News - We're Opening Our First Ever Brick & Mortar

- A Dream Comes To Fruition -

After several years of outdoor markets, festivals and popup shops, I am finally ready to launch my first ever retail store. This idea for a retail/studio concept store has been kicking around in my head for a few years however this dream felt daunting and quite frankly, likely would have remained just a dream if not for Entrepreneurship for All (EForAll) A huge “Thank You!” to Miguelina Peralta, Jose Castro and Margie Breault.

Last May, at one of my market events, I was approached by the Director of EForAll who was hoping to recruit small business owners for a year long Business Accelerator - a free, one-year program offering a unique combination of immersive business training, mentorship and access to an extended professional network.

Miguelina was very personable and engaging, she made a convincing argument for why I should apply - so I took her card and completed the application. To be honest I thought… “well that’s that” I never expected to hear back, let alone be accepted into the program.

Needless to say the program has been just the boost in confidence that I needed to take next steps towards making my retail dreams a reality.

The vision for my retail/studio concept store would help support not only my own work but the work of other local handmade artists. My store would have a retail component in the front and a small production area in the back which will serve as space to manage small batch production for my range of bags and accessories, but also could be used to host workshops and other community centered events.

I love the idea of building a community - this is the one thing I will miss the most about not doing in person shows, is the new friendships and support from my maker friends. I hope however I can create a store that encourages community, by supporting other business owners in a space where they can share experiences through teaching opportunities offered with our workshop series and support each other thru the sale of our work.

I am beyond thrilled that Sarah Bertochi - Handmade will be opening our first ever retail store April 1st, 2023. We are located at 63A Main Street, Hudson, MA