Not even a tornado warning could stop a group of Brandywine Cool Girls from gathering last Thursday night for an encore Charm Bar event at OsoSweet Bakery Cafe. If you haven’t yet heard of Brandywine Cool Girls (BCG) and you’re a lady who likes to hang with female friends, it’s high time you put BCG on your social radar.

Women gathered for the Charm Bar event hosted by Brandywine Cool Girls at OsoSweet Bakery Cafe — Charm Bar atendees working on their Charm Key Chains

Founder and owner of Brandywine Cool Girls, Sarah James, is a Jersey girl who grew up coming to the Brandywine Valley with her family to enjoy places like Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine Museum of Art. She continued to make regular visits to the area to hike and stop by the Barn Shops before moving to Kennett Square almost three years ago.

Like many of us, Sarah recognized the growing importance of making intentional efforts to bring people together in person. We crave real connections, especially as more and more of our lives cross into the digital and artificial abyss. These days, Sarah says, “It’s almost an art form to create community.”

Community has always been important to Sarah. She’s been working in the fitness space for over a decade and understands that social connection is a top predictor of long-term health. There’s “so much to be gained by doing life together,” she says. In early 2026, she put her money (and time) where her heart was. She started Brandywine Cool Girls.

Women chatting during the Charm Bar event hosted by Brandywine Cool Girls at OsoSweet Bakery Cafe — Sarah chatting with two Charm Bar attendees

Brandywine Cool Girls events

BCG hosts local pop-up events that combine fitness, friends, art, local small businesses, socializing, and good food and drinks. To kick off BCG, Sarah hosted a Galentine’s Day Pilates Sculpt pop-up class. She partnered with local artisans and small businesses who also hosted tables at the event. It was a huge hit, attracting more than 60 attendees!

Since then, Sarah has followed up with events around the Brandywine Valley that include:

DIY flower bars
Coffee + walk events
Pickleball socials
Charm bar art-making events
Self-care spa nights
Walk and shop in Kennett outing
and more!

For every event, she partners with local (mostly) female-focused small businesses. Partners have included local flower vendors, apparel companies, coffee shops, bakeries such as OsoSweet, and more. Attendees range in age, just as Sarah envisioned. She loves that her events can include intergenerational community building and give women a chance to meet others who enjoy similar social activities.

Craving real connection and tangible treasures

From vintage vinyl records becoming cool again to young people reviving the mall hangout scene, tangible, in-person experiences are hotter than ever. Brandywine Cool Girls events provide an avenue to fill our cups with more human community and connection and less digital delusion and division.

Because she works with a variety of vendors, the events are more than just pop-in and pop-out classes. The vendors give the Cool Girlies reasons to hang out after class, mix and mingle while creating, and support local artisans and shops.

Stopping by the Charm Bar event

Like my fellow Brandywine girlies, a tornado warning didn’t deter me from showing up either. A few minutes after the tornado warning blared on my phone, I hopped into my car and headed to OsoSweet for last week’s Charm Bar event. Almost 20 other women also braved the brief but heavy rain to hang out and create DIY charm keychains over scones and lemonade from the bakery.

Tess Wofford, owner of OsoSweet, has known Sarah for years. They became friendly over the Oso counter, as Sarah has been a regular customer for years. Hosting a female-focused artisan event at the popular bakery owned by one of our beloved young, female neighbors felt like a perfect pairing.

The night didn’t disappoint. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking. 🥰

Sign up to stay in the loop

Sarah promotes her events through Instagram (@brandywinecoolgirls) and her email newsletter. You can sign up to receive the monthly newsletter with event listings here. She’s finalizing September events now!

Have you attended a Brandywine Cool Girls event yet? If not, check out the event calendar. Be sure to sign up in advance, because almost all of the events with limited registration sell out several days in advance!