Pop Up
DOLCE & GABBANA HOLIDAY MARKET
‘Tis the season of Christmas lights and Dolce & Gabbana is certainly getting lit this winter with its super vibrant, super Instagrammable pop-up shop in the Covent Garden piazza. Decked out with symbols from Sicilian folklore and lit up to high heaven, the pop-up is stocked with a range of D&G clothing, trainers, and gifts, plus products from Fiasconaro, Donnafugata, Pasta Di Martino and Baci Perugina. If you’re looking for some luxe pressies, this is the place to come.
PERGOLA ON THE PISTE
Hit the slopes without leaving London as Pergola Paddington has transformed in Pergola on the Piste for winter. The space has been transformed into an Alpine ski lodge, complete with log walls, mountain murals, chalets, a chairlift and retro ski gear. You can apres ski in style with shot skis, mulled wine and demi-peche, and a food menu featuring whole baked camembert, crispy truffle mushroom, and Alpine charcuterie.
THE BISHOP AT THE BERKELEY
A pub is popping up at The Berkeley for the very first time this winter. From Weds – Sun, The Bishop at The Berkeley will bring a slice of the countryside to the capital, with a bar area featuring old church pews and beer taps, a cosy dining room, rustic decor, and draft beers from the Sussex brewery, English wines and vintage ports on the drinks list. The food menu will feature warming pub classics, done The Berkeley way of course, including black pudding croquettes with house-made HP sauce, battered fish & chips, salt marsh lamb shank & mash and sticky toffee pudding & vanilla ice cream, with daily specials including Wellington Wednesdays and Sunday roasts.
BRIXTON VILLAGE CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Christmas Markets are popping up on Sundays at Brixton Village in partnership with Black Eats LDN, showcasing black-owned small businesses and artisan producers across handmade gifts, skincare, textiles and more, with Andrew Ashong’s record fair providing the vinyl goods. There’ll be mince pies, rum punch and mulled wine to keep you warm and DJs to keep you entertained whilst you shop.
TURNING EARTH WINTER MARKET
Turning Earth is holding two winter markets this year so you can shop for ceramic Christmas gifts. Held across two weekends, one at the Tottenham studio and the other in Leyton alongside open studios from neighbouring businesses, the markets will feature 100 ceramic artists selling their wares, with making demonstrations, live music, mince pies, mulled wine and street food to up the festive spirit.
Shop Nasty Gal IRL, and just in time for party season, at this London pop-up shop, where there’ll be exclusive discounts and one-of-a-kind vintage pieces handpicked by @badkidhq available and you’ll get a FREE tote bag and beauty item with every purchase. As well as picking up some fresh clothes, you can also get involved with the retro photo booth, tinsel hair and embroidery station in store too.
CANOPY MARKET
The special Christmas Canopy Market has you covered for all things festive with stalls selling crafts, cheese, clothing, skincare, and more, with street food, craft beer, gin and natural wine to keep you fuelled. There’ll also be special takeovers in December with a vegan Christmas market and Canopy craft gifting.
Pexmas is taking over the Copeland Gallery with a load of festive shopping opportunities. There’ll be 100 different stalls a day across the weekend, including Salt Studios, Lunar James, Taino, Custard Cloth, Good Daze, Mother Root, Little Sister and Peckham Preserves, plus street food, mulled wine and music to get you in the spirit.
Multidisciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori is opening his first pop-up shop in Shoreditch. Drawing inspo from West African architecture, it’s going to be an explosion of colour and will be stocked with pieces from his homeware collection. You’ll be able to shop tableware and textiles that reference his British-Nigerian heritage, stationery, umbrellas, water bottles, t-shirts and a collectable edition of Ayo Game, a strategy game popular among the Yoruba people, with new items focusing on togetherness and play.
THE DROPS CHRISTMAS MARKET
The Drops market is pitching up in Coal Drops Yard with a festive edition, featuring over 40 stalls selling homeware, artwork, clothing, accessories and more for you to pick up gifts from, including Mono & Lena, Ede Store, Pobo, Kate Gwilliam, Kish Studio, Voyager London and White Weft.
