There’s something about that little white storefront on Washington Street in downtown Lewisburg, tucked between Foxfire Realty and Edith’s, that feels like it’s been waiting for the right people.

Frankie and Fig Hawkins didn’t move to Lewisburg with a long-range retail strategy in mind. In fact, this is their first time living on the East Coast at all. The couple made two cross-country moves last year, from Portland, Oregon to Arizona, and finally to West Virginia in August. They weren’t chasing a specific city. They were chasing a feeling.

“We were just looking for somewhere quaint to live,” they explain. “We didn’t know where we wanted, so we just did a lot of researching. Then we stumbled upon this place, came and visited, and fell in love with it.”

Lewisburg, it turns out, felt like home almost immediately.

A Cosmic Lineup

Opening a shop wasn’t exactly on the checklist either.

“We had talked about the idea of having a store for a while, but it wasn’t necessarily something we were building up to,” Frankie says.

Still, they couldn’t help noticing that little white space downtown. The one “between Foxfire and Edith’s.” They’d walk by and casually imagine it: Oh, that would be a cute little spot to have something.

At the end of December, over brunch, they were talking about it again, wishing the space hadn’t already been claimed.

“And then that night,” Frankie says, “we saw on Facebook that it was actually for rent.”

Cue what they describe as a “cosmic lineup.”

And just like that, Bramble began to take root.

A Maximalist Mix-Up

“The shop is kind of just a maximalist mix-up of all of our favorite things and styles and aesthetics,” they say.

Inside Bramble, that mix takes shape through vintage-inspired men’s clothing at approachable price points, women’s vintage pieces, quirky gifts, stickers, candy, toys, and ephemera. There’s a Lego section, and a vinyl corner stocked with both new and used records.

The record selection spans genres, from jazz and hip hop to international and African music, alongside newer artists and niche finds.

Frankie previously managed a record store in Portland, where vinyl culture thrives.

“It seems easy to have a record store in Portland because it’s big and it’s Portland,” Frankie says. “But we’re new here, and I was like, I don’t know if people want records here.”

Hearing local interest has been reassuring.

“It makes me happy when I hear that, hopefully, it’s actually hitting a desire that the locals have.”

A Treasure Hunt, Not Just a Store

Though the space is cozy, it’s intentionally layered.

“It’s not as small as it looks, but it’s cozy,” Frankie says. “We’re trying to make it feel layered in such a way that maybe you can come in and not even know what you want yet.”

Fig sums it up simply: “It’s kind of like a treasure hunt.”

They’ve placed stools near the front counter and are intentionally cultivating a hang-out energy. Bramble isn’t meant to be transactional. It’s meant to feel like a community living room.

“We want it to feel like a community space where people can come back and just hang out and talk,” they say. “We want it to be a community staple kind of feeling, not just a place where commerce happens.”

It’s also designed to be welcoming across generations. Young guys hunting for cool fits. Vintage lovers. Kids drawn in by candy and toys. Lego enthusiasts. Music nerds flipping through crates.

“I think everyone’s got their own corner to go to.”

Events, Eclectic Energy & Being Themselves

The Hawkinses are already thinking beyond retail.

They’re kicking things off with an opening party on Friday, March 13 from 6 to 10 p.m., with shopping, free snacks, and a community vibe, followed by an after-party across the street at the Washington Street Pub (for those 21+).

Regular hours begin Saturday, March 14, with current plans to be open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sundays). Shoppers can follow Bramble on Facebook (Bramble WV), Instagram (@bramble.wv), and TikTok (@bramblewv), with an online shop launching at opening.

But that’s just the beginning.

While Bramble isn’t a full-scale event venue, they’re dreaming up small, creative gatherings, vinyl listening clubs, themed hangouts, even playful ideas like “a crow party where everyone wears black and trades trinkets.”

“Just little things to have an excuse to hang out with people and have some fun stuff to talk about.”

Music and art are central to who they are, and they’re not toning that down.

“We’re really coming into it just being ourselves,” they say. “We’re not masking who we are in it. This is what we like.”

Growing Into the Community

Since arriving in Lewisburg, Frankie and Fig say they’ve already built friendships downtown and feel embraced by the creative energy here.

“We’ve really gotten to know a lot of the downtown crowd,” they say. “We feel like we’re just going to fit right in.”

They’re also looking forward to seeing what the shop becomes over time.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how this evolves,” Frankie says. “We’ve never run a business like this before. So we’re just excited to see what happens, the new people that we meet, and figuring out how we can fit into the community.”

If the early buzz is any indication, Bramble won’t just fit in. It will flourish.