Morgan Strasser
Staff Writer
Local vintage and eco-friendly clothing and accessory store, Green Being, celebrated its second anniversary on Saturday, October 2. Green Being is owned and operated Marywood University alum, Cristin Powers.
Powers arranged a sidewalk sale right outside of Green Being on 334 Adams Ave. in honor of her store’s two-year anniversary. Among the festivities were live music, a tarot card reader, a book swap and cupcakes for all to enjoy. Massages were even made available to guests that came out to celebrate. Powers said that Saturdays tend to be a bit slow in downtown Scranton. Despite that, she still had a nice turnout on her big day.
“It wasn’t bad. The people that were here were supporters of Green Being from the beginning, so it was nice to see them around,” said Powers. Prior to Green Being taking off, Powers graduated from Marywood in 2007 with a degree in business with concentrations in marketing and retail management. Powers stated that Marywood’s business program helped to prepare her for running her own business. “The marketing classes with Dr. Jaeger I feel like I benefited the most from,” said Powers.
Powers said that she had always wanted to run her own business, but never expected it to happen as soon as it did.
“I thought like the normal thing to do would be to like work for someone else for five years then I was going to open my business,” said Powers.
When no jobs were available after graduation, Powers stumbled upon an available space in downtown Scranton and decided to give running her own business a try. “I just jumped right in,” said Powers. Another reason finding a job wasn’t easy for Powers was because she was only interested in finding a job at an environmentally friendly company. A number of places weren’t hiring and the ones that were had stiff competition.
“A bunch of people were looking for green jobs when there were only a handful of green jobs available,” Powers said.
Green Being is kept green by selling only vintage and handmade items and clothing. The handmade clothes are all out of recycled materials. Powers also works with organic cotton and hemp.
For those that are familiar with Scranton’s “First Friday” are probably already familiar with Green Being. On the first Friday of every month, all of the local art galleries and many other small businesses in Downtown Scranton host art walks. Art-lovers are invited to walk the streets of downtown Scranton and enjoy new artwork, live music and refreshments at all of the many locations.
Green Being is currently one of those locations and has been for exactly two years. Powers opened Green Being on a First Friday and has been continuing with the tradition since then.
“I feel that First Fridays are a big part of keeping the downtown community alive,” said Powers.
Powers and Green Being aren’t just making names for themselves in the community, but outside of Scranton as well. Powers has her eco-friendly coffee sleeves being sold in many areas of Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and in New York as well.
Powers and her eco-friendly coffee sleeves were also featured in the November 2009 issue of Country Living magazine as well. Powers and her store have been blogged about on greenwala.com, a website that is big on the green movement and provides tips for its visitors on how to be green and eco-friendly. Powers says that while there are ups with running her own business, it can sometimes have its downs, with it being busy and stressful at times.
“…But at the same time, it’s a stress that I love,” said Powers.
Powers has some plans for Green Being for future growth. She would love to do more online sales along with more wholesales. Owning her own building is something she would like to accomplish very soon as well. She said having her store and her living space in one building would make things easier.
“It’s hard having both, living somewhere else and having the store down here. Just because it keeps costs up. It’d just be great to have it in one place,” said Powers.
An opportunity for Powers to finally getting her own space is in up and coming south side Scranton on Cedar Ave. It’s an option Powers is keeping open for herself and if she decides to do so, she hopes for others to follow her in order for south Scranton to prosper. “I don’t know if I’m that first person, hopefully maybe people will follow… Maybe south side’s the next movement,” said Powers.
Powers says her plans for Green Being aren’t a matter of will they happen, but when they will happen.
“If you really dream it in the most detail you can, you can create it,” said Powers.
