Business Spotlight: Gathered Together brings variety to Galloway Village

Irish music fills the air, and shades of green bombard the senses. An unsuspecting shopper at Gathered Together Inc., a specialty store in Galloway Village, has just stumbled upon the Wee Little Irish Corner.

The Wee Little Irish Corner, which occupies just 400 square feet of floor space, contains a variety of Irish, Celtic and Scottish merchandise, including jewelry, tea, specialty food items, mugs, Galloway crystal, Royal Tara China, Belleek Parian China and champagne flutes, and other items suitable for a fine Irish wedding. One small section of the store contains bumper stickers and other merchandise worn by students and supporters of Springfield Catholic Schools.

Cindi Runowski bought Gathered Together, which contains the Wee Little Irish Corner, in July 2000. Runowski worked at the store for several years before she purchased it from Cathy Lowrance, who founded the business in 1995 with partners Connie Eck and Linda LaRussa.

Gathered Together contains antiques, items made by area artisans and craftspeople, a small flea market and three specialty shops the Wee Little Irish Corner, Bear Creek Mercantile and Jubilee Reli-gious Gifts, Books and Music.

Each of the three specialty stores within Gathered Together has a different owner. Runowski owns the Wee Little Irish Corner, Sharon Wittig owns Bear Creek Mercantile and Sarah Sullivan owns Jubilee Religious Gifts, Books and Music.

In addition, the store contains many craft and flea market items sold on consignment. These items, which are organized by color and craft, are scattered throughout the store.

"It sounds terribly complicated, but it's not really," said Runowski.

"We tag each item so we know which vendor or specialty store to credit."

According to Runowski, group-ing similar items together allows shoppers to find things more quickly than they would if they had to look through many different vendors' booths.

"I think one of the reasons people shop here is the atmosphere," Runowski said. "Back in the 1930s, this building was home to Treadway's Gas

and Grocery. The store's owners lived in an apartment upstairs."

Shoppers who come to Gathered Together can see little glimpses of a bygone era as they walk around the store. In fact, shoppers may feel as though they've been magically transported to some quaint little store in New England.

That quaint feeling can be found throughout Galloway Village.

This old mining town was named after Maj. Charles Galloway, a Civil War soldier whose family helped settle the area in the 1800s.

In recent years, however, Galloway Village has become home to collection of renovated shops, including the Victorian Garden Tearoom and Rabbit Patch Gift Shop, Firehouse Pottery and the Silver Linings Shoppe.

"This is really a neat area," said Runowski.

"We get a lot of tourists down here. Some people will drop off their kids at Sequiota Park across the street and come in here to shop. During the summer, people who are walking or jogging down the Greenway Trail will stop in to see what's new."

Keeping things new and exciting is a challenge, Runow-ski said.

To keep things fresh, Runowski works with more than 60 artists and craftspeople and another 30 specialty-item vendors and gift dealers, all of who help keep her abreast of the latest trends.

Luring shoppers away from the mall also is a challenge. Runowski and other shop owners in Galloway Village have met this challenge by forming their own advertising cooperative called the Galloway Village Association.

Currently, the Galloway Village Association is developing a Web site, which will contain coupons for shops and stores in Galloway Village, Runowski said. Members of the association also are considering putting together several special events this spring and summer to attract area shoppers and tourists.

Runowski is planning to launch her own Web site soon, and she's planning to install a soda machine, which can be used by shoppers and those who take a detour into the store while passing by on the Greenway Trail.

In addition, Bear Creek Mercantile will open a full-service floral shop, which will offer free local delivery.

Gathered Together

Owner: Gathered Together Inc.

Year founded: 1995

Address and phone: 3535 S. Lone Pine Ave., Springfield, MO 65804; 417-882-1619