Cappuccino Thoughts is a weekly newsletter about culture and creativity in New York.
This weekend, I hosted my second-ever pop-up at Rue Saint Paul in Cobble Hill. I was blessed with beautiful weather and the loveliest neighborhood! Thank you so much to all the friends who came by and found bags, brought me lunch, coffee (vital), and manned the shop so I could take quick breaks. Special shoutouts to C. for being the first visitor to the shop, L. for traveling in all the way from Connecticut, J. for the poster, holding down the bar, and always being my creative partner, and F. for letting me turn our apartment into Bag HQ.
It was a great weekend and I sold through a lot of stock! As ever, there were lots of learnings.
My biggest takeaway was that I worried about the wrong things. I was less nervous than I was for the pop-up last year, but there were definitely still some anxious moments in the week leading up to the event. Specifically, I was really bummed that I hadn’t gotten my latest batch of Gucci bags back in time for the event, so I didn’t have any to sell. I also just got a big batch of pencil cases back from Turkey and I was very hung up on the fact that the lining wasn’t the color I wanted.
As usual, these concerns ended up being completely unimportant. How would anyone else know what product wasn’t there? Or what color I thought the lining should be?
The areas that actually mattered ended up being the table layout and—that devil—pricing. I realized that a fair number of people didn’t prefer to interact with me when looking at the products—which I totally get. It’s a lot to go right up to someone’s table and strike up a conversation. I am definitely the kind of shopper who likes to be left alone and doesn’t like a pushy salesperson.
Pricing is always a fine line to walk. Every time I get into a new store, the owner asks if they can raise the price on the merchandise, and it does end up selling at that price. On the other hand, some people think the products are really expensive and walk away when they see the prices. I totally get it, it depends on how you view quality and value and everyone’s context is different. I did have to laugh at the woman who came by not once, not twice, but three different times to keep asking questions about the pricing, including asking if the chain on one bag was real gold (how many solid gold bag handles have you seen??). I finally explained to her that between the shop’s commission, buying supplies, paying my manufacturer, handling shipping, packaging, my website, transportation, drinks, and twelve other things I’m probably forgetting, there’s a lot that determines the price that you might not think about.
All said, it was a wonderful (if exhausting) weekend and I’m excited to do another pop-up (though not for a while, I will be hibernating for the foreseeable future).
Updates on the bag brand
Besides the pop-up, it was an exciting week because I got into a new store! I am stocking makeup bags and pencil cases at the Locavore Variety Shop in the West Village. It’s a very sweet store that carries products from New York designers. Definitely recommend stopping by when you’re in the area!
Cappuccino Classified
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I am doing a little book giveaway! I am giving away two of the hottest books this fall: All Fours by Miranda July and Big Fan (book review below) by Alexandra Romanoff. I will ship out both books to one lucky reader. To enter, please comment “giveaway” on this post and I will choose a random entry and share it in next week’s issue.
Look of the week
This person is the embodiment of our current weather: seems like fall, but is sneakily very warm. I respect the odes to autumn in the long plaid tunic, black pants, and green bag, while also admitting that it’s still too dang hot, as seen in the sleeveless vest and Birkenstocks. (NB: Cappuccino Thoughts is categorically anti-Birkenstocks. The rest of the outfit was too interesting to not include, but I do believe that no one wants to see men’s toes!!) I for one am done with summer dresses and so ready to move into autumn knits.
What’s on the bedside table
I do not consider myself a romance reader. However, in a recent podcast episode from Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo, I was swayed by their reasoning. They claim if you like books such as Normal People or authors like Jane Austen, which do have romance at their core, that you are a romance reader, but perhaps you don’t want to own that title because of the misogyny that has been thrown at (mostly women) romance readers for decades. I was also impressed that the pair is starting a new publishing company, one that aims to create an immersive experience for their readers (think: if the main character plays in a band, being able to listen to that song, or buy a necklace that is mentioned in the book). They want to give romance readers the same kind of fan treatment that Marvel moviegoers get.
That led me to pre-ordering their first publishing foray, Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff. The book is about a political strategist (I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s modeled after Huma Abedin) and a boy bander who meet during a campaign and, o course, fall in love. The book stands out in the category for being about a woman who has a fantastic career and is fairly content in her life. And the story is not too cheesy. I also really liked the cover, which felt like a very specific choice to subvert romance tropes. It’s a pretty short read, clocking in at just 150 pages. If you’re in a reading rut, I would recommend. You can get a copy by entering my giveaway! (Directions above.)
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If you liked this issue, hit that like button or leave me a comment! It’s really helpful for me to understand what you all want more or less of.
This week I am: trying to recover from the pop-up, going to a book talk about Big Fan because I’m keen to hear about the new publishing company, and seeing Our Town on Broadway, before heading to New Haven briefly next weekend! Love a visit back to the place that always feels like home <3
Catch up on recent issues:
giveaway!
also, I'm still hoping to see a cap thought about your LA time! curious what coffee shops get the stamp of approval!
I very much enjoyed this post on your pop-up . . . giveaway