It’s our first birthday! Well, not OIMDE itself, but to our retail venture, The Shop.
Yes, that’s correct. We made a decision during the pandemic to make the move into retail, and luckily the whirlwind of a 2020-2021 has been kind to us.
Let’s Hear From The Founder
To get a deeper understanding into why the decision was made, I spoke to our founder and shop owner, Oskar Halig.
Philip: Congrats on 1 year at The Shop! What an accomplishment. Let’s start at the beginning. What’s the story behind the shop, and what was the decision that led to you opening the shop?
Oskar: Well, in March of 2020, we all know the event world, and so much else just stopped. We took some time and then started thinking about what we could do. This was the extension of our Paraphernalia Packs to feature the Berkshire Pack. This started in April of 2020 because we had so many friends who made local products that could not find their usual way of selling them. We began offering these online and it was quite a hit!
Then as things started to open up a bit, we noticed there was a great location not far from our office for rent and we decided to go for it. At first we only committed at least in our heads to a year, but were so happy with how well it went and the response we received from both locals and visitors, that we have decided to keep it as part of the Only In My Dreams Events family. In addition to event planning, we will continue to build our retail shop to help continue to uplift our local community.
Philip: Did you ever see yourself owning a retail shop before? Was this ever in connection with your Paraphernalia Packs?
Oskar: As a child I played two games - teacher and store- I taught at our local community college for 10 years so it seemed logical that moving on to storekeeping was the next step. I was always setting up stands on the side of the road to sell things to passersby - lemonade, veggies. The Paraphernalia Packs, especially the Berkshire Packs sell very well online, however, people love being able to see them in person. We have noticed an increase in sales across that line from our retail location. Many people see them when they come in and don't come back for a month to buy them, but they know when they need something like that, where to find it.
Philip: Out of all of Berkshire County, why choose South Egremont?
Oskar: Honestly, it's because it's where we live and there happened to be the perfect location available. Having grown up spending lots of time in Egremont, and having lived here now full time for 11 years- it was the perfect location. Plus, just about anyone heading to and from the Berkshires drives right past our door.
Philip: It sounds like The Shop has had a successful year 1! Where do you see The Shop headed as you head into year 2 and beyond?
Oskar: The Shop has already changed and continues to do so. We started out thinking about being an event themed shop, but that quickly changed to gifts. Then we were lucky to have so many wonderful local artists stop in and offer their goods. We have yet to say no to anyone and would love to continue to increase our local vs. national brands. Also, we have worked with others in the event industry as we can source larger quantities of products at pricing that can compete with some of the big box stores.
Philip: This is just wonderful, thank you so much for speaking with me! Any final words?
Oskar: Our true love will always be event planning, and we started the shop to complement those efforts in many direct ways! Thank you to everyone who continues to support The Shop, and we can’t wait for you to see what’s next.
