National Picnic to Set up at The Factory in May

It all started when Betsy Cook was looking for a "pop-up shop"—a short-term storefront lease—in downtown Collingswood so she could hold a trunk sale for her National Picnic clothing line.

But calls to landlords and real estate agencies didn't turn up anything that was the right fit.

"People were willing to rent but either at a very high price or immediately, which wouldn't give me time to promote," Cook said. "The planets kind of have to align."

When word got out that Cook was looking, however, borough zoning and code enforcement official Mary Ellen Ries suggested The Factory to her after a recent meeting of the Zoning Board.

"I had heard of it, but I thought it was only a space for woodworking and metal shop," Cook said. "I had no idea that [owner Tom Marchetty] had built studios that were available for rent.

"I had written off getting my own commercial space a while ago because I was pretty sure I couldn't afford it," she said.

After she got a look at some of the monthly rental spaces available at The Factory, Cook said the wheels started to turn in her mind. A six-month commitment was "an easy yes," she said.

"I get to do something that I was planning for and budgeting for happening over a year from now," she said. "I'm moving in May and I'm ready to hit the ground and dig in and start making my stuff.

"What I'm hoping is it will be too small for me in a year."

Cook said that for the first time since striking out on her own, she will have a commercial space "where I have assistants who aren't in my house." 

"I'm going in there and I have to be profitable," Cook said. "There's a clock ticking, there's a business plan, I have a line of credit for my business. I have time to see if I can make a living doing it."

Cook's stint at The Factory begins with a trunk show during Second Saturday on May 11. She's excited for the new digs—but they come at an additional cost.

Cook has been with the Collingswood Farmers Market since 1999, and was eventually hired to coordinate its graphic design and advertising as the market grew. It's something she'll have to give up as she focuses her attention on making National Picnic a full-time success.

"It's going to be very strange going to the market and shopping the market without being in the market," she said.

"But I started this wacky clothing business and failure is not an option."

Clarification: An earlier version of this article reported that Ms. Cook has been a paid employee of the market since 1999; she informed us that in its early days, the market was an entirely volunteer-run operation.