Architect Eric Ho launched Made in the Lower East Side (miLES)?a plan to transform the neighborhood's 200+ vacant storefronts into more vibrant, active spaces?last year, and to date the organization has sponsored 14 pop-up shops, two design festivals, 20 pop-up classes, and a pop-up film festival in these otherwise-empty spots. The group's next step is the miLES Storefront Transformer, which would expand the pop-up program by producing seven pop-ups in November and December. MiLES hopes to generate the money for the program via Kickstarter, with a campaigned launched today to raise $32,000.
The Storefront Transformer is basically what it sounds like"a versatile set of furnishings and amenities" that can be assembled and disassembled to have shelves, tables, seats, a stage, electronic infrastructure, and other things that a pop-up store might need. All of these furnishings and materials are stored in one six-foot cube. The miLES team explains more in this video:
· Made in the Lower East Side: miLES Storefront Transformer [Kickstarter]
· MiLES coverage [Curbed]