Something Different Is Coming to Amesbury

Opinion PieceThe Townie is an opinion website. The views expressed in this piece belong solely to the author, and do not represent those held by The Townie.

There’s something new coming to Amesbury this fall, and the more I learned about it, the more I realized it’s unlike anything we currently have around here.

I’ll admit, this one immediately caught my attention. The Fruitful Fig is a new refill and sustainable living shop being opened by Emmaline Andrews, slated to open its doors in early October. The exact date is still being worked out, but I recently sat down with her to hear more about what she’s building, why she chose Amesbury and what exactly we can expect at The Fruitful Fig.

Emmaline has always been a book and plant person, but about five years ago she started becoming much more intentional about sustainable living. She started cutting out certain items here and there, like paper products, reusing more of what she already had and paying closer attention to what she was buying. She quickly realized she wasn’t only creating less waste, she was actually saving money too.

Her love for farming and time spent working locally at Heron Pond Farm grew her connection to food, agriculture and where the things we consume actually come from. She started regularly visiting a refill store in Kittery and loved how it felt to shop that way. There was something satisfying about being intentional, buying exactly what she needed and not being excessive.

Eventually, all of those little pieces started turning into a much bigger idea. The Fruitful Fig. The concept behind the shop is actually pretty simple. Buy what you need, reuse what you already have and waste less. The shop is expected to have around 30 personal and household refill items, like detergent, soaps, and cleaners, and 60 different bulk food items, including grains, flour, beans, loose coffee, dried fruits, nuts, teas, herbs and spices. You’ll be able to bring your own clean containers from home, grab a new jar at the shop or use one of their compostable bags and buy as much or as little as you actually need. There are plans for around 22 different herbs and spices, including organic options from Little Evergreen Farm, along with refillable oils and vinegars and locally made products like jams, honey and more.

This is where the concept really clicked for me, because we had a shop like this when I lived in California, and it became one of the most convenient options we had around. If this sounds brand new to you, think about your spice cabinet... you find a recipe that calls for spearmint or turmeric. You don’t have it, so you buy an entire jar for one recipe. You use two tablespoons and then that jar gets pushed to the back of the cabinet where it sits for the next five years. At a shop like The Fruitful Fig, you could just buy the two tablespoons. That’s it.

It’s sustainable living, but in a way that feels practical for everyday life. You aren’t being asked to completely change the way you shop. You can simply change a few things that make sense for you. For Amesbury and the surrounding area, it’s also something different. We have incredible farms, makers, small businesses and people who care about where their food and products come from, but we haven’t really had this type of shopping option locally.

After talking with Emmaline, I also realized pretty quickly that what makes The Fruitful Fig interesting isn’t only what’s going to be in the containers on the shelves. It’s how much thought she’s putting into the people who will walk through the door. Emmaline already has a partner in the business. Her name is Wilma, and Wilma happens to be a cute little red wagon.

She’ll be parked out front of the shop for customers to use. If you park farther down the road and end up leaving with your hands full, you can load your groceries into Wilma, stroll her down to your car and bring her back when you’re done. It may seem like a small thing, but I think it tells you a lot about the thought going into the store. Before the doors are even open, Emmaline is thinking about what her customers might need, what would make their trip easier, what they want to see on the shelves and what would make them want to come back.

In fact, one of the first things she did was go online and ask local residents what they actually wanted to see carried in the store. She isn’t just deciding what Amesbury needs and putting it on a shelf. She’s asking the people who live here.

That led me to another question I wanted to ask her. Why Amesbury? Emmaline has always lived nearby and has spent years coming into town for the shops and just the general feeling here. Over time, she grew a real affection for Amesbury and the people who make it what it is. When the time came and she finally had the urge to start her own business, she felt like if she was going to take the chance, Amesbury was where she wanted to do it.

The community response so far has confirmed that decision. She told me the support has been exceptional. Residents have reached out, other local businesses have offered advice and support, and even people simply walking by the space have stopped because they’re excited to hear about a new shop coming to town. That relationship with the community isn’t supposed to end when the doors open either. It’s actually going to be part of the business model.

Emmaline wants to use the shop to feature local farms, makers, artists, nurseries and other small businesses. They will host locally made skincare and candles, jams, honey, a used book section and gallery space where local artists can display their work. She’s already thinking about Open Studios, giving artists a place to showcase what they’re creating and finding ways to connect the shop to the rhythm of the town.

There will be plants sourced from Newton Greenhouse, but even that has another community element to it. Emmaline wants people to be able to bring in plants that need a new home, a little help or simply a new caretaker.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You don’t have to suddenly change everything about the way you live. Maybe you start by refilling your coffee. Maybe you stop buying an entire container when you only need a little bit. Maybe you discover a local maker you didn’t know existed.

I think that’s also why Amesbury makes sense for something like this. We already have a town full of people making things, growing things, creating things and taking chances on ideas of their own. We have people who make an effort to shop locally and businesses that support one another. The Fruitful Fig is bringing a new type of shopping to the area, but the idea behind it feels pretty familiar.

The Fruitful Fig is currently targeting an early October opening, with the official date still to be determined. When the doors do open, stop in. Grab a book, bring a jar, buy the two tablespoons, meet Wilma and see what some of our local makers are creating.

Maybe change the way you shop a little bit, and welcome someone new who decided Amesbury was the place she wanted to take a chance on her idea.