"It sounds daunting but it's an amazing opportunity for your brand to be able to have a space in a location such as Oxford Street or Mayfair."
Vintage and second-hand fashion retailer Celiapops Celia Marment swapped Depop (and her 45k followers) for the high street with a pop-up at Sook 10 South Molton Street - taking her online brand into the real world, capturing and took her online brand into the real world - and read her tips on how you can do it too.
Fashion Forward
"I have been running Celiapops full time since studying psychology at Newcastle University, and have recently branched out into releasing our own original designs which we get ethically manufactured in London. We sell online using Depop and our new website, celiapops.co.uk.
"The business grew very organically. I originally started on Depop reselling my old clothes I no longer wanted. This progressed to sourcing the occasional piece here and there with the purpose of reselling. Once this scaled up to buying stock in larger quantities, it then became clear that this could be a full-time job for me. I have however always wanted to work for myself and do something out of the ordinary, so working in resale was a perfect fit.
“In my opinion, embracing resale will be both a necessary and inevitable step forward in terms of ethical consumption in the 21st century.”
"We source from countries all over the world, including South Korea, France and Spain. Our main supplier is now based in Italy where we select the clothes usually over a Facetime call, going through pieces one by one over the phone… lengthy but necessary!"
Sook Fits
"The flexibility of being able to book by the day in such a fabulous location was definitely the most appealing part for us.
"The service was so easy and it was so fabulous to be able to truly personalise and integrate our brand into the space.”
"We were keen to be able to have a physical store where we could meet customers whilst promoting the brand and getting our name out there. It was also a great opportunity to gather great content of our clothes laid out all nicely with branding and pictures on the walls behind for future promotions of the brand on Instagram… Using the promotion tool on Instagram is something we'd definitely do next time."
Making it Work
"When it comes to running your business, trusting the process and backing yourself 100% is the key. When you run your own business, you have to be your biggest cheerleader. There is no one telling you if you are doing it right and praising you when you do. You really do just have to trust your instincts and force yourself to take action, otherwise you never progress.
“Don't be scared! It's definitely worth the planning and commitment. It sounds very daunting but it's an amazing opportunity for your brand to be able to have a space in a location such as Oxford Street or Mayfair."
Visit Celiapops here.