Experiential Design for Danny’s Cream Pies
The first pop-up store in Los Angeles on Fairfax was developed because the flagship location in the small town of Englewood Florida was rapidly growing in popularity. It became less about the exclusive merchandise, and more about providing that tangibility 3,000 miles across the nation. The goal was to bring that tiny slice of the rural Florida experience, to the urban metropolis of Los Angeles.
Client Danny’s Cream Pies
Production Design, Graphic Design, Project Management Andrew Gary
Photography Nicola Vincenzo
Cinematography Alex Martinez
From Florida to Los Angeles
The pop-up store lived on Fairfax in Los Angeles for a whole summer, providing exclusive merchandise, photo ops, meet & greets, and overall great memories for fans, family, and friends. The original story of the brand began as a simple idea; to breathe modern life into the heart of Englewood. Florida. Over the course of a year, that small store grew exponentially, and thus the vision was born to bridge that same growth from the east coast, to the west coast.
Original flagship location in the small town of Englewood, Florida.
figure 1
As far as the budget would allow, I wanted the live space to feel as real as an ice cream shop. An interesting aspect of the location that needed solving was the strange gap above the entrance. It felt hollow and off-putting as customers would exit (figure 1). Using this shelf space for storage, speakers, or even signage would not only be an eyesore, but would be off-theme. The space needed to be covered with something, but time was running out.
figure 2
Ultimately, I decided it would be best to cover the area with a traditional ice cream parlor awning (figure 2). It served a purpose, while also staying within the theme of the store. In my initial mock up, the awning was designed to be pink. However, with time constraints, the awning vendor had limited colors available, and I ended up pivoting to the yellow and white stripes which worked out better in the end. The awning was custom fitted for this set design project, and really tied the entire space together.
Environment before project began. Photo was taken on-site by me.
The space primarily existed as a storage unit prior to our pop up. It was a prime location on Fairfax just 3 doors down from the Supreme store at the time it was present. The location had foot traffic for discovery, ideal demographics and clientele, and accessibility.
Full mock up - designed in Photoshop.
Incorporated key elements from the Florida location, including an ice cream truck checkout desk, pole sign, palm trees, and shipped in vehicles recognizable for fans from online media. Additional elements were sourced, purchased and coordinated with producers to fit within production timelines and budget.
Wall striping was evenly measured, masked, and painted.
Installed parlor awning, maintaining safety codes regarding exit sign.
Completed experiential space.
The final visual and layout of the space came out better than imagined, and leading the transition from my computer screen into an environmental space was exciting to say the least.
Completed placement and install of storefront signage.
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