The Holiday Collective
Hi Friends!
Our time with the Bloom Collective is almost over and we have gotten lots of inquiries about what is next. In the past, we’ve normally had some kind of Merry Maker information to share with you, but this year, things will look a little different.
We always love our Merry Maker experiences and this year we have decided to head to Irvine and extend the merriment to a FOUR MONTHS! Because of the new time frame, we’re calling this edition, the Holiday Collective, because we’ll get to celebrate all of the holidays!
As always, we’re looking for (and will only accept) handmade, vintage/up-cycled, and/or curated makers, local small businesses, and fun, creative peeps to round us out. We’re big on celebrating the handmade and small business community, so please know that we don’t accept any direct sales/MLM companies.
This Pop Up Shop will allow for 40-50 makers and small businesses as we strive to keep things fresh and exciting with new makers and products each event. Please know that just because you apply (or have applied and been accepted in a prior event) does not mean you are automatically given a spot. We review applications for each event individually so that we have the best possible mix of makers and small businesses.
Applications will open to returning makers on July 7 and to new makers on July 10. Certain categories always fill up early (like jewelry, bath and body, & candles), so we suggest applying sooner rather than later. Below is all the information you’ll need to know to decide if you’d like to pop up for the Holiday Collective. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected].
Dates: September 2023 to December 2023. Open 7 days a week (with the exception of major holidays)
Shop Hours: 11 am to 8 pm (Monday – Friday); 11 am to 7 pm (Saturday); 11 am to 5 pm (Sunday)
Holiday Shop: Orchard Hills Shopping Center // 3911 Portola Parkway, Irvine, CA 92602
Applications Open: July 7, 2023 (for returning makers) or July 10, 2023 (for new makers)
Applications Close: end of day, Monday, July 31 2023 (some retail shelving spaces open; markets & pop ups open)
Maker Acceptances/Regrets: rolling acceptances/regrets
Photos: You are required to submit up to the 3 product and 3 booth photos for your application to be considered complete. Applications without photos will not be reviewed.
**Please note: applications submitted after the application period has closed will automatically be added to our waitlist and you will only be contacted if space is available!!**
The Holiday Collective will be an expanded edition of our seasonal pop up shop (that we would normally refer to as Merry Maker). It runs on a central check-out framework in a retail collective atmosphere, so you do not stay with your products.
This version for our retail pop up will offer maker booths like our normal Merry Maker, but will also have a mixed boutique area of racks, tables, and shelving for smaller inventory counts. This way we will have a wide mix of makers and goods.
Shoppers will have a chance to experience both in-store and online shopping, plus in-store pick up, gift guides, special sales, private shopping hours, workshops, and more!
There are 4 ways for makers to participate in the Collective.
The Every Day (retail collective): This is for the maker who would like to be involved in the Collective for a three month minimum and can commit to having a full booth of steady inventory. Makers would have the option of a larger booth space (dimensions run from 8×6 to 9×11) that they can set up to fit their aesthetic that would include at least one wall you can paint/attach shelves to or a smaller booth with Market provided shelving or wall racks/faceouts (attached to a wall). In addition, you will be automatically included in holiday events for whatever time frame you are in the shop for so you do not need to apply for The Holiday as well (only if you will no longer have an Every Day booth).
The Boutique (retail collective): This is for the maker who would like to be involved in the Collective for a two month minimum, but with a smaller inventory that does not require a full maker booth (e.g. one or two product lines or size sets). Makers would use Market provided racks and shelving that would be freestanding. Limited consignment options (based on product availability) will be available in the boutique space. In addition, you will be automatically included in holiday events for whatever time frame you are in the shop for so you do not need to apply for The Holiday as well (only if you will no longer have a Boutique space).
The Holiday (in-store market): This is for the maker who can’t commit to an every day space, but would like to be a part of the Collective for a short period of time with products geared toward specific seasons. Join us for one of our two week seasonal in-store markets – there will be at least three of them (Hey Bootique/Halloween, Fall, & Merry Maker/Holiday). Depending on the product, temporary booth or boutique space will be available. Note: our Stocking Stuffer shelves will now be included in the Merry Maker in-store market.
The Pop Up (in-person sales): This is for the maker who wants to pop up in the shop (weekend availability, minus special holiday dates or in-store markets), set up their wares, and collect their own sales. This is limited to one or two brands for a 4-hour period (11 am to 5 pm availability) with a 30 min set up and 30 min breakdown. Makers will have a 5×5 space to sell in with the following available fixtures: clothing rack, 4 foot table, and shelving unit. There is no fee to pop up, but we do ask that you donate a giveaway item (can be a product or shop credit – minimum $25 value) for us to use to promote your shop. Makers can also upgrade to a sip & shop for the day. Special dates for pop up availability may come up once in-store events have been confirmed.
If you are a mini maker (as in a maker 16 years of age or younger), you may apply for consignment or the pop up options ONLY.
PLEASE NOTE: Specific space dimensions and pricing can be found below in our Booth Guide (pdf download).
GENERAL RENT INFO
- Rent is used for our upfront costs (shop leasing, advertising, insurance, permits, signage, etc.).
- Initial rent payments can be made in two payments if your rent is more that $250; otherwise it must be paid within 3 days (72 hours) of receiving your acceptance email. You will receive ONE payment reminder email.
- After your initial rent payment, your following rent payments will be taken from your payout (with the balance being what you collect).
- If your payout does not cover that month’s rent, you will have until the 10th of the following month to pay the balance before we pull your inventory from the shop (this will help keep us on track with our payout schedule).
- You will have 7 days to decide whether or not to extend your term for the following month (after your initial commitment).
- All rent payments may be made via PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle. Exact details will be sent in your acceptance email.
- All rent fees are NON-REFUNDABLE, so please make sure you can commit to what you are signing up for.
