Case Study

North is Now.

Curated pop-up retail · TYRO (studios), Shipley · 2023
Co-founded with Yvonne Aboagye-Hobson

North is Now was a pop-up retail concept built on a simple conviction: Northern England’s independent makers deserve better than trestle tables at craft fairs. The project created a professional, fully managed retail space for brands whose work embodied contemporary aesthetics, mindful production, and sustainable practice,  without requiring them to staff a stand, handle transactions, or take time away from making.

I co-founded it with Yvonne Aboagye-Hobson, whose TYRO (studios) in Shipley provided the space and whose event management expertise complemented my curation, brand relationships, and retail background. We shared a belief that supporting independent businesses meant removing barriers, not adding obligations.

Opening night, Spring 2023

Context

The problem we saw.

Between 2020 and 2023, I ran Fabric of the North, an online platform celebrating independent design businesses across Northern England. Through that work, I’d built relationships with dozens of talented makers who shared a common challenge: limited access to retail spaces that reflected the quality of their work.

Most existing pop-up models demanded significant time from the brand owners themselves, from manning stands to handling transactions and managing stock. For solo makers and small teams already stretched thin, participation was prohibitively difficult. The work was good enough, but the infrastructure around it wasn’t.

The model

A full-service pop-up that removed every barrier.

We designed a model where participating brands sent their products and we handled everything else, meaning they had no staffing requirements, no transaction management, and no time away from the studio. Brands paid a fixed participation fee—with instalment options—and received 100% of their sales revenue back.

Complete hands-off retail
We staffed the shop daily, handled all transactions, and maintained merchandising standards throughout. Brands didn’t need to be present.
Professional photography
In-house product photography and brand owner portraits, creating assets each maker could use well beyond the pop-up itself.
Printed magazine

A full-colour A5 publication featuring every participating brand—part shopping guide, part keepsake—extending the pop-up’s reach beyond the event.

PR and marketing
Social media campaign, press outreach, email marketing through the Fabric of the North audience, and event listings across relevant platforms.
Considered curation
Brands selected for design quality, production values, and complementary product ranges. The goal was a cohesive experience that felt edited, not overwhelming.
Opening night networking

A private evening with wine for participating brand owners, press, and community, helping to build relationships between makers who might otherwise never meet.

North is Now, Spring 2023

Spring 2023

Inaugural edition

Ten days at TYRO (studios), timed around the May bank holiday. The first test of whether the model worked, and whether the audience was there.

~25 brands · 10 days · Opening night event

Winter 2023

Pre-Christmas edition

Nine days in November, 4–12 November. Timed for considered Christmas shopping targeting buyers looking for gifts with substance behind them.

~20 brands · 9 days · Opening night event

How it worked

From curation to closing night.

6 months before

Curation

Brand selection based on design quality, production values, sustainability credentials, and complementary product ranges.

3-4 months before

Photography & content 

Brands sent products for in-house shoots. Consistent, high-quality imagery plus portrait photography for every brand owner.

3 months before

PR & marketing

Press outreach to national design and local media, social media content campaign, and targeted Meta advertising from two weeks before opening.

2 months before

Magazine production

Full-colour printed magazine featuring every brand: their story, their work, and their location. A shopping guide and keepsake in one.

1-2 days before

Merchandising & set-up

Stock received, shop floor planned, products merchandised to create a cohesive visual experience across twenty-plus brands.

Duration 

Event management

Daily staffing, customer service, transaction handling, merchandising upkeep. Consistent brand representation throughout.

Post-event

Reconciliation & follow-up

Sales reconciliation, feedback gathering, and relationship nurturing with participating brands and customers.
Brand owner portraits from the North is Now photography programme

Participating brands 

AJOTO · Another Loop · Ara the altar · Arctic Fox · Casa Espresso · Cedar · Collette Haigh · Devaiya Oils · Emily Georgina Jones · EROSA · Forme · Fox & Windmill · Irene & Edith · Klara Ceramics · Marisel · Modern Alchemy · NETT · Oubas · Pith · Ralph & Forest · Ran by Nature · Routes · SOWK · Table Chocolate · Will Sharp · Withnell

North is Now ran for two editions before I closed Fabric of the North in late 2023. The decision wasn’t about the pop-ups, it was about what I’d observed through running the wider platform: that many of the independent businesses I was championing were struggling with challenges that visibility alone couldn’t solve. Closing the platform was a considered choice, not a failure.

The project taught me something I now bring to every client engagement: that the most useful thing you can do for a small design business is understand what they actually need, not just what’s most visible. Sometimes that’s press coverage, sometimes it’s positioning clarity, and sometimes it’s a physical space where their work can be seen properly for the first time.

That instinct—to understand the real need before proposing the obvious solution—is the foundation of how I work now.