From left to right: Emily Lee (The Bow Next Door), Amanda Galati (Lila+Hayes), Paige Casey (Lila+Hayes), Kori Green (Kori Green Jewelry), Calli Galati (Wabash Road), Ro Rynd (Ro Rynd Interiors), and Rachel Hausser (Wabash Road)
Christmas comes early for Cowtown, as the group of women behind LOCAL Design Studios + Gallery rounds up dozens of small businesses for a holiday gift market taking place this week.
Since the Junior League of Fort Worth's beloved annual Christmas in Cowtown will not be taking place this year at the Will Rogers Memorial Center (opting for a virtual event instead), the women of LOCAL took it in their own hands to hold in-person pop ups that’ll help businesses that normally sell during the event.
The event takes place Wednesday through Saturday. Customers can expect to see their favorite merchants such as Park + Eighth, P.S. The Letter, and WRARE, along with the six businesses that make up LOCAL — The Bow Next Door, Lila + Hayes, Kori Green Designs, Fort 52, Clearly Handbags, and RM Rynd Interiors. The event has over 25 participants.
“It blew us away; we expected a couple of stores to join but so many people contacted us and wanted to promote and participate,” The Bow Next Door owner Emily Lee says. “And while we’re all competitors, we are still all in it together. It’s amazing to see the shop owners come together.”
As a result of the pandemic, it’s been hard for smaller merchants to bounce back as bigger stores and corporations have, Lee says.
“Most stores [like ours] were not essential, so we had to shut down, and everyone started shopping on Amazon and Target,” she says. “Since reopening, traffic in the store has been down, but it’s still kind of great because you have a more personal shopping experience that’s also safe while promoting and keeping afloat a local business ... COVID hit hard, but we’re trying to get word out to shop local this Christmas season and just trying to remind people we’re still here and need your support."
LOCAL is located at 3610 West Vickery Blvd. More information is available at localdesignstudios.com.
