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Small City, Big Dreams

Design connoisseur Connie Griffin swapped big-city energy for Great Barrington’s quieter buzz.

By Rebecca Hardiman Photography by Matthew Sussman exclusively for The Mountains

’m a transplant,” says Manhattan-born

IConnie Gri n, owner of gri n, a funky design, vintage fashion and home concept store in Great Barrington. But she doesn’t see her move as an escape from the big bad city.

“Manhattan is my heart and this is my soul.”

More than a decade ago, Gri n was working in visual e ects and animation in New York

City when she found herself at something of a crossroads. She boldly tapped her entire 401K and gave way to three years of wanderlust.

“I lived on a friend’s couch in Paris for a few months, stayed in Austin, traveled all over,” she says. En route, she met her now-husband and gri n co-owner Paul Giroux. The pair eventually settled in Great Barrington—“I used to visit a friend here all the time and found it beautiful”— and together set out to launch gri n.

Their eclectic store, turning 12 this November, stocks all manner of old and new fashion selections and home goods—from canvas jumpsuits and slouchy handbags to curious art and handcra ed quilts from India. Basically, as its proprietor puts it, “Whatever catches my eye. When people say the shop feels curated, that it’s not just a pat experience, that really makes me happy.” Gri n’s special a nity for vintage duds dates to her childhood. “I’ve loved second-hand shopping ever since my mother used to go, back in the ’60s,” she says. “What’s really nice about being in a small community is that I know a lot of the people whose items I’ve sold—there’s a back story—so I feel like I’m shepherding pieces.”

As word got out and the store evolved, gri n moved locations ve times(!) to its current,

bless her soul Connie Gri n, (opposite) owner of gri n, a delightful vintage fashion and home concept store in Great Barrington, opens up: “NYC is my heart; this is my soul.”

primo spot on Railroad Street, abuzz with tourists, local souls and a steady stream of window-shoppers. Plus, Gri n jokes, it doesn’t hurt to be situated directly across from SoCo Creamery. Location is key, but she credits the bulk of gri n’s success to the community. “Even though it was originally a little bit out of the way, we have a great, loyal clientele—people who’ve been with us all the way through. And now we’re meeting new people, stunned they never knew about the store. We get both.”

Funny enough, what Gri n most loves about life in her adopted hometown is the exact inverse of what she most loves about big-city life. “In Manhattan, I’m energized just stepping out on the street. You open your door and you’re on, you’re in it,” she says. “In this part of the world, there’s a ton to do, of course, but you tap into a di erent energy. It’s rejuvenating, learning a part of yourself in the quietness and re ection. I’m not a maker of anything, but I so appreciate that mindset—all the local artists, farmers, chefs. There’s a wonderful creativity here, just expressed in a di erent tempo.” THE PLACE TO EXPRESS YOUR MOST RAW & AUTHENTIC SELF

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