Savoy Community Project

POP UP CULTURE!

My proposal is to create a space at the heart of the Savoy Centre that embraces the unique and diverse culture that the centre has to offer. A space to socialise and meet other people, a space for enterprise to find out about starting your own business and a space that provides information to help you navigate the space but also to let you know what is on offer at the Savoy.

With so many vacant lots within the Savoy centre, I want to suggest ways that these spaces can be used to add to the diversity of the Savoy centre, increase footfall and encourage independent retailing. The ‘Savoy Community’ would act as a base for a hub of exciting retailing opportunities, as well as opportunities for other specialist projects to operate within these small units, such as pop up galleries, live studio spaces etc.

           

Times are changing, and if new products can come and go, why can't the stores that display them do the same? The idea of the ‘pop up shop’ is a growing trend, with gallery like shopping spaces, one off exhibitions and mobile selling units appearing then disappearing in as little as one week. A space like the Savoy Centre, offers the consumer an alternative to big brand high street shopping and faceless internet buying and so a project like this creates a unique opportunity to bring people of all walks of life under one roof, within an already well established Glasgow institution.

With so many ready-to-go vacant shopping units, The Savoy Centre is in the perfect position to offer budding entrepreneurs, artists, designers and more to showcase what they have to offer.

Low rental costs and the temporary nature of the idea means that it is a simple and do-able project.  Selling straight out of the box, no frills required. New faces would pop up unannounced, quickly draw in the crowds and then disappear or morph into something else adding a fresh and dynamic feel to the Savoy Centre without destroying the very essence that makes it unique.

It's all about surprising consumers with temporary 'performances', guaranteeing exclusivity because of the limited time span. It's about buzz, and about trying out new things. It provides visibility for independent retailers (and could even act as a physical base for e-traders) and allows young artists and designers to enter uncharted markets on the cheap!

A pop up shop could be ANYTHING. A pop up nail bar, pop up hair salon, masseuse, jewellery seller, fashion designer, cake stall, swap shop, artists studio, pottery shop. ANYTHING.