Baton Rouge-based Southern Football Tees, or SFT, will partner with roughly 20 other Louisiana retailers for a holiday pop-up event at Perkins Rowe for six days early next month.
Perkins Rowe began offering two permanent spaces for pop-ups earlier this year to expand on a property initiative. During its short-term lease, SFT will occupy the space near the Christian women’s fashion store Altar’d State.
In addition to SFT and its sister brands—Sweet BR and Lagniappe Box—Hands Producing Hope, Naturally So Yaya, Petite Louisiana and Annie Claire Designs are participating, among others.
“Our mission is to celebrate local makers,” says SFT owner Meredith Waguespack. “Sometimes, their business is their side hustle and they don’t have the resources to put their amazing products in a storefront.”
It’s not just clothes and jewelry for sale, either. Adorning the walls will be work from local artists like Chad Schoonmaker and Jennifer Poe, Waguespack says, all of which will be available for purchase.
And in keeping with national retail trends, SFT will also provide experiences to its customers, with other local businesses “popping up” to host workshops and sell treats.
SFT will host a “Girls Night Out” on Wednesday with a BR Succulent Co. workshop. Thursday will feature a “Mimosas with Mimosa Handcrafted Trunk Show,” and on Friday college students who bring their student IDs can receive a 20% discount on all items. On Saturday, there will be a “Don’t Stop Just Geaux Community Workout” with barre3 Baton Rouge.
Holiday pop-ups give businesses the opportunity to test the local market, says Perkins Rowe marketing coordinator Chelsea Thibodeaux. Other announced stores popping up in the mixed-use development this holiday season include Peregrin’s Christmas Store and Fab’rik, a women’s boutique that opens today.
The SFT pop-up store will have a small VIP gathering followed by a soft opening Dec. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. It will be open Dec. 5-8 from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., and Dec. 9 from noon to 6 p.m.
