GREENFIELD — When the pandemic first hit the area in March, Ann Skowron didn’t expect it would mean the end of her business, which had operated on Bank Row for the past decade.
“On Friday the 13th (of March), we closed our doors,” Skowron recounted. “On Monday the 16th, it hit me that I had no jobs, no income. It was tough for a while. We’ll close officially on Aug. 28.”
Skowron rents the space on Bank Row, which she shares with All About Beads. She said the bead store will stay there.
Skowron moved to Greenfield and opened Imagine Jewelers 10 years ago after getting married.
“My wife was from this area,” she said. “I came from the Finger Lakes region of New York and had been to Zoar Outdoor, so I was familiar with and liked the area.”
Skowron said that when she realized the closure would be longer than a few days or weeks, she began talking with her wife and three employees about what would be best for Imagine Jewelers and for her.
“I was going to apply for the PPP (the federal Paycheck Protection Program) so that I could keep everything going while we were closed, but the money ran out and I didn’t make it the first time around,” she said. “When it came around again, I had decided to close for good. There were just too many regulations and it wouldn’t have worked for my business.
“Besides, I started the business debt-free and I’m ending it debt-free,” she added. “I didn’t want to take out a loan.”
Skowron wouldn’t have been able to do a curbside business, because people typically want to see, feel and try on what they are buying. Based on the square footage of the store and given that there were always two employees, including her, in the store at once, Skowron said she would have only been able to admit one customer at a time. Additionally, people wouldn’t be able to touch anything without a thorough cleaning after each customer left the store.
“It just would have been very difficult,” she said. “Not a good business model for us.”
Skowron “totally understands” the need for safety measures and new regulations, but noted that most of them are not small-business friendly.
“You just can’t survive,” she said. “I’m afraid for many small businesses and whether they will survive. Restaurants were at least able to remain open for takeout and curbside for most of the shutdown. We weren’t.”
The jeweler, who will be 58 years old in August, said she’s now looking forward to retirement. She still owns a jewelry business in New York, so she’ll continue that, for now. And she said she will probably continue doing some business in this area, such as custom work and repairs, but it will be out of her home and by appointment only. She plans to keep all of her equipment.
“What I’m really going to miss is the social aspect of my business,” Skowron said. “People would come in and sit around at our table just chatting and catching up. It’s very bittersweet.
“I loved watching people buy gifts for their loved ones or pull a fast one with someone by purchasing what they wanted,” she added. “I loved hearing stories.”
Skowron said she and her wife have no plans to leave Greenfield. They also own a home in the Finger Lakes region. What they will do is travel more often to New York to visit family.
“We were going once or twice a month over the weekend,” she said. “Now, we’ll be able to go more often and spend more than a couple days at a time.”
She loves boating — she and her wife met while boating through the Grand Canyon — and plans to do more of it.
“I’ve made a lot of friends here, so of course I won’t be leaving permanently,” Skowron noted.
She said she’d love to give people some advice: “Have empathy, be patient and be nice to each other. These are difficult times. We all need that.”
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.