wanted to share how things went at Rosebowl Flea Market on Sunday.
I had again my sister's help in making the day happen (yuko, you're awesome:)! We had a spot right in front of the main gate so our shop was definitely hard to miss and that was a huge win for us! The spot came with its own challenge, though. It was a carry-in only space so we had to make many trips from our car parked in the parking lot with boxes of items, 10x10 tent, tables, etc. etc. I think I got enough work-out for the whole week! Also being "the first shop" to be spotted, some people were just not ready to purchase anything even though they liked what they saw...
The day started at 6:30-ish for us but by the time we finished our set up was 8:30-ish which was perfect since the general admission started at 9am. It was thrilling to see a flood of customers coming through the gate!
This time... the BIGGEST hit was Traveler's Notebook and BRASS collection. Some of the changes we made in the shop display really made a big difference. Remember the visual moodboard for different ways of customizing the Traveler's Notebook accompanied with actual notebook filled with customization ideas and samples? Some customers spent good 1/2 hour looking through all the samples... trying to figure out the best way to customize their Notebook! Some customers told me, "I want to take everything you have in this sample notebook". That was some of my highlights from the day. Not because I sold more... but because I was able to share values of these items in an intuitive, easy-to-understand and inspiring way. You know... we thrive on those tings as designers:)
I heard my customers talking to her friend over the phone, "I am still stuck at the first shop (because she just came through the main gate)..., you know the really cute Japanese shop?? You have to come and take a look! You will love everything they have". Few minutes later... two of her friends arrived and she started telling everything about all the items we had in the shop. My sister and I looked at each other and smiled:)
Also I LOVED seeing my friends who come to visit my shop! FB and I have this dream of opening an European style cafe someday where friends gather after work and hang out for a glass of wine before they head home... (that was my impression of cafes in Paris when I traveled...) and in a way... this pop-up shop is facilitating something similar. Throughout the day our friends come by to say hi and we spent some time catching up and they see other friends there and really get in talking about what they are up to... Time to time, the shop does get crazy and feels like everyone is making purchases all at the same time... but we have some down-time when I get to hang out and chat.
Meeting new customers is a big plus for having the physical shop too! I love the potential of online world and what is allowing us to explore as an online business but there is definitely something really "real" about the offline relationship we build.
Well... since we had a great outcome on last Sunday, I decided to try it again in October.
We're trying something different and new, though!
We will be in the vintage area with a spot number: JJ05 (October 9th). I am hoping that customers will feel little more relaxed since they will have already walked through the market for a while... and can take their time looking through our items instead of being rushed to discover something more. We're not necessary selling anything vintage but I think our items have the potential of being the future of vintage:)
I also have few new ideas for the display... focusing on communicating inspiration and making it easier for everyone to understand what each item is all about!
More updates to come:)
