More than 30 small businesses filled the shelves for the Oct. 3 grand opening of a new artisan marketplace at 103 S. San Jacinto Street.
My husband and I pulled out the umbrella Saturday morning and walked through a light October rain toward the newest storefront in Downtown Rockwall.
Gathered by Uproot & Rise is tucked into San Jacinto Plaza, so part of the experience is getting out of the car and walking into Downtown Rockwall. From the square or one of the nearby public parking lots, the storefront comes into view with its deep green exterior, gold lettering and bright orange door.
There was something about it that reminded me of an old American general store crossed with a little European market. The kind of place where you step inside without knowing exactly what you need and end up lingering much longer than planned.
And on grand opening morning there was plenty to linger over.
The shop was bustling with locals moving from wall to wall and aisle to aisle, discovering baked goods, fresh flowers, handmade décor, skincare, candles, seasonings, pasta, jewelry and gifts from more than 30 makers and small businesses.
That variety is intentional.
A Grand Opening Made for Wandering
Saturday wasn’t simply a chance to walk through the new shop and browse the shelves.
Visitors could grab a Drip dirty soda, sample their way around the room and meet some of the people behind the products. Ebarb offered sausage samples, while Lucido’s brought pasta, cannoli and olive oil. There was Uprooted Journey bread to try and Crumble & Rise cookies making their way into plenty of hands.
And there was more happening beyond the food.
A magician entertained visitors, kids could have their faces painted and pumpkins were ready for photos while makers talked with customers about what they create.
It made the grand opening feel less like a traditional ribbon-cutting stop and more like an invitation to stay awhile, taste something, meet somebody and wander.
The Women Behind Gathered
Behind Gathered are co-owners Geneve Du Plessis and Aubry Peterson, two women who already understand firsthand what it means to build a small business around something you love.
Gen is the sourdough baker behind Uprooted Journey and also works in graphic design, web design and marketing. She has shared that the name Uprooted Journey carries personal meaning after living in several countries and experiencing different cultures. Baking sourdough eventually became part of finding her way back to creating. Giving her room to slow down, practice patience and return to something she genuinely loves.
Aubry is the baker behind Crumble & Rise, where her enthusiasm for sourdough goes well beyond a traditional loaf. She creates small batch, naturally fermented baked goods that combine familiar comfort foods with a little creativity. She is also a wedding planner, wife and mother.
Their own backgrounds make the idea behind Gathered feel especially fitting. These aren’t two people looking at small makers from the outside. They are makers themselves.
And now they’ve created a storefront where dozens of other entrepreneurs can put their work in front of customers without having to wait for the next market, festival or pop-up.
In many ways, Gathered feels like an extension of what they already know: sometimes a small business just needs the right place to be seen.
A Year-Round Place to Discover Local Makers
The concept behind Gathered feels particularly fitting for Downtown Rockwall.
Many of the businesses inside are the same kinds of makers residents discover at farmers markets, seasonal events and local pop-ups. Here, instead of waiting for the next Saturday market, customers have a permanent place to walk in, browse and discover something made relatively close to home.
Gathered describes itself as a curated collective centered on local makers, bakers, growers and artisans, with shelves spanning everything from flowers and natural wellness to home décor, food, gifts and locally inspired merchandise.
The concept takes inspiration from the traditional tuisnywerheid model — essentially a home- or cottage-industry marketplace where individually made goods can be sold collectively.
That idea makes sense the moment you begin walking through Gathered.
There isn’t one aesthetic or one kind of product.
That’s the point.
Handmade Pieces Made to Be Kept
One display that immediately fit the store’s handmade philosophy came from Arrow Grace Designs.
The Texas studio creates custom laser engraved pieces using wood, leather, metal and acrylic, including cutting boards, ornaments, journals, wedding details and keepsakes. Their own description “made to be kept” feels appropriate for the kind of gift you buy for a wedding, anniversary, Christmas or someone you simply want to give something personal.
Nearby, Rockin L Candle Co. brought an entirely different sensory experience.
Their rustic, Western-inspired soy candles, wax melts and leather car fresheners were the sort of products that make you stop because something smells strangely familiar. Some scents have that nostalgic quality that takes you somewhere before you’ve even figured out what you’re smelling.
And then there was The Art of Crafting, where real shells are transformed through decoupage into pieces that combine coastal influence with a little Texas personality.
The story behind those pieces may be my favorite part. The maker’s creative life grew during the quiet hours that came with being married to a deployed U.S. Marine. After experimenting over the years with painting, jewelry, floral design, resin and other mediums, a move from coastal North Carolina to Texas inspired a way to bring both places together.
Hence: seashells with Western soul.
That is exactly the sort of thing I mean when I say the merchandise here has a story attached to it.
From a Family Farm to the Shelf
At Hullabaloo Farms, those stories begin with an entire lifestyle change.
The Royse City family farm was established in 2019 after what its owners describe as two “city kids” deciding to trade pavement for pasture. Today, alongside their four children, the family produces handmade goat-milk and tallow soaps, skincare, sourdough products and other homestead goods. They also teach classes centered around homesteading skills.
