Main Street

By JANICE B EETLE

Special to The Republican

It makes Richard Madowitz feel hopeful when he walks down Main Street in Northampton and sees bright red Cedar Chest bags swinging in the hands of shoppers.

That’s because Madowitz is the shop’s owner, and he is particularly proud of the anchor store in Thornes Marketplace that turned 75 in 2022.

One of three co-owners of Thornes as well, Madowitz says Cedar Chest had record-breaking sales in 2021 and 2022, and he credits the community for those statistics.

“Many people wanted to support Main Street and downtown retailing and restaurants, and there was an understanding that if everyone bought everything from Amazon there would be no downtown left, which is accurate,” he says.

“We are entirely dependent on local community support. Without that, Cedar Chest and Thornes do not exist.”

As Madowitz says, Cedar Chest is more than a gift shop. Its tagline is “Home. Body. Heart.” The products on its two floors speak to that.

The store stocks everything from a selection of curated soaps to toys, kitchen and bar wares, cozy loungewear, seasonal gift items and collectibles, along with what Madowitz believes is the largest card and stationery collection in the region.

Morenon

CONTINUES FROM PAGE L8 are experts at resilience. They have ridden the waves caused by COVID, figuring out how to safely provide food to our communities during the darkest days of the pandemic and continually changing circumstances ever since.

They have jumped in as partners in the fight against hunger, which has only grown more urgent throughout the pandemic. And they are making changes to their crop plans, growing practices, and business plans so they

In 2010, when Madowitz purchased the store with the late Douglas Kohl, of Kohl Construction, though, there was little to no inventory at all.

Originally situated across Main Street beginning in 1947, Cedar Chest moved into Thornes in 1977. That was when Brinkley and Gordon Thorne, and their wives, Mazie Cox and Annie Woodhull, purchased the McCallum’s department store building and launched Thornes Marketplace.

The store changed hands briefly during the ThornesCox ownership era and was troubled and deeply in need of rescue when Madowitz and Kohl stepped in.

“The inventory had been sold out,” Madowitz recalls.

“We immediately injected capital, bought a lot of inventory and started hiring additional staff to broaden the level of customer service.”

The vision back then was to create a one-of-a-kind, local and compelling gift shop with health and body departments and home décor. The kitchen department came later, along with several expansions that added over 2,000 square feet to the upper floor of the shop.

“We’re always innovating,” Madowitz says. “We have an excellent buying department.”

Merchandise manager Lauren Gunther has been selecting merchandise for Cedar Chest since 2010. She says she always veers away from typical products you see on many shop shelves and hunts instead for special items you can’t find anywhere else.

Window displays by Carrie Lenard, of Lenard Design can be more resilient in the face of a changing climate. The second piece of good news is that they are not alone. There’s a web of support for local farms, including the state, local nonprofits, and the thousands of consumers who choose local. CISA works every day to strengthen the threads of that web by helping farmers secure grants and providing them with expert advice, building relationships between local businesses, and helping shoppers connect to local farms. Our work happens alongside, and often in partnership with, efforts that are focused on land pres-

“Our staff are personable and have creative ideas on how to help each customer, and the scale of the store allows shoppers lots of gift-buying options.”

Group, rival those you see on Fifth Avenue, Madowitz adds, and have given Cedar Chest an edge, drawing shoppers inside to explore.

Once in the door, high-quality customer service, staff with long histories and a deep understanding of products and clientele set the store apart.

“Our staff are personable and have creative ideas on how to help each customer,” Madowitz says. “And the scale of the store allows shoppers lots of gift-buying options.”

Posts on social media lend credence to this theory: “This ervation, fighting hunger, environmental action, and food justice.

Local farms are at the center of a healthy local food system, and a big part of why many of us love to call this place home. CISA is committed to supporting them, and we hope you’ll join us! Learn more about local farms and where you can find them, advocacy efforts, and more, at buylocalfood.org

Claire Morenon is communications manager at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA); to learn more about CISA and its mission, go online to Buylocalfood.org shop is your no-fail solution for personal gifts for even the hardest humans to shop for;” and “THE best place to find a gift for basically anyone! This store has no problem letting you feel luxurious without destroying your wallet.”

Jody Doele, Thornes marketing manager and co-owner, says Cedar Chest has about a 4.5 overall rating on Google, and, like those who post on social media, she has a Cedar Chest story — and “review.”

“What haven’t I bought at Cedar Chest? Table linens, Christmas crackers, loungewear, things for the garden, socks, barware, and about 1,000 cards,” she says. “Being in close proximity to it (and all the other stores here) is one of the perks of my job. After 75 years, Cedar Chest is an institution, and we are grateful its home is here in Thornes.”

Both Thornes Marketplace and Cedar Chest’s leaders give back to the community as part of their core mission. Cedar Chest donates items to the Northampton Senior Center and Cancer Connection thrift shop, and it also raised significant funds for Grow Food Northampton’s SNAP Match program. Madowitz — and Thornes — are also supporters of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and have long been the largest private business supporter of the Downtown Northampton Association. “A strong, vibrant retail offering on Main Street is helpful to Thornes,” he says, adding with a smile, “The more shopping the better.”

