Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 21
Lauren Tetef Opens 2-Day Creative Fest in Former Joann Store After Saving $24,000
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 21

Lauren Tetef Opens 2-Day Creative Fest in Former Joann Store After Saving $24,000

1 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 21

Summary

  • June 27-28 will bring Open House Creative Fest to a former Joann store at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, where Lauren Tetef expects hundreds of visitors for a weekend artisan market and communal crafting event.
  • About 25 vendors will sell goods and lead hands-on workshops; entry is free to browse, while activity passports start at $40 and include each booth’s project plus access to a shared “activity garden.”
  • Tetef funded the event after saving roughly $24,000 in a few months, following an August layoff from a corporate marketing job she says was hit by Trump-era tariff pressures on an import-heavy business.
  • The pop-up has already drawn nearly 500 RSVPs and 70 pre-sale passport purchases, after Tetef rented the space for $3,000 plus a $1,000 deposit and spent additional thousands preparing the shuttered craft store.

Insights

Can a two-day craft festival, launched with $24,000 in a vacant store, actually become a sustainable business model?
Are pop-up 'experience' festivals the future of community gathering or just a temporary fix for dying American malls?