iBerkshires Profiles Joanne Burdick
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| Joanne Burdick, owner of Galadriel's Boutique, is happy to offer upscale, contemporary clothing to the region's shoppers. [Photo by Sue Bush] |
North Adams - Joanne Burdick spent an idyllic childhood in Readsboro Vt. - well, almost idyllic, she said.
"My dad worked at the glassine and my mother was the secretary to the [Readsboro] school principal," Burdick said during a Saturday afternoon interview. "So when I got into trouble in school, I got into twice as much."
Small Towns Provide Great Childhoods
Burdick, 42, remembered the years she spent as Joanne Bolner, a girl who attended the same small school from kindergarten to grade 8.
Describing Readsboro as "rural" may be considered an understatement; the town is located on Route 100 between the Vermont community of Wilmington and the Massachusetts city of North Adams. The town sits between long, winding stretches of road that pass undeveloped, wooded land.
But during her youth, "small town" wasn't synonomous "nothing to do," Burdick said.
"That was back when things were safe," she said. "You could be gone all day and no one would think anything of it. We would camp out in the woods or sleep out in people's yards. I spent a lot of time at the Bolognani's [a well-known town family] house. They had so many kids they hardly noticed if I was there."
Burdick now lives on Pleasant Street and owns and operates Galadriel's Boutique on Main Street. She is divorced with two children, a nine-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
"My kids are at a great age," she said. "We have so much fun."
Hard Work Paid Off
Hard work is second nature to her; Burdick has been working since she was 15 years old. Her jobs included baby-sitting, working at a Readsboro snack bar and when she was older, a bartender and server at the Readsboro Inn.
Burdick graduated from Drury High School and earned a bachelors' degree in fine arts with a graphics concentration at the Westfield State College.
"And I paid for it all myself," she said. "I am very proud of that degree. I earned it."
Prior to her daughter's birth, Burdick lived in Florida and commuted to a job as a graphic designer in Brattleboro, Vt..
Thursday Night Tradition
A commute of that distance over less than ideal wintertime roads would be a deal-breaker for some folks, but people who make their homes in remote areas are accustomed to long drives and winter driving conditions, she said.
"When you've lived in a very rural area, you get used to long trips," she said. "Once I entered high school, I had a long commute back and forth from school. On Thursday nights, the whole family would drive down to North Adams and we'd have dinner, then we'd do some shopping at Newberry's [former J.J. Newberry store on Main Street] and then we'd get groceries. It was our big once-a-week outing and we all looked forward to it. I remember how it used to be downtown, how busy everything was."
Creative Flair Flares
Burdick subsequently gave birth to her son and kept busy as a stay-at-home mom. The high cost of childcare for working families was a factor in her decision to stay home with her children.
"We lived on one income and it wasn't great but we did manage," she said. "With the cost of day care, it just didn't make sense to go to work and then pay all the money for child care. Even back then it was, what, $120 a week."
As the children grew older, she began to imagine returning to the work force.
"I loved being at home but I started thinking about things I could do that would be flexible, that would allow me to raise my kids but also let me use my creative flair," she said.
The Hope
At that time, much buzz surrounded the downtown's potential for growth. Many people believed that a vibrant downtown hinged on what was then the anticipated opening of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, she recalled.
"I spent one year researching what might fit in the downtown, what I could do that wasn't already in place," she said. "There wasn't anybody selling the type of clothing I have here and I thought that a boutique would fit in, especially with all the art and the art economy that everybody was talking about."
Galadriel's offers upscale contemporary clothing and features labels such as Impulse California, Blue Sky, American Apparel featuring the work of Zendik designers, and Wild Thing of Chico California. The shop hosts a selection of earrings, purses, hats, and glittery hair jewelry.
She'd hoped to generate enough business to employ a few part-time clerks and spend time with her children. Based on her research and a business plan, she believed that she'd be able to hire a retail staff after about three years in business.
The Reality
But the business hasn't grown as she'd planned and after seven years on Main Street, Burdick is working seven days a week at the store.
She employs one part-time clerk who works limited hours. Many of those who launched small downtown shops and galleries when Galadriel's opened have since shut their doors, she noted.
"I did do all the research when I was making my business plan and this did seem to be something that would work," she said. "I remembered when North Adams supported shops like this and I believed that over time I would develop a following. I have developed a following but it doesn't seem to grow, and I will tell you that right now, it's tough. I was actually doing better a couple years ago."
"I did really think that with what was supposed to be happening in North Adams, my creative side would be able to soar. Now I have an 'I'll believe it when I see it' attitude."
Willing To Donate
She's disappointed that the downtown hasn't returned to vibrant status but she is willing to be part of a focused, dedicated and mature downtown marketing initiative, she said.
"I am willing to donate my graphic art skills to a good project, the right project," she said. "We need a committed group of creative people, people who need to be willing to work with local politics. But local politics have to be willing to work with creative people and welcome new ideas. We have to all be willing to welcome new ideas."
"I know the city is marketed and MASS MoCA is marketed but we need to market North Adams with a central theme, a true North Adams marketing plan. MASS MoCA can be part of it but it can't be all of it."
Deepest Desire
Her investment in the business is significant and is personal as well as financial, she said. Burdick noted that hers was among the businesses that participated regularly with the former First Friday monthly events, she maintains consistent hours and offers quality merchandise and continues to keep extended hours on Thursday evenings.
Burdick's deepest desire is to be able to keep her boutique open and remain in the Berkshires.
"The Berkshires is home and I have friends and family here," she said. "I want to raise my kids here. I enjoy the buying trips and choosing things for the store, I love the creative stuff I get to do because of the store. And there is something wonderful and unexpected that came from the store. Wonderful friends have been made, life-long friendships have formed. We are honest and generous with people, and we will tell people if something looks good on them or not. We'll help them find the right thing. The following is loyal and we get a lot of positive feedback. We make people feel good and that's such a fun thing to be able to do."
And she is willing to continue to be a person of action, she said.
"I am willing to volunteer and be part of something worthwhile that is focused on a good downtown marketing plan. I'm willing."
