What We Did
We custom-built a number of shop fittings to create a unique pop-up shop, which could successfully showcase independent designers’ work, whilst retaining a strong brand image for ‘Not on the High Street.
Working with Initials we were asked to create a Christmas pop-up shop for the online retailer ‘Not on the High Street’ to be installed in Waterloo Station. The shop would then require to be dismantled and later relocated to Westfield, London.
We custom-built a number of shop fittings to create a unique pop-up shop, which could successfully showcase independent designers’ work, whilst retaining a strong brand image for ‘Not on the High Street.
One of the main features of this pop-up shop was the house frame which we painted in Not on the High Street’s blue. This stand-out piece of the set helped tie the entire shop together.
Every shop needs a shop window at Christmas, and this pop-up was no different. To achieve this, we built a large freestanding corner unit. The unit was sprayed all over in gloss white, with one side clad in CNC cut Sundeala board in a brick texture. To add more texture to the brick we then scenically coated the brick using Idenden and painted it with a matt white paint. The window was secured with invisible fixings and housed a mantelpiece that would be dressed with items you would usually place around your fireplace at Christmas.
We love a job where we get to use our Creative Technology skills and this was no exception. For the rear wall of the shop, we created a “Thoughtful Thought” machine where you could press a button and a card would be dispensed containing a “thoughtful thought”. This was created by adapting a car park ticket machine and programming it to do what we wanted.
To learn more about the Creative Technology work we do click on the link below.
Of course, a pop-up shop requires a till, so for this, we custom-built one from birch ply and painted the front in a matt grey. The till counter would not only house the till, but also served as a point of sale by including sections in which products could be placed. Both are functional and practical additions to the shop.
Shops on the actual high street often have stockrooms to store additional stock. As this was a pop-up it didn’t have that luxury, so storage had to be built into the “shop floor” area. This was achieved by building custom-built, lockable storage cupboards, which also doubled up as display counters. These were made in birch ply and spray lacquered in a pale grey to keep with the look of the rest of the shop.
Every aspect of the shop was considered, including all internal and external walls. One of the external side walls was used to house a Plasma screen which we recessed into the wall. The wall itself was clad in Sundeala board in a brick texture and scenically coated in Indenden to give it a lovely texture and then painted in matt white.
As Not on the High Street isn’t a brand we are used to seeing on our high street branding the shop well was highly important. We did this by including four large CNC cut tags to sit on each side of the shop as well as a rotating sign with LEDs to sit on the top.
This job came with a few challenges, but none we couldn’t overcome. As the shop was to be dismantled and moved consideration needed to be made when designing and building to ensure this was easily achieved. There were also a few last-minute additions to the job, which will always add pressure. Thankfully due to our good relationships with suppliers and knowledge of logistics all these additions were designed, manufactured, delivered and installed before the opening of the shop.
