Tag: Soap Bar

Mid Coast Modern closing Westport shop, relocating Bear Soap brand to west coast

By Tommy Felts / May 28, 2024

After nearly a decade as a local retail staple, Mid Coast Modern is closing, founder Matt Bramlette confirmed. The Westport Road gift shop — which opened in 2015 and supports makers/artists and indie businesses — is expected to shut its doors at the end of the month.  Sales have declined since the pandemic — especially…

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Matt Brammlette, Mid Coast Modern, Bear Soap Co.

Business is a bear: Why Soap Bar closed its storefront to keep inventory flowing to Made in KC, refreshed retail spot

By Tommy Felts / June 4, 2022

The shelving of Soap Bar in Westport wasn’t the end of a chapter — just a focused business shift, said Matt Bramlette, the Midtown maker behind Toilet Bombs and a variety of self-care products.  “We took the look and feel of Soap Bar and merged it with Mid Coast Modern. It was a total refresh,”…

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Toilet Bombs by Bear Soap Co., Soap Bar in Westport

Toilet bombs dropped less than two weeks ago; retailers can’t seem to keep them on the shelves

By Tommy Felts / December 4, 2021

Bear Soap Co.’s latest bestseller might have begun as an accident, but the bath bombs for toilet bowls are making a splash as shoppers discover a cheeky new stocking stuffer that fizzes beyond the holiday season, said Matt Bramlette. “The toilet bombs can be a fun novelty gift; or they can be something that people…

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Mid Coast Modern illustration by Elyssa Bezner

Shop small: Five buys at Westport’s Mid Coast Modern to help support KC makers

By Tommy Felts / November 23, 2020

Editor’s note: Startland News explored Mid Coast Modern’s Westport storefront as part of the newsroom’s five-part holiday gift guide that identifies locally made goods and supports the call to shop small. Click here to read the multi-day gift guide as it develops. Westport streets aren’t filled with as much cheer in 2020, Matt Bramlette said, entering…

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Westport facing dwindling foot traffic: Online sales will only get us so far, resilient entrepreneur says

By Tommy Felts / June 13, 2020

Matt Bramlette is stretched thin, bouncing between his two retail shops as Westport storefronts struggle to reopen after a pandemic-induced shutdown, protests that disrupted business and other unexpected challenges. “We rely on tourists and foot traffic — two things that are few and far between right now,” said Bramlette, owner of brick-and-mortar Mid Coast Modern and…

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