Photo courtesy of Cozy Collective
Cozy Collective in Bay View
Cozy Collective on Potter Avenue in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood.
Bay View’s Cozy Collective (815 E. Potter Ave.) is among the quaintest of hole-in-the-wall shops, carrying all sorts of trinkets and treasures. What had originally been artist Beth Eaton’s pottery store is now a collectively run retail space with wares from more than a dozen local vendors. Cozy Collective is open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
“Whenever people walk in here, they always say how nice it smells in here or how cute everything is,” Eaton affirms. “You feel safe here; I can’t tell you how many people have come in here and cried.” Opened in fall 2024, Cozy Collective’s inventory encompasses clothing, jewelry, pottery, soaps, textiles, illustrations and lots more. Each vendor keeps their own sales, pays a share of rent and works a set number of hours at the shop each month. The cooperative nature of Cozy Collective allows artists to allocate more time to their creative practices.
Photo courtesy of the Cozy Collective
Zastany Handwoven at Cozy Collective
A display featuring items by Zastany Handwoven at the Cozy Collective in Bay View.
While there is currently a waitlist for future vendors, Eaton asks that each stays for a minimum of three months. “People kind of come and go as they have time or space,” she explains. “We want people who are serious about what they’re doing, and who knows who they are and what they make.”
The original five core members of Cozy Collective were Eaton, Jenny Aicher of Fern & Nettle, Becca Wilson of Zastany Handwoven, Michael Seidel of Mushroom Books and Elly Hazard of Peach Beast. The current roster includes Beth Eaton Pottery, Fern & Nettle, Zastany Handwoven, Snip Stitch and Patch, Katie Gamb, XO, CoolAFglass, Sarika, Chase My Creations, Green Bean Baby, Cream City Rocks, Kaybee Kitsch and Shovel + Spade.
Pitching In
Photo courtesy of the Cozy Collective
Cozy Collective display
A display of works and goods by Milwaukee artisans and artists, including Sarika and Green Bean Baby, at Cozy Collective in Bay View.
“All of us have cut back on markets we do, but now that we have this space, we can direct people here,” Aicher notes. “It’s been really good for me because markets are a lot of work.” Wilson adds, “It always magically works out; somebody can always cover something, or somebody is always willing to run in and help.”
Eaton had opened her pottery store in February 2020 just weeks before Covid hit. During quarantine she posted her work on social media and handed sales off to customers through the window. Once she transitioned to regular store hours, however, Eaton grew exhausted by it over time. “It’s really hard as one person to keep a store open with regular hours while having a life, kids and another job,” she attests.
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The original Cozy Collective members whom Eaton enlisted had met through vending at local fairs and markets like Hover Craft. “We’ve all ended up standing next to each other long enough where it becomes your work circle,” Wilson remarks. With the holiday season being their busiest time of year, Cozy Collective is open every day in December. Aicher confirms, “We’ve been selling more and more as time has gone on.”
In addition to hosting occasional pop-up events of their own like mini-markets and workshops, Cozy Collective is open for community events like Bay View Gallery Night and Bay View Bash, with the latter coming up on Saturday, September 19.
