1. Location, location, location
Depending on the type of pop-up concept you’re looking at, different venues will work for different activities. If it’s a retail space, it makes more commercial sense to hold it a more central locale, say at Orchard Road, City Hall or even Chinatown. Even better if the set-up is already in place, like the recent Very Wooonderland pop-up store outside ION Orchard in the makeshift Glass House space. “We managed to save quite a bit by holding it there,” says Paul Khor, owner of indie boutique Very Wooonderland. We spent about $20,000 on getting in the goods, manpower and setup, and will probably make about $40,000 in the end.”
If it’s a bar concept however, it’ll be more interesting to hold it at a more unexpected venue, like the Marina Barrage, or in an open air carpark or unused shophouse you’ll have to—but make sure that they’re relatively central and accessible. Venues like these require you to apply for a license or permit—that can easily be done by registering with the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises via www.enterpriseone.com.sg. F&B businesses also have to go through the National Environment Agency to acquire a license for food and alcohol. Log onto www.nea.gov.sg to register at least two months in advance.
2. Setting Up
We’re talking total DIY here (it’s more cost effective too). Helps if you have a bunch of friends who can help with the manual and carpentry work. Keep the concept simple if you’re building from scratch. Get your supply of glass from Jestac (#02-06 CSI Distribution Centre, 2 Kim Chuan Drive, 6288-8290, www.jestac.com.sg), wood from Nature Wood (31 Sungei Kadut St. 4, 6363-0030, www.naturewood.com.sg), electrical supply and light fixings from Convert & Invert (#B1-34 Sim Lim Tower, 10 Jln. Besar, 6396-0948, www.convert.com.sg), paints from Civic Paints & Hardware (#01-5168 Blk. 2 Jln. Bukit Merah, 6273-3383, www.nipponpaint.com) and tools from Home Fix DIY (#B1-16 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Rd., 6738-6086, www.home-fix.com). If none of your friends are carpenters, call up the guys from The Carpenter’s Workshop (352 East Coast Rd., 6346-7555, www.thecarpenter.com.sg).
3. Looking Cool
If you don’t have a database of cool guests, we suggest that you buy them. The guys at events company Division Communications (#05-02, 80 South Bridge Rd., 6438-8258, http://divisioncom.net) have a database of some of the coolest cats in town (us included) and have held some pretty amazing parties for hip clients including Adidas and Dr. Martens. Expect to pay a couple of thousand dollars for the list.
If your target audience is more sophisticated, contact the guys at Mercury Marketing & Communications (#09-02 Keypoint, 371 Beach Rd., 6323-7060, www.mercurymc.com), who recently helmed the Asia Fashion Exchange festival. Not only will they provide the names, they will handle the word-of-mouth necessary to ensure that your party is a huge success, including sending out physical invites and making sure that the media writes about it.
Alternatively, if you can’t afford any of the above, the best way to get the word out is by setting up an events page on Facebook and inviting all your friends. Hey, at least it’s free.
