We hoiked our Hashtag Printer over to cool London furniture mecca West Elm recently for their cool and craftsy Makers Market.
The pop-up collection of small crafts makers was a big hit at the Tottenham Court Road store, and ourHashtag Printer was enjoyed by all. Visitors to the store taking photos and uploading them to Twitter or Instagram with the #WestElmMakersMarket hashtag got themselves a lovely branded printout to complement their purchases of the various homewares on display.
We’re big fans of the central London West Elm store after joining them for four events over the past 18 months including Etsy’s puppy event and Blogtacular. We were booked in for the market by PR boffins Neville McCarthy on behalf of West Elm.
Drinks and nibbles gave the event a cosy feel, bringing the punters together and encouraging friendly chatter around the unusual products and our printouts. Illustrator Emma Block enjoyed a roaring trade in her 10 minute pencil and watercolour portraits – check out her blog article on the evening here.
West Elm started in Brooklyn, New York, back in 2002. Since then the community-minded furniture store has expanded across the world, with over 65 stores selling products sourced from partner-designers and makers.
We loved the idea of allowing artists and makers to meet and chat with their customers, bringing the market stall feel to the cosy surroundings of a plush store. London weather makes this far preferable to outdoor versions at most times of the year…
Every West Elm store seeks to find products from local designers, providing funds to help small creative businesses launch. Products are also ethically produced, making sure the whole retail process benefits communities, producers and buyers alike. We like this.
A huge thanks to West Elm and Neville McCarthy for inviting us back to their lovely shop for more furniture fun. We’re looking forward to the next one!
