Historic Belleville building gets new tenant as local business moves in.

So following up on my recent story about a few Belleville businesses shuffling locations, there’s one other that has a great new location in a historic building.

The super fun, more-than-an-arts-and-crafts store, Sawdust & Glitter, recently moved from 119 E. Main St. to the ground floor of Lofts on the Square in downtown Belleville.

The Art Deco-style building, which opened in 1931 as the Hotel Belleville, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Store owner Lacie Loose said because of its historical significance, it “took a little longer than expected to secure the space” at 16 S. Illinois St., but there were no other issues.

Loose reopened her business on April 22, the same day as the Belleville Main Street Homebrew Walk.

She said that a lot of the event’s participants visited her new place, many of them likely because they could bring their brews into her awesome shop.

Many people lingered, said Loose. People had room to roam and took their time looking around.

The day’s sales were three times what they were during the same event last year, she said.

All in all, it sounds like it was a very good first day.

Bigger and brighter

Upon entering the store’s new location, I was impressed with how much room there was (it’s huge!), all of it basked in natural light.

If you never visited Sawdust & Glitter – at the old or new location – many of the available items are fun and creative pieces of home décor.

The shop also offers glitter tumblers. You know. Travel mugs and cups … with glitter. Pretty straightforward.

Checking out the phrases on painted signs is great, especially for someone like me, who enjoys pop culture references and sassy phrases and wordplay.

And not only can you buy such items, you can make your own too!

Loose said that in the beginning, she taught herself how to make glitter tumblers by watching YouTube videos.

Then she started having glitter tumbler parties in her mom’s kitchen.

What started as a way to pay for nursing school (she was already accepted) exploded into a legit business.

Realizing she was building something special, Loose turned down her school acceptance to keep doing her own thing.

She opened Sawdust & Glitter on Dec. 1, 2019, at 119 E. Main St.

Then, of course, COVID hit. During that time, Loose converted her basement into a temporary shop.

After the ugliness that was the pandemic, Sawdust & Glitter carried on and outgrew the Main Street building over the last year, according to Loose. Aside from the tight fit, she said the lighting wasn’t ideal either.

The space was dark with minimal natural lighting and not-so-great interior lighting, making it difficult to see the merch well.

Many people couldn’t even tell if they were open, said Loose. Shoppers often thought they were just another closed business.

But now, at 16 S. Illinois St., there is so much natural light coming in all of the windows that the interior lighting isn’t even needed on a clear, sunny day.

Fun times, great shopping

Sawdust & Glitter still hosts parties too.

Sign painting parties, candle-making and a couple of others are available.

And tumbler parties, which are the most popular, according to Loose.

At these parties, people get to select a vessel of their choosing – travel mug, wine cup, coffee tumbler – and design their own personalized cup.

From there, decorate the cup with glitter, maybe add some decals.

Loose will seal the designs with an epoxy finish, making them safe to use and wash, according to the Sawdust & Glitter website.

If you don’t want to make your own tumbler, custom orders are an option.

“I make everything,” said Loose, who comes up with different ideas and designs for the farmhouse wooden signs.

Her husband builds the wooden canvases.

Guests at the parties can pick what they paint. Custom canvases are also an option, but you have to request them in advance.

The parties take place in the studio area, which, in the new space, feels more separate from the retail side.

I visited (just browsing) several months ago, when the biz was in the old place. At the time there was a party taking place. With such close quarters, it felt like I was intruding.

So I didn’t stay long.

But now I feel like I could hang out and take my time looking at everything. Because I have to say, there’s some pretty great stuff.

There are painted farmhouse wooden signs and decorative items, candles and wax melts, planters and printed towels.

There’s a towel that reads, “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a salad, asking for it to be a donut.”

I must have this towel.

There are items with different themes – coffee, dogs, plants, bathroom signs – with just enough sass to make them all fun.

Loose said it’s sometimes hard to come up with new ideas and themes, so she takes to websites like Pinterest to search for inspiration.

She’ll find a design she likes and tweak it to make it her own.

Loose said they’ll soon offer printed T-shirts. There will be a press wall. Customers can pick a design, which will be pressed to a tee right there.

Because the new space is so much larger than before, the retail displays have more space between them.

While setting up shop, Loose thought it looked sparse at first. Now she looks at it as having plenty of room to grow.

As Loose settles in at the new location and enjoys all of the space and light, she acknowledges the significance of the East Main Street location.

“That was a great starter shop,” she said. “This is better.”

About Sawdust & Glitter

Sawdust & Glitter is located at 16 S. Illinois St. on Belleville’s Public Square.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed Sunday-Monday.

Parties can be booked outside of store hours Tuesday-Saturday and start as late as 6 p.m.

To book a party, visit sawdustnglitter.com, send a message via the Facebook page or lacie@sawdustnglitter.com, or call 618-607-4880.