Business partners Kala Barcus and Kati Thompson had all hands on deck as they swung the doors to their new monthly market open for the first time Oct. 10-12. Formerly known as Eden Boutique, Thompson and Barcus announced the space’s rebrand to Oak Grove Collective in September 2024.
Customers were constantly in and out of the most recent addition to Bowling Green’s shopping scene all weekend. Thompson discussed how there were just a few 20 minute breaks in the crowd flow over the three day period.
“We’ve had hundreds of people through our doors, and we’ve heard tremendous feedback from people saying they’re thrilled,” Thompson said.
With all of the people in and out of the market, Thompson, Barcus and their team found themselves consistently restocking a variety of their products to keep the market looking pristine. The most popular items seemed to fall under the food and baked goods category.
Thompson said the macarons and scones sold out on the first day, so they contacted those bakers and had them baking into the night to ensure the shelves were well stocked the next day. Other items such as clothing, candles and home goods were also a major hit.
Community members Kaitlyn Cope and Deb Pahl had fun exploring the variety of scented candles and wax melts offered. Cope said she was smelling all of them to find the perfect one and loved experiencing the variety of scents along the way. Meanwhile, Pahl was looking at both the candles and homemade soaps nearby.
“Bowling Green needs something like this,” Pahl said. “We need a good quality store with reasonable prices.”
Cope and Pahl both felt that they had found just what they were looking for from downtown Bowling Green as they entered Oak Grove Collective’s doors. They particularly loved how the popular food items were displayed in a manner that resembled a home kitchen saying it “kept the store feeling cozy.”
Properly staging the market was something Barcus and Thompson were very passionate about going into the new business. Thompson had previously discussed how they wanted to make sure the store gave off a “perfectly curated” vibe to its customers.
In order to achieve this look, the Oak Grove Collective team took it one step at a time. As goods came in, they placed them where they best fit based on where their fixtures, shelves and racks were.
“We loved being able to stage the fireplace area because it was fun to be able to create something so beautiful,” Thompson said.
The set up of the market will not always be the same month to month, though, as there will be different vendors and seasonal products that come in each time.
Oak Grove Collective’s cohesive display of products from over 30 vendors pleased both customers and vendors alike. Thompson discussed how many of them walked in and were excited to continue bringing goods in for the monthly markets.
Specific reports of how much was sold by each vendor have not been run yet. However, with the customers’ interests and purchases spread across the board, Thompson and Barcus are confident the vendors will have good sales overall.
The positive experience created by Oak Grove Collective is not only due to the incredible vendors and community support but also due to the strenuous efforts of the staff.
“We were really grateful for our team. We think that people are having not only a good shopping experience because of the products but also because of the team experience,” Thompson said.
Oak Grove Collective will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7-9 and Dec. 5-7. Their team encourages all to stop by and see what seasonal and holiday goods they will have to offer. They thank the community in advance for their support and encourage anyone with further questions to visit the Oak Grove Collective Instagram and Facebook pages.
