Featured Collective: TheSuperCool


FK chats to Kate, one half of mobile emporium TheSuperCool, who will have a feature stall at the upcoming Melbourne Markets.

Tell us about the concept behind TheSuperCool?
We loved the idea of the vintage pedlars in the 1800’s who used to take their carts and wagons from town to town selling their wares to the people. They would travel too the people, rather than the people going to the same permanent shop. They would bring exotic objects from far flung places and sell practical stuff that perhaps wasn’t as readily available in that town. We thought that since retail is going through such a revolution, it was time to take the pop up shop to the next level – 2.0 and mixing this with this whole vintage peddler vibe seemed really right for us.
So our motto is that TheSuperCool is a mobile emporium of everyday objects that goes to the people with an eclectic mix of everyday objects from around the globe. We sell stationery, prints and posters, cool kids stuff, hipster homewares, affordable gifts and a wide range of vintage collectables. We think decking out your space (whether that’s your home, studio or bedroom) is all about mixing old with new, handmade with vintage and curating your own space to suit your mood and budget.

What is your background and how did this idea evolve?
My hubby Noonie and I run it together. My background is in marketing, branding, visual merchandising and trend analysis through my other business iSpyStyle. Noonie still works in his full time job so we are balancing both roles at the moment. Needless to say we are busy!!
We knew we wanted to work together and create something that appealed to both of us using our passion of collecting unique objects. I really wanted to explore this whole movement that The Selby, Design sponge, Anthology, Apartamento, Frankie spaces and The Coveteur have contributed too – the idea that our space is more than just a home… it reflects our style but in a diy, nostalgic curated way that’s a bit undone, raw and authentic.

What has the experience been like so far, and the reaction from the public?
We’ve been really lucky. It was a bit of an experiment and we’ve been really overwhelmed by such positive feedback from suppliers, designers we work with and most importantly the customers who have shopped with us. We’ve had loads of people recommend new spaces for us to go, show us their own designs that they’d like to sell in our emporium and also tell their friends. We have alot of stalkers/fans (we quite like being stalked by our regulars) who visit us at each location and enjoy seeing our new stock and new space each time we move.
Lots of people comment on how they get great ideas from us with the way we merchandise and display the stock. That makes us happy as we like to make it a really interactive experience. So I’m often giving advice to couples getting married about how to theme it, diy tips for updating a room, nursery etc. We’ve actually started asking our customers to send in their photo’s from various events / products they’ve bought and used so we can show others. We want to encourage a little community of SuperCool fans who share their creativity.

What can we expect to discover from the feature stall at the upcoming Melbourne Markets?
Well, we’ve purposely held some awesome stock back from our current location, specifically for The Finders Keepers markets. We tend to tailor our stock to the new location and the type of audience we expect to shop there so that its super relevant and localised. And we know that the Finders Keepers crew are really creative, stylish and have incredibly SuperCool taste for the new, unexpected, handmade and unique. So let’s say we have lots of special vintage pieces and awesome independent designer product to suit.

Where to next? What are some aspirations for 2012?
We have loads of ideas but to be honest it’s really about making these ideas a reality. Launching our online store, finding more amazing locations to keep the momentum going, collaborating with interesting brands and spaces and hopefully having locations both regionally & interstate as well. Oh, we also really need to buy a van!  See (its all about balancing the exciting with the logistical!).

All photos featured in this post with special thanks to photographer Marsha Golemac

www.thesupercool.com

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