How My Pop Up.Space Is Creating New Opportunities for Local Creatives, Hospitality, and Independent Brands Across Glasgow
Across Glasgow, cafés, hospitality venues, flexible retail environments, coworking spaces, hotels, and community-focused spaces are increasingly looking for new ways to bring people together and create more meaningful experiences within their environments.
At the same time, many Scottish creatives, makers, artisan brands, independent food & drink brands, and early-stage independent businesses are searching for more accessible and welcoming opportunities to showcase what they do in real-world social spaces.
My Pop Up.Space was created to help bridge that gap.
Starting in Glasgow, the project is exploring how curated pop-up experiences can help connect creatives, hospitality venues, independent brands, and communities through relaxed, atmosphere-led environments designed around discovery, collaboration, and local connection.
Rather than focusing on large-scale venue transformation, the project is intentionally starting with smaller, practical pilot experiences that are flexible, community-oriented, and easier for both venues and participants to engage with.
A Simple Idea with Real Potential
At its heart, My Pop Up.Space is about creating welcoming social spaces where people naturally discover creativity, products, food, ideas, and experiences in relaxed and accessible environments.
The project works with hospitality venues, flexible retail environments, coworking spaces, hotels, and community-focused locations to host curated pop-up experiences bringing together:
- local Scottish makers,
- artists, print and merchandise designers,
- fashion and clothing brands,
- independent food and drink brands,
- skincare and self-care brands,
- and community-led experiences.
Imagine a relaxed café space hosting local makers and independent brands for an evening showcase, a hotel lounge introducing fashion, skincare, and self-care brands through a curated social experience, or a flexible coworking environment hosting after-work showcases for independent food and drink brands.
By using existing spaces more creatively, My Pop Up.Space aims to support independent visibility, encourage collaboration, and help create more connected and accessible opportunities for creatives, makers, and small businesses across the city.
Supporting Independent Brands and Creatives
A major part of the project is creating more opportunities for smaller Scottish brands and emerging creatives looking for new ways to connect with customers, audiences, and communities.
Many independent businesses are already:
- participating in markets and pop-ups,
- building audiences through social media,
- testing new products and creative ideas,
- and looking for more meaningful real-world exposure.
My Pop Up.Space aims to complement this growing independent ecosystem through smaller-scale, curated experiences designed around hospitality, atmosphere, and collaboration rather than traditional retail environments.
The focus is on creating spaces that feel:
- welcoming,
- low-pressure,
- community-oriented,
- and accessible to a broad range of participants.
Making Better Use of Existing Spaces
As working patterns and city-centre behaviours continue to evolve, many hospitality, retail, coworking, and commercial spaces are increasingly exploring new ways to introduce new audiences, and create more flexible experiences for visitors and local communities.
My Pop Up.Space is interested in how smaller-scale creative activations can help support this shift. The early pilot phase is intentionally focused on hospitality-led and community-friendly environments where people already naturally gather, socialise, and explore.
A Community-Led Approach
As a purpose-led initiative, My Pop Up.Space is inspired by many of the same ideas increasingly shaping community-focused business and hospitality spaces:
- supporting independent businesses and creatives,
- encouraging collaboration,
- improving accessibility,
- and creating more sustainable use of existing environments.
The project aims to create:
- low-barrier opportunities for creatives and small brands,
- new collaborative opportunities for hospitality venues and flexible spaces,
- increased visibility for independent businesses,
- and more welcoming social experiences within communities.
Every activation is designed to encourage participation, creativity, atmosphere, and genuine connection between people, spaces, and local ideas.
Why Glasgow?
Glasgow has always had a strong independent and creative culture, from local cafés and hidden creative spaces to artisan markets, makers, hospitality concepts, music culture, and community-led initiatives.
The city already has a growing ecosystem of independent brands and creatives looking for new ways to connect with audiences beyond traditional retail or online-only platforms.
My Pop Up.Space hopes to contribute to that ecosystem by creating more accessible opportunities for collaboration, visibility, and curated community-focused experiences across the city.
Who It’s For
Hospitality Venues, Hotels & Flexible Social Spaces
Create welcoming experiences that introduce new audiences, independent brands, and creative collaborations within cafés, bars, lounges, hotels, and hospitality-led environments.
Coworking, Workplace & Flexible Office Environments
Bring additional energy and community engagement into underused lounges, shared spaces, and after-work environments through curated local showcases and creative activations.
Local Creatives & Independent Brands
Showcase products, food, ideas, and creative work within thoughtfully curated environments designed around discovery, atmosphere, and interaction.
Community-Focused Organisations & Spaces
Support more accessible participation, collaboration, and creative engagement through welcoming community-focused experiences.
Whether you’re a hospitality venue, hotel, coworking operator, flexible workspace, local maker, independent brand, creative freelancer, or community-focused organisation, My Pop Up.Space is about bringing people together through relaxed, curated experiences that support creativity, visibility, atmosphere, and connection.
Let’s Reimagine Space Together
We’re currently building our first curated pop-up experiences bringing together Scottish makers, artists, independent brands, hospitality venues, coworking environments, and community spaces across Glasgow.
The project is currently in pilot stage, with an initial focus on smaller-scale hospitality, coworking, retail, and community-led environments designed to encourage collaboration, support independent visibility, and create welcoming social experiences around creativity, food, products, and local culture.
We’re especially interested in connecting with:
- Scottish makers and creatives,
- artists, print and merchandise designers,
- fashion and clothing brands,
- independent food and drink brands,
- skincare and self-care brands,
- hospitality venues and hotels,
- coworking and flexible workspace operators,
- and community-focused organisations interested in supporting creative participation and local collaboration.
If you’d like to get involved as a venue partner, participating brand, collaborator, or early supporter, we’d love to hear from you.
Register your interest to stay connected as My Pop Up.Space begins creating new opportunities for independent brands, creatives, hospitality venues, and community-focused experiences across Glasgow.
