Exploring Life & Business with Sarah Moody of Triangle Pop-Up

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Moody

Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started Triangle Pop-Up as a platform to help other small businesses grow. Triangle Pop-Up curates artist and maker markets in the Triangle, NC area. There’s always live music, the events are family friendly and are inclusive to the entire community.

Back in 2018, I had just moved back to North Carolina from Atlanta where I worked at a university doing International Student Coordination. I was passionate about this work, but there wasn’t much room to grow and I wanted to move back to NC to be closer to my family. I was starting over in my home town and worked at a coffee shop while trying to figure out my next career move. I’ve always had a passion for art and creating things. I’ve also worked in small businesses throughout my adolescence and adulthood.

I decided to start a small artist market for myself and friends to sell our handmade products at the coffee shop I was working at and it turned out to be a huge success! The community really loved supporting local artists and small businesses. After a few small markets, the word got out and I was able to grow the market into a 100-vendor festival. The festival featured all local, small businesses with handmade products. Plus, we added live music, food trucks and worked with the coffee shop to have exciting drink specials during the market. Once again, the community support was unbelievable.

This is when I started realizing the need for this business and how much it can help the small business community. I started getting approached by other local businesses to host markets with them. We started expanding to new venues and growing our vendor base in 2019. Now, we host large markets every weekend and work with thousands of local vendors. We have a large social media following and our events stay busy! We opened a retail shop, featuring all local products, in 2020 and have hosted Pop-Up Shops during the holidays. We have expanded to other cities in North Carolina and continue to grow our brand, all while helping many other small businesses grow!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
During the pandemic we were completely shut down, events/gatherings were the first thing to be stopped. We decided to pivot and open our first retail store in Fall of 2020 so artists could still have a way to sell their goods. It started as a pop-up shop; The city and local real estate company gave us discounted rent to do a two-month pop-up retail store. We were able to help small businesses earn a combined $40,000 in just two months. After this we decided to sign a three year lease and create a permanent store for local vendors to showcase their goods. Now, in addition to our permanent retail store we host retail pop-up shops in a new location every year during the holidays. Retail was a very new and scary adventure for us, but we used our resources and put in a lot of hard work to make it a reality. We are confident in our retail success and even offer consultations to other small businesses that are interested in opening a retail store!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We help connect local artists to our community through events and retail. Small businesses have a hard time reaching a local audience and selling their work because they are usually just a team of one person. Our markets give small businesses a way to showcase their products, reach new customers and have amazing sales days!

We strive to help transform the retail scene in downtown Raleigh, NC. The city has always been know for food and beverage but not local retail. We have thousands of local artisans that we work with and we try to provide opportunities for them to sell their work on a daily basis. We also host finance and social media workshops to help artists grow their small business and learn how to maximize their sales at markets and in retail stores. By encouraging consumers to shop from small businesses and giving vendors the opportunity to showcase their work, we are helping grow our local economy!

Our customers are the local vendors that create extraordinary, handmade products, including jewelry, candles, clothing, woodworking, bath + body care and so much more. We strive to give them a chance to grow and follow their passions, just like us! By creating these events, advertising them and building a following, we are helping small businesses succeed.

Although our events are free to the public, we still view the public as an indirect customer. We are a staple in our community for organizing fun, family-friendly events, where attendees can meet local artisans, shop from them and grow the local economy.

We solely work with local restaurants, breweries and museums that largely benefit from the crowds we bring out! Our partnerships with local venues have been a way for them to grow consistently and reach more customers.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Raleigh has a huge artist/maker scene. We get to work with so many amazing, small businesses. We also feel like this community loves to support small businesses, which is our whole mission.

Pricing:

• Our markets are free to attend!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Trianglepopup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trianglepopup?igsh=MXJ0a2k4emJ6amc1Mw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D1RqPcf43/?mibextid=wwXIfr