Local designers Bronwyn & Hej Hej have teamed up for a very cool pop-up in Auckland this month. We thought this was a great time to chat with them about the event and their female-led collaboration.
Other designers in this retail experience include; Fankery Bakery, Videris Lingerie and RAAIE.
Sans Pareil chatted to Sarah Street from Bronwyn Footwear and Alice Isles from Hej Hej.
What is the pop-up and why did you get involved in this?
SS: The pop-up is a coming together of brands that we feel align really well with Bronwyn in terms of values - we wanted to create a unique retail experience where customers can enjoy browsing multiple products, and introducing customers to brands that they may not have necessarily been aware of beforehand. We also wanted to show our support for other female-led businesses, especially during these challenging times for small business owners.
AI: We have teamed up with hej hej, Bronwyn, Videris lingerie and Fankery bakery. Retail and sales have
been tough for everyone this year so we wanted to create curated collection that would give customers
a fun experience. None of the brands have full time stores in Auckland so we thought it was a great way
to get people interacting with our brands… Shopping + Cake, what else do you need for a fun weekend
out!
Pictured: Hej Hej and Bronwyn footwear.
How did you band together to get the idea of doing one?
SS: Hej Hej and Bronwyn have done a few pop-ups together and they've worked really well for us and we loved the idea of a collective of brands showcasing their latest offerings, almost like a mini department store of sorts. As small business owners with young families, it's also a lot of work to pull together a pop-up on top of the day to day runnings of a business, the old saying "many hands make light work" rings true when it comes to short term pop-ups like this one. It's also a really enjoyable experience to be able to learn from other brands and see how they do things, and share ideas.
AI: We (hej hej) struck up friendship with Sarah from Bronwyn through previous pop ups in our stores in
Auckland and Wellington. We have been keen on teaming up together in Auckland and curating a
beautiful space. We reached out to Chloe from Videris because we loved her brand and Cathy at
Fankery because her baking is so innovative and delicious. We thought we could pool together and share
customers and create a special experience.
Why is it so important to support female led brands for you?
SS: I think it's nice to align with female-led brands as they inherently understand you and know what you're going through, running a small business can be a lonely and challenging experience at times, so it's really nice to be able to share a space with other like-minded females that are having similar experiences to yours.
AI: We think it's important to support all local brands in NZ and get people out and about shopping. It's
inspiring to connect with creative women who are so ambitious. Starting and running a small business
can be scary and lonely so when we all band together and support each other is a great thing.
Check out their current pop-up experience:
Dates and times:
- 4th May - 20th May | 10-4pm Thursday - Saturday
Location:
- 568 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland.
