Q&A with Club Sup’s Sophie McIntyre

Sophie McIntyre is in the business of bringing strangers together. Her pop up events in Melbourne and Sydney create spaces for people to mingle, make new friends and share in good food. What started as evening suppers, Club Sup has now evolved to lunches, book swaps, cookbook clubs and even pilates. We spent the afternoon with Sophie to share some new looks to our range, chat about the Club and learn about the power in creating spaces designed for connection.

What is the secret to creating a safe space that brings new people together? 

The secret to creating a safe space when new people are coming together is making sure you've got great cozy lighting, some great music and lots of smiles. It doesn't take much more. 

How do you make events memorable? What do you consider when it comes to styling, location, and the little details? 

I think it is so important to find a space that feels authentic to what you are, to the theme or the purpose of the event. Usually when we are doing events with a concept, I make sure I find somewhere that feels like an extension of the event. Recently we had a sit down book swap event and hosted it in a gorgeous Italian restaurant in Carlton that had a beautiful stained glass roof. It felt like we were in a beautiful bookstore. I always think when it comes to food and styling less is more, because the food colours the table, along with peoples hands! You want that to shine and for everything else not to over shadow the guests coming together at the table. 

Where do you draw inspiration from in designing your events? 

For sure it is what the event concept is and what feels right. Outside of that it is international supper clubs and food stylists. Of course, Laila Gohar is the mother of this trend. I think I have been following her since 2017 so she has constantly shaped what feels right to me in terms of styling and designing our events. I think also in terms of what type of events we do I am very cautious, every event must have a real purpose and must feel like an absolute no brainer.  

What’s one tip for people interested in coming to one of your events? To ease the nerves! 

Just remember that everyone else in the room feels exactly the same as you do right now. They're just hiding it…

One business question – what advice would you give to anyone who is looking to take a plunge with a creative business idea? 

Never sink your own money into it to keep it going. Let it pay for itself, never let it put you in debt and if it starts turning a profit that's when you know you're on to a winner and use that profit to grow it! 

Anything coming up at the Club we should know about?

We are going to keep working on making Book Swap a staple event for us this year and continue growing for a lot more event dates in Sydney!

Interested in attending a Club Sup event? Click here for more details.