PopUp Republic

Pop-Ups: The State of the World

Pop-ups are like pretzels. Everyone claims that pretzels were first produced in their native country and can point to an exact time and place where that occurred. The fact of the matter is that pop-ups probably first appeared before history was even recorded. Itinerant merchants selling pelts, grain, and other wares would set up shop for a few hours or days in various towns along their routes. Farmers would sell their crops at harvest time from the side of the road. Before land was apportioned on the continent to the wealthy, which resulted in what we now call “jobs,” most people had to fend for themselves, setting up businesses that often required them to be mobile and temporary rather than permanently located at one spot.

So pop-ups—as defined as being businesses or events that are temporary, requiring physical venues and physical shoppers, and having a start and end date—go back practically to the beginning of mankind’s presence on earth. But in terms of recent history and modern-day commercial trends, we need to turn our attention to that place on the other side of the pond—the United Kingdom—and in particular to its capital, London, which arguably remains the pop-up capital of the world.

In London, pop-ups, especially in the form of pop-up shops, supper clubs, and farmers markets, comprise an important part of the retail and dining sectors of greater London and, to a somewhat lesser degree, the rest of the U.K. We can cite four examples ...