Hey kittens, hope you’re all good and looking forward to the weekend! If you’re looking for a way to spend your time over the next few days, I’ve got wind of a fab little project which has just opened – just this Tuesday, to be precise – in the UK’s second city, Birmingham.

Now, y’all know I’m a Manc homebird, but Birmingham will forever have a place in my heart after living there for three years and being so closely involved with the first ever Birmingham International Fashion Week in 2013. As a city, I know there is a lot of underrated talent there, so when I heard about PopUp Birmingham – a pop-up shop dedicated to growing fresh retail startups – I just had to let you all in on it too. 

Situated in the Middle East Mall of the Bulllring (we all know where that is, right?), this new pop-up shopping destination will feature more than 80 retail startups, with brand rotating weekly. I personally love how each of these new local talents will be given the chance to trade on equal terms to huge international brands, such as Selfridges, All Saints and Armani, as they will each be homed under the iconic Brum Bullring; that’s an annual footfall of 38 million! Plus, each of the brand’s founders will be present on their own shop, giving the customers (that’s you!) the chance to speak to the designers and owners direct. Sponsored by John Lewis, PopUp Birmingham will be giving expert visual merchandising help to each of the new retailers, too. Pretty cool, huh?

I’m personally most looking forward to seeing Cheer Up Clothing, a brand run by Matt Barnes, the bass player of one of my favourite bands You, Me at Six. However, if that isn’t up your street, the first ten brands also range from fashion to interior design to food. Also showing will be home ware design company Maison Privee, Walsall-based petite fashion brand Jeetly and Sutton Coldfield sports wear firm Front Up Rugby. 

There will also be a chocolate shop with an India twist, made by British-based Duke of Delhi, silk scarf designer Lorna Horton from Stafford and weather appropriate waterproof pieces by fashion brand Protected Species. If you have little ones, check out kids shoes by Blackpool firm Skribbies and ladie’s fashion brand Tanya Elizabeth. Finally – phew – I will also be checking out my friends over at Brit-Stitch (you should be familiar with them if you’re a regular on Lily Kitten.com, as I’ve worn their hand-crafted leather satchels many a time) who have also recently launched a new backpack style; super on trend!

If that’s not enough to wet your fashion appitite – I’m already hungry for some Brum shopping – I asked Becky Jones, from PopUp Britain itself, exactly what she was looking forward to seeing over the coming weeks. Of her highlights, she said that she was looking forward to seeing British entreprenurs start off as the future of British retail, concluding with “you can’t find products like this on the high street yet. They are new, British-designed and made by people who are passionate about what they do.” And that’s exactly why I’ll be supporting PopUp Britain this week!

So kittens, who will I be seeing visiting the Bullring over the next few days? Who are you looking forward to seeing most over the coming weeks? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

*This post has been brought to you as a featured post in association with my mates over at PopUp Birmingham. If you’re interested in applying for the scheme yourself, please visit  www.popupbritain.com/apply.

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