Highside Market: A Hub for Entrepreneurs in Columbus, GA
As one of the Columbus, GA, region’s newest mixed-use spaces, Highside Market is teeming with entrepreneurs who are eager to share their products and services with the community. Take a look at three entrepreneurs in Columbus who are thriving at Highside Market.
In This Article
Silver Hanger
For the last 10 years, Owen Cotthaus and Felix Rosario have been collecting and selling vintage clothing independently on Instagram, Depop, Grailed, eBay and at pop-up shops across the U.S. Their paths crossed for the first time when they met at a pop-up market in Atlanta, and they continued working together at pop-up markets every weekend. Eventually, they decided to open a brick-and-mortar shop, and when the opportunity arose at Highside Market, Silver Hanger was born.
“We provide Greater Columbus with vintage clothing and streetwear while simultaneously promoting sustainability and circularity with every transaction,” Rosario says.
Together, Cotthaus and Rosario extend the useful life of thousands of garments by seeking out nostalgia, utility and quality wherever it hides.
“We buy directly from the community in-store as well as from wholesalers and entrepreneurs both locally and across the world. Our most recent sourcing trip was to Japan,” Rosario says. “Our products stand out because of how hard it is to find the things we carry. Walk in the shop, close your eyes and pick up an item. When you open your eyes, you could be holding a chore coat over 70 years old, a T-shirt from one of the hottest modern streetwear brands or anything in between.”
As Rosario says, it’s effectively an anthropology lesson every time you step foot in the store, with every era represented.
“The beautiful thing is that these items have found their way into modernity and current fashion. It took years of building our knowledge and sourcing capabilities in order to get our hands on these items.
Mish Mash
For more than eight years, fine artists and textile designers Teil Duncan and Lulie Wallace had a side-by-side studio in Charleston, South Carolina. As their artwork developed, so too did their product line and friendship, and they eventually relocated to Columbus.
“After years of being solely on the internet, we both decided to open a brick-and-mortar shop together,” Duncan says.
Mish Mash offers gift items for the home as well as fine items created out of their textiles.
The artists see their store primarily as a showroom space where people who are interested in their fabric and wallpaper can experience the products and paintings in person. Both artists celebrate how Highside Market kept the bones of the original space while giving it a refresh to stand out as a fun, new hot spot in Columbus’ Uptown area.
“Since the majority of what we have been doing is online,” Wallace says, “it really is nice to have a place where we can invite the customer to visit, chat with them, and hear their feedback on products and designs.”
Council Wardrobe Studio
Clare Koppang founded Council Wardrobe Studio in 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee, as a service-based business offering closet edits, personal shopping and wardrobe styling. Koppang quickly realized that the items she was gathering for clients were hard to find.
“I decided to carry a small inventory to pull from for appointments, and the items flew out the door,” she says. Fast forward 10 years and a move to Columbus in 2017, and Council has evolved into a brick-and-mortar plus online shopping destination, offering women’s clothing, shoes and accessories.
“My vision for Council is to build a brand that inspires women to invest in themselves through building a wardrobe they love,” Koppang says. Quite simply, the store’s collections are versatile, comfortable and chic.
“Shopping at Council is like shopping a well-rounded wardrobe, and creates the desire for our clients to build their own,” Koppang says.
Council also offers a unique concierge-type style service. Clients can schedule free mini-styling sessions at the store for more personalized advice on styles and outfit selection.
About Highside Market
Highside Market is located at 13th Street and Second Avenue, one of Columbus’ busiest crossroads. The market is a transformative development, inviting conversation and creativity, incubating industry, and enlivening the soul of the community.
The mixed-use development blends new construction with adaptive-reuse and preservation of historic buildings, creating a hub for those who visit the 55,000-square-foot development, which features full-service and fast-casual restaurants, local and regional retail shopping, health and wellness experiences, a community green space, and a gathering spot that serves as the development’s event space and venue.
Education, Careers & Opportunity
Why Do Business in Columbus?
Learn what makes Greater Columbus the ideal locale for employers and employees.
Another Great Entrepreneurial Resource: StartUP Columbus
StartUP Columbus is a business incubator that began in 2020 to equip innovators with the tools and relationships needed to turn ideas into successful endeavors.
The incubator, located at 1190 Front Ave., in Uptown Columbus, presents 12-week cohort programs that cost $1,000 and help entrepreneurs in Columbus learn about developing a business plan, raising capital, obtaining government grants, marketing and e-commerce, applying for patents and more. The incubator also provides office space, networking opportunities and mentoring sessions.
Among the many StartUP Columbus success stories is Soothe Beginnings, founded by Columbus resident Lindsay deOliveira. Soothe Beginnings produces and ships baby pacifiers that are safe and eco-friendly.
“I gave birth to my daughter during the pandemic, and this idea for a business came after my frustration of trying pacifier after pacifier and not finding a convenient, safe, non-latex, toxin-free, easy-to-clean pacifier for my baby,” deOliveira says.
She joined a StartUP Columbus cohort that convened from January-April 2023.
“StartUP Columbus was perfect for me because I had never started a business. I had a drawing and an idea but didn’t know what to do with it,” she says. “The week-by-week information I learned was invaluable, and I also gained great experience networking with other on-site entrepreneurs.”
She markets the company via TikTok, Instagram and its website.
deOliveira says a key aspect of Soothe Beginnings pacifiers is that the nipples are made from food-grade silicone, instead of plastic, latex or rubber. “Joining StartUP Columbus was the best $1,000 I’ve ever spent,” she says. “It completely launched the trajectory of everything I wanted to do.”
– Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.
Get to Know Columbus
Want to learn more about living and working in Columbus, GA? Check out the latest edition of Livability Greater Columbus, Georgia.