From Trinity Bellwoods Park to Shops at Don Mills: Building 15 Arras Behind the Scenes in Toronto

There is a version of building a brand that exists online. Moodboards. Campaigns. Packaging. Beautiful product photos. Carefully written captions. That's what I thought my daily work would look like when I first started out.

And then there is the real version. 

The version where you are trying to figure out whether an Uber driver will let you load a folding table, a tent, a wagon, chairs, display pieces, and multiple bags of textiles into the car at 7 in the morning.

Right now, we are somewhere between those two versions.

Preparing for the next popup

Our next popup is happening this Saturday at CF Shops at Don Mills in Toronto.

After Trinity Bellwoods, we thought we would feel more prepared.

In some ways, we do.

But every popup reveals a completely new layer of things you did not know you needed.

A tent.
Tent weights.
Tables.
Chairs.
Card readers.
A wagon to carry everything.
Extension cords.
Display props.
Packaging.
Scissors.
Pens.
Tape.
Paper.
Lunch.
Coffee.

The list keeps growing in ways both funny and slightly alarming. No one really tells you how much of building a small brand is logistics. Not glamorous logistics either. Physical logistics.

How to move things. How to carry them. How to set them up quickly. How to make a temporary setup feel warm and intentional instead of functional and rushed.

Learning how to create a space

The products are only one part of a popup.

The real challenge is creating a space people want to walk into.

We spend a surprising amount of time thinking about:

• how the table should flow
• what catches attention first
• whether the setup feels calm or crowded
• how to make handmade work feel approachable

At Trinity Bellwoods, we learned that atmosphere matters as much as product. So now, every detail feels important. Not perfect. Just thoughtful.

Building across countries and time zones

At the same time, the website is still in progress.

We originally hoped to launch online shopping by the end of May, but building anything well takes flexibility—especially when multiple people are involved.

Right now, our photoshoot is underway, managed across Canada and India because I had admired the work of a content creator there for a long time and wanted to build with people whose work genuinely resonated with me.

That means late-night calls, back-and-forth revisions, coordinating timelines across countries, and learning patience in real time.

Sometimes creative work moves quickly. Sometimes it asks you to wait.

Trying to stay consistent while building

Meanwhile, there is still the everyday work:
posting on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook consistently while also preparing inventory, answering messages, planning displays, and trying to build something sustainable one step at a time.

Social media often makes building a brand look linear.

In reality, for a business owner most days feel like moving between twenty different jobs at once.

Designer.
Photographer.
Stylist.
Logistics coordinator.
Customer service.
Market setup crew.

And occasionally, therapist to yourself.

Figuring things out as you go

One thing I keep thinking about is how much kindness exists quietly inside small business communities.

Other vendors have shared advice with me generously:
what tent to buy,
how much weight it needs,
which payment apps work best,
what to pack,
what people always forget.

Those conversations have mattered more than they probably realize.

Because the truth is: starting something in a new country without knowing how to drive, while trying to move an entire popup setup across Toronto, can feel overwhelming very quickly.

There are so many small things to figure out that no one sees from the outside.

Learning flexibility

If there is one lesson this phase is teaching me, it is this:

not everything has to happen immediately to be meaningful.

The website may launch slightly later than planned.
The setup may not look exactly how I imagined.
Some things may go wrong.

But stressing through the process does not build the thing better.

And maybe that is what this stage of 15 Arras really is:
learning how to build slowly without losing momentum.

Learning how to stay flexible without losing vision.

Learning how to create beauty while also carrying the tent yourself.

Right now, 15 Arras exists somewhere between aspiration and assembly.

Between moodboards and market carts.

Between brand building and figuring out public transit routes with folding tables.

And maybe that is what makes this stage meaningful.

Not because everything is finished,
but because it is becoming.