5 Best Pop-Ups in London
Guest Article by Cate Trotter, Head of Trends at Insider Trends
London isn’t just the capital of the UK, it’s also a world leader in pop-ups. From newly formed companies to big name brands, all sorts of retailers are embracing the flexible shopping experience.
With new spaces popping up all the time, here are five of the best pop-ups taking place in the city right now. Get ready to be inspired.
At IKEA’s DIY Dining Club visitors can become chef for a day. The free DIY restaurant lets those lucky enough to be selected prepare brunch, lunch or dinner with up to 20 friends and family before tucking in. For those who don’t manage to grab a spot, IKEA is also running a series of Food for Thought workshops with guest speakers covering all sorts of culinary topics. Plus, there is an IKEA café, shop selling kitchen supplies and virtual reality kitchen experience.
Harry Potter fans will want to take a visit to the House of MinaLima pop-up store/exhibition. It showcases 15 years of graphic design work from the award-winning studio MinaLima – most famously their work on the Harry Potter films. Over two floors are given over to the graphics of the wizarding world, with original props from the film adding to the display. A ground floor shop means visitors can take home prints, prop replicas, postcards and notebooks to recreate the Hogwarts experience at home.
British design brand Alfie Douglas is going back to its roots for a new pop-up to celebrate the launch of its new Zero collection. Held at The Old Truman Brewery, the same place the company started back in 2014, the pop-up sees workshops, parties, demos and the chance to preview the new collection. Products will even be handcrafted live in front of visitors, giving them a unique insight into the creative process. There will also the opportunity for customers to shop and buy, with all sorts of limited edition and VIP offerings.
To celebrate the launch of six new limited edition sandwich flavoured crisps (in partnership with Heinz), Walkers has opened a pop-up speakeasy style café. Hidden behind a moveable crisp shelf in an unassuming newsagents, the café lets visitors create their own crisp sandwich from a range of ingredients, including breads, fillings and sauces. A password is required though. Once inside there’s plenty of other sandwich-themed sights and activities to enjoy.
Designers of beautiful tiles and interiors Bert & May have partnered with design label Darkroom as part of this year’s London Design Festival. The collaboration, called Split Shift, offers tiles and fabrics in Darkroom’s signature colours and geometric style, plus a new paint colour – Darkroom Black. It’s also seen Bert’s Barge, moored on Regent’s Canal, transformed into a floating Darkroom pop-up store redesigned and decorated in the new products, as well as other Darkroom collections.
As you can see, London is home to an exciting variety of pop-up concepts. They’re not exclusive to the city though – these ideas could easily translate elsewhere, which makes it a must-visit destination for anyone looking for new inspiration.