Launch

CONTINUES FROM PAGE L1

His sense of marketing developed through this entrepreneurial effort by managing to sell something he and his classmates did not have access to in the Bahamas.

“Marketing is telling people about things they would love to have if they knew it existed,” Connolly said. “This is what happens when you are an entrepreneur. You start to assess and see how you can move them down the path you want them to take.”

However, this small, yet innovative business effort was just the start of Connolly’s journey into becoming the owner of multiple enterprises and the community asset that he is known as today.

Connolly’s definition of an entrepreneur is someone who identifies a problem and builds a system to solve it.

With this strategy in mind, Connolly and his wife, Adrienne Connolly, co-founded Stinky Cakes in 2006 to assist parents of newborn babies in having a bundle of diapers on hand when they bring their children home. The business also serves as a way to make gift-giving fun.

Stand Out Truck, which launched in March 2020 a few days before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns hit, assists people, business owners, politicians and fellow entrepreneurs in getting their message out with digital mobile billboard trucks. Because several businesses and schools shut down during the pandemic, Connolly used this opportunity to help high school students in the region celebrate their accomplishments properly and safely.

Connolly managed to raise money for the new business while providing a solution to several graduates and families who were worried they would be unable to properly celebrate this milestone.

“A true entrepreneur has no problems and finds a way to get things done,” he said. Fast forward to the present, and Stand Out Truck currently takes clients in Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York.

On Stand Out Truck’s website, Connolly’s book, “Launch and Stand Out,” is another resource entrepreneurs can use for information and tips on how to kill procrastination and build their home-based business

Connolly is aided by his design team, which helps him create the advertisement that will be placed on the truck before it hits the road, and an editorial team, which crafts a story about the client and their business and posts it online.

Stand Out Truck employee

Justin Peritore, who operates one of the two trucks, said he is pleased to be working alongside Connolly.

“I’m just grateful to actually have the opportunity to sit in the seat and watch this business develop as I’m there to help support it,” he said.

“Not too many people get the opportunity to sit next to somebody that’s ready to take over the world.”

An alumnus of Holyoke Community College who received his associate’s degree in visual arts from the school in 2004, Connolly not only regularly visits the school’s marketing and business classes to speak about entrepreneurship but also has a scholarship with the college’s foundation.

The official title of the annual scholarship is the StandOutTruck Celeste Berger Annual Scholarship, which provides $800 to students majoring in business management, marketing, graphic arts or communications and have demonstrated a strong work ethic through community service or employment.

Connolly met Celeste Berger, an admissions counselor at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, when he first arrived in the United States. Berger managed to help him take a class focusing on the elements of design at the school, which costs $800. Because of this kind gesture, which has stuck with him, Connolly named the scholarship in her honor.

“I know that’s not a lot to some, but I know it’s a game changer to many,” he said.

“HCC was the first place that I felt at home and was the first place that I belonged. My heart is tied to HCC.”

Connolly also met the late Michael Kittredge II, the founder of the Yankee Candle Co. in Massachusetts, during his time at Holyoke Com- munity College. Connolly considers Kittredge a major inspiration in his own business ambitions. “He served as a mentor,” Connolly said.

“Any time I had a question, I would call him. I still have his number on my phone.”

HCC President Christina Royal thanks Connolly for his ongoing support, describing him as a kind-hearted guy with a smile on his face.

“He shares his story of growth and success, including highs and lows, in the most authentic way and genuinely cares about helping others,” she said. “As an alumnus of HCC, he believes strongly in ‘paying it forward’ and gives his time and talents to those who can benefit from his support. Myke is truly an asset to our region.”

Royal’s remarks came after she awarded Connolly with the 2022 Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes those who have performed remarkable service to HCC and have enriched the value of the student experience, during the college’s 75th commencement last June.

Connolly intends to continue running Stand Out Truck and to conduct Marketing and Cupcakes, a networking event that teaches marketing methods to 30 to 50 prospective businesses each month in order to help them get more clients.

However, for someone like Connolly, there is always a fresh concept on the horizon that the public will benefit from.

“As long as I am on this planet, I am going to be an entrepreneur,” Connolly said. “There is always going to be a problem that needs to be solved. I am here to make an impact and part of that is showing people that they can be their true authentic selves and building an audience that believes they can do well.”

His advice to other entrepreneurs is, “Create Dope Stuff and Stay Sucka Free.”

“What dope means is to deliver others positive energy experiences, so something that’s going to make people feel good,” Connolly said. “As for the suckers, you’ll want to stay away from the negative people.”

FOR 90 YEARS

Celebrating our 90 th year as a fourth-generation, familyowned business — and one of the state’s original “green” builders Fontaine has constructed and renovated some of Springfield’s most historic landmarks and state-of-the-art facilities. We are proud to have helped shape the face of the city and look forward to building on that legacy.