Great Barrington — In a Facebook post on Monday, October 9, Barbara Faecher Watkins, owner of Evergreen Fine American Crafts, announced that she will be retiring at the end of March.
Watkins started the store 44 years ago at 9 Railroad Street, where GB9 is presently. She subsequently moved the store to 34 Railroad Street before the store opened at its location at 291 Main Street, where it has been for the past 34 years.
The store sells a variety of jewelry, wearable art, pottery, stained glass, woodworker creations, and other items made by craftspeople. “My husband, Bob, was a potter, and I used to help him decorate the pots he made,” Watkins told The Berkshire Edge. “But it was a really hard way to make a living. Forty-four years ago, we saw this space available on Railroad Street.”
Watkins said that both she and her husband did not have any money to open the store space, which is why she borrowed $2,000 from her parents. “That paid for carpeting and the wood for Bob to make all of these displays which we still have,” Watkins said. “We got everything on consignment from friends of ours that were craftspeople. I didn’t even know anything about business. We didn’t even have boxes, and I don’t even think we even had a lot of bags.”
Watkins said that, at the start of her business, she did not even pay herself a salary in order to start the business. “In the beginning, people came into the store and said, ‘Oh, this is lovely! But you’ll never make it in Great Barrington. People just don’t understand things that are handmade and they don’t understand crafts.’ But I told them, ‘Well, this is what I love. This is what I do. And I’m going to make it work.’”
Watkins said that “persistent listening to my customers and being really nice to them” has been the key to the longevity of her business. “We wrap everything that we sell, whether it is a $5 item or a $500 item,” she said. “I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. It has done wonders because we still have some of my original customers from 43 years ago. Over the years, many of my customers have become friends. It’s been a lot of hard work, which is why I think Evergreen has lasted for such a long time.”
Watkins said that her customers are what she will miss the most when she retires. “With many of my customers, I know their names, and they know my name,” she said. “I’ll also miss dealing with the craftspeople.”
When asked what has changed in Great Barrington since she opened, Watkins said “everything.” She explained, “I think people’s attitudes towards what they buy has changed, and I think the direction of what businesses carry has really changed. A lot of the people that come into Great Barrington to shop all have very good taste. I do think that people should be conscious of what they are buying. If something lasts, they don’t have to constantly have to replace it or throw it away. I just saw someone this morning who came to my house and she said that she still has all of the things that she purchased at Evergreen over the years. The reason why she still had them was because what she purchased looks beautiful and has held up over the years.”
While she is planning to retire at the end of March, Watkins said that she is hoping that someone will take over the business from her. “If you love things that are handmade and are made in America, and if you really care about the goods that you sell, this would be a good business for you,” she said. “I’m very sad that I will be retiring. But I’ve heard from so many people about what this store has meant to them and what I have meant to them. It brings me joy, but it also brings me great sadness.”
For more information about Evergreen Fine American Crafts, visit its website.
Watkins is not the only downtown store owner to announce their retirement or their store’s closure this year. Back in January, Annie Minifie, owner of Byzantium, announced that she was closing her long-running apparel and accessories store on 32 Railroad Street, which she opened in 1979. In April, Walgreens announced that it would close its store on 197 Main Street. In late August, Twoflower Cafe co-owners Rupert Jones and Sandy Mathews announced that their cafe was shutting down after two years on 34 Railroad Street. Also in late August, Fuel co-owners Will and Robin Curletti announced that, after 19 years, they would be putting their business, located at 293 Main Street, up for sale.
