Monday, October 29, 2012

Collective Saints and Sinners Party

I recently posted about setting up at the new co-op in downtown St. Louis called the Collective.  If you haven't read it yet, here it is.  We're really excited about being in a space with other creative people and can't wait to see it grow!
They have recently gotten their website going too.  Check it out!
 
Since we are one of the vendors, we were invited to a Saints and Sinners costume party to celebrate the opening.  My mom and I were joined by 2 of our employees, Emily and Katie.  Here they are below.  Katie wore a really fun red flapper dress!
 
This is my mom in our space.  She had a mask to go with her furry vest but it was hard to keep on with her glasses.  Sorry for the dark pictures.  It was pretty dark in there because they were doing an awesome light show.
There were also cupcakes from The Cup, wine from Copia, and pizza from Pi.  Basically my personal heaven..

 
This is me with Brian Simpson, owner of East + West in Kirkwood.  He also has a space in the Collective.  He makes a pretty good zombie I think. 
I waited too long to plan my costume so I just had to settle for the tried and true witch hat.  It's basically the go-to costume for the person without a costume.

This is all of us in the space.  I wish the picture had turned out better!  Darnit! 

See the lights on the wall?  It says MX below because the Collective is a part of the Mercantile Exchange.  It's basically a series of buildings with shops and dining including Pi, the Blues Museum, the Collective and the new movie theater.  I think it's going to be so amazing for the downtown area. 

We had a great time at the party and it made us even more excited about the Collective.
 
The Collective opened today so you've gotta check it out!  Washington Avenue has really grown and I think you'll be surprised if you haven't been downtown in a while.  Let us know what you think when you visit and be sure to tell them The White Rabbit sent you!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Our setup for the Collective in downtown St. Louis

 
 
Hi guys, it's Lindsay here. We just finished setting up our space in the cool new Collective downtown and I wanted to share the pictures and info. It's a store full of local boutiques that was dreamed up by Nicole Benoist.  It's really a fun concept.  Here is a list of the boutiques that are in the Collective:
Adam Foster
Alternative Apparel
Beltshazzar
Byrd Style Lounge
Genovese Jewelers
Ivy Hill
Juxtapose
Kate Pollman
Oh Lolli Lolli
Q Boutique
Retta le Ritz
Roots
STL Style
twigs & MOSS
Wai Ming
White Rabbit
Women’s Closet Exchange
Phoenix Rising
City Sprouts
Located in the Mercantile Exchange district on Washington Avenue in St. Louis, it's a great spot to attract visitors, tourists, and local sports fans and residents.  I (Lindsay) recently moved downtown so I can walk to the space and make sure it looks good.  I'll be changing the displays frequently to keep it fresh.  Here's the awning:
Below is a picture of the space before anyone had moved in.

 
We checked in on Friday and this is what our space looked like.  It's just a blank wall with 2 partitions on either side.  We love a blank canvas!  What a fun challenge!
 
 
I have kind of taken over as the project manager for the space since I live a few blocks away and I have friends that live downtown.  I'm hoping that I can bring in goodies that some of the residents in the lofts will love.  We bought a little differently than we do for our main location because I think the customers will be a little different.  I think it will be tourists and young residents.  There is a lot more color in this display than our customers are used to from us!
 
 We've got candles, jewelry, these metal clocks, and lamps in the space.  Susan from Knollwood Lane made onesies that say "made in St. Louis" and totes with the Arch on them.



The french cow head is my favorite part.


These necklaces have vintage maps of St. Louis on them.  We sell them in our Brentwood store too and they have been a huge hit.  I displayed them in an old suitcase.

Here is my mom and I in our space.


After setting up, we walked next door to Pi and had lunch.  It was so fun and we cannot wait for you guys to see everything.  You can see pictures of other booths on their facebook page.  It opens in a few days so get ready!  Let us know what you think when you visit!