Thank you to everyone who came out to our Winter 2015 / 2016 pop up event! Because of you, The Hunt Shop Happy Hour was a full success. We cannot tell you how rewarding it is to see our customers face to face and get the opportunity to promote our sustainable shopping alternative.
That said, pop ups are not for the faint of heart! It is quite literally a mad dash to create a boutique in just a couple of hours…or less. It is equal parts exciting, intense, fun, stressful and awesome. There is always a moment (typically 15-ish minutes before the event starts) of complete chaos – Helen running around with a sequin crop in one hand and fringe skirt in the other, and me, frantically digging through a box looking for an extra tag. Somehow we manage to pull it together.
Some of you might remember our first event at A Vision, a charming little florist and wine shop in Bucktown. This time we chose a completely different space and set up shop at The Shift in Uptown.
The Shift provides a convenient, local work space for individuals, teams, and small businesses with all the productivity-boosting amenities of a downtown office, without the hike. It’s big, bright, and has a very industrial feel. We live for juxtaposition – it’s how we make a grandpa sweater look cool, so this space was the perfect back drop to show off our vintage threads and sparkly treasures. Even more than the cool space, we love supporting other local small businesses – especially female owned ones!
We served yummy drinks including sangria, wine, and bubbly. We also serendipitously inherited a ton of tulip champagne glasses from a friend via her work with an art gallery which allowed us to stay true to our sustainable mission (and classy AF!) My mother, a former caterer and strong supporter of THS, made a hundred tiny cheese biscuits and rosemary cashews because ‘a glass of wine is soooo much better with a little bite of something salty.’ Preach mama.
So the stage was set with an uber cool space, alcohol, and munchies. Now let’s get to the main attraction – the thrifted threads! We decided to organize by style verses garment type. We hunt all kinds of items, so it can be a bit overwhelming when they are all lined up together. This new arrangement allowed our customer to focus on their needs and personal style with less distraction.
Who you callin’ a BOHO? was our bohemian, hippie, and 70s inspired section. Profesh was our work appropriate and professional wear. I’m so FANCY was all things embellished and party attire which got to most of the action. Finally, Ath-leisure was our chic lounge wear section, because we hunted a ton of Lululemon this season. We also set up specialty display tables with graphic tees and a big island of jewelry in the middle of the room.
Outfit inspiration pictures were strategically place throughout the clothes as they are another major component of our display. In our experience, most women don’t need help finding more clothing, and I’m sure your virtual and physical mailboxes are as full as mine are with coupons for J Crew, Banana, Gap, etc. Tis the season, right? Clothing is literally everywhere. The hard part is the styling. To help you envision how to wear a particular garment, we include a picture with either the exact item, or a very similar one, with complimentary pieces. We hope this gives you a little boost of inspiration. We strive to create an unexpected ensemble, i.e. look how stylish a white button down can look layered under a fancy dress!
At 4pm sharp ladies trickled in, grabbed a bevy and a cheese biscuit, and wandered around our curated closet. Helen and I floated around the room answering questions and sharing tidbits about our favorite pieces. We soaked in the “oohs” and “ahhs” and laughter coming from the dressing room and encouraged a couple impromptu dance parties. In the blink of an eye the 2 hours zoomed past, and all the sudden it was 6pm and time to pack up.
We cannot thank our supporters enough: our significant others who help up us transport our merch (and deal with our general craziness), our friends and family who are always showering us with encouragement, the new customers who popped in to say hello, and those who just randomly stumbled upon our event. The Hunt Shop does not exist without you. As a small business, every single purchase matters and helps us to continue this crazy project/ hobby/ dream of ours.
If you were not able to attend, you haven’t completely missed out. We will be posting our favorite items that didn’t sell in our Tradesy closet over the next couple weeks. Follow us on Instagram @thehuntshop for release announcements.
One more very important thank you to Dustin Johnston Photography for taking these great photos of the event!
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