The idea of having a market stall at Lower Stable Street Market in King's Cross came largely thanks to a good friend and designer, Lili Price. I've visited her stall at the market several times, where she sells an eclectic collection of art prints, greeting cards, earrings, stickers, keyrings and plenty more through her gift shop, The Mundane.
On one particular visit, I was sitting behind Lili's stall when I spotted someone in a hi-vis vest who looked familiar. It was Georgia Ghent, someone I went to both primary and secondary school with. It turned out that Georgia was one of the people involved in running the market.
Lili mentioned that I'd brought Region back to life, which Georgia already knew about from the early days of the brand at secondary school. She asked whether I was planning to apply for a stall. It was something I'd already been considering, but that conversation gave me the encouragement to go for it.
A special place to start
King's Cross has always been one of my favourite parts of London. It's also somewhere that holds a special place in the Region story, as I lived just down the road while studying Creative Direction for Fashion at London College of Fashion.
Back then, Coal Drops Yard was still under construction. So, having the opportunity to bring Region to Lower Stable Street Market, right in the heart of the area, felt particularly special. It seemed like the perfect place to host our first market stall since the relaunch and our first ever in London.
Bringing Region into the real world
The experience of hosting our first market stall across the weekend was incredible, to say the least. It was everything I'd hoped for and more. After spending so much time developing the collection, creating content and building the brand online, it was amazing to finally get the products out into the real world and in front of people.
Meeting people from all different backgrounds, introducing them to Region, welcoming familiar faces and hearing their feedback made the experience so rewarding.
The new Region Origins collection received plenty of attention, particularly the latest caps and cycling bags. Our new T-shirt was another favourite, with lots of positive comments about the artwork and the front and back print composition.
As a small independent brand, getting products in front of people and generating genuine interest can be one of the biggest challenges. Opportunities like this make such a difference.
The power of getting out there
I remember speaking to Jared Smith, co-founder of cycling apparel brand MAAP, at the opening of their London store. He spoke about how valuable pop-ups can be for getting a brand out there. It's something that really resonated with me.
There's nothing quite like the physical interaction, the conversations and the opportunity for people to experience products firsthand. It creates a connection that you simply can't replicate online.
This weekend reinforced that belief, validated the work we've been putting into Region and confirmed that there's genuine interest in what we're creating. It's left us feeling inspired to explore more markets, pop-ups and opportunities to connect with people in person.
Thank you, King's Cross!
A huge thank you to everyone who visited our stall, showed their support, shared their feedback and made our first market such a memorable experience. To the friends who stopped by, the lovely people we met along the way, and everyone who took the time to discover Region, we really appreciate it.
A special thank you to Lili for planting the seed, Georgia for the encouragement and the team behind Lower Stable Street Market for making it happen.
This was a special milestone for Region, and hopefully just the beginning of many more opportunities to take the brand out into the world.
We hope to see you again soon!
