From Dec. 20 to 23, Lexington High School’s Illustration Club opened a pop-up art store in the display room by the LHS main entrance. 

The shop was open to all students and visitors during lunch blocks and after school, selling a variety of products and artworks made by the club’s members. Popular items include Genshin Impact designs, animated cartoons, stickers, jewelry, canvas paintings, and papyrus papers.The pop-up shop raised over $1,000. 75% of the profit was allocated among the respective artists, while the remaining 25% was kept to fund materials for the club. In addition to fundraising, the pop-up shop allowed club members to gain feedback on their art. 

“It’s important for artists to have an opportunity to sell their artwork as an experience in the art world, and in knowing what people are interested in, what parts of them are most popular, what needs to be improved upon,” Maya Silverman, a senior and leader of the Illustration Club, said. 

Many club members characterized the opportunity to sell their art as a valuable learning experience. 

“For me, it’s an experience of how to sell art in the real world, market things and to collaborate with others as well,” Jack Chen, a member of the Illustration Club, said. 

Another club member and contributor to the pop-up shop shared a similar opinion. 

“​I guess I didn’t really care about how much I got paid, but at least selling one sticker was enough because… I could start seeing how to sell my own products of art,” Christy Gu, a freshman, said. 

Selling art also gave club members another reason to create art. 

“The idea of being able to make art… that people would be interested in buying, kind of gives you the motivation to create it,” Gu said. 

The club leaders are hoping for the pop-up shop to return in the spring. 

“Especially since art is such a variable profession, you can do a lot of different things. This is one example of a foray into the art world,” Oliver Goss, a senior and club leader, said. 

Overall, the artists believe the pop-up shop was a positive experience and hope to continue the event in future years.

“I think if there’s a Pop-up shop for next year and like any more within this year, I will probably make something for it because it was a positive experience,” Gu said.