Lone Design Club

A London retail company founded by Rebecca Morter that runs shops and pop-ups selling products from independent, sustainability-minded brands.

About Lone Design Club

Lone Design Club (LDC) is a retailer that gives independent fashion and lifestyle brands a place to meet shoppers. Instead of one permanent flagship shop, it runs immersive pop-up stores in busy locations, each with a theme and a calendar of events, and fills them with products from emerging designers who care about sustainability. Its ranges have included clothes, homeware, personalised accessories and knitwear, and it has launched a men's department. For a young designer, LDC offers a way to reach customers in a real shop without the cost of renting a whole one.

LDC was founded by Rebecca Morter, who is its chief executive. She has described the aim in terms of helping shoppers discover "the brands and companies working toward a more conscious, responsible future". The company says it also wants to measure the environmental and social impact of its stores and partners. We did not find a longer statement of its mission on the pages we read, so we have kept to her own words.

LDC is based in London, and its pop-ups show where it operates. The sources name a Covent Garden pop-up run with the wholesale marketplace Faire, a pop-up in Fenwick's Bond Street store in London, further pop-ups in Fenwick's Canterbury and Colchester stores, a first Belgravia pop-up in collaboration with Grosvenor, and a Christmas 2022 shop at 23 Jermyn Street, St James's, run with The Crown Estate. That shows both central London sites and a spread of department stores outside the capital. We did not find an office address.

On culture, LDC talks about community, and each pop-up includes events such as wreath-making workshops, whisky tasting and wellbeing sessions, so staff do more than sell. It wants to attract loyal customers and younger shoppers, including Gen Z and millennials. Some of the independent brands it has stocked, such as Personal Effects (London-made menswear) and Furious Goose (UK-made accessories and shirts), are small British makers, so working there means regular contact with new designers. We found no information on team size.

The roles in a pop-up retailer include buyers and brand managers who choose and look after designers, visual merchandisers who design the shop, store and events teams who run the spaces and happenings, marketing and social media staff, and the finance and operations people who keep stock moving. If you like retail, events or spotting new talent, this is an interesting model. The company's website is the place to check what is open.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Themed shops in busy London and department-store locations.', 'title': 'Pop-up stores'}
• {'desc': 'Stocks emerging designers focused on sustainability.', 'title': 'Independent brand showcase'}
• {'desc': 'Workshops, talks and tastings run inside the shops.', 'title': 'Events and community'}

Key facts

• Founded by Rebecca Morter, chief executive
• Pop-ups in Covent Garden, Fenwick Bond Street, Fenwick Canterbury and Colchester, Belgravia and 23 Jermyn Street (2022)
• Worked with The Crown Estate on its 2022 Jermyn Street pop-up
• Says it measures the environmental and social impact of its stores and partners

Website: lonedesignclub.com