Hey, it's Antra, the creative and marketing assistant here at Alx&Co. and The Seedling Collective. I'm excited to share that you will be reading more from me over the coming months as we start a regular feature with Alexandria Stylebook to highlight the amazing pop-ups we host at The Studio! Some of the shops only pop-up for one month, so we want to make sure that everyone in town gets a chance to visit The Studio before another new shop comes around.

As you may know, The Seedling Collective (or The Pink Door next to Fontaine Bistro) is a pop-up studio designed to provide a space for creative, independent minds to work, show, and sell in Old Town. The Studio first opened its pink door in May of 2019 and since then has hosted many wonderful makers, artists, and small business owners. Last year was amazingly successful; we not only booked up every month but also had businesses return - which clearly is a sign that short-term rentals are the right format for startups or businesses who are looking to experiment in physical retail.

With this in mind, I'm pleased to introduce you to our February pop-up, Umbrella Dry Drinks - a non-alcoholic bar and bottle shop. Samantha Kasten started Umbrella Dry Drinks at the end of 2021, and this will be her first official retail pop-up. You may recognize Samantha - she works at another Stylebook business, Mint Collective, when she's not running her new shop.

The business idea is deeply personal and celebrates Samantha's journey to sobriety. She has been very open about her experience and, as a result, would frequently receive questions about going dry. Samantha found herself increasingly giving recommendations for sophisticated mocktail recipes to her friends who have followed her journey. Sensing a market opportunity, Samantha took a ten-week course on starting a zero-proof business through Sans Bar Academy led by Chris Marshall, owner of Sans Bar, a non-alcoholic bar in Austin, Texas, which teaches people how to run non-alcoholic businesses. Thanks to positive feedback and a growing community of people who don't drink for many other reasons (including pregnancy, religion, health, or just wanting an occasional buzz-free alternative), Kasten decided to make it official and be the one to introduce Alexandrians to fun and delicious non-alcoholic drinks.

Umbrella Dry Drinks is a celebration of dry cocktail options that are not only delicious but also gorgeous additions to your home bar collection. Expect a colorful, beautiful selection of dry drink options along with fun and creative workshops on how to mix your dry cocktails at home.

Umbrella Dry Drinks will be popping up at The Seedling Collective from February 2 - February 28. Samantha has planned plenty of fun events, so make sure you follow @umbrelladrydrinks and @theseedlingcolletive on Instagram for event details and special announcements.

On Sunday, February 6, Umbrella Dry Drinks, together with Kate from Casi Cielo Cookies is hosting a Valentine's mocktail-themed cookie decorating class. Participants will decorate five adorable mocktail-themed cookies while sipping on their very own mocktail from the dry bar. How fun is that! Click here for tickets.