What It Takes to Create a Pop-Up

People think a pop-up is a folding table and a few products. After a year of building them, we can tell you it is closer to producing a small show. Here is what actually goes into a sundayjoy pop-up.

It starts with the room

We do not say yes to every event. We look for rooms full of the people we are building for. That is how we ended up at There Will Be Fruit in New York, the Hudson Valley Women's Spring Event in Poughkeepsie, and the KNOWN Conference in Washington, D.C. Each one had a different crowd, and each one shaped how we set up.

The build

Most of our footprints are a 10 by 10 space, which sounds bigger than it feels once you add a counter, product, and room to breathe. We have researched and built our own display counters to keep costs sane and the look consistent. The goal is always the same: a booth that feels like a small piece of the sundayjoy world, not a table at a flea market.

The details do the talking

Our favorite trick is a prop with a story. We use a vintage Zenith console television cabinet as a styling piece, and it does more work than any sign could. People stop, they smile, they ask about it, and suddenly we are talking. Cohesion matters too. Same palette, same tone, same care as the website, so someone who met us online recognizes us in the room.

The people

None of this happens alone. We have had help from interns like Na'Seyah, from friends who show up to carry things, and from the makers themselves. Setup usually starts before sunrise, and there is almost always a moment where we stop and pray over the day before the doors open.

What we have learned

A pop-up is not really about the sales that day. It is about meeting the family face to face, hearing their stories, and reminding ourselves who we are building for. The revenue is a byproduct of building something people want to stand around. If you are a maker thinking about your first booth, start small, style it with love, and bring one thing worth talking about.