PopUp Republic

Preface

Quite often, a revolution takes place right before our eyes without our even being aware of it until it has already taken place. To understand why this occurs, think of a connect-the-dots drawing. The dots are all there in front of you, but until you connect them, you have trouble discerning what the picture actually portrays.

We are living in just such an era. The makeover is taking place in a confluence of four commercial sectors: retail; public dining; commercial and public property; and events. And it’s happening because of a movement that is so new and fragmented that it doesn’t have a definition, is spelled three different ways, even though it is only five letters, and its size depends on what you include within its umbrella, something that up to now is a matter of opinion.

The movement we are referring to is pop-ups, a/k/a pop ups, a/k/a popups. However you spell it, what can’t be argued is that pop-ups are changing how artisans are making money; how commercial property owners are leasing their spaces; how big brands are launching new products; how celebrities are promoting themselves; and how e-tailers are marketing the merchandise they sell online.

And that is from the supply side. The convulsions are happening on the demand side as well. Consumers are now favoring locally made products, both for environmental reasons and because of a desire to know more about the merchandise they buy—where, how, and by whom a product was made. They want an antidote to the ...