Lady LUX

Designer-entrepreneurs Barbara Wilkinson and Raoul Calleja know it’s rough in the design industry. Without enough quality shows to vend your wares at, it can be hard to make your mark. So they took their design skills and put them to work designing their own event. The Independent Designer Pop Shop is a week-long extravaganza featuring, of course, the work of 25 independent designers. Held at the Chelsea Market from April 22 to 28, the event showcases fashion, jewelry, art, skin care and home products.

The goal is to gather together New York City’s leading independent labels by designers who design and create their own items. The first affair, held in June 2011, generated so much success that more than a dozen more shows followed in 2011 and 2012.

ID Pop Shop assembles a surprisingly medley of brands, which change from one event to another. Wilkinson of Barbara Wilkinson Jewelry and Calleja of Vernakular Photo Designs aim to keep their event exciting and unique. “Our aesthetic is clean, upscale and fashion focused,” Wilkinson said.

The affair’s length – typically a week or so – means that shoppers may revisit the show repeatedly, attracting swarms of loyal attendees from nearby businesses such as Google and Food Network.

The area, the Chelsea Market Event Space, is considered one of the preeminent retail spaces found in Manhattan, drawing crowds of tourists, locals and business people. The instant success of ID Pop Shop has translated to a wait list of dozens of designers vying for coveted spots.

The two entrepreneurs, as designers themselves, know what it means to be out there presenting and selling their designs. “We know what we want to get out of a space like this and we work with these designers to maximize their sales and bring more people through the door each time we have an event,” Calleja said.

Designers participating include Avalove Design, Barbara Wilkinson Jewelry, Bellero Designs, Corrente Handbags, Elaine Arsenault Handbags, jq loves u, Kimberlin Brown Jewelry, Kyoko Honda Jewelry, Lauren Wimmer Jewelry, LinePosters, Lumete, Morphicism, naturevsfuture, Pamela Barsky, Paste, RICA Bath & Body, Selen Design, ShayaNYC, Sohung Designs, Sonja Fries, SPJ, Urban Boulder, The Vanity Project, Vernakular Photo Designs and VERRIER.

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