As shoppers descend a flight of bubblegum pink stairs to the doorway of Miss Bipps Handmade & Vintage on the north edge of Kendall Yards, they enter into a bright, cheerful space. The shop is filled with a variety of items like twinkling string lights, plush pillows, colorful pompoms, vintage home decor and kitschy tableware. Oldies music by Lawrence Welk might be playing to set the tone.
"It's like being inside a piñata," as a customer once told owner Andrea Lawrence.
At Miss Bipps, Lawrence sells handmade yarn pompoms in all sizes and colors. Some decorate ponytail holders, while others are strung together as fuzzy garlands. She also makes all those colorful throw pillows, in traditional squares, yes, but also shaped like plump strawberries. Other candy-colored inventory ranges from puffy heart keychains and paper chains to aromatic bath salts and retro bunting.
All the handmade items on display were crafted by Lawrence, her mom, sister and sister-in-law. Among the quirky vintage items throughout Miss Bipps' cozy basement space is everything from porcelain bells to Barbie trading cards, patterned blankets and crockery of all shapes and sizes, including a tomato teapot.
Tucked in a back corner, an area Lawrence envisions as a community space, there's a table for four. It's where she plans on hosting workshops teaching how to make bath salts or pompoms.
Each Sunday, this craft corner is available to local artisans of all types to teach workshops or hold a pop-up shop with their crafts and art (it's free for them, and they keep all their proceeds).
"I always wished I had a place I could go and do that," Lawrence says.
People are also welcome to simply hang out on Sundays while working on their own creative projects, hopefully making some new friends at the same time.
Crafting with objects normally recycled or tossed, like paper towel rolls and yogurt containers, is important to Lawrence. One of her workshops takes inspiration from the Shitty Craft Club book by comedy writer and content creator Sam Reece. The book's aesthetic embraces lots of glitter, bedazzling and a healthy dose of kitsch.
"Not like a high-taste level, not a fancy aesthetic, just fun and practical — doable for all ages," Lawrence says of the vibe.
Miss Bipps is the culmination of Lawrence's childhood dream of owning a store. Although it often seemed out of reach, she got a lot of practice visualizing what her someday shop might look like, frequently setting up imaginary stores as a child.
"I would go to the pantry, and I would pretend I had a grocery store for one week," she says. "I would stage my room like it was a department store, and it was rotating seasonally. I was always rearranging my furniture."
Like her imagination, Lawrence's creativity also blossomed at an early age. She liked making things with her hands, following her mother's example of using materials on hand for decorations and games. Presentation played an important part in these creative outlets, like in prizes she gave to her younger sisters.
"We'd have charms from charm bracelets and little things like that," she recalls. "I would put them on paper plates and cut them out into pie shapes and put Saran wrap around each one, so it was shaped like a pie."
Considering these personal anecdotes, it's not surprising that Lawrence has spent most of her life so far working in retail, starting with a job at Safeway as a teen. She went on to work at places like REI and Nordstrom, that dream of opening her own shop persisting throughout each stint.
"My friends and family all know I have a pretend shop in my house, in my head, in my garage," she says of the days before Miss Bipps became a reality. "It was just this pipe dream, and I had to set it down sometimes so I would stay sane and be in the present moment, and do a good job at my job."
Crafting has remained a therapeutic and creative outlet for Lawrence, especially during struggles with her mental health.
"I wasn't functional enough to keep a full-time job, and it was before I was diagnosed with bipolar [disorder]. I just wanted to make pompoms all day, and I did," she says. "Now there's a reason, and it really helped me handle my mental state."
The right circumstances aligned at last for Lawrence, who opened Miss Bipps in June.
The shop's name also dates back to a fond childhood memory — a nickname from one of her sisters.
Lawrence hopes visitors to Miss Bipps are surprised and delighted by their surroundings, prompting them to reminisce about happy memories, leave inspired to add some cheerful whimsy to their home, or unlock their own creative potential just as she has over the decades.
"There's this element of following your dreams, no matter what, no matter how many times you have to set them down and pick them back up," she says. "You're not a failure if you give up on it, it will come back to you." ♦
Miss Bipps Handmade & Vintage • 707 N. Cedar St., Suite 3 • Open Wed-Sat 10 am-6 pm, Sun 10 am-4 pm • miss-bipps.company.site • 206-495-5431
