iBerkshires Profiles Michele Gietz:Waking Up Happy Every Day
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| Michele Gietz lives in Florida and operates the "Where'd You Get That!?" store in Williamstown with her husband Ken. [Photo by Sue Bush] |
Florida - It's a business philosophy and foundation on which to build a life, and it is the essence of Florida resident Michele Gietz.
"You have to be an optimist," Gietz said during a Saturday afternoon interview. "You have to be able to get through the tough times - and there will be a lot of them - you have to push through it."
Gietz is well-known to scores of Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont residents as the cheerful loquacious co-owner of Spring Street's wildly popular gift, toy and game emporium "Where'd You Get That!?". Over the past 15 years, she's been a cheerleader and an advocate for the Village Beautiful's downtown retail district.
"I Love The Life Here"
The Berkshire region poses a dichotomy for small business owners, she said. She came to the mountain town in 1989 and husband Ken Gietz moved here in 1990.
"I love the life here," she said. "I love the people here and I love the energy here. People here try to make this a healthy place, a place that is good for kids.The air is fresh and your head can be clear. You don't have to live the fast-paced life. I love my neighbors; I have the best neighbors. People tell it like it is here, and we were never made to feel like outsiders."
But operating a successful retail venue as an independent shop owner in the Berkshires is fraught with challenges and issues, she noted.
"The Berkshires is a very difficult place to keep a successful business," she said. "You really have to know your market, and you have to know and respect your retail neighbors. You have to partner with them, you have to do different things."
Strength In Partnerships
Among the "different things" is a "Where'd You Get That!?" college student-focused service called "Student X-press." The service arranges a variety of gift boxes, baskets, and packages that not only showcase the talents of Gietz but include her retail neighbors as well. For instance, an incoming freshmen gift basket includes Image Cinema movie passes, "stress relieving eye squeeze balls" from the Williams College Museum of Art, MASS MoCA gallery passes, and a pen from the Clark Art Institute.
Dinner and a movie gift packs include the buyers choice of gift certificates from Helen's Place, Spice Root Indian Restaurant, Papa Charlie's and the Thai Garden restaurant and a four-movie Images package that includes admission, popcorn, and soft drinks for four.
The idea is to turn the spotlight on businesses other than her own, Gietz said.
"The thing about being in a small community and doing well is that you really want to partner with other businesses," she said. "And I've always held with the business philosophy that a team is better than an individual."
The business has also partnered with the Williams College All Campus Entertainment group, currently led by college student Ali Barrett.
"He Said I Could Do It All"
Gietz came into the world as Michele Briglia and she spent her childhood with her family on the eastern end of Long Island.
"I am a product of the Catholic schools," she said.
She graduated from Seton Hall as a member of the Class of 1967. Her childhood wasn't rough-and-tumble but it was filled with music.
"I come from a very musical family," she said. "I started playing the violin at age 5."
An uncle was a part-time musician with the New York Philharmonic orchestra and her grandfather was a harpist. Her parents grew up during the Great Depression and had a more pragmatic outlook on life, she said.
Her father was a source of confidence, she said.
"He was a huge influence on my life," she said. "He always made feel I could do it all."
Gietz graduated from the Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in international studies. Her minor was in Russian Studies, she said.
Gietz worked in the fast-paced, lucrative world of recruiting companies from 1971 until 1989. Much of her career was spent in the employ of Robert Half International, a well-known, widely respected firm. Business was conducted a bit differently during the 1970s and 1980s, she noted.
"We didn't do all that cold recruiting," she said. "We built relationships with people."
The Bride Wore Velvet, The Guests Wore Jogging Suits
She met husband Ken Gietz in 1976 and the two married in December 1982. The wedding was more surprise party than somber nuptials, she said.
The couple hosted parties on a regular basis, and Ken Gietz has always had a superb culinary talent, she said.
When the two decided to marry, they simply invited friends to their home and allowed people to believe the event was just another get-together. Michele Gietz was acquainted with a New York state judge, and she asked him to perform the ceremony.
