Vintage clothing retailer taking up council’s second pop up shop in Chichester's Crane Street

Vibra Clothing has been operating for the last two years, mainly through pop-up events, festivals and an online shop. Run by Keelan Shoulders and Patrick Keane, the shop sells high-quality second-hand products featuring a handful of key brands, and its aim is to champion the idea of reuse and re-wear

Patrick and Keelan’s target market is young people aged 16 to 30. Through their market research they have developed a close relationship with the University of Chichester, and plan to build on this further with the physical shop.

“Having been friends since school, it has been a life-long dream to start a business with an important message as its foundation,” says Keelan. “Sustainability has always been an area we believe we can make a difference in, especially in the local community. Since starting we have recycled more than 5,000 items of clothing across the UK and Europe and we want to expand on this significantly.

“A temporary pop-up shop will allow us to trial a consistent presence in the community and engage and educate the younger audience of Chichester.”

Patrick adds: “It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come since we started out in Keelan's garage. The journey has been incredible so far and for us this is the next step. We’ve grown up together in the Chichester area and now to be able to add something different to the community is really exciting. We want our shop to provide not only high quality sustainable fashion, but also provide our customers with an experience when they come into the shop.”

The new signing follows the recent launch of Renew, the council’s other pop-up shop next door, which is being led by art and design students at Chichester College. Renew features a range of items made by the students all themed around ‘happiness’, and also follows an ethos around re-use and sustainability. During their time there the students will be donating 10% of profits to the Chichester Food Bank.

Councillor Tony Dignum, Cabinet Member for Growth, Place and Regeneration at Chichester District Council said: “Our Pop-up Shop scheme was developed by our Economic Development Team to help give small and start-up enterprises the opportunity to gain high street exposure by providing affordable temporary premises for them to rent for short periods.

“I’m delighted to see these young entrepreneurs and designers from the local area taking up the pop-up shop reins in the run-up to Christmas. I hope that they find the experience productive and that it provides an opportunity to learn more and develop their businesses for the future.”

Since being launched, the council’s Pop Up Shop scheme has welcomed a range of businesses including a digital printing firm, an ice cream business, a baby clothing retailer, a computing company and a flooring business.

Opening times for the current pop-up shops are:

Vibra: Tuesday – Friday, 10am-5pm; Saturday, 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-4.30pm. Find out more at: www.vibraclothing.co.uk

Renew: Will be open as follows until Sunday 18 December: Tuesday to Thursday, 10.30am – 4.30pm; Friday, 10.30am – 3.30pm; closed Sunday and Monday. Find out more at: www.chichester.ac.uk/renew-pop-up-shop

For more details about the council’s Pop-Up Shops scheme and to apply, visit www.chichester.gov.uk/businesssupportandadvice