Pop-ups building their own tables

The catchphrase, “If they’re not going to offer you a seat at the table; build a table of your own,” offers up a strong message when it comes to James Robertson. Robertson, a Chester native, gave us another option on marketing small minority owners in the Chester community at his pop-up event, at Tyra Kirkland-Starr’s recently opened newly renovated event space on Avenue of the States, in the heart of Chester’s business district.
Robertson is the young entrepreneur graciously opening up his customer base to assist other budding businesses to market their products. He is doing this through Pop-Up Shops. His initial pop-up on Saturday, April 10th, was a successful venture. Robertson is planning more events of this kind in the future.
Though Robertson is not the inventor of the pop-up concept, he is the creative mind behind this venture and his clothing line, “Hunnitproof Clothing,” which offers unique unisex clothing. This is evident by the cleverness of his designs. He’s very hands-on with his brand, right down to the creation of his logo. “I create the designs, select the materials, and I have a built a relationship with a gentleman in Pakistan who does the production for me, “he says. “The creative concepts all my original ideas,” states Robertson.
Robertson credits his mother with preparing him to achieve success. He says she sent him to Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware. “She just wanted me to have the best educational experience possible,” says Robertson. He freely admits that was a very different experience; but, especially beneficial. He played basketball and was a standout point guard. Following High School, he won a D-2 scholarship to Patrick Henry College in Martinsville, Virginia, transferring to West Concord University in West Virginia, majoring in business.
“I strongly believe in teamwork and community. It’s not all about me,” states Robertson, who is raising a 3-year-old daughter with his partner. Robertson hopes to continue offering these pop-up shops to the Chester community, inviting more and varied vendors to participate and encouraging people to shop locally. Keep more of our dollars in our community and create greater wealth. This is a lofty goal, but also very achievable.
Robertson has been marketing his brand on social media and networking with other businesses, like other entrepreneurs. He states, “Being out in the community is yet another way to increase the business profile and highlight young entrepreneurs, encouraging them to bring their ideas to the table or better yet build their own tables and invite others to pull up a chair.”
This is a starting point for young entrepreneurs who do not want or can’t tackle the expenses required when operating in a brick-and-mortar establishment. Reach out to James Robertson if you are a vendor interested in participating in one of his coming pop-ups or if you are interested in sporting some of his unique designs. He offers sizes up to 3X for those of us waiting to shed those Covid-19 pounds, so there is something for everyone.
You can reach Robertson at (484)-571-8411, www.stayhunnitproof.com, @Goyehp10, @stayhunnitproof on Instagram, or James hunnitproof Robertson on Facebook.