The Pop Up Recap

I recently realized I never did a Pop Up Shop recap post. Call it bad business, but after we wrapped our 3-week Brick & Mortar back in March 2019 I fully indulged myself in family time, deep breaths and a pat on the back. Big hugs appropriately went to my hubs, my 2 daughters, my mom and my 2 sisters (and all those that truly supported me through the whole process - you know who you are) as I truly COULD NOT have done it without them. I then found myself (being totally transparent here) crawling into a hole. I tried to embrace my blog and used it as a way to share more of what Bitsy loves, focused on building my brand + business and that was that. Then November hit and I realized I needed to recalibrate. It felt scary, but mostly felt really good. (Please note that is especially easy to say now that I am finally coming out of the hole).

It started with a visit to trade shows the August (2018) prior…….The planning - it reminded me of planning a really good trip/holiday. You get to “see” everything through the planning process but putting it all together and getting a lay of the land can’t really come until the actual event is present. This is the true test, right?! Touching, feeling, seeing the clothing is my favorite part which is why I’ve always loved retail. So naturally this part was fun. Since Im being honest here, it was also daunting and a bit scary. You put a lot on the line and need to trust yourself and your instincts. I know the industry, I’ve been following most of these brands for quite some time now, but it still felt scary. I was the one with the final say, I was the one that was going to need to put this all together and sell what I believe is the best in children’s wear. I was the one that needed to gain my customer’s trust and show them how to love these brands and collections the same way I do.

We got lucky and found a perfect space to set up shop. It was just the right size. Even though it was small I loved that we were able to fit baby carriages in between the racks. That was always important to me. Mike worked tirelessly to get the place up to snuff - painting/fixing/cleaning. He also worked closely with Darien Planning and Zoning (Darien does not make it easy btw to rent a space for a limited period of time!). We ordered make-shift, approved signage and we were ready to go about a week before (ish). Mid-late February/early March came. All of the product started arriving. We steamed each piece, and lugged them over to our retail space which was now officially “Bitsy Style”.

I especially learned a lot about myself. I love merchandising (!) - I wish I had gone to school for it. I love styling (for anyone that knows me knows this is no surprise). I learned (and gained some confidence) to understand that just because I love styling that doesn’t mean I am a pretentious person. I care about the way things look together and apart. I care about how they are constructed and more importantly what inspired them to be constructed in the first place. I crave speaking with designers, brand creators and owners. I love fabric and I mostly love helping people through their purchases and sharing with them why I am passionate about certain brands, collections and pieces. I love the children’s clothing world. There is so much passion going into these businesses and they are each shaping the fashion industry more so now than ever. Moms like me that love the work, love the inspiration, love the whole bit. So, naturally I love it because I almost always feel like I am in great company and at home. I’ve met so many cool people along this Bitsy journey that that alone makes all of the hard work even more worth it!

Speaking of brands - the brands I sold should be the true praise here. All well-made, well-priced and lovingly curated. Brands I dress my girls in and brands that are worth investing in. If each of these brands didn’t put so much love into their creations then my Pop Up Shop would not have been successful.

One of my biggest take-aways from the Pop Up is an even stronger respect and love for small business owners. These folks do it to inspire us, they do it to create, they do it to share and collaborate and they do it to make a living. They work their tails off. While I am definitely one to shop the big name retailers as well, my utmost respect and allegiance lie with all of the small business owners trying to bring their portion of inspiration and creativity to the world we live in. Just like receiving a good snail mail letter, there is nothing better than browsing|shopping in a small Brick & Mortar shop. Nothing. The term curated rings a whole new meaning to me now.

Here’s to 2020 - I will be embarking on sewing lessons, style courses, and different types of collaborations (stay tuned, super pumped!). I will be adding a “Style” section to my site as well. Ill let you know when it is officially live and I can’t wait for you to see what is store! Here’s to the happiest of New Years!

That’s a wrap!

Most images, Kristin Wood Photography