Independent creative agency Optimist Works has partnered with education charity Empathy Action to develop “The Empathy Store”: a pop-up shop and community hub opening in Royal Victoria Place, Tunbridge Wells. The project offers an alternative to seasonal consumerism, pairing meaningful, story-led gifts with a welcoming community hub, where shoppers can discover brilliant volunteering opportunities that can help meet the biggest local and global issues.
The Optimist team pitched the idea of “a store that was part-gift shop part-community hub” to help celebrate the charity’s 10th anniversary. The entire Empathy Store has been designed as a modular pop-up kit, built to pack down into a standard van, making it easy to take the concept on the road. A pilot launch in Tunbridge Wells, Empathy Action hopes the store will visit more high streets year-on-year.
Every purchase is raising money for Empathy Action and its partners in the UK and worldwide.
Quotes from Optimist Works Jon Stewart, Co-Founder at Optimist Works, said:
“Since we first met Empathy Action, the main focus of their work has always been on education and using creative experiences to bring people closer to big issues. We felt there was something really powerful in applying this same idea to a high street shop.”
“The range of current local and global issues we’re all seeing this year, plus a certain speech earlier this year, made the idea of #NeighboursNotStrangers feel really powerful. That’s really the concept behind the shop.”
Matt Haigh, Co-Founder at Optimist Works, added:
“The UK high street really needs reinventing to survive and we feel that purpose-led spaces that bring people together could and should be a big part of that future.”
“We’ve always believed that creative work has an important role to play in helping create positive change. It’s not just about communicating ideas, but helping to reshape how people see one another."
Ben Solanky, Director & Co-Founder, Empathy Action, said:
“At a time where we’re seeing so much division and bad news at home and worldwide, we want to remind people that we can choose to live as neighbours, not strangers. Every small gift tells a bigger story of compassion.”
For further details about The Empathy Store project, please see the full press release here.
