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MEMBER PROFILE 



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peak, 23. Walls are white; gables 

 are glass (there's no windows on 

 the south side — "we need it cool in 

 here — we can't use the southern 

 light.") Well-insulated (Vernnont 

 Winter Panel on the roof, six inches 

 of insulation blown into the walls), 

 the building (minus the green- 

 house) uses only 100 gallons of oil 

 each season. 



The configuration of the land is 

 worth noting. Route 101 follows a 

 line of hills descending to the 

 river. The road itself is on fill and 

 Dave's parents needed to add fill 

 in order to build the first stand at 

 road level. Dave built the new 

 structure on that site; but for the 

 addition behind it, the ground 

 level had to be raised 12 feet. 

 Even with this amount of fill, the 

 entrance from the rear parking lot 

 is nine feet below store level. 



However, the slope is used well. 

 The addition is slightly below the 

 1985 structure; a ramp connects the 

 two; a 24x24 greenhouse (off the 

 east gable end) is four feet below 

 the floor of the new structure (it's 

 connected by stairs); the room into 

 which the rear door opens (where 

 containers are sold now) may later 

 become a florist shop. (The rest of 

 the basement is storage — a con- 

 veyor carries stock down from a 

 loading dock or up to store level — 

 and a work area where Dave does 

 things like put together special or- 

 der fruit baskets.) 



Dave and Julie's office — a 12x30 

 mezzanine at the west end of the 

 new structure — adds to this sense 

 of many levels. An open railing 

 around the edge is used for dis- 

 plays; a four-foot high wall four 

 feet back gives some privacy, but 

 allows a view of the shopping be- 

 low. 



The broad shopping areas are 

 divided into smaller ones — some 

 are very specific: the 'Nut Room,' 

 for example, is a 10x8 enclosed 

 space kept at 53 F; it's used for 

 displaying fresh nuts, dried fruits, 

 trail mix.... 



Other areas are created by bins 

 and displays used as dividers. 

 There's an area specifically for 



breads, one for produce, another 

 for coffee and teas. But organic is 

 mixed with regular; and both are 

 clearly marked. 



The greenhouse is a holding 

 area for plant material — which 

 tends toward the unusual, in De- 

 cember, there were poinsettias, but 

 even these were unexpectedly var- 

 ied, ranging from stock plants to 

 miniatures; In winter, Dave stocks a 

 variety of cactus. (He repots into 

 finished containers — decorator 

 pots — they sell better than if kept 

 in the container they grew in.) 



One side of the connecting ramp 

 is a "bump greenhouse" where cut 

 flowers — eucalyptus, roses, cym- 

 bidiums — are displayed. (As an 

 example of the contrasts at 

 Bursey's, on the other side is a 

 counter where various coffees and 

 fresh pastries are sold.) 



The various levels and areas add 

 interest and variety and makes the 

 structure seem much larger than it 

 is. It's comfortable, cozy — people 

 wander from section to section, lin- 

 ger — and buy. 



DECORATIVE elements are 

 strong and architectural, in the ad- 

 dition, three fans (brass shafts, 

 wooden paddles) hang from the 

 peak; the heat duct running along 

 the ceiling is painted magenta; this 

 reenforces the color of the logo, 

 brightens the interior, and breaks 

 up what could be a monotonous 

 expanse of unpainted wood. 



In the 1985 structure, the peak 

 of the roof is 15 feet high. But the 



ceiling is only 7 1/2 feet high and 

 the space above it is used for stor- 

 age. But the ceiling in the center 

 rises to the peak in the shape of a 

 concave pyramid. Its surface is of 

 1x4 slats spaced an inch apart. 

 Again — a strong, textured shape. 

 Bouquets of dried flowers are hung 

 from the slats and add new tex- 

 ture. The space is dramatic, wel- 

 coming, and works as an unusual 

 display area. 



Display areas outside the struc- 

 tures add to the feeling of size and 

 variety. Both north and south ends 

 have porches. In December the 

 10x60 back (south) porch was 

 empty, but the front porches on ei- 

 ther side of the 6x13 entryway were 

 filled with wreaths (the Burseys 

 buy them in and decorate them 

 themselves) and greens; in sum- 

 mer, both are filled with hanging 

 plants. An area on the east side of 

 the store used to display perenni- 

 als in warm weather was filled with 

 Christmas trees — both plantation 

 and pasture. 



In the area used to display 

 herbs, a granite well cover is used 

 as a focal point; a 2 1/2 foot-high 

 stone wall built to hide the foun- 

 dation of the 1985 structure was 

 built away from the foundation, 

 creating a 4x30 display shelf. (The 

 herb area is another of the small, 

 product-specific areas that seem to 

 work so successfully here. It's an 

 alcove formed by the south wall of 

 the old structure and the green- 

 house and north wall of the new 

 and the bubble house of the ramp. 

 Stone textures predominate — the 



February &v March 1994 



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