Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

5 Outstanding Holiday Pop-Up Shops from Around the Country

5 outstanding holiday pop up shops from around the country ups
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Though the most cynical among us may roll our eyes during the holidays, it’s hard to turn down presents. Even purchasing gifts for others can be fun provided you have plenty of time to find gifts people will actually enjoy. For help finding said gifts, we thought we’d present five excellent pop-ups shops from around the country. A pop-up shop, in case you don’t know, is a temporary retail space meant to give consumers a taste of a certain brand or brands. Gentlemen, if you see a shop you like, feel free to share with your friends and family.

1. Unbranded II

unbranded II
Image used with permission by copyright holder

1600 Commerce St, Dallas, TX

November 19, 2015 – December 20, 2015

If you live in Dallas, you can’t miss the Unbranded II pop-up experience, located across the from the original Neiman Marcus Store in Downtown Dallas (pictured). The first Unbranded, which popped up last year, was such a wild success that organizers Matt Alexander and Bryan DeLuca felt the need to bring it back bigger and better. At Unbranded II, you’ll find an array of jewelry, clothing, accessories, art, and much more from brands like Need, Foremost, and The Citizenry. Oh, and you can also enjoy local coffee and drinks while you browse. This pop-up popped up on November 19, and there will be four remaining sessions, each with about 21 to 24 vendors.

2. Jack Erwin’s Winter Pop-Up

jack erwin
Image used with permission by copyright holder

245 Park Ave, New York City, NY

November 19, 2015 – March 31, 2016

If you’re in the market for new shoes, consider telling your loved ones about this classy pop-up from luxury shoemakers Jack Erwin. There, they’ll find a number of exquisite boots, loafers, and traditional dress shoes — all made using top-quality construction methods. The shop will be around until March, so you can always take a look yourself if you don’t find any penny loafers in your stocking. Jack Erwin also has a permanent fitting room on 10 Hubert St. in TriBeCa, but this Midtown pop-up location might just be more convenient. It’s worth noting that Jack Erwin has a unique business model: clients come in, try on shoes, order them online from the shop, and have them shipped to their home or office in a matter of days.

3. Daniel Wellington Holiday Pop Up

Daniel Wellington
Image used with permission by copyright holder

355A Bowery, New York City, NY

November 20-December 20

Though phones are capable time-keepers, they can’t touch luxury watches when it comes to style. If you want a new watch (or your first watch), subtly introduce your loved ones to the Daniel Wellington Holiday Pop Up. As you’ll see, Daniel Wellington’s timepieces are elegant and timeless (that’s “timeless” in terms of style, not timekeeping, fortunately). In addition to their classic wares, Daniel Wellington will be showcasing their new Dapper Collection, which is characterized by Roman numerals and stunning blue hands. All Daniel Wellington watches are well under $500 — an excellent price point for such fine-looking timepieces.

Related: Introducing The Huckberry-Manual Shop: Bold Goods for Bold Gentlemen

4. Northern Grade

northern grade
Image used with permission by copyright holder

405 Mateo St. Los Angeles, CA

December 4-6

Don’t worry, West Coasters — you’ll get plenty of pop-up shops, too. Northern Grade will be hosting a particularly excellent one featuring a wide range of high-quality American-made products. The old industrial space will be abuzz with wares from classy brands like Iron & Resin, Freenote, Aloha Sunday, Rogue Territory, and many, many others. There will also be live music from local bands, food from local vendors, beer from Churchkey Beer, and free spirits samples from Brooklyn Gin. What’s not to love? Northern Grade has nomadic tendencies, so you’ll likely see one of their pop-up shops in your town before long.

5. Pop Up Flea – NYC

pop up flea
Image used with permission by copyright holder

125 W 18th St, New York City, NY

December 11-13

If you want variety from your pop-up shopping experience, you can mosey down to Pop Up Flea, which will run the weekend of December 11-13. Pop Up Flea is awesome at organizing huge pop-ups, hence the “pop-up” in their name. At this enormous pop-up shop, you’ll find crafts, home wares, clothing, accessories, and more from some of our favorite brands, including Jungmaven, United By Blue, Weiss Watch Company, Snow Peak, and dozens of others. Vendors are permitted to design their own booths, making for a festive, eclectic shopping atmosphere. As with any store worth its artisanal salt, Pop Up Flea will have food and drinks for its shoppers.

