Pop Ups Fill Empty Store Fronts
This is brilliant. An empty store front initiative, a way to move “Main Street” Connecticut ahead in really tough economic times. Danyel Aversenti of New Haven by way of New Jersey has formed a company called Our Empty Space. She runs around the city talking to landlords about their empty store front and fills the spaces.
With Danyel’s background in hospitality she finds folks who are entrepreneurs, innovators, small companies just starting out and puts them in the empty spaces for as long as they want, could even be a weekend to demonstrate a new idea. Not only does she put the people in the spaces but she markets you too through social media and such and if you want an event catered in the space she does that too.
Even if you wanted to hold a discussion about an idea, put it in a space in downtown New Haven, light bulbs should be going off for all of you reading this. I even have some ideas in my head about this.
Incidentally, Danyel is working so hard on her projects and on the go so much around New Haven, that her office is her purse, great lap top cover.
In the space on high Street in which we met and chatted, there will soon be a chocolatier who will be setting up shop for a time. Right now Knipschildt Chocolatier is just in Norwalk, Connecticut but he wants to test the waters in the Elm City, so voila! Pop Up! Coming around October 20th.
Danyel is acquiring spaces all over the city, but she stresses that economically New Haven is in much better shape than others cities when it comes to retail, I know that to be true working in New Haven for 25 years. Now with this idea there are new and eclectic ways to show folks what you’re doing in a not so expensive way.
Look at Danyel’s brand new web site, it’s again just brilliant…she asks you to “fill the box thinking outside the box.” Add a window and a door to that box and you have a welcoming space for anything.
This is a definition of an innovator, and this is Danyel. “An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before, it often opens up new areas for others and achieves an innovation.”
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This is one of those great ideas that seems so obvious after someone else takes the initiative to make it happen. Kudos to Danyel, and thanks to you Anne for helping to get the word out.
Jim, I’ll tell you if anyone can pull this off it’s Danyel, she has the right spirit and drive to put a lot of people back on track.
Ann, I have been trying to get Haiti’s Back Porch into a more main stream location for years. This sounds like a good first step. I’m going to try and contact her for some help. Thanks for this great link.
Patty, that is a wonderful idea!
Ann,
Thank you so much for all the PR. You are amazing!
Jim,
Thank you so much for that awesome SendOutCard!! Loved it! SO cool!
Patty,
When you are back from your wonderfully-selfish-trip to Haiti, we’ll be in touch. I will do everything I can to find a new home for Haiti’s Back Porch!
I love that all of you are talking to each other to make things happen, that was the idea of this web site…go team go!
Creative thinking and she put it into action…kudos! I will pass this along to everyone.
Vania, that’s the idea of this web site get the stories out there so that people can connect and network and make things work again for Connecticut, think of me as an air traffic controller
Such a great idea. This would perk up a town like Essex too. Many empty storefronts can be embarrassing.
I absolutely LOVE this idea! I believe there are thousands of us entrepreneurs and sole-proprietors (and many like me-both!) here in Connecticut. We are optimistic by nature, passionate and determined to work for ourselves and spread the joy we get from our vocations with others. Kudos to her! As a previous resident of the New Haven area and now up here in the Quiet Corner maybe this could spread to Putnam? Hmmmmm…
Christine, yes of course this could spread to Putnam, if we all work together we get the state back on track. Thanks so much for reading Network Connecticut, I so appreciate. I’m trying very hard to connect people here in ways they may not have thought of.