Local Businesses Strive & Thrive at SHOP RI

WARWICK, RI — The Small Business Saturday SHOP RI expo showcased wares of 165 businesses at Crowne Plaza Thanksgiving weekend, with a packed crowd of shoppers, many toting  purchases through halls and rooms.

“I think we’re doing good,” said Sue Babin, RIDDC Special Projects Coordinator and chair of SHOP RI, hosted by the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council.

Babin and one of SHOP RI’s volunteers, Mary Beth Cournoyer, each reported seeing a lot of people browsing with recent purchases already in tow.

“It’s just been steady, which is really nice,” Cournoyer said from her informational guide post in a connecting hall between the hotel exhibit rooms the event seems to claim more of each year. “Everyone seems to have something in their bags.”

Those purchases were evidence of what small business owners attending SHOP RI report as a banner day of annual sales. Shoppers were able to peruse repeat SHOP RI businesses such as We Be Jammin, Mr. C’s Old Thyme Scents and Naturals with Nicole as well as businesses new to the expo and newly minted.

This year, more than 33 of the 165 vendors were owned and operated by graduates of the RIDDC’s Self-Employment Business Incubator, funded by the State Department of Labor and Training.

One such graduate was also a new shop starting its first year in business and its first year attending SHOP RI, Carissa Meekins, owner of Divas Dips and Gourmet Treats of Pawtucket, who reported a positive first expo experience.

“It’s doing pretty good, I have to say,” said Meekins who just finished the 8-week series of incubator classes, which she said were very handy, given the former lab tech for Garden City Lab has begun her enterprise largely self-taught.

“I’ve learned a wealth of information and knowledge. It’s definitely helped me,” said Meekins, who left her lab job to focus on Divas Dips full time, giving her the flexibility she needs to advocate for her autistic son, Miguel, full time. Helping her was Brielle Sampson, a MET student and vital part of her team. “Without her, a lot of things couldn’t be produced,” Meekins said.

One aisle over, Brittany’s Crafty Corner was enjoying another good day of sales at the expo, with Brittany Armillotto, reporting five of her Knot Blankets sold so far, early in the day. Babin noted Brittany used a $2,000 grant from the RIDCC, offered to graduates of their business classes, to set up the business with a point of sale card reader, outdoor tent, signs and business cards. She wouldn’t have been able to manage the cost for any of that up front, her mom, Paula, said.

“The hardest part for opening small businesses is to come up with the funding for your start-up costs,” Babin said.

RIDDC alum Bryan Baron, photog and owner of Double B Photography, was also enjoying sales as a steady stream of shoppers passing by. An passionate photographer who enjoys using photography to share his view of the world, Bryan started out with a hand-me-down Pentax but has since upgraded to a newer Canon. He said he finds taking pictures calming. His business’s name, he said, comes from his high school nickname, a spin on his name’s double B initials.

Making her debut after recently launching her new gift shop, Just for Fun Boutique at the Agawam Mill, 1454 Main St., West Warwick, RI, Tammy Capezza was obviously enjoying herself. She was busy showing off creative lamps, very popular with the passing shoppers. She was pouring on the charm as people purchased gifts then lamented a lack of time for proper browsing.

“But you’re going to come visit me in my shop and you’re going to see me, right?”

Babin estimates about 3,500 shoppers showed up for the expo this year.