My Pop Up Shop at Miami

On November 20th, I held a Pop Up Shop at Miami University to release and sell my new line of merchandise. It was such a special day and a thrilling experience. My whole family came to Miami for the event. My Mom and younger sister arrived the day before to help set up everything, and my dad and older sister Claire came Friday morning.

Here is the back story! At a fun dinner in October with my parents, we made the decision to create and sell merch to expand my brand. I am always looking for new ways to challenge myself and continually grow. I also knew that I wanted to have the items available before the holidays. With such a short time line, we hit the ground running.

For the rest of October and November, we worked on designing and creating the merchandise. The first task was to work with a company to create the website, emilyOandbows.com as the hub for my social media and a place to buy my Busy Brunching items online. I wanted to have a way for people to purchase the items in person and  my amazing parents suggested having a Pop Up Shop at Miami to open the new line. There were many components to this whole event and we had a great time planning every navy blue, white and pink detail! 

The first hurdle was to determine where to hold the event that would be covid friendly. We found an empty building that was a former bookstore and sits on a prime corner in Oxford. The space needed a quick makeover because it was filled to the brim with abandoned items! We had a fantastic crew of boys, led by an awesome property manager come in the week before and clear out a corner and clean the space. 

Once we made room, we brought in rented pipe and drape to block off the rest of the warehouse and make everything brighter. The furniture was a key aspect. We rented white wooden bookshelves to display the merchandise and a white counter for a checkout area. My Mom brought a darling white and gold table and rented pink velvet chairs for a little display. For extra decoration and warmth, we hired a great balloon company on campus to set up a pink and white balloon garland as well as several balloon bunches to scatter around the space.  The old warehouse was quickly transformed into a store front. 

The day of the event was exciting! The night before I could barely sleep because I was nervous no one would show up or purchase any of our items. The morning of the Pop Up shop, we all dressed in our matching Busy Brunching sweatshirts, put the finishing touches on the space, and opened the doors at noon. I was overwhelmed by how many people took the time to come to the Pop Up Shop! It was a gorgeous sunny Friday in Oxford and many people were out and about in the pretty downtown. My amazing friends showed up, took pictures, and shopped the Busy Brunching line! 

People who I had never met before arrived and were ready to browse and chat! The sweetest little girls drove forty-five minutes with their mom and grandma because they all watch my videos. I almost teared up at how adorable they were! A family of five was in town from Virginia picking up their son for Thanksgiving break. They watch my YouTube channel and follow me on instagram and one of their daughters was my 9,000 Instagram follower! It was so fun to meet them and all the other people that stopped by to shop and visit.

By closing time, we had sold out of our candles, notepads, and bracelets! The crewnecks were a hit, specifically the navy color! The day was one I will always remember and I am happy I took a leap and decided to sell merchandise and host a Pop Up shop.

After the event, many people continue to send me pictures of them wearing their new Busy Brunching merch! I am so appreciative of all the people that stopped by to shop and support my new endeavor. The entire experience makes me even more motivated and excited for what is to come! Following the Pop Up shop, we have been busy packaging all of the orders we received from our website! We are hosting another Pop Up shop in our home town, which will be exciting as well. This whole process has been so fun, eye-opening, and a great learning experience! I am already thinking about my next little line of merchandise. Thank you to everyone for following along with me!