Inside the EDF and Enterprise Nation Pop-Up Shop on Brighton's Duke's Lane
Brighton content creator Georgia Blankson outside the pop-up on Duke's Lane
Six brands.One shopfront.Zero rent.
Inside the pop-up handing Brighton's independent makers a fortnight on the high street, no lease, no risk, no catch.
For most independent brands, the dream of a physical shop and the reality of one sit a long way apart. There is the rent, the fit-out, the footfall you cannot guarantee, and the question every founder turns over before signing anything: will people actually walk in.
For four weeks this summer, a bright orange shopfront halfway down Duke's Lane has been quietly answering it. The Powering Local Businesses pop-up, run by EDF Small Business and Enterprise Nation and supported by Square, has handed six independent brands a completely free two-week residency in one of the city's busiest shopping spots, a trial run that would normally cost thousands in rent, rates and fit-out.
Content creator Georgia Blankson, born and raised in Brighton and founder of G's Content Corner, spent time filming inside the shop. "The atmosphere was really lovely," she said. "It felt like a genuine celebration of Brighton's independent creative community, with people coming together to discover new brands and meet the founders behind them."
The pop-up sits within EDF and Enterprise Nation's Powering Local Businesses partnership
A free way to test the high street
A pop-up is not just a temporary shop. Done properly it is live market research. Rather than gamble on a long lease, a small business gets two weeks to learn the things a spreadsheet never tells you. Which product people pick up first. Whether the price feels right in the hand. Whether they come back.
The wider Powering Local Businesses partnership builds on a first year that reached almost a million small businesses across the UK. Claire Nutt, Director of Small Business at EDF, said the shop tackles a real barrier to growth. "Small businesses are the backbone of local communities, and we want to help give them practical opportunities to grow. The Brighton pop-up shop will allow businesses to test physical retail, reach new customers and build confidence without the usual barriers and costs."
Many small businesses want to explore retail space but are put off by the risk. This gives founders the chance to test new markets and connect directly with customers."
Aaron Asadi · CEO, Enterprise Nation
The shop is only part of it. The partnership also delivers five grants of £5,000 towards energy-efficient equipment, five free EV chargers from EDF's charging arm Pod Point, business webinars and a podcast series. In Brighton the shop has been hosted by Sarah Springford of Brighton Chamber.
The launch on 2 July brought founders and shoppers together
A launch party on Duke's Lane
The shop opened properly with a launch on Thursday 2 July, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. There were drinks, grazing tables, a first look at the space and the founders themselves on hand to talk through what they make and why. It is the part of retail that never shows up in an online basket, and the run was picked up by The Argus.
ELWIN pieces on the rail during the brand's fortnight
Meet the six brands
Six independent businesses took the shop across the month in two waves. The first fortnight belonged to ELWIN and Onyx Studio. The second handed the keys to Wild Wipe, Natrie, Àníké Lifestyle and Babble & Goose. Different products, one shared thread: each was built slowly, by hand, by someone who backed their own idea.
ELWIN's collection is designed to be worn for years rather than seasons
ELWIN
Deanne WallaceWeek OneELWIN is a luxury sustainable womenswear and knitwear label that carries its values in the cloth itself. A Central Saint Martins graduate with two decades in luxury fashion behind her, Deanne Wallace makes everything in England, much of it within five miles of an East London studio, using natural fabrics and surplus material saved before it reaches landfill. The Brighton knitwear is spun from fully traceable, undyed Bluefaced Leicester wool, the softest of the British breeds, and finished with organic cotton labels and corozo-nut buttons so a piece can biodegrade at the end of a long life.
ELWIN's socks are made within five miles of its studio
On the rails in Brighton that meant sunflower prints and gingham beside soft greens and creams, clothes that reward a second look and a hand run down the fabric. For Georgia, one piece stood out. "I absolutely loved ELWIN's silk skirt. It was such a beautiful piece and really reflected the creativity behind the brand."
Onyx Studio's marbled homeware, hand-poured in Brighton
The smaller pieces tell the same story. ELWIN's socks, made in England in soft reds, pinks, blues and oatmeal, are part of a deliberate choice to keep the making close to home. "Working with British factories enables us to be more hands-on," Wallace has said, "to know the people who make our clothes, and to see first-hand that everyone in the supply chain is fairly treated and well paid."
Each Onyx piece is finished by hand, so no two are quite the same
Onyx Studio
Erin Rose CainWeek OneOnyx Studio is the work of maker Erin Rose Cain, who hand-pours pigmented concrete and jesmonite into homeware in Brighton: marbled planters, trinket dishes, hexagon trays and candle holders in soft corals, yellows and sea blues, each one a little different from the last. It is a contemporary alternative to traditional pottery, and Cain also runs workshops and takes commissions through the studio.
Silk bows on the Onyx Studio stand
Asked which brands stood out, Georgia named Onyx alongside ELWIN. "I honestly couldn't pick a favourite because I loved so many of their pieces. The plant pots especially caught my eye, the colours, textures and designs were amazing, and I'm definitely going back to get one." That last line is the quiet measure of whether a pop-up works: not a sale on the day, but a customer who leaves and comes back.
EDF backed the pop-up as part of its small business programme
Alongside the homeware, the stand carried silk bows in rust and dusky pink, with a QR code inviting shoppers to keep in touch at @iamonyxstudio. That is part of what two weeks in a shop gives a maker: not just sales, but new followers, new commissions and a real sense of which pieces people reach for first.
The pop-up ran Wednesday to Sunday through July on Duke's Lane
The second wave
Halfway through the run the shop changed hands to four more brands, each solving a different problem in its own way.
Wild Wipe
A reusable pocket-sized wiping device for women, invented by a former nurse after years of packing damp loo roll off campsites and hills, and offered at near-cost to NGOs working with women and girls.
Natrie
Non-toxic concentrated cleaning products that took roughly three years to perfect, born from Lauren's own work as a professional cleaner and frustration with products that set off her allergies.
Àníké Lifestyle
A self-care brand of vegan scented candles and lifestyle pieces. The name comes from the Yoruba word for being cherished, valued and pampered.
Babble & Goose
A London-made loungewear label known for its velour and star joggers, designed and made in the UK.
Discovering the brands and the stories behind them
Brighton is the perfect place for this. It's a city full of creativity, individuality and people bringing their ideas to life. I understand the dedication behind every idea."
Georgia Blankson · G's Content Corner
Go and find your hidden gem
"It's a brilliant opportunity to discover some amazing independent brands, meet the people behind them and support Brighton's creative community. You never know what you might find."
Paid partnership with EDF Small Business and Enterprise Nation.
