It all started with a Nick Arnett (@naarnett) tweet, back on September 20th: “Looking for small retailers in #FortWayne for an upcoming downtown shopping experiment. Suggestions?” I hit him back: “@GoodOnesClothin?”
Soon enough we were in the loop. Nick, Olivia Fabian of OFabz Swimwear and Lindsey Hively of Kernel Coladas Gourmet Popcorn had been concepting a downtown pop-up retail festival to wrap around the Thanksiving holiday. Both OFabz and Kernel Coladas had previously enjoyed great success with pop-up shops during downtown Fort Wayne’s Last Saturdays, and were looking to take the concept to another level.
We were excited to get involved. First off, The Good Ones Clothing—the clothing company we founded with Matilda Jane Clothing late last year—is only available online, and we were looking for an in-person experience for the holidays. And secondly, OLG simply loved the idea and wanted to lend some marketing magic to the proceedings.
We all met with the ever-open-minded Scott and Melissa Glaze, downtown advocates of J K O’Donnell’s fame, and they excitedly gave us a tour of a new property they’d acquired: 127 West Wayne. The location, quite frankly, is perfect. In addition to being centered downtown (and stop #1 on the Holly Trolley), the footprint is broken into six separate but shared spaces, perfect for the group of retailers we’d assembled.
The OLG crew went to work on an event name—HollyPop: A Downtown Festival of Pop-Up Boutiques—and the supporting design materials.
Not to put up the wreath before Thanksgiving, but we have to say, it feels like there’s some real holiday magic at work on this whole thing.
We have a terrific group of retailers lined up:
- OFabz Swimwear
- Kernel Coladas Gourmet Popcorn
- Eternal Youth Clothing Co.
- Belyst
- Sharp Dressed Van
- Yum-Mee’s Bakery
- The Good Ones Clothing Co.
- Ferocious Quarterly
- One Lucky Guitar
- and some extra special client guests…
HollyPop will be open Wednesday, November 21st from 6–9PM for the annual “Night of Lights” (stop on by in-between the lighting of Santa and the fireworks at Parkview Field!) as well as 7A–7P on Friday, November 23rd and 7A–7P on Saturday, November 24th. From 11A–5P on Saturday, the Downtown Improvement District will run Holly Trolley—a free, fun way to experience the diverse downtown retail and dining establishments available in the heart of Fort Wayne.
Saturday, November 24th is Small Business Saturday, and we’re excited to showcase entrepreneurial, startup businesses at HollyPop. Shop Small!
There will be fun activities, giveaways and surprises each of the three days—including band performances by The Final Hurrahs on Friday and Saturday—so check out HollyPop’s Facebook event page for all the details and to help spread the word.
We hope to see you at HollyPop!
