Friday, January 23rd, 2009...2:33 pm
Beehive Co-op, A Truly Local Idea
What do Atlanta, New York, and Cincinnati have in common? Each city now has a Beehive Co-op franchise. Beehive Co-op is now open in Pleasant Ridge, next to other favorite local independents, Everybody’s Records and Pleasant Perk. What is a Beehive Co-op? Well, their press release has the best explanation.
Farmers markets have popularized the idea of putting local, seasonal organic food on our tables, and now an innovative Atlanta-based retailer has extended the “buy local” concept to handmade, one-of-a –kind products from local, independent designers. Beehive Co-op (www.beehiveco-op.com), founded in 2004 by Petra Geiger, taps the most dazzling local design talent and showcases their clothing, jewelry and accessories for the home in a well-edited retail environment that is equal parts sexy, stylish and sustainable.
Beehive’s interpretation of the cooperative is simple: the store rents space to local designers, who pay a low monthly rent in return for a dedicated boutique area in the store. Each cooperative member must work four hours in the store each week, which keeps overhead low and creates a collaborative environment where burgeoning entrepreneurs can learn how to grow their businesses.
I’ve not been there yet, but to me, it sounds like a real-world Etsy.
So support your local crafts-makers. And read more about the co-op at Soapbox, 5chw4r7z, and CincyBurb.
Photo by 5chw4r7z
5 Comments
February 11th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Unfortunately the Beehive is no more. Things didn’t work out….
February 12th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Wow, that’s too bad. It was a really neat concept. Well, I suppose it doesn’t mean it can’t come back.
More details about Beehive Co-op’s demise here: http://cincyburb.blogspot.com/2009/02/beehive-co-op-short-lived.html
February 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I’m really disappointed by the closing. I didn’t get a chance to check this place out and, although now’s clearly not the best time to open a business, this one definitely intrigued me. I did take a look at the Beehive model, though, and it just doesn’t really strike as the best idea — 25k fee to open the third franchise in the US, which is predicated on offering local design, and then charging rent and requiring weekly work of local designers. It sounds a bit like having a booth in an indoor flea market, except that you don’t get complete control over your own space. I dunno… Still, a blow for independent design in this town.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I thought this was the best idea around and was very excited to have a place to sell some of my handmade bags and jewelry…………….until. They decided to close and it’s been over a month and I can not get any of my stuff back. The person running it here in Cincinnati has taken most of the artist goods as well as any money from the sales. It has been a nightmare for all the artists involved as well as the person who owns the original BeeHive. Too bad one person has to ruin it for everyone.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I couldn’t agree more with Angela. I’ve had the same poor experience with Kate and the local Beehive. I was not only an artist in the shop who cannot get her items returned I did work to help open the shop and was never paid. Bad business all the way around. Very disappointing.
Leave a Reply