NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can find antique furniture, homemade lavender soaps, used records, tchotchkes, baked goods and clothing all under one roof on Main Street.

 

Keith Bona began Berkshire Emporium 17 years ago and has expanded the business considerably since to take up more space in the historic Empire building on the corner of Main and Holden streets. 

 

A few years ago, he started subleasing a space within the store — the bakery/cafe — and tearing down walls to create a large and eclectic shop that sometimes has the feeling of an indoor flea market.

 

More recently, he's begun extending this concept of sharing space with other businesses. These are typically established businesses that are able to take advantage of low overhead costs — rent and a small commission to Bona for sales. Bu they don't have to pay employees, and they don't have to be in the building except to restock their shelves.

 

This is a mutual relationship, because it allows Bona to lease out space to people who know more about certain products than he does. They sell their products through Bona, who benefits from the fees he charges and from the increased traffic that those other businesses bring to the Emporium.

 

Bona calls these semi-partners "grafted micro-businesses." This is an homage to the process of grafting trees, in which a branch of one tree is fashioned onto another tree that is already growing. This allows the branch to grow where it otherwise may not.

 

"So you can have a tree that literally can grow several different kinds of fruit, as long as they're compatible," Bona said. "These are branches off the main tree, and they help the main store … they sort of all benefit from one another.

 

"It makes it a far more interesting tree than if it was just an apple tree," he concluded.

 

The main business is Berkshire Emporium and Antiques, but Bona said he will be focusing more on the Emporium part in the future. Antiques are harder to sell, and he wants to make the space "really a mix of a lot of different markets."

 

In one of the original iterations of the Berkshire Emporium, Bona rented out booths to local crafters and artisans. Over time, however, he realized that they were more hobbyists than businesspeople, and their shelves were often empty because they didn't have time to restock them.

 

This is why he decided to begin renting out space to more established businesses, who often start online and want to open a physical presence. One example is a small corner of the store that is reserved for a woman who sells soaps, lotion, and lavender. She started her business online and then rented a space from Bona, and "she's been doing extremely well."

 

"It also allows these businesses to incubate," said Bona. In other words, businesses can rent space from the Emporium and, if they become more successful, can open up their own storefront. Bona bills it as a low-cost way of experimenting with a new business.

 

Some other micro-businesses that operate out of Berkshire Emporium include a used record business and thrift clothing shop Savvy Hive, as well as Bailey's Bakery. There will soon be a mid-century modern home furnishing and clothing store underneath the bakery.

 

Bona now rents six total storefronts, including a newly vacated space. 

 

"They're all connected like a chain," he said. This allows customers to wander throughout the space, and "it's sort of an adventure" for anyone who walks in the door.