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Date: 2/15/2021
CHICOPEE – The year of 2020 was the year of supporting small and local businesses, thanks in part to COVID-19. With many stores forced to close for months or rethink the way they operated, communities took it upon themselves to shop, spend and buy as much as they could to help neighborhood staples avoid their demise. The Herbarium and Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe are two small businesses that survived through COVID-19, though not without their own struggles. The businesses are both locally owned and offer unique goods and services to Chicopee residents and beyond.
The Herbarium has been around since 1978. Opened originally in Thornes Marketplace by Kathy Duffy, the store then moved to Chicopee in 1981. It is now run and operated by Duffy’s husband, Jonathan Evans, and their daughter.
“We thought this would be a perfect spot to relocate, so we did, and we’ve been here ever since,” said Evans.
The Herbarium offers the largest selection of bulk herbs and spices for medicinal and culinary purposes anywhere in Western New England. They also offer nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies and custom blended tea to help with ailments like arthritis, headaches, anxiety, stomach problems and more. Over the years, The Herbarium has also expanded to sell metaphysical items such as crystals, stones, incense and smudging products. They also sell books, essential oils, items for aromatherapy and CBD products.
“We are mislabeled as a dispensary. We are not a dispensary, [we] don’t deal with that at all, but we do have CBD gummies, we have lotions, CBD oil, which has been quite interesting to see some of the results within that,” said Evans.
According to Evans, his wife was a nurse for more than 50 years and also a medical herbalist. Around the year 2000, she got involved in clinical aromatherapy, which is the use of essential oils in a clinical setting. She has since become a senior instructor for R.J. Buckle Associates where she teaches nurses and doctors all over the country how to safely use essential oils in their practice. Evans himself had no prior medical background. He had a long career in radio and broadcast, and cites his wife as giving him his initial knowledge in this field.
“My experience has purely been what I’ve soaked up over the years being with her and going to the classes that she’s taught. I did take a program back around 2008 and became certified as an Herbal Information Specialist, so just basically proved what we’ve learned over the years and that I know what I’m talking about. People like to see some sort of certification, so I got it,” he said.
Being a small-age health provider, The Herbarium was not forced to close at the beginning of the pandemic. Instead, they actually saw a jump in sales.
"We were open throughout and at the beginning of the pandemic, needless to say people were locked down and such, but our mail order business just skyrocketed,” he said.
The Herbarium offers a variety of essential oils specific to antivirals and also immune boosting vitamins and supplements. Given that people were suddenly looking after their immune system much more with COVID-19, The Herbarium was a place many turned to.
“We’ve been able to stay on the forefront of that sort of thing and offer as much protection as people can get in a natural form,” said Evans.
With more people stuck at home, The Herbarium also saw a big increase in people buying bulk herbs to make their own teas and begin their own studies and practice.
“We saw a big jump when it came to our bulk herb orders and it was rather interesting to watch,” he said. “If you have an address we’ll get it to you. We’ve shipped all over the world.”
The Herbarium is open to customers regularly and following all COVID-19 guidelines. They allow no more than four people in the store at a time, have an air filtration system and always have essential oils going in their diffusers.
“This is probably one of the safest places you’re ever going to go shopping,” said Evans.
He also noted that their success throughout COVID-19 and beyond is heavily due to the fact that they have built up trust and notability throughout the years.
“We have over 42 years of experience and extensive medical history. We built up a trust and people do trust us and that’s the thing – when in doubt, they’ll come to us,” he said.
The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe is another unique business in Chicopee that has been around for decades. Unlike The Herbarium, however, Bayberry Quilt and Gifts struggled during COVID-19.
The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe was opened in 1999 by owner Laura Knapt. Knapt owned a preschool on the same property for over 20 years, but decided to close it when her quilting hobby turned into more.
“The quilting was my hobby. I used to do craft fairs, I used to sell quiltings and a lot of crafts. That end of the business kind of just took off and I decided to make the switch,” she said.
The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe has a full line of quilting fabric that they sell along with quilting kits and finished quilts. They offer quilt assembly and previously offered quilting classes before COVID-19.
When the pandemic hit in March, Knapt was forced to close her doors. She was not able to reopen her business until August.
“It affected my livelihood big time. I lost about five months of steady business. My classes came to an end and the doors were closed,” said Knapt.
According to Knapt, once she did reopen her doors, business picked up quickly. Many of Knapt’s regulars had been quilting at home during quarantine and were then able to bring their works into the shop to be assembled. She was also able to offer some small quilting classes upon reopening.
“Once we opened, it was full steam ahead with all of the quilts being dropped off for us to assemble. So that’s really how I’ve been able to keep it all going. I sell the fabric, I teach the classes, I assemble the quilts… so it’s kind of a one stop everything is done here,” she said.
Throughout the pandemic, The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe did not receive any COVID-19 grants or funding.
“I had no assistance at all. You just pull back and you wait it out and, fortunately for me, we have very loyal customers here. They are the ones that are supporting this business. They couldn’t wait for us to open back up, they were in touch with us the entire time that we were closed and we tried to pick up where we left off,” said Knapt.
With the 25 percent capacity restrictions now in place from Gov. Charlie Baker, Knapt had to stop her quilting classes again. Before the pandemic, the shop offered several two hour classes with 12 people per class. Customers could come in and buy fabric at the shop and then learn how to sew and work on their projects once a week.
“We’re hoping that when COVID is over we can go back to the capacity of 12, but right now you can’t,” said Knapt.
The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe is now open and following all COVID-19 regulations. Knapt said she knows that the loyalty of her customers is what kept her going throughout the pandemic.
“I was fortunate because my business was established for 20 years so I had that loyalty out there, so that’s what kept me going. If I was a brand new business, it wouldn’t have worked,” she said.
Both The Herbarium and Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe currently have updated COVID-19 hours. The Herbarium is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe is open Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. When quilting classes can resume they will be open regular evenings again, said Knapt.
The unique Chicopee businesses are now looking ahead to 2021 with hope and excitement. Evans said he is working on revamping and redoing The Herbarium’s website to make it easier to navigate, along with working with the Chicopee Downtown Partnership to help market and promote downtown Chicopee. Knapt is hoping that COVID-19 can soon come to an end and that her business can return to normalcy.
“I hope we can go back to our full classes and just try to pick up where we left off with COVID. We’re looking to go forward, I’m not looking to close that’s for sure. We’re not going anywhere,” she said.
Those interested in learning more about The Herbarium are encouraged to visit their website at https://www.theherbarium.com/. Those interested in learning more about Bayberry Quilt and Gift Shoppe can visit their website at https://www.bayberryquilts.com/.