THIS IS AN ARCHIVE POST FROM 2014
A few months ago, I applied for two commercial spaces on Dob Street in Budapest, hoping that I would get at least one of them. The spaces were rented out by the local government through an auction system, so there was no guarantee that I would get either of them.
In the end, I won both.
And since both shops are in probably the best location I could have hoped for, right in the middle of Budapest’s famous nightlife district and surrounded by bars, restaurants and thousands of tourists, I decided not to give either of them up.
Instead, I’m opening two completely separate shops for two completely different businesses.
One of them will be the first Virivee tights shop. The other will be a design and handmade goods shop called DrumDrum Design, which I’m starting together with two friends.
I’ll link to my earlier post about how to rent a shop from the city here, because that’s where this whole story started.
The Virivee shop
One of the spaces is very small, just 14 square metres, but it has a fantastic location at Dob Street 24, right on the corner of Kazinczy Street. This is where I’m planning to open the first Virivee shop.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept. I don’t want it to be just another ordinary brand shop. The location is right in the middle of Budapest’s nightlife district, which is already full of visual noise, bars, restaurants and all kinds of businesses competing for attention. So I wanted to come up with something that would stand out.
Eventually, I decided that the shop shouldn’t sell only Virivee products. I want to add a few completely unexpected products that have nothing to do with fashion or design.
The combination itself could be unusual enough to get people talking, and it gives me the opportunity to build a rather fun visual identity and communication around it.
The slogan that came to me was:
“What do women need? Tights and, of course, chocolate!”
So besides my handmade tights, I’m also going to sell handmade chocolates. Basically, I’m creating a little female den of temptation, filled with things designed to tempt women.
The idea is that people who walk into the shop will hopefully buy something. Even if it’s only a few pieces of chocolate, I’ll be happy.
The chocolate part actually makes perfect sense to me. I used to have a chocolate café, Choco Cafe, in Vac. We eventually sold it, but I’ve been thinking about opening a chocolate shop again ever since.
The renovation of the Virivee shop hasn’t started yet. It would be fantastic if we could open by the end of November, although there is still quite a lot to organize before that.
And then there’s the other shop
The second space is at least as exciting.
I’m teaming up with two friends to open a design shop called DrumDrum Design, dedicated exclusively to Hungarian products. It’s at Dob Street 14, right next to Gozsdu Courtyard and opposite Spinoza Restaurant.
The story of how this shop came about is pretty interesting in itself.
I met Enikő and Zoltán Marton only two and a half months ago, in August. They are filmmakers, and they made the Telekom Successful Entrepreneurs campaign that is running on RTL Klub throughout October, in which I also appear.
From the very first meeting, I felt a level of sympathy and connection with them that I very rarely experience. As it turned out, the feeling was mutual.
So when the opportunity came up in September, we decided to start a business together.
The concept is quite unusual. We want to combine the look and atmosphere of the handmade and design shops currently found in Budapest.
The products themselves will mainly be handmade goods, but the way we present them, communicate about them and build the shop will be much closer to the world of design stores.
We’re also planning an online shop where every product will be available to buy. The main goal of the webshop will be international sales.
We want to have a really strong online presence, including video content, which is particularly convenient when you have your own filmmakers in the company 😉, as well as social media communication.
Our long-term plan is for the physical shop to function mainly as a showroom, with most of the actual sales eventually happening online.
The renovation of this shop is already well underway, so the November opening is almost certain. There is still a huge amount of work to do, though.
So, apparently, I’ve decided that having one shop renovation going on isn’t enough. I need two.