designed in brunswick’s Christmas pop up shop could be an annual event with its second to launch early December.
The duo behind the boutique homewares brand, Aisling Gallagher and Neil Hargreaves, held their first pop up in 2011 using the space at the front of their studio.
“We are a few doors in off Lygon street, so not an obvious retail destination but Melbournians love a back street or a lane way event, so we are kind of ‘investing’ in the space and making it known we are here,” they say.
“The space is pure white – gallery style. It’s a reflection of how we live, bright artworks and graphic cushions on black furniture in white spaces. The space inspires the usage really, the front room is tiny but it makes a great little gallery, we will be pushing into the main factory area as well this year to make room for the clothing, so it will be a little more boutique style.”
Customers will be able to purchase clothing for the first time along with gifts, wrapping paper, homewares and limited edition artworks.
This year’s event is expected to draw in a larger crowd with designed in brunswick eager to meet locals passionate about design. Gallagher and Hargreaves plan to make their Christmas pop up a yearly event and focus on designing for retailers during the rest of the year.
“The pop up creates an intimate story because we do it from the place that we print and design from. You get to see where we spend most of our time and meet our dog Elmo, it’s kind of like an open studio… Normally we concentrate on wholesaling to a range of design driven retailers and we do the occasional design fair to create brand awareness.”
