Owners Melissa Esposito and Lisa Rowan are excited to announce the "grand opening" of their handmade and vintage shop, Analog, at 716 Monroe Street NE on Saturday September 7, 2013. In this new venture, Esposito and Rowan are sharing a 500-square-foot artist studio, one of 27 such studios on the Arts Walk at the
Monroe Street Market.
Esposito is the founder of a stationery and paper craft business,
Craftgasm, while Rowan is the creator of an old-time clothing and accessories business,
Beltway Vintage, formerly known as Quarter Life. Both women had been running their businesses out of their homes and making appearances at local weekend markets. They had been looking for the right place to share a shop for a few years.
"The sense of community offered at Monroe Street Market, along with affordable, generous space, makes us especially grateful to be included in this project," says Rowan. Located in the Brookland neighborhood in northeast D.C., the Monroe Street Market is a multiphase, mixed-use development from
The Bozzuto Group,
Abdo Development and
Pritzker Realty.
Cultural DC has been working with the developers to create a vibrant arts destination,
the Arts Walk, within the market. According to Cultural DC, the studios range in size from 300 to 625 square feet and rents start at $390 per month.
The Analog studio/store offers space to work and sell, and a bit of event space for workshops related to their businesses, the owners say. Esposito is planning to make art prints using recycled paper goods and to offer mail-art and letter-writing workshops. Rowan anticipates designing accessories from reclaimed fabric and offering vintage-themed socials and discussions on the history of fashion.
"We'll still be operating as two separate businesses, explains Rowan. "However, a visitor to our new studio will find our merchandise intermingled and will be able to purchase from both businesses at one united register."
Esposito and Rowan say that Metro is by far the best way to get to Analog and the Monroe Street Market. "You can almost see our front door from the Catholic University side entrance of the Brookland Metro station," says Rowan.