We recently connected with Tracey Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tracey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Naming anything is hard. I think the name actually came from conversations, travel and a need to have something that would last. Nothing trendy. Pop-Up Raleigh started as Pop-Up Sunday, but the markets moved to Saturdays at Trophy and needed a little rebranding. Currently, lots of markets use similar wording, but we try to stay consistent with our “dottie R” logo and “art & vintage market” tagline.

Tracey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As Pop-Up Raleigh is celebrating 10 years in the local market scene, it was started very organically. After participating in the organization and participation of regional markets with both handmade and vintage themes, I was longing for a relaxed, open air market in my own neighborhood. I was working and meeting great creatives as a manager at a local crafty+design shop, but the need for a casual selling space for the rapidly growing artisan community in Downtown Raleigh was no being met. After some travel, planning and support from friends, my vision for a market was met and came to fruition in 2012. Pop-Up Sunday kicked off in March, 2012. We had 5 local vendors and a food truck in the gravel parking lot of my friend, Cynthia Deis’ shop. After 3+ years, we had outgrown the lot needed space for more art & vintage. In 2016 a partnership with Trophy Brewery on Maywood Avenue secured a calendar of monthly markets for Pop-Up Raleigh.

Form the very beginning, my mission for the markets has been to provide a positive experience for everyone in the community. The focus has always been to bring the best artisans and vintage curators, local food trucks and the community together for fun and casual market. Giving a platform to local creatives and small businesses remains the focus and makes Raleigh a great place to reside.

The last 10 years of organizing markets, rebuilding after a pandemic and promoting other small businesses has only grown the pop-up style market genre in our community. I welcome the friendly competition. Every market is different and small businesses must find the best fit for their own creative ideas. Pop-Up Raleigh is an art and vintage market because I am an artist and own a vintage resale business. “Do what you know” is a constant theme that has worked best for me. The market continues to have a long waiting list for each month, but competition pushes creatives to be better. I have a hands on approach to everything from application/website/graphic design to social media and promotion. I ask for help when needed, but the markets are personal to me and I think that makes a difference in the overall experience for vendors and shoppers. My greatest compliment is seeing smiles on both the visitors and vendors at the end of a market.

I hope everyone that participates in Pop-Up Raleigh has a positive experience. Whether it’s a side hustle or incubator idea, markets are a great platform. Some of the Pop-Up Raleigh alumni vendors include Two Roosters Ice Cream, Gibson Girl Vintage, The Sweetest Things, and TrunkShow Raleigh. Others have moved away, but stay in touch (thanks to social media). I am cheering them all on, no matter the size of their individual successes. The relationships I have made with participating artisans, the amazing Trophy team and my community remains my proudest achievement.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The Pandemic was devastating for small businesses. Being one of the largest pop-up style market producers in the Raleigh area, I felt pressured to help local creatives salvage and survive the chaos. Obviously, everyone was shut down for the safety of our community, but long zoom calls with other organizers and pushing online sales for local makers was not filling the void. We all needed support navigating the pivots. About six months in, the owners of Trophy reached out about the possibility of bringing a smaller market back to Maywood Avenue. It had to be outside with a long list of safely precautions, but everyone was anxious to try. We decided to add mini markets, outside the brewery, every Saturday from the middle of September to the middle of December. Every Saturday was a different mix of 12 to 15 artisans, vintage collections and food trucks. Not all artisans were interested, but enough were to make it successful. The community showed up and followed the safety precautions and we started to see the return of small businesses emerge. In 2021 the market returned March-December. With COVID protocols still in place, we pivoted to one weekend a month, with 25 vendors on both Saturday and Sunday. In 2022 Pop-Up Raleigh celebrated 10 years of markets and returned to full capacity with 40 vendors, every third Saturday, March through December. It was not perfect and growing pains existed, but, the Raleigh community supported small businesses and that loyalty was amazing to witness.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Since the very first market, Pop-Up Raleigh has been focused on being a positive part of the community. I try my best with emails and social media. It can be a struggle to rise to the top of a feed, but maintaining an organic following on @popupraleigh is important. The emails are written by me with market photos from my phone. It is a grassroots campaign, but I think it is important to keep vendor fees low and work to your strengths. Visitors notice the personal difference and participating vendors often compliment the attention to detail. When I can, I love partnering with local nonprofits to raise money and awareness for causes from rescues to preservation. Everyone is welcome at Pop-Up Raleigh, even cute dogs!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://popupraleigh.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popupraleigh/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popupraleigh

Image Credits
These are from my phone, so no credit needed. If you must, Tracey Johnson The portrait is from Jen Mink Photography, but her website is down and she moved out of the country, so no link.