Shop: Designer Co-op opening in Pleasant Ridge

This is a great idea and I hope it catches on! The Beehive Co-op, an Atlanta based concept, is also making a home in the Cincinnati area. I spoke via e-mail to a local contact person, Kate Powell, about it last night. It's a place were designers of many stripes can band together to sell their products.

"A press release explains it this way: 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."

The first two co-ops are in Atlanta and New York. Kate says the one in Pleasant Ridge will open tomorrow (Weds the 10th). It's at 6099 Montgomery Road in Pleasant Ridge, near Everybody's Records and Pleasant Perk if you're familiar with the area.