John Lewis Pop-up

​This month I had the opportunity to sell my products in John Lewis for one week, as part of a scheme organised by The Great Brand Exchange. Find out how it went in this article. 

The Great Brand Exchange gives small handmade businesses the opportunity to rent pop-ups in large retailers, to give them the opportunity to get in front of new audiences. Once you've been accepted onto their platform, you can apply to different retailers across the country. As it turned out, a vacancy came up in the beauty department of John Lewis, White City right after I'd been accepted onto the platform. Accepting it would mean I only had a week to prepare, but I decided to go for it, as otherwise there's a tendency to continually put these things off until you feel ready, which of course one never does. 

So, at 8.30am on 2nd October, here I was in John Lewis with my suitcases full of stock and an empty mini shop to fill. Yes, the sign above does say I was there from 2nd September, but I didn't write that one! 

Fifteen minutes later I was pretty happy with my set-up. Fortunately, I'd just organised a couple of photoshoots for my new makeup ranges, so I had a comprehensive selection of gorgeous photos to choose from. I quickly ordered prints of six of them, along with frames to put them in, so that I had some evidence of my products in action, as well as added visual interest in the display. I also brought along some of the sprigs of foliage I got for use as photo props. 

Once set up, I settled down behind my counter to await the shop opening. I had been warned that the weekdays were usually very quiet in store, and sure enough very few people came in during the week. I managed to grab the interest of a couple of people who wandered past and give them business cards, but generally the only people who went near my little corner were those on a mission to one of the big brands around me. It did sadden me a bit to see so many people spending vast amounts of money on makeup that is laden with potentially harmful filler ingredients and packaged entirely in plastic. 

I designed my space with a selection of testers for all my makeup products at the front, along with some cleansing balms, lip scrubs and shampoo bars out the front. Further in I had more of everything, along with the lipsticks and Multi-Purpose Powders in every colour, and also some Christmas soaps that could be added to gift sets. The latter, along with the lip scrubs, are a new product that will be coming to the website next month. 

By Saturday, footfall in the shop did start to increase and I was able to talk to some more people about the benefits of natural skincare. All in all, it was an exhausting experience, as I had to staff the stall solo from 9am-8pm every day. However, I think I learnt a lot from doing it. 

I also had fun putting on different eyeshadow shades every day I was there! They don't look as bright because I didn't have any base makeup on, but it kept me out of mischief! 

Do you have any experience with popups that you'd like to share? Feel free to leave a comment below.