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.

Space: The New Frontier!

New York City is the epicenter of all things vibrant and thriving. It’s where movers and shakers unite to one-up the American Dream. The biggest decisions and most exciting developments happen in this compact, vertical city, all on the petite island of Manhattan. So many people, so many businesses, an endless supply of ideas, and yet, somehow there’s still all this space!

Some of those spaces are empty. (Not for long!) Some of the spaces are utterly creative and stunning. (Thanks to cool, outside-of-the-box innovators.) And some of the spaces are merely untapped and not fully realized. (That's where we come in.) Indeed, that leaves us with a lot of space to unleash ideas, transition and build partnerships -- all within that fabulous square footage.
 
And that's why we're starting this conversation. Who knew there was so much to say about space? (We did!) As experts of space, we see a disconnect -- empty space and office-less entrepreneurs, companies in transition, businesses doing big things with a small footprint, but no one making introductions.

Until now.

Real estate in New York is hungry for a game changer, and in today’s digital age, what better way to start the conversation and implement change than with a blog? We know what’s out there and what’s to come. We want to share it with you. 
 
Face it: Whether it's commercial or residential, the market is begging to be rethought. No space should go unused! Space is money! The solopreneur and mobile business owner need the occasional office space. That major corporation with high rent and property taxes could use some extra revenue. Empty lobbies make grand event spaces. Mobile businesses can fill unused boardrooms and  store fronts. To seal the deal mergers and acquisitions are best cast with a private and dramatic setting. In this economy, a turnkey experience should be accessible to all.

So let's start this dialogue! Lets redefine how space is used. Together lets repurpose those spaces to mean something else, for someone else, and let’s all make a little money at the same time.

We welcome you to explore our online space and share with us your inner and outer space ideas. Some of what we’ll be talking about will include understanding the value of keeping a virtual office, along with sharing some tricks for giving remote businesses more of a global and professional presence. (Hello, 212 number!)

We’ve got the professional world by its Little Black Book and we’ve conspired to make it all happen just as you want and need it.

And so, lets do this! Together let’s keep the market alive and thriving.

Expo for Small Business Owners Coming NYC this Fall

Entrepreneurs, take note! On October 5th, 2011 at the Penn Plaza pavilion (located directly across from Madison Square Garden) the Small Business Expo will give attendees the opportunity to learn about products & services to help their business exceed its goals, network with other industry professionals and attend cutting-edge workshops & seminars.  The expo will provide entrepreneurs & decision-makers with networking events, workshops, and seminars focused on the needs of small businesses.

If you are interested in attending the Small Business Expo or would like more information on becoming an exhibitor visit www.thesmallbusinessexpo.com or call/email 212.404.2345 / info@theshowproducers.com.