Doing Business in Shelburne,
At Home in Charlotte
by Rowan Beck,
August 26, 2010, page 12-13.....

Did you know that at least seven businesses in Shelburne are owned and run by women from Charlotte? Right near the green there are five: Jamie Two Coats, the toy store in the old library building, owned by Nancy Barringer and her husband, Hop; The Shelburne Country Store, owned by Deb Mayfield and her husband Steve; Ink. Ink. Fine Stationery, owned by Karla Toensing; and The Flying Pig Bookstore, originally located in Charlotte, owned and operated by Josie Leavitt and Elizabeth Bluemle. North on Route 7 at Tennybrook Square are La Villa, a delicious family restaurant owned and operated by Jill Spell and her husband Adam, and Show Me Videos, owned by Carol Gadhue. The seventh, Chez Boheme, is the most recent addition, was created by Jenny Blanchard just two months ago.
These seven women are very different but all community oriented. When asked, “Why Shelburne?” they had very similar answers. They enjoy a short commute, the quaintness of the town, the lower rents than in Burlington, and they are not interested in competing with the big box stores. Most importantly, they like the strong business community and personal feel Shelburne has to offer. Jenny Blanchard of Chéz Boheme described it best when asked about starting her business. “It was like having dominoes fall into place.”
Nancy Barringer purchased Jamie Two Coats in 2006 from Lin Stone. Originally she and Hop, who both have backgrounds in pottery, were looking for a studio. They had moved here from Warren, Vermont, where they had an open studio, and wanted to do something similar. When Nancy heard that the toy store was to be sold, she jumped at the opportunity. She felt it was hard to find a child-friendly place and wanted to keep the “old-world toy store” feel alive. She eventually outgrew her space next to the Bearded Frog and moved into the old library building, right on the town green. Her favorite part of her business is the kids, listening to what they want, and watching them grow.
Her daughter Lucy, 7, loves to mark up the catalogues for what they should sell. Her twin sister, Celi, thinks, “It’s cool to have a toy store.” It is definitely a family affair. Her daughters love to put out the new toys and her son, Sam, 15 comes to work as well. Hop spends more time in the summer helping but in the fall he works in the art department at UVM.
Deb Mayfield and her husband, Steve, moved to Charlotte from Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 2004. Deb dived right into community activities. She was the vice president of the Charlotte Central School PTO for two years and also served as secretary on the Friends of CVU. Both she and her husband have backgrounds in retail and had always dreamed of retiring and owning a country store. “We used to take vacations to look at country stores all over the northeast. Our dream came a little early when we returned from our longest vacation ever and saw that The Shelburne Country Store was for sale.” They closed on the business in July 2007. “I love my commute; it’s so close to home.”
Like Nancy, Deb likes watching her young customers grow up. “The same kids come in after school, and there is a group of moms who bring their kids for creemees.” She too gets the entire family involved. “Steve’s specialty is the web design, and he has rebuilt the entire site. We are now shipping internationally.” She laughs as she says, “My son Tylor runs a tight ship! I could leave him in charge.” Deb loves the business community of Shelburne. A large portion of her business comes from Charlotte. She enjoys meeting people from all over who make annual trips to Shelburne and make sure they stop in.
Stories like this continue. Jill Spell, a nutrition major at UVM, purchased La Villa from the bank nearly 15 years ago. It had been the Pizza Cellar and she continued with the pizza in the beginning because it was a known entity. Soon she and her husband began changing the menu, turning the restaurant into a bistro. She, too, enjoys watching the kids grow up. “I love to see the dads come in for dinner before the Father Daughter Dance.” She also notes the tremendous support she gets from her Charlotte customers. She even purchased her house in Charlotte from a customer. She has two children, Muriel, 7, and Alden, 9.
Carol Gadhue has lived in Charlotte all her life. She bought her business, now called Show Me Videos two years ago and moved it down the road a year later. She said, “I’ve always loved the movie business and now I own this little piece of it. All my customers are great. I love to help find the right movie for the right person.”
Josie and Elizabeth moved to Charlotte from the Upper West side of New York, planning to take their time figuring out what they were going to do. Then suddenly the Arts Café in the old post office on Ferry Road at the corner of Route 7 became available. The Flying Pig Bookstore was born on November 23, 1996. Within ten years they had outgrown their space and “moved to Shelburne September 12, 2006. It didn’t feel right to move on the 11th.” Elizabeth, whom Josie refers to as the “heart of the business,” ordered all of the books. “She was the one who set the tone.” They, like Nancy, listen to the kids to hear what the new hot trends are. She loves it when a kid comes in and says, “You’re the reason I like reading!” Referring to the Shelburne business community, Josie says, “We all work together, no one seems to be competing. We send people to other stores and businesses.”
Both Jenny Blanchard and Karla Toensing echoed the thoughts on the business community. Jenny got a kick start with the opportunity to sell antiques for Alan Simon, the previous owner of La Patina. People liked what she was bringing in, so when La Patina went up for sale she decided to move across the street into the old pump house and start her own business, Chez Boheme. Her store holds an eclectic mix of colorful furniture that she has painted herself or had upholstered, paintings and various items. She enjoys working with color and the “paradox of mixing things that don’t necessarily go together but look delightful.” She enjoys the energy in Shelburne and all the serious businesses that have a “community-focused way” about them. She continues to send people to La Patina if they can’t find what they are looking for at her shop.
Karla Toensing of Ink. Ink. agrees that the business community is “awesome.” She likes that it is “mostly women who try not to overlap. They have respectful relationships and help each other out.” Shelburne has the personal feel that she was looking for when she moved the business out of her Greenbush Road house in Charlotte.
All of these women love the sense of community. Many have continued to be involved in the Charlotte community as well. Josie emcees the CCS Variety Show every year; Karla donates prizes to many school events, and Jill Spell has supplied endless amounts of food to the PTO. All chose to live in Charlotte and a large part of their business comes from Charlotte. Jenny said, “It wouldn’t have worked had I not lived in Charlotte and had a barn to store all my things.” Karla, like Josie and Elizabeth, moved her business to Shelburne seeking more space and continues to feel support from her Charlotte customers. Charlotte and Shelburne create a nice balance for each other. The business owners all appreciate the rural qualities of Charlotte and the cooperative business atmosphere of Shelburne.