FALL
one week &
weekend
workshops
ce ra m ics
studio assistantships
w ork study
scholarships
residencies
c re d it & CEUs
arrowmont.org
>4RRCW/M0NT
sch oo l o f a rts a n d cra fts
556
Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN
865-436-5860
GASPARILLA f ESTIVAL
O T
’T T J p ; A
d
T C
sponsored by
1 1 1 L i v l v l
Raymond James Financial
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1
March 6-7, 2010 |
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250,000
attendees attracted to fine art, fine crafts and
festivities in beautiful downtown Tampa, Florida.
$75,000
in cash awards, including
$15,000
Best of Show,
plus a generous Purchase Award program.
Artist Zapplication deadline:
September 30,2009
Pr o fe ssio n a l l y ju r ie d • Ex t en siv e m a r k e t in g c a m p a ig n
C o m p l im e n t a r y r e f r e sh m e n t s • O v e r n ig h t s e c u r it y
APPLY ONLINE zapplication.org
Visit our website a: gasparilla-arts.com
Phone:
813-876-1747
E-mail: gasparillaarts@ yahoo.com
P rod u ct Placem ent
Beehive Co-op
Several years ago, Petra G ei-
ger w as living in Atlanta and
struggling to find the right
sales outlets for her handbags
and stationery. M any other
designers in the area, she real-
ized, w ere in the same boat.
In 2004 she got a group o f
them together and founded
Beehive Co-op. T h ey launched
a store, a sleek contem porary
bazaar where some 50 mem-
bers showcase their stylish
handmade clothing, home ac-
cessories and jew elry, such
as Olaria Studio’s Chatham
ceramic necklace© . Geiger,
41, recently' moved to M t. Kis-
co, N ew Y o rk , and opened a
Beehive branch there. North
and south, the merchandise
is high-quality y et affordable.
“ Our goal is to make craft and
design more accessible,” she
says. “I w ant people to fall in
love w ith something, and be
able to buy it.”
W ith both stores getting
good b u zz, G eiger plans to
build Beehive into a national
brand w ith an online shop and
franchise locations around the
country—all with a consistently
“fresh, polished, m odern”
presentation, each reflecting
its ow n distinctive regional
flavor. “T h e w ord ‘franchise’
has cookie-cutter connota-
tions. T h at’s not what w e’re
about,” she says. “ Local by
design” is a concept she’s con-
vinced can succeed anywhere.
Collaboration is the basis
o f Beehive’s business model.
Custom ers get to buy local
goods directly from the source.
D esigners grow their busi-
nesses by pooling resources;
w orking in the store, they en-
jo y w hat G eiger describes as
“ a sense o f place, o f not being
isolated in their studios.”
“T he best thing is the cama-
raderie. It’s so nice to know
I’m not the only one out there,”
says Heather Swanepoel, a
maker o f artisanal bath and
body products. She adds,
“ T h e sales have been great,
the exposure has been amaz-
ing. T he Beehive name has
clout now in Atlanta.”
And the time may w ell be
ripe for Beehive to blossom
nationwide. G eiger happily
reports that after months o f
limiting their purchases to gift
items during the econom ic
downturn, “ people are start-
ing to buy things for them -
selves again.” —j .l .
beehiveco-op.com
CASPAKIILA
r f f T I V A L
• r the AKIS
