"We love interacting with our community online, but it’s high time we met them in person," shares Bed Threads Growth Manager, Stephanie Squadrito.
I Set Up Bed Threads’ First IRL Pop-Up – Here’s How It Happened
"We love interacting with our community online, but it’s high time we met them in person," shares Bed Threads Growth Manager, Stephanie Squadrito.
Bed Threads exists to get people dreaming. From our beautiful linen products to our journal, emails and socials, we aim to provide you with all the inspiration and information you need to create a space you really love.
Since 2017 we've been a digital business, operating entirely online. But we heard from our community that many of you would love to touch and feel the magic of our 100% French flax linen before shopping. Well, your wish is our command.
With the opening of our pop-up shops at Neighborhood Goods in Austin, TX and Newport Beach, CA, you can finally experience our linen, mix and match our 25 colours on our swatch wall, and see our furniture range up close and personal.
It's a dream come true to see our gorgeous products in stores, and we can't wait for you to check them out and tell us what you think. To share how this exciting opportunity came to fruition, we spoke with our Growth Manager, Stephanie Squadritio who has led this project from day one.
Hi Steph! Can you please share a bit about the Bed Threads pop-up at Neighborhood Goods?
We are so excited to finally launch our first-ever in-person shopping experience with Neighborhood Goods! Bed Threads is now available to shop at two Neighborhood Goods locations – one in Austin, TX and the other in Newport Beach, CA.
Bed Threads is known for being an e-commerce brand. What made the brand decide to venture into a bricks and mortar store?
We love interacting with our community online (yes, we read all your emails, texts and comments!), but it’s high time we met you in person. We always hear from customers – especially those who have never tried linen before – that they wish they could touch and feel the product in person before shopping.
Linen has a very different texture to other bedding fabrics, so it makes sense people want to feel it before committing to sleeping in it night after night. We of course have our swatch cards available for this, but there’s nothing like seeing a full bed on display to really paint a picture of what our linen looks and feels like.
Why did Bed Threads choose to do their first pop-up at Neighborhood Goods?
I was on a research trip in the US in October last year, and I kept hearing from people that I had to check out this really cool store along South Congress in Austin, Texas. Yes, that really cool store was Neighborhood Goods!
As soon as I walked in, I knew it would be a great fit for Bed Threads. The store is so calming and aesthetically pleasing. As someone who detests the shopping centre experience (I do all my shopping online – surprise, surprise) this was such a welcome change. The store is bathed in natural light, the music playlist is amazing (this matters!), the in-store cafe is full of people relaxing and chatting, and the staff are super friendly.
On top of that, the selection of brands is second to none. Seeing the likes of Flamingo Estate, Crown Affair, Girlfriend Collective, and Blueland under one roof was incredible. It really is the perfect space to discover your next favourite brand.
How did you choose the location for Bed Threads’ first pop-up shop, and what factors influenced this decision?
Aside from loving the Austin store experience, we also have a large and engaged customer base in Texas, as well as California. It made sense to reach these communities first, and we’ll see where we might expand to next. Plus, both areas are just great to hang out in. Check out our Austin guide and Newport Beach guide!
Can you walk us through the creative process? What was the vision for the space and how did it come to life?
We were really lucky to be guided by the amazing Neighborhood Goods team every step of the way. This is our first ever retail pop-up, so it was a very new space for us! We started with a bed (of course!) and then worked out how we could style some other pieces around it to show our range.
What we kept coming back to was our beautiful colours, and how we could show them off as best as possible. We leaned into some ‘colour stories’ for the shelving, and my favourite part is the swatch wall. Here, customers can touch and feel all available colours of our linen and see which colours they might like to mix and match together. Plus, it’s just so satisfying to see them all hanging there in rainbow order. Soothing, much?
Which Bed Threads products can you see IRL?
Our bedding is really the focus of this pop-up. You can shop all our bedding separates in five of our best-selling colours (Olive, Sage, Hazelnut, Terracotta and Oatmeal) as well as a selection of Quilts, Throws, and Cushion Covers. You can feel the difference between our bedding fabric and our heavyweight throw fabric, and check out the softness of our reversible bamboo-filled quilts in person. We also have our furniture items on display, and all our colours can be viewed in real life on our swatch wall.
How long will the pop-up be at Neighborhood Goods?
For six months! We’ll be around until next February, and hope to have a rotating selection of our favourite products in there. We only have bedding for now, but perhaps we’ll showcase our sleepwear or tableware next – watch this space.
Will there be more Bed Threads pop-up shops coming in the future?
We hope so! This is hopefully the first of many. If anyone wants a Bed Threads pop-up in their area, please be vocal about it on social, or send us an email. We’d love to hear from our community about where we should pop up next!
Visit us!
Neighborhood Goods Newport Beach, CA: 401 Newport Center Drive, Suite 343, Newport, Beach, CA 92660
Neighborhood Goods Austin, TX: 1007 S Congress Ave Unit 120, Austin, TX 78704, United States
Photography by @mollyculverphotography
