Popping up at UpMarket in Yorkville Village

Last summer, we got the opportunity to pop-up in our home city of Toronto at UpMarket. This was a summers-long pop-up event that took place every Wednesday from June to August, featuring dozens of local artisans and small businesses. It was simply the cutest pop-up we've been part of to date. With its charming cart-style vendor booth space situated in a high-end mall, Avery Swimwear was excited to see what kind of crowd this event would bring. 

UpMarket in Yorkville Village

Taking place in Yorkville Village, in the heart of Yorkville at 55 Avenue Road, UpMarket is a unique summer pop-event for one-of-a-kind finds. The space, which featured around 25 vendors at a time, spans for two floors in the centre of the mall known as the Oval.

Servicing the downtown Toronto crowd with refined shopping taste, the vendors ranged from clothing to baked goods, accessories and wellness products. We'd never popped up in a mall prior to this but loved how UpMarket was focused on featuring sustainable and female-owned businesses - perfect for Avery.

We took part in UpMarket's pop-up event for two consecutive Wednesdays in mid-July 2023. On those mornings, we arrived super early to set up for the event, taking place from 11am-3pm. Utilizing our usual design elements, we merchandised our cart with all 22 of our swimwear styles and brought our own clothing rack to maximize our display as well.

Related: Avery's First Pop-up Store at Stackt Market 

For four hours each day, we welcomed guests to our rustic-looking cart, which coincidentally matched all the details of our furnishings. We were super happy with how well we utilized the small space by adding our personality to it. We succeeded in making the booth our own by adding Avery's pastel suits and our own rustic touches. Even more, we were super proud of ourselves for setting up the whole thing in record time (one hour to be exact).

Though we were thrilled with how beautiful our swimwear was being displayed on the stationary cart, the traffic at UpMarket in Yorkville Village was definitely lacking. With daytime hours from 11am-3pm, most people in the area were still busy at work. It was definitely not prime time for any shopping to be done, so we were disappointed in that respect. We would've loved to welcome more guests to our booth during our short time there.

Related: Avery at HER Market in Toronto

At UpMarket, we didn’t experience nearly the same traffic we’ve been used to at our previous pop-up events. However, we still managed to make some valuable connections during the event. There were a number of interested onlookers browsing on their lunch breaks who were interested in learning more about our sustainable swimwear. We were more than happy to meet some new faces and introduce our sustainable products while offering ways to keep in touch.

On the second Wednesday that we participated at UpMarket, we were given the same spot but with a different cart. Instead of the wooden exterior, this time we were assigned the more modern-style cart with a white metal frame. It still had the same cute aesthetic but we found it more difficult to occupy the lower shelf space with this one. Instead of filling it with more bikinis, we left it untouched for a more minimalistic look. 

Related: Avery at the NIX Tattoo Show in Toronto

Being a female-owned vendor at UpMarket ended up being a great learning experience for Avery. We learned how to be completely self-sufficient as we set up this entire pop-up by ourselves (hoo-ray!) and endured four straight hours on our feet while tending to interested onlookers. Best part is how confident we are in that we could it again no problem.

For every pop-up we've done, whether big or small, we learn so much more about our customers. It's been a constant learning experience for us to find what the Avery woman wants and needs to feel confident in our suits. As well, the exposure to our brand during these pop-ups is the greatest takeaway that we already can't wait to do more in our home city. See you for our next pop-up event!

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Avery's signature suits on display at UpMarket

Popping up at UpMarket (located at 55 Yorkville Road)

Avery's sustainable and reversible suits available to shop in-person