For the past two years, Grass Valley boutique Bijou Bijou has called West Main Street home. From there, owner Jena Berenberg has doled out everything from books to candles, casual clothing to art. She said she’s had a great time running the store, but recently made the decision to close her shop.
Berenberg described her store as, “a lifestyle store that focuses on slow fashion and handmade goods and sustainably made goods.” She’s had a good run, she said, but knew when it was time to call it quits, citing several factors that many retailers are struggling with. “I think there’s like a few factors, but retail is brutal I think for a number of reasons,” said Berenberg.
“We are in a small town here which can be challenging to have the level of business that we would hope for. I think our economy is shifting and changing, not always for the better. I think all of us are just trying to survive and pay our bills and don’t often have extra money in our budget to afford lots of extra things.
So if I am being honest, it’s not as lucrative a business as I’d hoped. I feel really grateful and honored to have brought these beautiful things and support a lot of vendors who are doing their work and into the community.” Bijou Bijou has given Berenberg the chance to curate a spot for specialty crafters, many of them local, or at least from California.
Her dedication to keeping a rotation of carefully crafted goods is what has kept the store going, she said. “I do have a lot of local stuff in here,” she said. “I do have a lot of makers specific to this area.
It’s local to Northern California, or made in California. I try really hard to support California-made stuff first, and if not California, then U.S.
made stuff. I do not carry anything that is made in sweat shops or unethically made; that’s been my biggest value.” Sometimes, Berenberg said, she has thought her local mindset has driven some to balk at the price points of some of the items in stock.
“I think over the course of being open lots of people have said, ‘your stuff is expensive’ which I understand but I am also really committed to carrying stuff that is ethically made and paying livable wages to the people who make them. With that said, things often tend to be a little bit more expensive than stuff that is fast-fashion items. Lots of local made stuff in here,” she said.
Berenberg runs the store herself, though said she would be remiss if she didn’t credit the number of people who have stepped in over the past two years to ensure the success of Bijou Bijou. “I’ve been very lucky to have a couple friends and people who will jump in and work for me when I want to live my own life,” she said. “I actually broke my ankle the night before I opened the shop and was so grateful I had some lovely friends who helped me open and operate the shop for many months until I started walking again.
” Bijou Bijou is set to close at the end of July, though Berenberg said there is the possibility of remaining open a couple of weeks into August. “I am playing it by ear. I am hopeful to be closed at the end of July.
It might go a couple weeks past that, but hoping for the end of July. Right now through this week everything is 30 percent off in the shop and of course that will be tiered every week; so next week it will be 40 percent off and then the following week will be 50 percent, and then just kind of flying by the seat of my pants and taking it one day at a time,” the shop matriarch said. No owner of a business likes to call it a day, but Berenberg said she is reflecting on her time at Bijou Bijou as a positive experience.
“If I am being honest, it’s bittersweet,” she said. “I put a lot of energy and time and money into doing this but I am looking forward to the next chapter. I know people are disappointed that the shop is closing but you have to know when to call it.
Onward and upward.” Bijou Bijou is at 217 West Main Street in Grass Valley. For more information please visit shopbijoubijou.
com ..
