Lowville downtown retailers critique each other's shops as part of workshop.

From left to right: Darci Waite, AD Present Co.; Brenda Eggleston, Sweet Basil; Ellen Chamberlain, Riverbend Alpaca; Nadia Korths, ANCA workshop presenter; Donna Smith, Tying It All Together; Tish Zehr, Ole Adirondack Pottery Shoppe; Linda Allen, Adirondack Basketry.

The Lowville business community is beginning to work more actively together with Donna Smith, Tying It All Together, spearheading much of the activity from what I learned during the workshop. Ellen Chamberlain, Riverbend Alpaca said she enjoyed the workshop as a great opportunity to become more familiar with her peers in the Lowville area.

The local business owners all expressed confidence in having developed their niches enough that the Walmart at the south end of town would only benefit them by bringing more shoppers into Lowville. Lowville had already two Walmarts about 25 miles to the north in Watertown and one 50 miles to the south in Utica!

The architecture on State Street, Lowville's main street, is spectacular. Ann Durant, Lewis County's SBDC person, also said that that State Street had received a Main Street Facade Grant and business owners were moving on their projects. The Bates Building has a beautiful marble lobby which Linda Allen, Adirondack Basketry, is considering renting as a guild member if she receives committment from folks who wish to sell their product.

Ann Durant, who with Sarah O'Connell, of the Watertown SBDC, contacted and registered the businesses who attended the three workshops (a big thank you to them for their initiative) while I presented. That type of workshop partnership seems to be working out quite well.

Darci and her partner, Allison, who have had the AD Present Co. Fine Gift Shop open for 3 years now, attend the NY Gift Show to order quality product. Lisa Nortz, silversmith, has just started to display her work there. They have beautiful glass pieces and the shop is painted in warm reds and yellows. Their customer base attracted more of the seasonal customer than the average shop.

A quick survey of workshop participants determined that about 60% of their customers are year round residents, 35% are seasonal (those who have second homes and camps in the Brantingham area to the south) and 5% are one time visitors. In informal surveys across the region, year round residents and seasonal have rated almost 2/3 of the total customer base throughout the region with Malone and Plattburgh standing out because their year round residents are most of their customer base.