TJ Carter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
TJ Carter wears many hats, both figuratively and literally. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2011 with a degree…
How long should you let new cigars rest in a humidor?
Cigar humidor

Looking at those beautiful, oily cigars you've just unboxed or unwrapped, the calling to light up is real. I get it. I always want to smoke my cigars right away, too. But you shouldn't. Mail day is always exciting after you've ordered a slew of new cigars. When they arrive, the real fun begins. You'll probably need to organize your humidor to make the new sticks fit or arrange them for optimal humidification. As you're handling them, it's difficult to resist the temptation to crack open the cellophane or boxes and smoke one right away. While you can do that in most cases, I would recommend against it. Depending on where those cigars came from, where you live, and how they traveled, they might need a little time to rest in a humidor. They'll need to replenish some humidity and moisture or dry out a little.
How long should you let your new cigars rest?

When you put cigars in a humidor, especially one that's filled, they'll soak up and release humidity over time until they reach the average RH (relative humidity) that you have set inside your humidor. If you have a device like a that does this automatically, it will produce moisture and humidity to keep the levels optimal. You can also achieve the same thing with in smaller humidors, which release and soak up the humidity to match the levels on the label. Boveda packs come in a range of RH levels, from the low to mid-60s to the mid-70s.

Read more
The 11 best Kevin Costner movies, ranked
He has a full resume of films, but if you're a Costner fan, then you must see these movies
Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves

An all-American, blue-collar working man turned Hollywood essential, Kevin Costner has lived a life full of experience and dreams that some can only imagine. Starting out as a small kid -- 5'2" at high school graduation -- who moved around a lot, Costner was fond of things like poetry, writing, and singing in his Baptist choir. Outside of the arts, he was also very interested in sports of all kinds, which is reflected in his film career to this day. Also a man of the outdoors, Costner built his own canoe at 18 and paddled it through sections where Lewis and Clark ventured. Fun facts aside, Costner had a full and interesting life before the world got to know him as the charming and eloquent movie man we know him to be today.
From his past life, accomplishments, and hobbies, Costner was fully prepared to write, direct, and act for the screen as he fulfilled yet another lifelong dream. A man who was once called "The King of the Sports Movie," Costner has been able to act in films of a subject matter near and dear to his heart that became the films he is best known for. And that doesn’t include his many other successful movies having to do with politics, crime, and romance that also make for some of his best roles. Luckily, we’re here to talk about all of those films at once as we celebrate the man who has accomplished more in one lifetime than some could in many. Here are the best Kevin Costner movies of all time.

11. Open Range (2003)

Read more
The best Quentin Tarantino movies, ranked – Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and more
If you haven't seen these films at least one time, you need to ... and then watch them again and again
Scene from Pulp Fiction, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson

Of all the contemporary film auteurs, perhaps no one’s work has permeated pop culture as thoroughly as Quentin Tarantino's. This director’s hyper-stylized, retro fantasy worlds have come to define cinematic coolness. His clever mashups of genres, exquisite sense of aesthetics, impeccable editing, uproarious suspensefulness, and impossibly quippy dialogue have been endlessly imitated.
Given the current political landscape, Tarantino’s work has undergone a serious critical re-evaluation from Black and feminist critics and scholars who point toward both his allegedly abusive behaviors and the offensive politics and rhetoric of his films. It’s true that in this new light, for many, there may be nothing redeemable about his entire oeuvre. 
However, to discard all Quentin Tarantino movies would discount the impossible talent of his frequent collaborators and stars, such as Sally Menke (who edited all of Tarantino’s movies until her death in 2010), Uma Thurman (who not only played the protagonist of Tarantino’s most iconic movies but was also credited as a co-writer on Kill Bill), Samuel L. Jackson (a frequent Tarantino star), and many more.
With that in mind, here’s our (subjective!) ranking of the greatest directed Quentin Tarantino movies of all time.

9. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)

Read more