Five Eye-Popping Pop Ups

Pop Tart Sushi being made at Pop-Tarts World

Empty and untapped places make great spaces for cool ideas and products. Whether they’re one-day events, temporary pop-up shops, or seasonal dining or retail experiences, New York City real estate has a bounty of square footage to repurpose into something fleeting and exciting.
Here are five of our favorite pop-up experiences we loved popping by to check out.

Pop-Tarts World
A favorite childhood snack cleverly made good use of its name and applied it to the pop-up phenom. The temporary Pop-Tart shop took over 3,200 square feet of retail space in Times Square and transformed into a café and retail outlet featuring Pop-Tart inspired treats like Pop-Tarts Sushi, Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Sammys and Pop-Tart Ants on a Log, among other creations. The Promotional Marketing Association (PMA) awarded the concept the “Best Experiential Marketing Campaign of 2010.”

Charmin
Although this space popped up more than a year ago, the Charmin NYC Experience wiped quite an impression on New York after it took over Times Square. The Charmin Pop-up toilets were a collection of portable toilets equipped with three kinds of TP for your choosing pleasure. There was Ultra Soft, Ultra Strong and Sensitive. Of course a bevy of toilets in the middle of Manhattan wouldn’t make sense without an area to allow for fans to do the “Potty Dance.” The dedicated area attracted plenty of full bladders!
Ed’s Martian Books
Talk about Do-It-Yourself! Writer Andrew Kessler didn’t rely on a publisher fully to market his new book, so he created and is running his very own pop-up bookstore, Ed’s Martian Books. The shop in Manhattan’s West Village sells only one book and will be open through May 10, 2011.

Cool Hunting for Gap
The holiday season is a great time for a pop-up and New York has been blanketed with pop-up experiences over the last few winter holidays. Cool Hunting created their debut pop-up in Gap’s project space on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and stocked the shop with retail items that employ “innovative design, artisan craftsmanship, social and environmental consciousness,”.  The store include products like exclusive Jonathan Adler items, Grado headphones, and comic Amy Sedaris’ new book, along with other cool collaborations.

Rapha Cycle Club
There’s no better way to get to know New York City than by bike, so it was an exciting addition to downtown Manhattan when the London-based bike retailer, Rapha spent three months on the Bowery. In addition to biking apparel and accessories, Rapha took on personality as a meet-up space for road riders and included a gallery, a café, and presented live daily screenings of the Tour de France.