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sojourn, the traveling vintage pop up that pioneered an alternative use for Convention Hall’s second floor back in May 2015, returns to Asbury Park this weekend.

The brainchild of Stephanie Leopold and Amanda DiRobella, two women who were a part of the retail ingenuity along the Asbury Park boardwalk, sojourn has expanded into an online and touring pop up venture. Their last event was held in Lower Manhattan.

They land at High Voltage Cafe & Grocery [at right], located in Junction Hall at 808 Springwood Ave on Friday, running 11 a.m to 5 p.m. through Sunday. High Voltage is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Leopold and DiRobella [below right] first collaborated when The Market launched in the Fifth Avenue pavilion on the Asbury Park boardwalk. The venture, now located in Convention Hall, brought local and national makers, artists, and designers under one umbrella, which led to the birth of the similar offshoot – Storefront.

Leopold, whose background is in architecture, engineering and interior design, has left a Brooklyn-based architectural firm to focus on sojourn. The Pratt Institute graduate also founded her design studio – Mavis in 2013.

DiRobella, formerly of Madison Marquette, has a background in event production and retail business development. Today the Brick native balances her time at sojourn with a day job as  editor and chief of New York Makers, a Manhattan based online magazine and marketplace.

The two 30-somethings spent the past year growing and rebranding their business and have managed to carve out a growing community of partners that spans from Asbury Park to upstate New York.

“We’ve spent the past year picking and searching for items [and partners],” DiRobella said. “At the heart of sojourn is a love for travel, exploration and discovery. We now carry handmade goods, launched our blog, and we hope to bring on more partners.”

Their business model is inspired by the pockets of design communities across the globe, DiRobella said. They feature both pre-owned, one-of-a-kind pieces and new, handcrafted and/or homegrown items like jewelry, plantables, loose leaf teas, and home goods.

“By offering a larger selection that merges old with new, and blurs generational lines, we hope to see this new era of creative, handmade culture not just survive, but thrive,” DiRobella said.

In addition to their signature hull of hand-picked timeless treasures, a holiday decor revival of decades past [shown above] will be offered, DiRobella said.

For more information, visit SojournShop.com.

[Photos courtesy of sojourn]

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