Seeing businesses like this inside Gathered is part of what makes the store interesting.
You’re not simply looking at another jar or bar of soap. You’re encountering a small family business that figured out how to turn what they make at home into something other people can bring home too.
For cooks, Gathered also has locally made pantry finds.
OOH-RAH Seasoning, based in Rockwall, produces small-batch seasoning blends and is a veteran-owned family business founded by retired U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joe “Gunz” Simmons and co-owned by retired U.S. Navy Chief Michele Simmons.
And Flower Farm Honey from The Vine Shack sits among the locally produced offerings. The Vine Shack was started by Dave and Victoria Williams after their family ventured into agriculture in 2021, growing cut flowers and pumpkins from their Lavon farm.
Fresh Bakes, Sweet Treats and Pasta for Dinner
And then there is the food — which presents an entirely different problem if you walked in telling yourself you were “just looking.”
Branlan Bakery had beautiful macarons and flaky croissants that looked nearly too pretty to disturb. Nearly.
Flour Child NTX had a lineup of gluten-free baked goods that included pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, apple pie cinnamon rolls and its Blue Ribbon-winning gluten-free sandwich bread from the State Fair of Texas.
Then there were the cakes from Raised in a Southern Kitchen.
Blueberry Lemon. Southern Butter Pecan. Triple Chocolate Chunk. Cinnamon Streusel. Classic Vanilla.
The home bakery offers an extensive rotating collection of cake flavors, including seasonal varieties, and even sells petite sampler boxes for those of us who consider choosing only one flavor an unreasonable request.
But one of my favorite encounters of the morning started with pasta.
The Story Behind the Pasta
I was looking over the gluten-free pasta from Lucido’s Pasta & Italian Specialties when I began talking with a nearby vendor.
What impressed me was that the conversation wasn’t really a sales pitch.
Instead, this person began telling me Lucido’s story. And then Mr. Lucido appeared.
The Lucido family traces its pasta making tradition through generations, and today Carlo and Paul Lucido bring those Italian pasta traditions to area farmers markets. Lucido’s now lists Gathered as one of its permanent retail partners in Downtown Rockwall.
There was traditional pasta and even a gluten-free option.
Unfortunately, I missed the cannolis.
I will have to accept this personal failure and try again.
Flowers, Game Day Glam and Something New Around Every Corner
When we arrived, Wild Bloom Flower Co. was setting up a flower bar with fresh blooms for customers to create bouquets.
Owner Carly Dewese started Wild Bloom in Heath earlier this year. In addition to fresh arrangements, the business offers build-your-own flower bars for events, bouquet-making classes and private workshops — and Gathered is now its Rockwall retail home.
On a completely different note, FanGlam could easily turn a quick search for a little game day bling into a full blown accessorizing situation.
There were charms, earrings, necklaces, headbands and plenty of ways to dress for your high school or college team without simply throwing on another T-shirt. FanGlam’s broader collection includes game-day jewelry, hair accessories, bag charms, clear bags and interchangeable straps.
That mix is part of the fun. You may walk in for a little game day bling and end up with pasta for dinner, flowers for the table, a new skincare favorite, a keepsake worth starting a tradition around and fresh baked goods for the ride home.
You don’t really know what you’ll find next.
More Than Something on a Shelf
I believe Gathered has the potential to become one of those places locals return to again and again — not only at Christmas, but for birthdays, anniversaries, teacher gifts, housewarmings, hostess gifts or simply because something on the shelf made you think of someone.
What makes it different is knowing there is a person behind so much of what you are buying.
Someone poured the candle. Someone baked the bread. Someone made the pasta, arranged the flowers, designed the jewelry, crafted the keepsake or spent hours perfecting a skincare product they were willing to put their name behind.
Many of these makers are people you may already recognize from a farmers market, community event or even your own social media feed. They are building businesses one customer, one batch and one handmade piece at a time.
And that makes shopping here feel a little more personal.
When you choose something from one of these shelves, you are not simply taking home another product. You may be supporting a family business, helping a maker buy supplies for the next collection, encouraging someone who finally decided to turn a talent into a business, or simply reminding them that there is a place for what they create.
Christmas will certainly give people plenty of reasons to stop in, but I hope Rockwall doesn’t wait for the holidays.
Go in for flowers for your own table. Pick up pasta for dinner. Bring home a pound cake because Tuesday felt like a perfectly good reason for cake. Find a handmade ornament you pull out every December until it becomes part of your family’s story.
Buy the thing someone around here took the time to make.
Behind those shelves are local makers trying to build something of their own — and Gathered has given more than 30 of them a place in Downtown Rockwall where the rest of us can find them, support them and maybe take a little piece of their story home with us.
And on a rainy Saturday morning in Downtown Rockwall, plenty of people seemed ready to do exactly that.
Gathered by Uproot & Rise is located at 103 S. San Jacinto Street in Downtown Rockwall. Current posted retail hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.