Fans of the buzzy, underground and hard-to-find: Your calendars just got a little more crowded. This spring, cool-kids e-commerce brand Afternoon Light is launching a three-day market, Shelter, during New York’s design week in May. To stage the event, they’re tapping an unlikely partner, the extremely not-hard-to-find trade show giant Andmore.

“We were going around to design-week events, and a little light went on: Something’s missing,” says Afternoon Light—and now Shelter—co-founder Minya Quirk. “The enthusiasm for design week is there, but it’s very splintered. On one night, you’ve got four cocktail events to go to, and at a cocktail party, are you really looking at stuff?”

For Quirk and her co-founder, Deirdre Maloney, staging an event is a return to form. The two became business partners in the early aughts, launching a fashion trade show, which they built up and sold. In 2018 they (along with Aesthetic Movement founder Jesse James) launched Shoppe Object before selling it to Andmore in 2022. After grinding it out in the SEO trenches for two years with Afternoon Light, which digitally showcases vibey home decor, the pair are relishing the chance to work in the physical world again. “Launching a show might seem like a heavy lift, but Deirdre and I are like, This is much easier than Google Ads,” says Quirk with a laugh.

Shelter’s inaugural edition, dubbed “Mart Nouveau,” will be located in the Starrett-Lehigh building on Manhattan’s far west side, also Shoppe Object’s new home—and, coincidentally or not, only a few blocks south of the Javits Center, where ICFF/Wanted takes place at roughly the same time. The event will be something of a unique hybrid: Quirk and Maloney are hoping to reach both designers and design-obsessed consumers. Tickets will be $25, and only the last day will be trade-exclusive.

Another twist? A cash-and-carry component. Some exhibitors will sell smalls, and those who don’t make anything that can fit in a tote bag will be encouraged to do some form of direct commerce. “We were inspired by things as wide-ranging as Design Miami, Frieze, even Field + Supply. People from [outside the trade] want to buy tickets to these events,” says Quirk. “I think a person who is a fan of design and furniture and interiors can come and see BD and admire the work—and they can also walk away with something small for their apartments, like a clock by Lemnos.”

Quirk and Maloney are bringing in a mix of vendors, from major European brands that don’t often appear at stateside shows (Carl Hansen & Son, BD, USM) to bleeding-edge galleries and collectives (Colony, Jonalddudd) to established indie makers (Fort Standard). Their target is 100 exhibitors. “We’re believers in a democratic floor,” says Quirk. “We like the big establishment brands right alongside interesting up-and-comers.”

The involvement of Andmore is a bit of a curveball, as the trade show conglomerate is not known for engaging with the vibier corners of the design industry. However, after establishing a relationship with the company during its acquisition of Shoppe Object, partnering on a new event felt natural for Quirk and Maloney. For Andmore, taking on another event in New York, a location where its footprint has been limited, was part of the appeal.

“Shoppe [Object] has been such a great success for us, and we see New York as a big growth opportunity,” says Katie Potter, Andmore’s senior counsel. “This project seems like a natural next step in terms of having a presence in the design community in the city.” Andmore will supply some financial support, as well as marketing help—crucially, an extensive list of trade contacts. “We, foundationally, have been very successful at executing large shows. … Considering how buyer behavior is changing, and retail behavior is changing, having a unique show that targets specific audiences is a new and interesting direction for us,” she adds.

Quirk and Maloney’s contract with Andmore is long-term, and the pair are hoping to make Shelter a staple of New York’s design week—a more intimate, edgier alternative to the big show 10 blocks to the north. “People love cool and small,” says Maloney. “We’ve built our career doing that.”