Determined business owner launches platform that connects landlords with founders to host pop-up shops
A determined business owner has launched a helpful platform to connect landlords with founders to host pop-up shops and make this new concept more accessible.
Louise Miller-Chalk is the founder of luxury interiors and soft furnishings business Miller & Chalk, and she designs, sources the fabrics and hand makes all the products on offer.
The soft furnishings span across feather cushions, made-to-measure curtains and blinds, table linen and blankets – and Louise is the mastermind behind the meticulous attention-to-detail that goes into creating the country soft furnishings.
Since rebranding to Miller & Chalk in 2020, Louise has brought her vision to life by building her business’ online presence and loyal social media following.
The latest development was that Miller & Chalk opened a pop-up shop at the heart of Towcester in Watling Street West from August 2 to 10 – which received amazing feedback from the Northamptonshire community.
It came as a surprise to Louise that during the time her pop-up was open, others sought her advice on how to secure similar short-term leases for their own businesses.
Louise quickly began to develop the concept of ‘Find a Pop Up’ and has already launched the website as she is raring to go.
The aim is to provide a platform for landlords with empty shops on high streets across Northamptonshire to list their properties online, with a view to renting them out to small businesses as short-term pop-ups.
Louise will put landlords in contact with business owners and this will hopefully see an increase in innovative pop-ups, even if landlords only have limited time between long-term tenants.
“This is the next step for retail,” Louise told the Chronicle & Echo. “A lot of small businesses don’t want to commit to long-term leases, and this will help landlords fill their spaces.
“Landlords don’t want the hassle of finding new tenants and I’ll be putting small businesses in touch with them. Helping small businesses is the main thing.
“There are two websites that already do something like this, but they are all about the big cities like London and Manchester. I wouldn’t want to pop-up there. This is all about Northamptonshire.”
Louise is looking to get open-minded and willing landlords on board with this project and there will be a small subscription fee – as Louise will be hands-on with marketing their spaces and putting them in touch with interested businesses.
She will be visiting the spaces to take photos and measurements so prospective tenants have everything they need before committing to a pop-up shop.
“This is about filling the shops, making high streets good again, and allowing small businesses to get out there for a fraction of the cost,” said Louise.
“A lot of landlords weren’t interested when I approached them about my pop-up shop as they are set in their ways and want long-term commitment.”
Louise is grateful to the landlord who gave her the chance to host a week-long pop-up in the heart of Towcester. Having hosted a three-month pop-up in the space before, the landlord was open-minded as otherwise the shop would have sat empty between two long-term tenants.
Louise hopes to gain the support of West Northamptonshire Council with this project and is awaiting a response after reaching out to them about Find a Pop Up.
The business owner is optimistic about what the future holds, and she looks forward to providing an accessible platform at no cost to small business owners looking to host pop-up shops.