Looking Back

Iby Jennie Reichman

One day this past November, Karen came to me around lunch time and said excitedly, “Four of the past shop managers are here at the same time! Let’s take a picture!” Those four people are Alison Macrae, Liza King, Gemma Champoli and, of course, Karen Zamojski (the current manager). I snapped the photo and then we got to talking about how this year is the 30th anniversary of the founding of Experienced Goods; I knew each of the above people had a story to tell that together would paint a colorful picture of the shop’s history and ongoing journey to support Brattleboro Area Hospice, and that, like so much about Experienced Goods, it was a perfect storm of opportunity.

It all started with the spark of an idea Alison had on a visit to her brother in Scotland. It was the mid-80s; Alison and Kris McDermet had just joined the Hospice board and were on the fundraising committee.

Hospice was a tiny organization back then, and fundraisers took the form of tag sales Alison and Kris organized a few times a year and held in Putney and once, a benefit cruise on the Belle of Brattleboro. Donations of clothing and household goods for the tag sales came mostly from Hospice volunteers and involved a lot of schlepping, aided by people with trucks, like Kris’s husband Stewart, as well as Dan Snow and Fred Homer.

Then as now, donors were generous; according to Alison, they loved supporting Hospice because although they might not have had extra money to give, they had plenty of re-sellable clothes, housewares, books and furniture that would raise money for the organization. The tag sales were a grand success, and donations were increasing, necessitating the need to rent a storage space in the former Estey Organ buildings on Birge Street.

Now back to that trip to Scotland. While there, Alison noticed the abundance of “charity shops” in even the smallest towns, all happily co-existing and raising money for their respective causes.  “Why not in Brattleboro?”, she thought. Back stateside, she did a little research. She talked to the folks running the CABA (Community Action Brattleboro Area) shop on Flat Street, and to the Hospice thrift store in Northampton, MA. She scouted out available retail spaces in Brattleboro, and came upon a one-room storefront on the Harmony Parking Lot. With a $5,000 donation from a Hospice board member, they were able to rent the space and set up shop, staffed entirely by volunteers.

Alison’s husband came up with the name Experienced Goods, and Alison remembers that she used to take all of the donated clothes home, wash and iron them, then attach tags to the garments with safety pins, a task that, although labor intensive, seems almost quaint given the volume of clothing that passes through the store these days. Alison did all of this work without pay, as a volunteer. As the shop continued to grow, she approached the board about funding her job as a paid position, and the first Experienced Goods manager was created, as yet the only paid employee, with a staff of volunteers.

In 1990, Alison’s life evolved to a place where she felt she needed to move on from Experienced Goods. After an intensive search for a new manager, Liza King was hired because, as Alison says, she was “kind, calm, creative, very centered and community-minded,” a good fit for Hospice. She also had a background as a psychotherapist, a valuable skill for interacting with donors, volunteers and the public. Liza is all of those things and more: She describes herself as an avid lifelong thrifter and loved the idea of the ecological, economical, and community benefits of a thrift store supporting Hospice. She exudes compassion and an ability to listen carefully; she talks about falling in love with the older volunteers and how they gave of themselves and their time. As an artist, Liza thrived on the opportunity to organize the shop and make it beautiful, to appreciate the history and journey of the objects and clothing being donated and sold. This is a legacy that continues today; anyone who shops at Experienced Goods knows how beautiful and inviting the store is.

For many years Liza was the only paid staff member, but eventually an assistant manager was hired, and then a few other employees were added. And the shop was bursting at the seams! It became necessary to expand the shop’s physical footprint. Walls came down, space was created, and then again and again. Four expansions and over 10 years later, Liza realized that she was ready to move on to a new phase in her life as a stained glass artist, and, most recently, as the proprietor of an Airbnb. Does she miss managing Experienced Goods? “A part of me does; I gave a lot of myself to Hospice, and I loved the creativity and setting up systems and structure. I think a lot of what I did continues to be influential today.”

 One of the volunteers who helped Liza create a beautiful store is Gemma Champoli. Gemma has a background in fundraising for non-profits and is also an artist with an eagle eye for found objects and their potential. She fit in seamlessly as a volunteer and then went on to become a part-time employee working with Liza. After Liza left, Gemma co-managed the store and eventually became the sole full-time manager. By this time, there were several paid employees and a full roster of volunteers to juggle, and Gemma’s background in administration came in handy. The shop’s physical space had expanded as far as was possible, and because the business continued to grow, the momentous decision was made to move the store to its current location on Flat Street. “That was my legacy,” says Gemma. “Creating the move to Flat Street, envisioning an inviting, functioning store growing out of an unfinished space at the bottom of the parking garage.” Not only was she instrumental in creating the physical space, she advocated for better working conditions for staff, put more efficient administrative systems in place and made staff, volunteer and shopper safety a priority. “I was making order out of chaos,” she recalls. “I am a problem solver, I like change and paying attention to detail. The shop is like an alive thing, and I love creating the beauty and order that makes it special.” When the new space was finally ready, a gala opening night kicked off the next phase of Experienced Goods. Gemma remembers feeling a lot of pride that night, on behalf of herself and the employees and volunteers who saw it to fruition.

But wait! Just when you thought no more expansion was possible….enter Experienced Goods Home Furnishings! Coming full circle and taking over the original space on Elliot Street, a specialty store featuring better furniture and home goods was launched in 2010.  Karen Zamojski, who had worked as a volunteer and then as a part-time employee starting in 2009, became the manager of the Home Furnishings store while Gemma continued to manage the Flat Street store. As is so often the case with Experienced Goods, job descriptions and responsibilities are fluid, our skills interchangeable. Even as Karen skillfully managed the Elliot Street store, Gemma found herself being drawn there more often and feeling that her talent for creating beautiful spaces was better served there. So, switcheroo, Karen took over the management position at the Flat Street store.  Karen is someone who loves a challenge and takes it on with bottomless good humor and panache, so the transition felt like a win-win for everyone. She has a natural talent for communication, kindness and inclusiveness, bolstered by a can-do attitude and a good deal of flexibility. After all, she spent many years as the owner of the Putney Diner and the now defunct Brattleboro institution, The Mole’s Eye. “The cool stuff that is donated here and the stories of who it has belonged to and how it got to us, none of that fits into a predictable box, and neither do I,” she says.  Nor do the employees and volunteers she manages, or the folks who shop at EG. A conversation with Karen means that you will have her undivided attention and what you say will be heard and taken to heart. “The main thing I think I bring to Experienced Goods is helping to build confidence in people, helping them to reach for parts of themselves they didn’t know were there. This job has certainly done that for me!”

In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused major flood damage to the Flat Street store and the Experienced Goods base of operations moved to the Home Furnishings store while repairs were underway. When the Flat St. store reopened several months later, the Elliot Street store was closed due to the financial hit sustained after such  a long gap in income from the primary location. Karen continues to manage our now consolidated shop, and Gemma has transitioned to Special Projects Manager, a position that has brought us the delightful Holiday Pop-Up Shop at the Brooks House for three holiday seasons.

The thread that runs through each of these wonderful women’s stories is creativity, generosity of spirit, a willingness to take risks and a love for the quirky world that is thrifting. Did Alison foresee an Experienced Goods that fills a large part of the transportation center and raises the funds for Hospice that it does today? Definitely not, but what a fine journey she began. There are days when Experienced Goods feels like it just sails along on its own volition with no help from us, like a ship in a good tailwind. But in reality, we who work here are the tiller, guided and held on course by strong women who take the helm and bring us through the perfect storm.