Our Pop Shop Houston Debrief

Now that the dust has settled a little bit from Pop Shop, we wanted to give you all a recap of this weekend's festivities. It was in a word, invigorating.

Pop Shop Houston is a big event twice a year where makers from around Texas gather in Houston to exhibit their wares. There was everything from ceramics and jewelry, to art and hand-built sound systems. One attendee likened it to "Etsy IRL" which I would agree with, if Etsy also had live music and cocktails.

For Data Design Co_, this was really our first public event. We have been selling online and designing for almost a year now, but this was the first time we were really in front of a lot of customers and had a chance to gather extensive feedback on our products (yes, we know Eric Reis would have a fit). In addition to our Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles coaster sets, we brought prototypes of four yet to be released products which was a great opportunity to allow our actual customers to help shape the direction of our new products. There were some excellent suggestions that we have already moved to incorporate in our designs and this is definitely an approach we will continue to take moving forward.

All in all, Pop Shop was a huge success. We gathered feedback from customers, sold some coasters, and had a great time. Special thanks to Brittany Bly for doing such a great job with the event, Connie for the last minute Target trip to make our booth look presentable, Kim Cook at PostStudio for helping us get all of our products ready in time, and Joan and Aakash for supporting your carless friends. Lord willing and the Buffalo Bayou doesn't rise further, we will be back next year.