Wilds Are Working: Revived & Company

Wilds Are Working: Revived & Company

Jun 4, 2020 | Wilds Are Working

Revived & Company is located in an old schoolhouse and features unique products handcrafted by over 60 area artisans.

Josiah: I’m going to say we’re probably live. It says we’re live.

Bernie: I think so.

 

Josiah: Ok, we’re live. Well, good morning. Hello. My name is Josiah Jones from Visit Clearfield County, serving as a PA Wilds ambassador to have an interview here for the Wilds of Working series. I’m here today with Jill and Bernie from Revived and Company. So I want to say welcome, Jill, Bernie. Welcome to the interview. We’re glad to have you with us to share how you are pivoting your company amid these uncharted times with the COVID-19 issues we’re having. So I guess just to get started, can you tell us a little bit about your company?

Jill: Ok. We have an antique and artisan shop that is in an old, hundred-year-old school house here in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. And we have about 60 different vendors who either make handmade crafts, not really really crafts, handmade things, and also antiques as well.

Josiah: Awesome. Yeah, it’s a great place. We were just there, you know, my family and I stopped in a couple weekends ago. It was really nice, you know, wearing a mask and everything. It still worked out pretty well. It’s a good time. So it’s a great place to go.

Jill: We enjoyed your visit!

 

Josiah: Why did you decide to start a business in the PA Wilds?

Bernie: I had always grown up in this area and I love it. And I always had an idea of doing something like this, but just never stepped out and did it. I worked in the coal industry for about 20 years. And when it slowed down, that seemed like the time to start something like this.

Josiah: Well, thank you for starting something like this, because it’s been great to Clearfield County. I know a lot of people like to go there and find some things. Thank you. So during this time, during this crisis, how are you pivoting your operations? I know we’ve been in some discussions over email, phone calls, and in person. We know you’ve started a couple of new things to try to keep business going. So, again what are you doing?

Jill: Ok. So we did. We started an online store during the time that we were closed. Bernie had always wanted to do that. We just were busy with so many things that we just knew it was going to take a lot of time and energy and effort and research. And so we just jumped in feet first  and set up shop at Revived and added some of our vendors here and there, handcrafted things and their antiques. And so that was the main thing that we did. And then, since we have opened, we now have curbside pickup that’s offered and people can just call us and order things. And we can invoice them, and they can come and pick it up if they’re not comfortable shopping just yet.

 

Josiah: How has the online order ordering gone for you? Is it something that’s worked out really well?

Bernie: During the quarantine, it worked out really well. We had a lot of vendors that were craft makers that started making masks and those sort of things, and those really took off.

Jill: People started shopping more online. Now that the shop is open, we are seeing — we learned how to invoice during this this time, too — and so we have noticed that now people are shopping online through our Facebook pictures, and then they pay us through invoice and then they can come any time and pick it up. Whereas before they might hold something for 24 hours, and then we would have to put it back on the floor. And so people have started using lines utilizing that.

 

Josiah: Well, that’s great, that kind of leads me to my next question then. How are you staying in touch with your customers? You know, what kind of platforms are you using? It sounds like Facebook, you know, social media has been one of the major platforms you’ve used.

Jill: It really has.

Bernie: Yeah, it has.

Jill: Even new people who are now coming into the shop since we’ve reopened have found us on Facebook. Throughout the quarantine, you know, they’re on it more. And we were posting on there. We are posting about our online shopping and just sending out reminders to people that, ‘hey, we were still here and we miss you, and we can’t wait to see you. And this is how you can still shop with us.’ We’ve answered emails and messages on Facebook. We also used our local radio station. We advertise through them. So during the quarantine, we switched our ads, and they focused on, you know, that we missed every. And that we now have this online shop.

Josiah: Very cool, very cool. So, you know, you mentioned about the online shopping and your way of invoicing…. You’re doing a couple of things differently. You know, out of those operations you’ve started and approaches, what will you continue as we move into recovery?

Bernie: Probably all, but, yeah.

Jill: We’ll still have the online; it’s here to stay. So that will be there. We’ll continue to try to change the inventory in that, and then … we’ll continue to do that curbside pick up. That works well for people in a hurry. You know, and we’ll continue to invoice people.

Bernie: Yeah.

Jill: I’ll keep on posting the pictures of the things that are here… so people remember. And so, yeah, pretty much all of it will stay the same.

