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Lavender pop-up shop Sunny Window is one of the several new microbusinesses setting up inside Berkshire Emporium on Main Street.
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Savvy Hive has a curated selection of thrifted clothing and accessories.
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A wall of DVDS and Blu-rays.

Berkshire Emporium Expanding to Include More Storefronts

By Gregory FournieriBerkshires Correspondent
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A section of the store with country crafts. The Emporium offers a wide range off vintage home decor, furniture, toys, records and other odds and ends.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can find antique furniture, homemade lavender soaps, used records, tchotchkes, baked goods and clothing all under one roof on Main Street.
 
Keith Bona began Berkshire Emporium 17 years ago and has expanded the business considerably since to take up more space in the historic Empire building on the corner of Main and Holden streets. 
 
A few years ago, he started subleasing a space within the store — the bakery/cafe — and tearing down walls to create a large and eclectic shop that sometimes has the feeling of an indoor flea market.
 
More recently, he's begun extending this concept of sharing space with other businesses. These are typically established businesses that are able to take advantage of low overhead costs — rent and a small commission to Bona for sales. Bu they don't have to pay employees, and they don't have to be in the building except to restock their shelves.
 
This is a mutual relationship, because it allows Bona to lease out space to people who know more about certain products than he does. They sell their products through Bona, who benefits from the fees he charges and from the increased traffic that those other businesses bring to the Emporium.
 
Bona calls these semi-partners "grafted micro-businesses." This is an homage to the process of grafting trees, in which a branch of one tree is fashioned onto another tree that is already growing. This allows the branch to grow where it otherwise may not.
 
"So you can have a tree that literally can grow several different kinds of fruit, as long as they're compatible," Bona said. "These are branches off the main tree, and they help the main store … they sort of all benefit from one another.
 
"It makes it a far more interesting tree than if it was just an apple tree," he concluded.
 
The main business is Berkshire Emporium and Antiques, but Bona said he will be focusing more on the Emporium part in the future. Antiques are harder to sell, and he wants to make the space "really a mix of a lot of different markets."
 
In one of the original iterations of the Berkshire Emporium, Bona rented out booths to local crafters and artisans. Over time, however, he realized that they were more hobbyists than businesspeople, and their shelves were often empty because they didn't have time to restock them.
 
This is why he decided to begin renting out space to more established businesses, who often start online and want to open a physical presence. One example is a small corner of the store that is reserved for a woman who sells soaps, lotion, and lavender. She started her business online and then rented a space from Bona, and "she's been doing extremely well."
 
"It also allows these businesses to incubate," said Bona. In other words, businesses can rent space from the Emporium and, if they become more successful, can open up their own storefront. Bona bills it as a low-cost way of experimenting with a new business.
 
Some other micro-businesses that operate out of Berkshire Emporium include a used record business and thrift clothing shop Savvy Hive, as well as Bailey's Bakery. There will soon be a mid-century modern home furnishing and clothing store underneath the bakery.
 
Bona now rents six total storefronts, including a newly vacated space. 
 
"They're all connected like a chain," he said. This allows customers to wander throughout the space, and "it's sort of an adventure" for anyone who walks in the door.

While Bona tries not to sell too many products online, he does have a website. Berkshire Emporium is open Sunday through Wednesday, 10:30 to 4, and Thursday through Saturday, 10 to 5.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

MCLA's Gallery 51: 'Mothering in Migration'

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— MCLA's MOSAIC announces the upcoming exhibition "Mothering in Migration" and opening reception at Gallery 51.
 
"Mothering in Migration" will be on view from July 26 to August 25 at Gallery 51 with an opening reception on July 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring light snacks and refreshments. A reception will also be held during North Adams' First Friday event on August 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring catering, refreshments, and live music from Yo Soy Arte.
 
"Mothering in Migration" is part of an ongoing collaboration between artist Luiza Folegatti and Latinas413 that aims to strengthen local support for immigrant mothers while using image-making as a tool for community building. Through photography sessions, interviews, and workshops, the families and the artist celebrated their connection to the natural landscape of the Berkshires, the networks of mutual support between friends and colleagues, and the intimacy of the mother-daughter relationship.
 
The show is curated by Carolina Porras-Monroy.
 
According to a press release: 
 
Luiza Folegatti is a Brazilian artist based in North Adams who integrates artistic practice, teaching, and social advocacy work around the rights of women immigrants. Her work focuses on gender and migration through photography, video,  performance, and visual anthropology methods. Folegatti strongly believes in the positive impact generated by projects that combine photography, education, and community building. She has taught photography workshops for several years at nonprofits working with immigrants and is currently a visiting faculty member in photography at Bennington College, part-time residency coordinator at MASS MoCA, and Artists At Work grantee. 
 
To learn more about Latinas413 visit https://www.latinas413.org/.
 
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