Shoproom
Pop up shop design for a trading window measured in weeks
A pop-up has to look like a proper shop from the first day and cost what a temporary shop should cost. Most trade for somewhere between a week and three months. We design it, show you the finished unit before anything is built, make it, install it and take it out again.
Designing for the window
The trading dates drive everything. How many days you trade, how long the landlord gives you to get in and get out, and whether the pop-up will be used again all change what makes sense to build. A two-week launch and a three-month test of a new location are different briefs, even in the same unit. Where the unit is matters as well. A shell in a shopping centre comes with the centre's access rules and working hours, and a vacant high street unit may need basic repairs before anything goes in.
Budget is the other constraint. It is easy to spend the whole pop-up budget on the box and have too little left for stock, staff and telling people you are there. We would rather show you where the money does the most in the render stage than find out after it has been spent.
Looking right up close
The fear with any temporary shop is that it looks temporary. Visitors pick things up, lean on the counter and look closely at edges. Our joiners, metalworkers and finishers make the pieces people touch to the same standard as a permanent shop, and the render shows you the finish before it is made.
Lighting does a lot of the work in a short-term unit. A bare shell with good lighting and a few well-made pieces often reads better than a unit filled with cheaper fixtures. Whatever the budget, the shopfront, the counter and the first display a visitor reaches deserve the most attention, because they are what people touch and photograph.
Built to come out
Short leases still carry reinstatement obligations. If you drill, paint or run cables through the landlord's unit, you may have to put it back at the end. A pop-up designed as freestanding pieces that bolt together and stand on the existing floor keeps that cost low and makes get-out quick.
It also means the pieces can be stored and used again, at a second location or the next season, with new graphics.
Safety and permissions
A pop-up is still a workplace and a public space. The operator needs a fire risk assessment, escape routes have to stay clear and signed, and most landlords want to see public liability cover before handing over the keys. We design the layout with the exits and circulation drawn in, and give you the drawings and method statements the landlord will ask for.
About pop-up shop design
Does a pop up shop need its own fire risk assessment?
Yes. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to temporary shops as much as permanent ones, and the person responsible for the premises must carry out and act on a fire risk assessment. The design should keep escape routes clear and signed, and avoid blocking exits with fixtures or stock.
What does a landlord expect back when a pop-up lease ends?
Usually the unit in the condition it was handed over, which means removing fixtures, filling fixings and repainting where you changed things. The lease sets the detail. Designing the pop-up as freestanding pieces that stand on the existing floor keeps that work small and the get-out quick.
How long should a pop up shop trade for?
Most pop-ups trade for somewhere between one week and three months. A launch or a seasonal moment tends to be short. A test of a new location needs long enough to see a pattern in sales, often six weeks or more. The trading length then decides how durable the build needs to be.
Send us the landlord's technical guide and your opening date.
A floor plan or a few photographs of the unit help. You'll hear straight away if the date looks tight.
info@stillroomcreative.com