Editor’s note: This article was contributed to The Edge by 1Berkshire.
More than 10,000 businesses call Berkshire County home. Our region has long been an inviting environment for entrepreneurs, from home-based makers to industrial manufactures. The entrepreneurial spirit of our local economy is fostered by the support, guidance, and resources provided by organizations such as EforAll, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), and 1Berkshire. Many of our Berkshire businesses, around 2,200, are independently owned with fewer than 50 employees, and this small-scale business is good for our community. With the holiday season on the horizon, and November 26th’s Small Business Saturday just around the corner, let us all be reminded of the importance of shopping locally.
1Berkshire asked a few local businesses to share their thoughts and experiences about the upcoming #ShopLocal season. Their responses provide an intimate snapshot into their recent experiences, challenges, and marketing goals. (Read the unabridged stories here.)
Dory & Ginger
Home goods and gift store in Pittsfield
Laurie Tierney, Owner

The current market in the Berkshires (and everywhere) is a little scary. The economy is tough to predict, along with, of course, flu and COVID season. My recent, biggest challenge is that I lost my business partner to another career, and like a lot of businesses, staffing has been tricky. We are open six days a week, and still customers say it’s not enough. But our success is that we are next to a thriving hotel that had a great season…location, location, location!
I have probably over-shopped for the holidays. I know I went a little nuts on the books (my passion). I always get excited by new products and ideas. My manager Kate has been a huge help – you can see a lot of our fun ideas on our Instagram. Social media is our biggest marketing tool for the upcoming season. I’m feeling a little too cautious to spend advertising dollars this year. Maybe next summer I’ll be able to do more.
Dory & Ginger is a really fun place to shop, and we have parking in the back of Hotel on North. Come pay us a visit!

Shire Alchemy
Online shop featuring magical wares for modern living
Kira Staubach-Smith, Owner
Small business owners experience lots of ups and downs, but when I started Shire Alchemy I was welcomed by the community and that has made my

entrepreneurial journey much lighter. Knowing that there is a whole community to support and uplift me keeps me grounded during the more difficult times and makes the successes so much better!
Preparing for the upcoming shopping season is one of my favorite times of year. There is magic in the air with the turning of seasons and the excitement of celebrating the holidays, which is so inspiring to an artist and maker such as myself. This year I plan on offering limited edition seasonal boxes, like the Yule Box that will help celebrate the season while easing stress.
Since my business is only a few years old, I have only experienced two holiday seasons. The first taught me to approach the season with care, thoughtfulness, and planning. The second taught me that no two will be alike, but a focused approach will help ease the stress. My marketing efforts will include a mixture of in-person events, email marketing, social media/digital advertising, and select print advertising. I will also offer a lot of social media and blog content that will help reach our whole community at no cost. One of Shire Alchemy’s values is to provide knowledge and information that aids our community to create growth. Everyone deserves access to knowledge that might aid them in their daily lives.
Berkshire Mountain Distillers
Award-winning Craft Spirit Distillery in Sheffield
Michael Kowalski, National Director of Sales and Hospitality

Thankfully, being a longstanding maker of high quality spirits with a focus on the local community and businesses has kept our products and services in high demand. It’s certainly an interesting time for us as a business; like everyone, we are navigating the supply chain and market, and are adapting. It has given us the ability to reassess operations and to make some big changes. For instance, we did a lot of work in the spring to make our distillery in Sheffield more of a destination for locals and visitors. We built an outdoor pavilion and worked with Berkshire Busk and local restaurants and food trucks to offer live music and food to accompany our craft cocktail bar on the weekends.
Our Cultural Cocktail initiative this summer was both our biggest recent success and challenge. We coordinated with 15 cultural organizations and partnered them with 30 hotels and restaurants to feature customized cocktails, which was no small feat. The program helped local hotels, bars and restaurants promote the cultural organizations that the cocktails were created for and allowed us to support those hospitality partners via training their staff to make these cocktails. It also gave the cultural organizations opportunities to drive business back to those hotels, bars, and restaurants. It was such a successful initiative for us that we are already planning on how to make next year even bigger and better!
The holidays are always a busy time in the beverage industry! We are also in the midst of celebrating our 15th anniversary, so this holiday season is doubly important for us. For the holidays, we have a 6-year-old barrel of our Smoke and Peat Rum that hits our shelves on November 1st, a fresh batch of our coveted Maple Bourbon is in the process of being bottled, and we are re-releasing our Samuel Adams Cask Finished Bourbon on December 1st. We’ve also been doing a lot of work with our local chambers, retailers, and restaurants to support our community, economy, and culture in the Berkshires. Keep an eye out for us at your local holiday events!

Roxies Barkery
Boutique offering handmade all-natural treats, chews, toys, accessories and more for dogs
McKenna Burzimati, Owner and Founder

The current market for our business is very high! 90% of American households consider dogs a part of their family which means they want to give their furry family members a great and healthy life. Roxies Barkery was established to help pet owners do just that. We make only the best all-natural treats and carry only the highest quality pet products. Roxies Barkery provides pet owners the comfort of knowing they don’t need to worry if the products they are shopping for are okay for their pets or set aside time to read lengthy ingredient labels. We treat our pupstomers like our very own pets!
Being a business owner is a challenge. Keeping up with all the changes in the world like COVID, price increases, supply and demand is a constant adjustment. I believe owning a business is a constant learning curve and we continue to learn as we grow! I absolutely love what I do and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Seeing so many happy wagging tails walking in and out my door every day is a feeling I can’t describe.
We recently took Roxies Barkery from a home business to a brick-and-mortar location, but we have quickly outgrown our space already, specifically when it comes to events. This is our first holiday season in a physical location, so I am learning as I go. We have done a Christmas countdown calendar for dogs the past two years, and they have always been a hit, so we are super excited to do those again this year. We will also offer many other holiday items and organize a few holiday events at our store. In addition, we will be vending at a few of the biggest holiday markets in the Berkshires this year which we are very excited to be a part of.
We would love anyone reading this to bring your pups into our Barkery! We guarantee your pups will not be disappointed with our “barking good biscuits!”

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The common thread running through all these stories is community. Owning, running, and playing an integral role in a business is no small undertaking and must be fueled by more than entrepreneurial ambition. A key ingredient is love of a shared place – the Berkshires. This devotion can be experienced with every locally made and sold item. This holiday season, we hope you’ll do your part to support the Berkshire business community by shopping locally.