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Founder
Petra Geiger
Petra Geiger grew up in a family that was equal parts entrepreneurial and artistic, and she learned how to sew and craft at an early age from her mother. She received a bachelor of arts degree in Mass Communication from Tulane University and a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from California College of the Arts.
Petra spend 10 years honing her design, marketing and branding skills by initially working for a celebrated San Francisco designer, then as an independent freelance designer, and later as a Director of Marketing and Graphic Design for a contract furniture manufacturer owned by Herman Miller, Inc.
In 2000, Geiger and her husband, Todd Relaford, launched Beehive Industries with a line of original stationery. Geiger and Relaford relocated their family to Atlanta in 2001 and quickly added a handmade line of handbags and other new products to the mix, which they started selling at local seasonal markets. They soon met other designers who shared their frustration at the lack of viable retail opportunities and the idea for Beehive Co-op was born.
Stationery & handbags that comprised the Beehive Industries line
Petra founded Beehive Co-op Atlanta in 2004 and after three highly successful years announced in January 2007 planned expansion into major U.S. markets through a Beehive franchise program. After numerous requests from people around the country for information on "how you do it" it made sense to take the franchise system and adapt it to suit our needs. Each location has the benefit of a local owner who is tapped into the community and the support of a proven operating system and network of stores. Since 2007 the Franchise Program has morphed into the "Affiliate Program" which has more flexibility and options built into it.
Since 2007 the Atlanta store has been owned and operated independently. Petra relocated to New York and currently resides there with Relaford and their two children, Lucy and Kaspar, and has since launched store number two, Beehive Co-op Mt. Kisco, which opened in September 2008.
