Conspire to open Saturday downtown

Conspire: Contemporary Craft is opening in downtown Greencastle on Saturday, March 5.

Located at 14 S. Indiana St., it is a half-block south of the square (look for the Conspire sign across from Starbucks).

Conspire is a retail boutique specializing in modern handmade products from Indiana and beyond. It features a juried collection of functional handmade housewares, jewelry, toys, clothing, prints, paper goods, accessories and bath and body products as well as the Black Cat Gallery rotating local art space.

The grand opening of Conspire will be Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tea and appetizers will be served and samples of Teehaus soaps and skincare products will be available.

The mission of Conspire: Contemporary Craft is to reconnect consumers with makers by bringing the best of modem handmade art and crafts to the area and to support local artisans with a venue for networking and showing their work. Its goal is to become a local destination that offers unusual, functional and high-quality products as an alternative to goods mass produced by corporations.

Conspire is also envisioned as a gathering place where local artisans can meet to network and collaborate, both physically and virtually. Conspire will encompass both a retail space in downtown Greencastle and an online presence through an e-commerce boutique at ConspireIndiana.com.

The gallery will showcase a local artist on a rotating basis, and gallery openings will be a quarterly event.

Small classes and workshops are also planned as a way to connect area artisans with the community.

"Our challenge," Conspire owner J.D. Grove said, "will be to attract local traffic to the store and to encourage repeat customers. Gallery openings, classes and participation in local events like First Friday activities and the Greencastle Farmers Market will help keep Conspire on the local radar."

Grove also owns a local and online apothecary business, Teehaus Bath & Body, and has been part of the Farmers Market for several years.

She is now reaching out to artisans in the larger Midwestern handmade community who make "fun, functional, beautiful things" that are missing from the local area.

Conspire will have an online boutique where products from the store can be purchased for store pickup or shipped anywhere in the United States.

The Conspire Online Boutique will be live on March 15 at www.conspireindiana.com.