YARMOUTH, N.S. — BEHIND THE BUSINESS
Carla Allen
The Southwest Wire
[email protected]
Since opening her shoppe 'Seahags & Scallywags - Art, UpCycled Treasure & Collectibles' in 2008, Judy Jenkins has seen business take a roller coaster ride.
When she learned about the space available for a little shoppe on the corner of Central & Water street, the ferry between Yarmouth, Bar Harbour & Portland was making regular crossings and the Yarmouth Waterfront was the place to be.
“There was a variety of activities and performances happening every weekend, lots of people and it was busy,” she says.
That situation changed over the years, with the loss of the ferry and a downturn in general prosperity.
“Yarmouth has had some hard hits but I’m too stubborn to give up my little shoppe,” says Jenkins.
Once ferry service returned, new businesses started, there were improvements to the downtown with the facade and streetscape programs and Jenkins saw both tourists and locals enjoying the improvements.
Now there is COVID, with extra time required by the business community for cleaning and sanitizing.
“Our customers are awesome. They only pick up what they are actually purchasing, they sanitize their hands when they enter and wear masks without complaining. But financially this has been an especially hard season,” says Jenkins.
She’s had to reduce hours significantly and sales are way down.
“But all that being said we’ve been so lucky in this area, with no known cases or deaths … I’m not going to complain about money.”
Jenkins was born in Yarmouth and lived in Sand Beach for the first 40 years of her life. She grew up with ponies and horses, spent many days walking on the shores and beaches around the Yarmouth Harbour and dreamed of being an artist when she was older.
She’s worked many jobs over the years including cashier, cutting roe and packing bait, making boxes in a plastics plant and working as a labourer on a construction site in the oilsands. She now lives in Meteghan and volunteers with the Yarmouth Art Society when she’s not working.
She loves having her own space, creating the displays, showing work created by local artists and craftspeople and talking with the customers.
“In a normal season, we have people from all over the world coming in. This year we had lots of Nova Scotians, many of whom had never been to this end of the province before.”
Her store, which has tripled in size since opening, has grown from representing 25 to 30 artists/craftspeople, to about 40.
She usually has between five and eight volunteers helping in the shoppe. Most have had experience working retail, but she also has had some who have never had a job before and needed experience.
“They’ve all brought something to the shoppe and have taught me a few things along the way.”
The origin of her store’s name can be explained by her travels.
In years past, she and her partner spent several weeks annually on Anna Maria Island in Florida. One of Jenkins' absolute favourite shoppes is 'The Sea Hagg.'
“It’s a very cool place with lots of neat nautical stuff, collectibles and oddities. I spoke to the owners and they were quite flattered with the idea of me naming my shoppe after theirs.”
The secret to Jenkin’s success is simple, she says. “Learning to go with the flow and roll with the punches.”
Business Name: Seahags & Scallywags *Art* Upcycled Treasures*Collectibles*
Owners Name: Judy Jenkins
Date Opened: May 2008
# of employees: Between five and 10 crafters volunteer their time to work in the shoppe every year.
Nature of business, products, products sold:
Seahags gives local artists/crafts people a place to show and sell their work as well as a unique shopping experience to customers and an opportunity to purchase quality handmade products
Address, contact info, hours:
1 Central St., Yarmouth NS
Judy Jenkins
902-746-3958
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sundays noon to 5 p.m.
