Frankie & Fig open ‘Bramble’ in downtown Lewisburg
By Jenny Harnish, RealWV
Frankie and Fig Hawkins found Lewisburg with the help of Google.
“We were just looking for something cute and we really couldn’t afford the West anymore, to be honest,” said Frankie.
“It was a combination of Google-ing, Youtube-ing and Chat GPT and just trying to find a small town,” Fig said. “We did that for about four months. Then we finally settled on this one and we came to visit and we loved it.”
Fig applied and was accepted into the Ascend West Virginia program and the couple moved to Lewisburg from Portland, Ore. in 2025.
Frankie had years of experience working in retail, including managing a record store in Portland and the two had often imagined having their own store.
“I learned a lot about retail in a way that is more community-oriented,” she said.
When a space opened up for rent downtown, they decided to go for it.
“We wanted to do our own thing – have some sort of business. It made sense to do a store. We get to be our own boss and be creative and serve other people as well,” Fig said.
Frankie designed the Bramble logo and made several of the signs herself. She describes the store as offering a little something for everyone. Shoppers can browse a selection of vinyl records, vintage clothing, perfumes, legos, art and knick knacks.
“It’s a small space we’re in but we’ve packed it with a lot of stuff and we want it to feel like a treasure hunt,” Frankie said. “We put a lot of our personal creative work into it with the help of the community helping us out and being really supportive.”
Fig said the decision to move to Lewisburg from Portland was “a no-brainer.”
“The quality of life is great, everyone is super cool and nice. I think the thing that struck us the most is how kind everyone is. So foreign from the big city where people kinda ignore you.”
“It’s the best crazy decision we’ve ever made,” said Frankie.
Bramble is located at 1031 E. Washington St. in Lewisburg. Hours are Thursday – Monday 11am-6pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm.