 

Josiah: That’s excellent to hear because I know just as a customer and consumer myself, you know, in this day and age, everybody is just about convenience. So if you’re going to be convenient in every way, you can be that’s going to be helpful for your business and for the customers. So that’s great to hear. Any programs, resources, organizations that you’ve found helpful throughout this crisis and would encourage other small business owners to check out?

Jill: You know, I have to say that I was really thankful for a VisitClearfieldCounty.com, for you, for the Chamber of Commerce, the Clearfield County Chamber of Commerce, and for the Small Business Development Center, out of Clarion is the one that we’ve connected with. But you guys kept us up to date. We got e-mails all the time of the new things that were changing and what we needed to do and how we needed to open and the protocol we needed to go through the funds that were available and the links to those. So any small business should really link into the three of you.

 

Josiah: Thank you. Appreciate it. We tried to do our best to make sure that we kept everybody, you know, updated on what’s available. So there’s tons of resources out there, and I think a lot of people took advantage of it. Especially Revived & Company — you definitely did. Any silver linings in this awful situation?

Jill: Well, you can clearly see that I’m the talker. He’s the hard worker behind the scenes. I mean, you already know that. There are a couple of silver linings that I see to it. First of all, our lives since we started this business three years ago have just been full steam ahead. It just feels like we never stop working. So there was some time to just take a breather, to get a little bit of rest, and then to re-evaluate, you know, our business. The other thing that was really sweet was our customers. They would message us and they would buy things when we were closed and pay us and just say, ‘hold it until it’s time.’

Bernie: Some of them even remembered stuff they saw when they were here previously.

Jill: Yep.

Bernie: So it wasn’t even through technically the pictures on Facebook; it was that they were just trying to support a local business.

Jill: And since we’ve opened, our shop has been full; not full like crowded full — it’s been very safe. But the people are coming and they’re supporting local business in a way that I haven’t seen before. And so I’m really thankful for that. And they just seem so happy to be here and happy to see us. And we’re happy to see them. So that’s our silver lining.

 

Josiah: Awesome. And, the next question was going to be, what moment of humanity or inspiration has helped you get through these tough times. I think you’ve already done it with, you know, the people really do want to help small businesses. You know, it’s really important to be advertising yourselves as much as you can on social media and through other avenues. And you guys have done that well. And I think that’s great. You stay in contact with them through messaging and in other ways, too. So congrats to you.

Jill: Thank you.

Bernie: Thank you.

Jill: It’s certainly a learning process.

 

Josiah: It has been. It has been. Well, thank you again, Bernie and Joe Owens from Revived & Company. Thanks again for your time.

Jill: Thank you for allowing this to happen and have this outlet. We appreciate it.

Bernie: Yes, thank you.

Josiah: Yes, sure. Anytime. For those watching the interview and other  resources for small business business in the PA Wilds can be found at WildsCoPA.org. That’s also where you can apply and share your story if you’re interested in an interview. So for all of us here at Revived, and Visit Clearfield County, and the PA Wilds, I want to thank you all for listening. And thank you again to Revived & Company for being a part of this, and to the Wilds for creating this. This is a really awesome opportunity. And so I just want to say thank you and have a great day!

Jill: Thank you.

Bernie: Yes. Thank you.

Josiah: Bye bye.

Bernard + Jill Owens

Bernard + Jill Owens

Owners, Revived & Company

Revived & Company is a Maker’s Market featuring 60 different of PA Wilds locals’ talent! Featuring antique pickers and artisans housed in a 100 year old schoolhouse in the heart of Clearfield County, Revived & Company also hosts family friendly outdoor Old Schoolhouse Markets twice a year with live music, furniture flip competitions, food trucks and vendors. 

THIS EPISODE FEATURES:

Bernard and Jill Owens of Revived & Company are interviewed by PA Wilds Ambassador Josiah Jones of Visit Clearfield County.

Josiah Jones

Josiah Jones

Executive Director, Visit Clearfield County

Josiah Jones brings years of public relations and management experience to the staff of Visit Clearfield County. As Executive Director, Jones works closely with the entrepreneurs and leaders throughout Clearfield County to help promote the area and its attractions to visitors. Learn more at VisitClearfieldCounty.org.

Has your business pivoted?

 The Wild Are Working: Rural Entrepreneurship in Uncharted Times series offers opportunities for small business owners and organizations to share how they are pivoting to survive the coronavirus crisis. Through 5-10 minute live interviews, participating entrepreneurs help cross-pollinate ideas and provide insights on how people can support small businesses amid COVID-19.

Learn more about how your business can get involved here.

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