Inside The Local Bevy

While Andrea Petersburg was planning to open her shop in Springfield’s Rountree neighborhood, The Local Bevy (617 S. Pickwick Ave., Springfield), her own personal taste and style were her starting points. But her hope was to build on that by collaborating with local artists to sell their products. Petersburg has an artist’s application that she provides for local and regional artists who are interested in being featured in her shop, and from there she collaborates with them to sell their items. Everything sold at The Local Bevy is handmade, whether locally or regionally. Yet the shop is more than just a fine art gallery. “I wanted to be a store that celebrates people who create,” she says.

Petersburg, a creative herself, made macrame prior to opening The Local Bevy. After some time, she knew she could turn it into something great on a much larger scale: a locally owned small business, dedicated to selling local handmade products.

She only had entrepreneurial experience with a few local small businesses, but she took the risk. Through the shop, Petersburg also wants to provide local artists with an opportunity to experiment with their pieces, and see what works out on the market and what might not. “It’s a sprint, not a marathon, so they can really play around with the market and see if what they enjoy making will work,” Petersburg says.

Teri Poindexter, a local milliner, has been collaborating with The Local Bevy for years. Poindexter says that she is grateful for the opportunity. “Andrea really cares about the artists,” she says. “She always asks questions about the process and what your intentions are, and then communicates that to the customers.”

Poindexter has 20 years of graphic design under her belt, and she decided to turn her love of vintage items into a hobby: millinery, the art of making hats. In 2019, she embraced millinery as a job when she began selling her hats in The Local Bevy. During COVID-19, Poindexter took advantage of the free time and began collecting vintage materials, researching and taking online courses with a professional millinery instructor.

Since her time at The Local Bevy began, Poindexter has featured a variety of her handmade products from headbands, hair clips, dolls, corsets and girl’s pinafores, to of course, hats. “I hope that the customers can appreciate the time, effort and uniqueness of not just my pieces, but all the pieces in the shop,” says Poindexter. “Artists put a lot of love and effort into their pieces.”

Additionally, Petersburg says that she wants anyone who purchases an item from The Local Bevy to love what they bought and know how much of a difference they are making. “I just hope they understand that they’re supporting someone in their community,” says Petersburg. “I’m also very thankful that they are supporting a small business that is supporting a bunch of other small businesses.”

The Local Bevy offers a variety of arts, crafts and goods from hand-sewn items to handmade accessories, art pieces, home goods and decor. Visit the website to see seasonal workshops and events.