After popping up in Coal Drops Yard in the spring, food writer and photographer Safia Shakarchi is taking her online recipe platform Another Pantry (it features seasonal recipes from the likes of Ravneet Gill, Honey & Co and Merlin Labron-Johnson) IRL once more with a pop-up shop in Seven Dials. The store will be stocked with lots of goodies like drinks from St John Bread & Wine, Guinness bread from Cafe Cecilia, kombucha and ferments from Little Duck The Picklery, flour from Wildfarmed, pastes and sambals from Sambal Shiok, bakery treats from Violet Bakery, ice cream from Happy Endings, tableware and cider from Maison Osip, and homeware from Pophams. The shop will also host events like pasta making and life drawing with food, so keep an eye out for those too.
LILLY'S CAFE
Lilly’s Cafe, which is right on Covent Garden’s piazza, has had a winter makeover for the festive season and you can stay warm outside with a blanket, a cheese fondue created for the terrace by Kimberly Lin, and a couple of mulled wines and amaretto coffee cocktails.
After bringing us the Bourdon Street Chemist last year, internationally acclaimed artist Lucy Sparrow is back with another mega felt creation. FELT ‘R’ US is a fully felt superstore featuring her greatest hits, including 6-metre long The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Lunch, the felt operating theatre Triple Art Bypass, and Before the Arguments Begin, a fully loaded felt Christmas dinner table. You’ll be able to buy pieces from Lucy, including Christmas decs, and she’ll also be doing an all-black, all-felt Christmas tree in MEATLiquor next door.
Skylight is back for another winter with alpine huts and igloos on top of the roof. Cosy up in the fully dressed and heated igloos and then tuck into alpine-themed street food, winter cocktails and mulled wine, and soak up those epic city views.
ENCHANTED FOREST TERRACE AT THE HAPPENSTANCE
City bar The Happenstance has transformed its terrace into an enchanted forest for winter, complete with green foliage, twinkly lights and lanterns, wooden fungi, blankets and those all-important heaters. There’ll be spesh Tanqueray cocktails on the menu, including a hot apple punch and a winter negroni, plus seasonal dishes like vegan mezze boards, pumpkin & sage ravioli and venison pie.
CARDS FOR GOOD CAUSES
The Cards For Good Causes organisation has been raising funds for UK charities for over 60 years, and this year they’re aiming to raise £500,000 through their pop-ups. And two of the limited-time card shops have just arrived in London, one in Chelsea and one in Covent Garden. So, if you’re looking to stock up on some Xmas cards, seasonal gifts, stocking fillers, wrapping paper, decorations and tableware all while supporting a range of charities (including Diabetes UK, RNLI, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, Epilepsy Action, and MS Society UK), you know where to go.
WINTER IGLOOS AT VINEGAR YARD
Vinegar Yard is having a Christmas makeover with four heated igloos popping up on the mezzanine. Decked out with fairy lights and blankets, you and your pals can cosy up inside with Grey Goose cocktails. There’ll also be festive food from resident traders Baba G’s, Nik’s Kitchen and Nanny Bill’s, which you can feast on in the outdoor cabins and on the heated terrace.
ACCIDENTALLY WES ANDERSON x THE OLD BANK VAULT AT ONE HUNDRED SHOREDITCH
One of the best Instagram accounts on the platform, Accidentally Wes Anderson, which solely shares pictures of buildings and landscapes from around the world that look like they could be Wes Anderson film sets, is back with another pop-up in collab with the Old Bank Vault, and this time they’re taking over One Hundred Shoreditch. The pop-up is in celebration of the launch of the new Accidentally Wes Anderson Postcards, and one of the hotel bedrooms is being turned into an immersive AWA adventure with 3D model recreations of some of the postcard scenes and an exhibition of limited edition prints. There’ll also be a fully stocked bar in the room so you can experience it in style.