I am writing this letter to express my sincere appreciation for the honesty and business integrity of Bethany Hartzell Hugghins, owner of Pax Flora Goods. I believe an experience like mine deserves a shoutout!

Months ago as I began to downsize, I faced the stark reality it was definitely time to part with clothes and accessories I had held onto for years, in fact, decades. For numerous reasons, many sentimental, bagging them for donation didn’t appeal to me, nor did consignment. Time went by. Then one day in Mt. Airy, I came across Pax Flora Goods, a “vintage” clothing store which had a rack of attractive clothes outside and looked cheery and bright. Inside, I discovered a delightful mix of lovely well-preserved clothing, accessories, jewelry, skincare items and some sustainable small home goods.

I introduced myself to the owner and asked her definition of vintage. She said a broad definition is clothing more than 20 years old or so, but some pieces, depending on the style, may be vintage at 10 years. With that remark, I knew I had found the right place for my clothes. I delivered them to the store shortly thereafter, pleased they had found the perfect home.

Recently, I found a few more items I thought may be of interest to Bethany. One was a box of costume jewelry that had belonged to my grandmother, my mother and me. The jewelry had been used for “dress up” when my granddaughters were small.

I dropped off the box, figuring Bethany could decide what she wanted to do with it. About a week later, she texted me to say she had found a chain in the box that she believed was not costume jewelry but 14 karat gold (she attached a photo) and said I should come by to pick it up and get it appraised. I did, and took it to Kathy Provost, a reputable jeweler, at her Chestnut Hill store. It is, indeed, a valuable necklace that was mixed in with the costume jewelry somehow, likely years ago. I was pleasantly surprised and very grateful to get it back. Thank you, Bethany!

Pax Flora Goods is a reflection of the owner’s values to the customers, the community at large and the planet. Proprietors of small businesses like it are well worth celebrating and supporting for their contributions to the fabric of our neighborhoods in Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and the surrounding area. I suggest we make time to give them complimentary shoutouts more often.

Kathi Clayton

Chestnut Hill