The soon-to-open Belle Mercantile is bringing new life and new business opportunities to a 172-year-old building in downtown Bellefonte.
Located at 135 S. Spring St., owners and couple Brian Bonner and Andrea Skirpan hope to open the local marketplace in mid- or late July in the location that once housed Brackbill’s Furniture for 142 years, before the building served as a mattress store and then fell into disrepair.
Bonner and Skirpan have spent the last two years renovating the space and preparing to open the business.
The idea for a community marketplace featuring artisan crafts and curated products came out of Bonner and Skirpan’s own needs. Skirpan refinishes furniture and Bonner does leather craft work.
“We wanted to sell our products sort of as a hobby, but we didn’t have a place to do it. That’s where [the business idea] developed from. People sell their products online a lot, but then people come to your house or you have to meet people somewhere. We really wanted and thought other people would want a physical location,” Skirpan explains, noting the inconvenience of craft fairs and the inability for some small business owners to afford their own storefront right from the beginning.
“Belle Mercantile is a place where people can sell their stuff all the time and have a side business and not have to run around or have people come to their house…We felt we didn’t really have anything like that around here. We have antique stores, art galleries and consignment shops, but we didn’t really have anything like this.”
“It’s a brick-and-mortar storefront for people who want to start a business, but not start off renting 2,500 square feet and being locked into a long-term lease,” Bonner adds. “They can give it a try, see if it works. We provide the space, equipment, overhead, electricity, etcetera, for a monthly rental fee.”
Skirpan said that while online shopping has its place, she does not want to see the concept of a brick-and-mortar ‘Main Street’ fade away, and that Belle Mercantile will have a formula for success for local vendors.
‘The personal experiences and the sense of community cannot be replaced,’ she says. ‘And we, and every other locally owned small business are working to preserve it. We live here, go to school here and work here. We are invested in our community. We are bringing vendors to Bellefonte, who will start off in our marketplace but then may eventually start their own independent shops, creating a ripple effect.
‘We have some great locally owned stores that offer unique and quality products and personal services — Maine Bay and Berry, Tait Farm, Way Fruit Farm, Rapid Transit, The Makery, Animal Kingdom and Growing Tree Toys — and we want to play a part in bringing that uniqueness to Bellefonte.’
The husband-and-wife team say the mercantile will offer a variety of products, from artisan foods to jewelry, vintage items to urniture. They hope to fill the 15,000-square-foot space with 100 or more vendors, with some vendors displaying as little as a few shelves of product, while others offer items that require more floor space, such as clothing.
The initial plan was to open in the spring, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the business’s schedule. Currently, Skirpan and Bonner are finishing up final renovation details and taking vendor applications.
When Belle Mercantile opens, shoppers will only have access to the finished first floor. In the future, however, Skirpan and Bonner have big plans for the building’s second floor, as well as its outdoor space.
Bonner mentions potentially offering local foods from regional farmers in the future.
“All these guys and girls are really excited about selling these things they’re growing, but they don’t have a place to do it, so we can offer that space — and it’s something you can’t get [in downtown Bellefonte]…without making a trip out to the grocery store,” he says.
“We’re trying to stay away from a flea market feel on the first floor, keeping the vendors pretty highly curated and unique… But we have the second floor that we could build out for a more antique mall-type feel for people who want to treasure hunt,” he adds.
Another indoor space could later be used for events, nonprofit fundraisers and vendor workshops for those interested in teaching their craft.
Belle Mercantile’s future, Skirpan says, is mostly dependent upon community response and the local small business owners who become vendors.
“We’re going to let people, customers, tell us which direction the business should take,” she says. “They could say they want to buy whatever it is, and we can go out and find a vendor that sells that product. We’re not locked into any sort of product or overall style. We may trend to outdoorsy products or we may trend to food. It’s just going to be a matter of who’s coming in, who’s selling and who’s buying. They’ll set the trend.”
Skirpan said some of the initial vendor applications include handmade jewelry; locally made skin care products; handcrafted fabric, canvas and leather bags; fine art home goods; photography; handmade greeting cards; modern hardwood furnishings; essential oils, scented waxes and simmering oils; locally made dried flower wreaths; locally roasted packaged coffee; and vintage items, among others.
Vendors interested in selling at Belle Mercantile can visit the market’s website to fill out an application and begin discussing their options. Skirpan and Bonner stress their flexible approach to meeting vendor needs. At this time, they’re specifically looking for more artisan food vendors, as well as vendors who need a larger amount of floor space, but any small business owner, local producer or maker is welcome.
‘Bellefonte is really growing and it is an exciting time,’ Skirpan said. ‘There is some uncertainty now, but there is still excitement and momentum. So many new businesses have opened and many more are in the works. We are happy to be a part of it.’
The building at 135 S. Spring St. in Bellefonte dates back to 1848 and was the home of Brackbill’s furniture for 142 years. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
Brian Bonner and Andrea Skirpan have been renovating 135 S. Spring St. for the past two years to create Belle Mercantile. Photo provided
