A very wooly pop up by We Are Knitters (WAK) took over our favorite boutique space at 251 Elizabeth for three months. If you love knitting, you probably know We Are Knitters and their “Do It Yourself” kits with everything you need to knit your own garments. Besides DIY knitting kits, WAK offers online tutorials and organizes parties and workshops to share this hobby with other knitting fans.
With a community of over 715,000 knit lovers, this brand founded in 2011 in Spain is a case study of international e-commerce success and a real reference in the DIY niche. Although it was founded in Madrid, the first idea sparked in the New York City subway during a business trip: the founders saw a young girl knitting on the subway train — something they associated with a granny activity — but with a modern touch, using huge needles and a big shiny pink ball of yarn.
We Are Knitters’ basis for success is its vision that knitting could become a trendy hobby for a younger demographic, and the sense of community involvement in the activity. To engage that community, WAK organizes knitting parties to meet their customers face to face — and what better way to do this for an online retailer than a pop up shop?
How did the NY public take the initiative? Did it meet your expectations?
“Besides the pandemic consequences, the public took the initiative really positively. We expected lots of people to come into the pop up because the area we chose was very busy, and this was exactly what happened. During the first week, we had people outside the store waiting for the opening. We also had long lines of people waiting to join some of our free knitting and crochet classes. It was incredible to see!”
What advice would you give other digital-native brands regarding pop ups?
“Based on our experience, we think that location is key. New York is a great place to open your first pop up, but it is really important to choose the correct location with good traffic and make an investment in it. Also, there’s a lot of work to do to create a good atmosphere and in-store experience. As e-commerce brands are not used to interacting physically with clients, it is important to choose the correct team and make the in-store experience as good as possible.”
How was your experience popping up with Parasol Projects?
“Yes, it was our first pop up in NYC, and working with Parasol made it really easy. Due to travel restrictions, we were not able to be there for the pop up opening, which was a bit frustrating and challenging for us. Thanks to Parasol and the team we had there, everything was perfect. During the months we had the pop up running, it was really easy to fix problems thanks to Gabi, a member of Parasol that was there to help us. We would of course recommend it!”