While shopping in the Castro over the weekend, we were pleasantly surprised to see a piece of paper with the words ‘N.I.C.E. Collective’ taped inside the window of 2111 Market Street, a currently vacant space right next to our beloved Crossroads on the bustling corner of Church and Market.
After doing a little digging, the owners of the popular Dogpatch-based label revealed to us that on December 11 (12/11/10) they’ll be opening a pop-up shop with a twist, which will be part of a larger retail endeavor to continue throughout 2011.
“Much of the pop-up store trend has aesthetically focused on attempting to make a temporary space appear permanent, which is somewhat contradictory to the point and the potency of the temporal shopping experience,” designers Joe Haller and Ian Hannula explained.
Therefore, N.I.C.E. Collective’s pop-up menswear shop, dubbed MSU (mobile supply unit) n.1, will be a fully contained module able to transform and reconfigure to fit each new space it inhabits.
The design of the transitory shop was inspired by mobile military convoys and will utilize repurposed materials. Brand director Riley Johndonnell (formerly the owner of Surface magazine) was also involved in the creation of the first prototype, which will migrate away from the Castro on September 10 (9/10/11) before popping up again in a series of similarly awesome neighborhoods.
Beyond showcasing their innovative and utilitarian menswear collection (no word on if their womenswear will arrive later on), N.I.C.E. Collective’s MSU’s will host art installations, creative laboratories, live music shows, a possible pirate radio station, and give community members the opportunity to participate in the brand’s design process.
Um, are you as excited as we are? (Read: Extremely.)
