Richmond’s abuzz with Race Week excitement. The UCI Road World Championships are here. The city’s creative community is out in full force, showing and selling original works at pop-up shops around town.
On Saturday, I made my way to Viva-la-Local’s temporary shop at 318 W. Broad St. There, Tyler Snidow, founder and owner of the retail collective, has put together a marketplace for 37 local artists.
The storefront is open through Sunday, Sept. 27, and there’s much to browse. Wallet be warned, though. The funky, spunky vibe of the shop put me in gift-buying mode.
First up were Shaylen Broughton’s abstract watercolors and drippy printed pillows. Shaylen is pictured holding one of her “RVA Train Bridge” pillows ($54 in the 16-by-16 inch size). This and other SAB Art Studio designs are available in a variety of watery colorways at the pop up.
Broughton’s artistic process shows her passion for art and the capital city. She begins making her pillows by painting an original watercolor using water from the James River. That image is then printed onto spun polyester poplin fabric, and a pillow cover is individually cut and hand sewn. Shaylen’s creative personality is palpable — and fun.
The Viva-la-Local Pop Up is lively fun, too, filled with works by Sunny Goode and Susannah Raine-Haddad of ZouZou’s Basement.
For home décor, you’ll find lamps and sconces by Wendy Umanoff of Umanoff Design; coat racks forged by Phoenix Handcraft from railroad spikes; cutting boards from Bohnoff Woodworking; and small batch room sprays by Apothec ($19). (The lemongrass and eucalyptus spray is to die for.)
There’s a whole lot more in store there and at Viva-la-Local’s second space in UCI’s official shopping venue, FanFest, in the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
One more fantastic Pop Up not to miss is Micheal Sparks’ Pop Up Pavilion in Manchester. Sparks, of Michael Sparks Design, has packed a space in Plant Zero and under outdoor tents with nearly 50 local and national vendors. He’s created a full-on festival of food, art, music and shopping along East Third Street between Hull and Decatur Streets.