- Non-paid or open spaces will go to a maker on our Waitlist.
RENT FEES
- The Every Day/Retail Collective ($150-$740/month)
- The Boutique/Retail Collective ($75-$165/month)
- The Holiday/In-store Market & Consignment ($0-$75/week)
- The Pop Up (no upfront fee; min. $25 giveaway donation based)
RENT DISCOUNTS //*NEW THIS COLLECTIVE*//
- Work 8 hours in the shop to get a $40 discount on your monthly rent (available to retail collective makers only – no proration)
- Work includes running the POS, restocking, merchandising, and more!
COMMISSION FEES
- Retail Collective/In-store Market (18% of gross sales (maker will take home 82%))
- Consignment (30% of gross sales (maker will take home 70%))
PRODUCT LABELING/BARCODES
- — Mislabeled or missing labels ($10 per day)
PLEASE NOTE: RENT IS NONREFUNDABLE FOR ANY REASON.
Payouts will be made by the 15th of the following month (example: you have a booth for September – your payout will be by October 15th).
You will have the option to let us know on your application how you’d like to be paid (PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or check).
You may request a sales report that will include your total sales and payout, but we will not be offering them with each payout as you can see your sales through the maker portal.
PRODUCTS
Please remember that we only accept handmade, vintage/upcycled, or curated makers. Make sure you indicate what you will be bringing for the shop on your application and only bring those items with you when you set-up. However, we may ask you to only bring certain products on your list so that we can accommodate other makers and/or products. Please make sure you also stay within your inventory counts when you drop off your products.
MAKER ID
You will be assigned a Maker ID for all your correspondence during The Holiday Collective.
If you were a maker at Merry Maker 2022, you may use the same Maker ID. You may select this option on your application.
You will also be required to use this Maker ID when you input your inventory into the Maker portal. Specific info will be given in your acceptance email.
MAKER PORTAL
We will continue to use the same Shopify/Webkul system we used during Merry Maker 2022/ The Bloom Collective.
This system will allow makers to see their sales in real time, so you’ll be able to keep up on inventory counts as well.
We will also continue to label all products with barcodes to get credit for your sale. If you do not label your products correctly (or at all), we deduct an additional $10 per day from your payout and you may not get credit for your sales.
We can create the barcodes/labels for you and you can print them at home to label all your products before you come for set up.
All makers will have the option of adding their products to our online Maker Marketplace so that we can also offer online shopping to customers.
Shoppers may pick up their orders through in-store pick up.
Purchases made online will work the same as an in-person sale so commission will incur.
GENERAL INFO
We will send you an email with available dates & times for you to chose from.
Depending on your space choice, you will have two hours up to two days to set-up your booth/products.
When you set-up we will double check your inventory and barcode labels so that your products will be ready for opening day.
For breakdown, you will choose a date and time and visit the shop during your choice.
Depending on COVID-19 rules, makers and team members may be asked to wear a mask correctly inside either shop during pick-up and drop-off. If so, we will have additional masks and hand sanitizer for your use.
Restocking will be available on Sundays and Thursdays unless a notice is made 12 hours beforehand.
We have very limited storage space at the Holiday Collective, so product storage will not be readily available like at other shops. You may inquire about storage space and we may allow this on a case-by-case basis.
We will create marketing and social media graphics for you to use.
We will share our Facebook and Eventbrite event pages with you so that you may invite your family, friends, and customers. We will also always repost/share anything you tag us in.
We will advertise the shop through flyers and postcards, online calendars, press releases, & social media and email marketing. We are also working on partnering with local businesses in and around the area.
We also expect that you will do your part in sharing your participation through your own marketing channels (social media, email blasts, etc).
In the spirit of strengthening our handmade community and collaborating with our makers more, we will be offering Content Days for makers to participate in as a way to create social media & marketing content.
We will hire a photographer to take headshots and product & lifestyle photos.
You and your fellow makers can work together on social media marketing (like reels and short videos) and static content (like product photos and flatlays).
We will also bring in content creators/influencers to help facilitate more creativity and give some insight and tips.
As we get to celebrate numerous holidays in the shop, we want to create gift boxes that will feature products from you, the makers who are participating in the Collective.
We would build and package a variety of boxes at different price points and themes.
Ideal products would run $5 to $20 and you can submit up to 4 items that we’d choose from to curate the boxes.
Makers can let us know if you’d like more information of the gift boxes and we will send a separate app for product submission.
To make sure that we have a safe Pop Up Shop, we will be adhering to whatever the State of California/Orange County guidelines will be at the time. This may include limiting the number of guests inside the shop, requiring masks, temperature checking, providing additional masks and hand sanitizer, signage and floor markings to promote social distancing, wide aisles, protective shields at checkout and/or accepting contactless payments.
As a maker, you will be required to sign our usual Vendor Agreement in lieu of insurance. More information will be given in a future email.
While we do not require proof that you have a City of Irvine business license, we highly recommend that you do so for your own business purposes. You may apply online for one. We will send you information in your acceptance email.
During the Pop Up Shop, we will collect and remit all sales taxes so that you do not have to.
We are still working on a Health Permit, but all food and drink options must be pre-packaged unless otherwise noted.
We reserve the right to change/update any of the above information as we see fit to create the best possible pop up shop. We will try to give advance notice in the off chance this does occur so that you can plan accordingly.
Thank you for understanding.
PLEASE NOTE: RETAIL SPACE IS STILL AVAILABLE, BUT SHELVING ONLY. WE ARE VERY INSTERESTED IN SEASONAL GOODS FOR “HOLIDAY”!
CLICK THE LINKS ABOVE AND THE APP WILL OPEN IN A SEPARATE WINDOW. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE E-MAIL US AT [email protected]
