Leather goods maker ColsenKeane and clothing and accessories brand OTPST (Outpost) have joined together to create an artisanal workshop, marketplace, and café. OTPST Mercantile opened this winter in the front of the ColsenKeane space at 7th Street and Hawthorne Lane, curating local and handcrafted goods as well as opening a coffee bar.

The retail café isn’t necessarily a new idea, says OTPST president Jay Knox.

“You go into Target, you see the same concept: Starbucks is right here, and pizza hut’s right there, and the rest of the place is a shopping center,” Knox says. You don’t see it as often in small businesses, however.

The coffee bar serves Stumptown Coffee, a popular brand out of Portland, Oregon, as well as Hex Coffee. The shop will have local roasts available for purchase, and also sell Lenny Boy kombucha and Golden Cow Creamery ice cream. The ice cream options include a standing dozen or so flavors, plus OTPST’s signature, exclusive flavor: a charcoal honey crunch. Visitors can also order Belgian waffles. There’s a coffee bar and seating along the window overlooking 7^th Street, and tables will be placed outside once the weather warms up.

Beyond ColsenKeane, there are other artists with workshop spaces in the building. There’s a jewelry maker, a glass blower, and an oil painter set up alongside the leather workers, and their products will be mixed into the OTPST Mercantile displays up front. Guests can also take a peek at these artists while they work.

“You can walk through all of these craftsmen with a cup of coffee,” ColsenKeane Director of Operations Bay Robinson says. The idea is you’ll check out the leather goods for ColsenKeane, denim clothing from OTPST, or handmade jewelry or soy candles when you stop in for coffee.

“We’re super excited to see where we go with this,” Robinson says.

OTPST has only set up in the space for about a month and a half, but changes are happening rapidly. They’re decorating the space to have a moto vibe, and will sell a significant amount of American-made goods. Events will start soon, including a bi-weekly bicycle ride through Elizabeth on Saturdays, and motorcycle rides on the alternating Saturdays. Knox says they’ll soon start getting more creative with the drink program, expanding their cold brew offerings and working on house-made syrups. They’re also looking to bring in a local bread company to sell gourmet toasts.

This shop, simply put, is really cool. It’d be a great place to bring out-of-towners or family members, or head to when you want to get out of the house one afternoon but have nowhere to go. I could spend half an hour just looking at the leather notebooks with a cup of coffee, which is the idea.

“Charlotte has such a reputation for being a straight-laced baking city,” Robinson says. “That’s not true. There is a huge creative presence in Charlotte that you don’t know about.” —Kristen Wile

 

 

 

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