If you live in Barrie, you probably know Heather, the owner of Blueberry Moon located in Downtown Barrie. Blueberry Moon opened its doors in February of 2021 and has grown not only its business side but also the Blueberry Moon community.
Prior to opening Blueberry Moon, Heather had a small sewing business which she traveled to local-focused markets to sell her items. It started off by sewing yoga props and accessories but grew to a new level when she began her clothing line the “Human Connection Junkie”. Slowly the line organically grew, and she had many people coming back for more of her products. From there, Heather knew that she had something special to offer but didn’t have plans to go any further with her business.
When the pandemic hit it gave her time to re-evaluate her plans and that’s when her husband told her about a retail space available in Downtown Barrie at 84 Dunlop Street. At the time Heather was travelling from place to place selling her items at various markets in her Volkswagen Bus, in true hippie style, and didn’t want to be tied down to once space. Her husband encouraged her to investigate the opportunity at 84 Dunlop and when she finally went to see the store, she could feel something special and felt that opening her business there would be the right thing to do.
Heather started her store with just five thousand dollars worth of stock and looking back is amazed how she was able to build her store into what it is today. The pandemic brought a lot of businesses on a rollercoaster ride, but she loves being a part of the Downtown Barrie community and her business has been well received in their first year of operation.
Any of the items you find at the store reflects Heather and things that make her happy. Blueberry Moon carries anything from books to pet products, pottery pieces, clothes, and bath products. Items can change from week to week, but the theme is always the same, focusing on local heartfelt businesses and women-owned businesses.
Heather always envisioned Blueberry Moon as being a community space but her original location was not big enough to fulfill her vision which inspired her recent move just across the street to 111 Dunlop. Beginning this year Heather has collaborated with a variety of local businesses in the region to offer workshops in arts and crafts where people from the community can sign up to come to learn how to make things with their hands and enjoy social interaction.
At the front of her store, you’ll find a community board where other local businesses and organizations can come to post advertisements about their events, share their business cards, and connect with the rest of the community.
It’s no denying that Heather has a passion for community work, and as a business owner in Downtown Barrie it’s important for her to give back to a community that’s given so much to her. They currently do a few things right now in terms of outreach but plan to do more in the upcoming year. Heather and everyone else who works at the store has dealt with their own mental health, and all agree that it’s important for them as a store to do community instead of just putting the words out there. Every Thursday night Blueberry Moon hosts a mental health huddle hosted by four different facilitators that are all from the community outreach and people who’ve heard about what they’re doing and want to help.
When asked how she manages to be a business owner, a mom, wife, and friend she said that she hopes a planner will be her new best friend, but really, she roots herself in her team at the store and her husband who has been her greatest support system. Mondays are one of her days away from the store where she takes time for herself to do something that fills her cup and listen to podcasts that focus on all things small businesses, so she can improve how she runs and organizes her business. Having this day helps her organize her week and be ready to conquer.
Her next project is starting her own podcast that will focus on small business ownership, more specifically brick-and-mortar. This podcast will act as a resource for those entering the brick-and-mortar business to guide them through the process of starting their business and how to sustain it. This is a passion for her because when she began her business there weren’t many readily available resources or Canadian content for those getting into brick-and-mortar and Heather believes that it’s important to share information that will enrich that niche community. By sharing her journey, she thinks that it will help her be a better business owner and encourage others to share their journey.
If you want to visit Heather and the rest of the team at Blueberry Moon you can find them at 111 Dunlop Street East in Downtown Barrie. You will find many great items that are unique to her store and leave with a feeling of gratitude from their high spirits.