November 28 – WHITE ROOM – Turkey, pie and fixins are the staples of many a Thanksgiving table.
And thanks to the talents of Lauren Logston, staples are also available in cookie form.
“Cookies are kind of a holiday classic,” says Logston, owner of Begonia Cookie Co. “When you think of Christmas, you think of milk and cookies with Santa. There’s hot chocolate and cookies. I think cookies are just kind of like the main dessert for the holidays and they’re great for gift giving.”
Logston operated a Thanksgiving pop-up Tuesday at Simply Rustic Designs on US 250 South in White Hall. Throughout the day, customers stopped by to pick up their orders for the first major holiday of the season, or browsed the store for other examples of Logston’s craft and other holiday items.
Logston is one of Rustic’s suppliers. Susan Martin owns the storefront. Rustic specializes in laser engraving for home decoration. The company started as an Etsy store in 2019, but didn’t launch a physical store until March 2023. The company moved to the White Hall location in September.
“During that period we were able to gather a large number of suppliers and they are all great makers,” says Martin. “By gathering makers and amazing artisans here, we’ve been able to create great classes where people can come in and do workshops with us, with Begonia and Country Road Charcuterie. We’ve really thrived on collaborating with other artisans, just collaborating and really creating great events that people love.”
Logston likes to create pop-ups for the holidays because it’s a great way to acquire new customers. It also helps people who need last-minute gifts. Originally from Chicago, she has a background in culinary studies and has been in the culinary and restaurant industry for 15 years. After moving to West Virginia two years ago, she decided to bake cookies for her own benefit instead of using someone else’s.
Her baking skills speak for themselves. Logston has a group of dedicated customers, who even followed her from a previous location. The business took off quickly, leaving Logston with no shortage of orders.
Martin added that Logston also offers classes on cookie making. Martin said her space is not just a retail space, but provides a place for community members to come together and learn different types of crafts and lessons from some of her vendors. Martin and Logston began working together after Martin contacted Logston to see if she could teach cookie-making classes at Martin’s first storefront in Fairmont.
Aside from the classes, everything else Martin offers in the store is homemade. Her vendors come from all over West Virginia, even as far away as Charleston. Martin said that while her company, Simply Rustic Designs, makes a lot of things, its vendors also allow her to offer candles, candies and other treats that all kinds of people can pick through, while also supporting local craft makers.
Logston is holding a class on ugly sweater cookies this Friday, and another pop-up for Christmas and another for Valentine’s Day. Rustic is also participating in Small Business Saturday on November 30th and even has a special prize for the first 10 guests through the door.
Martin hopes her store offers shoppers something a little more special than something they buy at a big box store.
“Everything is handmade and can be personalized,” she said. “So I think that in itself is quite special.”
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
