Like many girls growing up in the '80s, Margaret Martin was a fanatic for Hello Kitty.
And in some ways she still is, but where other twenty-somethings relive their childhood memories through an endless array of household items emblazoned with the Japanese cat's adorable white face, Martin has channeled her adoration of the simple lines and fervent freshness of pop art in another direction.
Hot Pop, Martin's candy-coated boutique at 213 N. Broadway, is dedicated to all the fun little things that make our urban world a bit brighter.
Martin's stock of designer toys, specifically the limited-edition urban vinyl varieties, is particularly poppin'. Exploding in popularity since emerging out of Hong Kong in the '90s, these artist-designed collectibles are highly sought after, predominantly by adults. Think action figures for the art set.
Milwaukee design duo The Little Friends of Printmaking recently submitted a design for Jamungo's Blow Up Dolls, a series of 3 1/2-inch colorful creatures with bombs for heads. Other than that, Martin says, the toys and other culturally related items are still hard to find Milwaukee, despite their increasing national niche.
"It's a new way for artists that are used to working in one dimension to branch out to 3D," she says. "And I noticed in Milwaukee that there was a lack of a selection of urban vinyl toys as well as limited-run clothing, so I wanted to create something like that here and build a scene around it."
Martin envisions an April opening for the store, which will host in-store workshops ranging from screenprinting 101 to customizing sneakers -- another rising trend made famous by shoe sketchers like Sabotage, whom Nike has since recruited for its Air Force 1 series, among others.
What else is in store for Hot Pop?
Limited edition visual print apparel (focusing on T-shirts and hoodies), the previously mentioned sneakers for both men and women, local music of all genres, books and home goods that Martin describes as aligning with the crafty renaissance but usurping an urban twist.
Take, for example, her collection of Delft-style pottery. A centuries-old, Netherlands-based tradition of kitchenware boasting the emblematic blue and white prints recently received a modern upgrade. Design team Lovegrove & Repucci meshed the worlds of graffiti and fine porcelain to create the "New York Delft Tableware" collection, classic dinnerware sets featuring the streets of the Big Apple, from tagging to meat vendors to taxi cabs.
"And that's not even including the art gallery," Martin says.
At 3,000 square feet, the boutique allocates a significant portion of its space to showcasing local and national talent. A group show from Chicago is scheduled as the inaugural installation, highlighting the spectrum of urban art, from classically trained oil painters to looser forms of street techniques.
"I want it to be more than just a retail store," Martin says. "I wanted it to be a place where people come together and learn new things and keep moving the scene in Milwaukee forward. This city's got a lot of potential."
Martin's mother, Deborah Kern, opened The Garden Room, an urban gardening store in Shorewood in late 2001. Martin spent five years learning the ins and outs of the retail business.
"I'm really grateful for all that I learned there and hopefully I can take that and turn it into something of my own."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
