Fab.com's Colorful Founder Explains the Site's First NYC Pop-Up

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Fab.com co-founder and COO Bradford Shellhammer is having a big year. Back in February, his design-focused e-commerce site launched a weekly fashion boutique full of emerging designers. And just this week, Fast Company put him on their list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.

The company has been growing like crazy, but up until now, it's strictly been an online entity. Starting this weekend, though, Shellhammer and crew are launching their first physical pop-up shop in concert with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Located at 142 Wooster Street in Soho, the shop debuts May 19th and runs through the 22nd. We talked to Shellhammer about what to expect.

How did the pop-up come about? Why now?
It's New York Design Week, and many of our most popular designers and collaborators will be in town. People always want to touch and feel our products in the flesh, and we wanted to give them that experience. We feel very fortunate that we're lucky enough to link up with some of our best partners in Quinze & Milan, Tom Dixon, Flor, and Areaware.

What can we expect from the shop?
We went to our favorite designers and snatched up their most colorful products and commissioned them to do custom designs for us. We have a chalkboard piggybank in bright red, and a simple yet colorful line of posters that have our company's values on them. You should expect awesome designs in neon hues, and if you come by Saturday night, I'll pour you a drink or two.

The pop-up is called the Color Shop. How important is color to you in your life?
Color is very important. People don't give it enough importance. Color is what separates us from the boring, stale, and grey e-commerce sites out there. Color makes people want to laugh and makes them feel empowered. Most importantly, color makes people smile, and that's what we're about at Fab. We're on a mission to remove boring beiges from the world.

You own over 137 pairs of shoes. Where in NYC do you find the best kicks?
I buy most of them online and usually don't spend a lot. I try to keep sneakers under $100 unless I want to splurge on Prada. Most of the time I buy them on sale or on eBay. I really love designing my own Nikes with NikeiD, and am a big fan of Clae, which we sell on Fab.

How would you define your personal style?
I like items that are loud, bright and colorful. I dress in two ways: Either dark and monotone, in technical fabrics such as nylon and poly that have a lot of shine and sound to them, or I go full-on Pee-Wee's Playhouse with red pants, yellow shoes and orange shirt. I never wear anything safe.
· Fab.com Launches "Fashion Tuesdays" [Racked]
· All The Fashion People Who Made Fast Company's "Most Creative People In Business" List, and Why [Racked]
· Rainbow Retail: Our NY Design Week Pop-Up Shop [Fab.com]