Where Culture and Commerce Connect
By Kathleen Mitchell
Robin Helfand says the Berkshires are a mecca for small, independent businesses to develop and thrive.
She owns Robin’s Candy Shop in Great Barrington and just opened a second retail store called You Are Here – Robin’s Finds from the Berkshires and Beyond. She also works as a consultant for startups and small businesses that want to grow.
Helfand moved her candy store from New York to the Berkshires in June 2008. She spent a long time researching possible locations before deciding on Great Barrington. “I view it as the independent cultural, culinary, and merchant center of the area,” she said. “The customer base is looking specifically to shop locally, so it’s an incubator for small startups where people can grow their business in a very supportive environment.”
Ralph Petillo agrees. He’s the director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, and says what he loves about doing business in the Berkshires is the number of unique artisans and small shops that thrive there.
They are supported by tourists who flock to the area three seasons of the year to take advantage of cultural and outdoor attractions. Lenox alone boasts more than a dozen art galleries and is home to Tanglewood; Shakespeare and Co.; Edith Wharton’s restored mansion, the Mount; and Ventford Hall Museum of the Gilded Age, among others.
Petillo says the plethora of cultural venues draws a steady stream of traffic from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. “People come here looking for individual products, so the Berkshires have become filled with shops run by people who produce them,” he said. “Shopping in Lenox is like strolling through a world bazaar. There is everything from European fashions to old-fashioned mom-and-pop stores to world-famous shops.”
The Berkshires also offer also a number of resources to help fledging businesses. Michael Supranowicz, president and CEO of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce in Pittsfield, says it’s not difficult to open a business in a small community. “It’s much easier to navigate the municipal regulations, and there is an abundance of people to help get businesses up and running,” he said, referring to free services offered by Berkshire Enterprises and the UMass Small Business Development Center Network’s Berkshire Regional Office.
