A new shop that specializes in custom gifts, housewares, and workshops is opening this week in Cold Spring.
Cold Spring resident Molly Jackson is honing in on her craft skills and the skills of local makers for the goods sold at BrownDog Marketplace. The idea behind the shop sprung up after running a successful Etsy shop with nearly 10,000 sales, but Jackson said she always wished she owned a storefront.
Jackson first got involved in crafting when she moved to Maryland and invited her neighbors over, whom she didn’t know, to make their own signs.
“I said it’s free of charge, just if you love it, share it on social media, and it exploded in that area,” Jackson said.
She would bring frames her husband made from wood and over 200 personalized stencils, and people would paint their own pieces.
After moving back to Cold Spring, when COVID-19 started, she could no longer host in-person events, so she took her business to Etsy. Fast forward to September 2022, Jackson saw a “for rent” sign outside of the old Sweeper Shop at 4041 Alexandria Pike in Cold Spring and fell in love with the space.
Jackson coined the BrownDog Marketplace after her chocolate lab Cooper, who may make an appearance in the store from time to time.
Through opening her store, Jackson said much of her focus has been on local makers.
One of those people is a seventh grader at Campbell County Middle School who started making his own earrings so he could buy an Xbox. His brand of earrings, “Ty Designs,” will be sold at the marketplace. Other local wares sold at the store are lavender products from The Lavender Field, located in California, and handmade goat milk soap sourced from Strole Ridge Farm in Grants Lick.
Other items made by locals include natural stone earrings, a woodworker who makes charcuterie boards, a quiltmaker, and a mug and cup maker.
Jackson will also be available to personalize signs and other items like charcuterie boards in-house with her laser machine.
“I wanted something that’s not available here, which is more of an upscale boutique,” Jackson said.
Aside from her store, Jackson will also be hosting weekly workshops. She plans to hold a personalized sign-making class, which she will run herself.
Jackson said she would also host vendors to run their own workshops. Peace Love Charcuterie, which makes the boards for the store, will teach a class on how to build your own charcuterie board, which Jackson can engrave. She is also planning to hold a bouquet-making course out of fresh flowers.
“It’s three women-owned businesses that are going to be coming together doing an event teaching people how to do things they’ve probably never done before,” Jackson said.
BrownDog Marketplace will open on Wednesday, March 15, and host a grand opening event on Saturday, March 18. Saturday’s event will have giveaways, raffles, and snacks from Peace Love Charcuterie.
