Sparrows flock, and so do friends and community to this thriving LS spot

When GOT Art Gallery closed last summer in Downtown Lee’s Summit, Melissa Wuennenburg saw an opportunity. As the owner of Very Violet, she had a problem. Her store was bursting at the seams.

“I have had so many people coming into Very Violet requesting certain things we just didn’t have the space to have. So, I would send them elsewhere,” Wuennenburg said.

Wuennenburg has 22 vendors selling their merchandise at Very Violet. While the store started in an old house, it has been at its current 20 S.W. Third St. location for three years. The old GOT Art Gallery had been next door at 18 S.W. Third.

The open space gave Wuennenburg the option for more retail space, and expanded area for classes.

However, instead of expanding Very Violet — a store inspired by her grandmother — Wuennenburg decided to open a new store, one that looks to her daughter for inspiration instead.

The result is Ivy and Sparrow. The store’s light and modern feel, with children’s items and handmade cards, stands in contrast to the cottage home feeling of its mother store Very Violet.

The stores have more in in common than an owner. They also share a mission that brings family and community together.

Family support is very important to Wuennenburg, especially with two stores to run. The staff of the stores is the same, but her daughter, Amanda Brt, manages Ivy and Sparrow. Her other children help in both stores. Wuennenburg’s mother does the bookkeeping.

“Without them, I couldn’t do this. It’s too difficult without having your family support,“ Wuennenburg said.

Community is built right into the name of the new store. Wuennenburg chose the name sparrow because it is a bird that can only survive in a community.

“We needed to have sparrow in our name because the whole point is to build community and get people involved in art and keep them downtown,” Wuennenburg said.

One way Wuennenburg is offering community to her customers is with the classes she can now offering in the expanded space. While Very Violet had allowed vendors to offer classes in the past, the store did not have a lot of space. It also had stairs, which didn’t make the class space easily accessible.

“We are really thankful to have a ground floor space now for classes,” Wuennenburg said.

Classes, held two to three times a month, usually offer instruction in a craft, like floral design, hand lettering or furniture painting. They run from one to three hours and cost $35 to $85, depending on the class. Wuennenburg sees the classes as an opportunity.

“Usually women in the classes — and it’s most often women — find they have a lot in common. We’ve had new people in the area stumble upon us and now they have a best friend because they met in our classes,” Wuennenburg said.

Ivy and Sparrow also includes a new featured artist every three months. Starting in January, Wuennenburg will start quarterly “Meet the Artist” events. Donations taken at the door of these events will benefit local charities