Support your local girl gang while you treat yourself at Rumors' Galentine's event

On Saturday, Feb. 15th Rumors is hosting a Galentine's Day pop-up from 12-5 p.m. This event will feature several local vendors from the Triangle that are all female-owned. 

Vendors include Wonderpuff, which will be hand-spinning atypical flavors of vegan and organic cotton candy such as guava and mango, and Blossom and Bones Florals, a BYOB (build your own bouquet) business that operates out of a vintage truck. Taylor Street Sweets will have an assortment of vegan treats, Boro Beverage will be brewing local kombucha and Bonafide Jewelry will offer an assortment of handmade jewelry. 

Rumors is a thrift store that buys, sells and trades pre-owned clothing. Casey Longyear is one of the store's founders. She and her best friend opened the first Rumors location in Richmond, Virginia 13 years ago, and opened the second location in Chapel Hill in 2013. The thrift store is self-funded and female-owned. 

Longyear said she strives to host events that support local small businesses since she struggled to find support when opening her own business. 

“We didn't feel that much support when we started as young women. People kind of doubted us a lot," she said. “So, I just try to offer opportunities to encourage other small business owners as much as possible.”

Part of the motivation behind planning this event was finally putting to use the patio recently built in front of Rumors. Longyear said she was excited to start planning pop-up markets — Galentine's Day provided the first opportunity.

“All the small businesses are run by women, operated by women and started by women, including Rumors,” Longyear said. “So, I just thought that it would be a really cool opportunity to throw an event where they can come be a part of it, come just get a snack, come to support and meet other strong females.”

Jackie Morin is the owner of Wonderpuff. Her two-and-a-half-year-old candy company has one goal — spread sugar all over the Triangle. The company is known for its pop-up events, but due to recent success, they are in the process of obtaining a brick-and-mortar building to open a cotton candy store. 

Morin said she is a big fan of Rumors and looks forward to being a part of this event.

“Everything I do is very girl power, very women empowerment,” Morin said. “I get my healing from other women, being in other spaces with creative women, women in business, even women just simply existing. I just appreciate Rumors and what they do for the community, and they do it so well it's one of the things I love about them. I'm excited to share space with them this Saturday.”

Heather Sardela is the founder of Blossom and Bone Florals. The company is based in Durham and works out of a vintage truck but is making its Chapel Hill debut this Saturday. She said she is looking forward to being a part of an event that is female-centered and focused on group support. 

“There’s this whole story about how women are in competition with each other and all this,” Sardela said. "I think what we're doing right now is just showing that we actually can uplift and support and show off each other in a way that maximizes all of our benefit.”

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