Pedal Power & Leather: How I Built a Custom Bike Trailer Pop-Up Shop

(4 minute read)

One of the mainstays of Jed Phoenix of London since 1999 has been pop-up shops. They’ve always been vital for getting my work in front of people in the real world and building a face-to-face reputation, where maker meets customer. But how I get to those pop-ups—and how I display my JPoL products once I arrive—looks very different today than it used to. London pop-up shops now involve a custom bike trailer, a lot of ingenuity, and a big shift in how I run my business post-2020. Want to know how and why? Read on…

Before 2020, I used to get to pop-up shops the way that most of my fellow traders did: in a vehicle. My setup involved several panels of gridwall and a standard heavy-duty rail or two. There were a few customers at London Alternative Market who’d ask me how far I'd travelled to get there. “About 4 miles,” I'd say, sometimes adding, “I could easily cycle here if I didn't have to bring all this stuff with me!” The car I drove at the time was a well-maintained, 20-year-old people carrier with the rear seats removed. It was a great, reliable workhorse, but I knew it wouldn't be ULEZ-compliant when the expansion zone rolled out to my area in August 2023. I didn't quite know what I was going to do. And then Covid happened.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Covid marked a major shift in how I run my business. It gave me an opportunity to look closely at my core values—creativity, autonomy, sustainability, and honesty—and see how I could integrate them into every part of my life and work. I sold my car to a friend in Margate, bought a heavy-duty garden trolley and a DIY e-bike conversion kit, and, with the help of an engineering friend, got to work designing a more creative, sustainable way of getting to the London Alternative Market.

The Engineering Process

The garden trolley provided a solid base. We utilised the facilities at the local Makerspace to weld a new steel hitch arm, and sourced two sets of secondhand forks and wheels from the Community Bike Hub. Off came the four 10-inch wheels—they really wouldn't last long on the potholed streets of London—and on went the 26-inch wheels. I salvaged some square PVC downpipe from my late step-dad's shed and bought several sheets of polycarbonate, a pop riveter, galvanised steel band, a ball-and-socket hitch, and a supply of bamboo.

Right from the start, the goal was to build something that could handle both jobs: weatherproof transport and market display. The salvaged square PVC downpipes were cleaned and secured onto the outside corners of the trailer. Into each corner fit two 1-metre uprights—made from 40mm PVC pipes and bamboo—that assemble once I reach the venue. One-metre bamboo canes, wrapped in thin cord and threaded through steel band loops on the uprights, form six horizontal display rails at either end of the trailer for corsets, chiffon tops, utility belts, and accessories. On top sits the polycarbonate lid and a custom 20cm × 20cm × 1m box, providing both dry cargo storage on the road and sturdy display surfaces at the market.

Trial, Error, and Final Iteration

The original design featured a removable hitch arm to let customers walk around the trailer display easily. Over time, however, the mounting holes in the steel arm ovalised; the resulting "hitch slop" made towing the trailer feel alarmingly unstable. After a few nerve-wracking trips through London’s backstreets to LAM and back, I went back to the drawing board.

With each iteration came a new lesson in design and materials. Today, the trailer connects to my e-bike via a beautifully strong, custom rig made from bamboo, flax fibre, and epoxy resin.

Re-engineering how I get to pop-up shops proved that constraints really are the ultimate fuel for creativity. This trailer isn't just transport; it’s a rolling statement of what JPoL stands for—practicality, independence, and making things that last through resourcefulness rather than mass consumption.

Next time you’re at London Alternative Market, come say hello, check out the latest pieces on the rails, and take a look at the rig that brought them there!