"Everybody thought he was an actor, that we were putting them on," she said of her wedding. "The guests wore jogging suits...it was all very casual. I was wearing a burgundy velvet gown, and Ken spent about four days cooking, getting ready. We really had to drag the groom out of the kitchen for the wedding."
Even the wedding cake represented the couple's true feelings of partnership; it bore the words "Ken and Michele Inc.".
"We Could Do This Here"
By 1989, after years of maintaining a frenetic business pace and working "100-hour weeks," Michele Gietz was physically exhausted and needed real change. The desire to live at a more relaxed pace brought them to Florida.
In 1991, the couple opened their original store at the Colonial Shopping Plaza. Gietz said she patterned the business after a store located on Long Island that she adored.
"The store had all the fun stuff, the quirky stuff, the girly stuff," she said. "And I said to Ken 'we could do this here.'"
The store has grown and evolved since the first years, but has always been a haven for those who enjoy unique games, learning toys, and unusual gift items. The business moved to the northern end of Spring Street after several profitable years at the Main Street site, and in 2005, moved to a newly-constructed Williams College building at the site of the former B&L Service Station.
The road of life in the Berkshires has been filled with friends and good things, but has not been free of rough patches.
Caregivers
Michele and Ken Gietz became caregivers for Michele's mother in 2003. Her mother was in poor health and required much care, she said. At one point, her mother spent 21 days on life support at the Bay State Medical Center in Springfield; the couple continued to operate the business with the help of employees and commuted to the hospital regularly. Her mother recovered from an acute health situation and left the hospital to live with the couple. Serving as caregivers and operating a business proved very difficult, Gietz said.
She ultimately sought help from Beth Parker-O'Brien, who assisted Gietz and arranged for her mother to spend time at the Harper Center in Williamstown.
"And that was great for her," Gietz said. "It was a really great experience for her. She truly enjoyed it there."
Quadruple Bypass Surgery
Gietz mother died in November 2005. Gietz, whose paternal and maternal family medical history shows considerable heart disease, wasn't at her peak and the signs of health distress were showing, Gietz said.
"I was having angina, I'd stopped exercising, I was overweight," she said. "It was such a typical scenario and I try not to think about all the things I did wrong."
On Jan. 8, 2006, Gietz was in the hospital, admitted after having a bad reaction to a blood pressure medication. A stress test was administered the next day.
"I didn't last 30 seconds on the machine and they had to give me nitro [nitroglycerine pills]," she said.
Gietz underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery.
"I wasn't scared," she said. "I knew what was going to happen from all the time I spent at Bay State. And I just knew that this wasn't going to be it, that I was going to get through it."
Gietz returned to work at the store in April 2006 and has tried to keep to decreased working hours. She walks daily at the Williams College indoor track, and enjoys the company of the folks who also utilize the track for free.
Friendship And Inspiration
"When I started walking at the track, a whole new world of people opened up to me," she said. "I've made so many wonderful friends."
Among those she terms "inspirations" is a woman in her 70s who has arthritis at the tops of her feet.
"She's an inspiration." Gietz said. "I enjoy her so much. And when she gets going, she really gets going!"
The daily walking was something Gietz knew she had to do for her health. She didn't realize how much she would come to value the time at the track, she said.
"I see so many friendships being formed there," she said. "I never thought I'd do a group activity but I really feel that I have to be at that track everyday."
Gietz shared an insight about caregiving.
"You can't go it alone," she said."Find a sincere professional that can help. You will have to make some hard decisions. You have to survive, too."
Among the "hard decisions" is recognizing the need to stroll, rather than race, through the days ahead.
"I think that I will have to make a concerted effort to have more downtime," she said. "But even in my downtime, I think I'll come up with ideas. I may not be the person to execute them, but I will be creating."
Still Together
And she will hold to her beliefs about partnerships and optimism, she said.
"I am married to a really great guy. He puts me before himself, he is a great cook, he's the glue of the business. He does a lot to make this relationship work. He is a true partner. We were very attracted to each other from the beginning, we did the surprise wedding, and we're still together."
"I wake up everyday and I get to be happy."
