By Olivia DeWan, contributor
Great.full Goods, one of Harrisonburg’s favorite local businesses, is rebranding and will celebrate its grand opening on Dec. 6.
For the past four years, Melissa Nguyen has been running Great.full Goods with a mission to provide the Harrisonburg community with natural, sustainable products that promote health and reduce waste.
“I really wanted to reduce plastic waste in our local landfill and provide our community with options that are natural,” Nguyen said. “There are chemicals in everything. I started curating this for what my family needed and then realized that the community had similar needs as well.”
Recently, when JMU hired Nguyen as a professor of American Sign Language for its new program, her schedule became even busier.
“I went to Allie Motyka, the manager of the market [Shops at Agora], and I asked if she had anyone who would want to help me with the store,” Nguyen said. “At that point, I didn’t know if I was going to ask for a partner.”
That’s when Nguyen met Ocean Breez Burriss, owner of Simply Natural.
“I had emailed Allie just to see if I could put my Simply Natural products on a shelf here,” Burriss said. “Then she told me about Melissa, and Melissa actually called me that same day.”
Burriss said the two talked for hours, exchanging ideas. Within a few days, Nguyen decided to transfer ownership of Great.full Goods to her.
Both Great.full Goods and Simply Natural shared a mission to promote sustainable living through natural, eco-friendly products from body wash to dish soap to sugar scrubs and more.
“I started Simply Natural when I had an injury, and I started making stuff around the house because I didn’t have anything else to do,” Burriss said. “Then, I started taking my products to local vendor events and it kinda took off.”
From her home kitchen, Burriss built a line of cleaning and skincare products made from natural, sustainable ingredients. Now, she plans to merge the two businesses into Simply Natural Living by Great.full Goods.
“I just want to help people be natural,” Burriss said. “It’s not as hard as it seems, it is kinda scary at first, but it is actually cheaper.”
Great.full Goods is known for its refill stations, where customers can purchase bottles of soap and bath salts, then return to refill them when they run out. The shop also features jewelry, skincare, and other local goods.
“The shop will still have its funky, fun, cheerful vibes, but with a local person making her own products,” Nguyen said. “That is ideally what the store needs. That actually completes the mission, because I didn’t have time to make products, and that was something I always really wanted for the community.”
Burriss said she plans to keep the “bubbly vibe” and fun colors, and aims to highlight the community by installing a large shelf full of products from Harrisonburg.
“This way we can cut down on shipping costs and things coming from different states,” Burriss said. “We can really help our people live substantially and locally.”
Nguyen said that a circular economy is important to the Harrisonburg community and that Simply Natural Living by Great.full Goods helps strengthen that goal.
“It [a circular economy] keeps your money here,” Nguyen said. “When money leaves our area we only get back the tiniest portion of it. But if it keeps circulating here we become a richer community.”
Nguyen said her loyal customers have been incredibly supportive of the rebranding.
“So many of them have told Melissa, ‘We are so excited for you, you need this,’” Burriss said. “She always introduces me by saying, ‘This is Ocean Breez, and she’s going to be a breath of fresh air.’”
Nguyen said she and Burriss work “so well together” and that she plans to remain involved by hosting workshops and helping around the shop on Wednesdays.
Simply Natural Living by Great.full Goods will host a centerpiece workshop before Thanksgiving and an ornament workshop on December 11 to celebrate the grand opening. Tickets for both events are available on the store’s website.
“The store has pivoted so much and had different owners, but the mission has remained the same,” Nguyen said. “I think that every time it pivots it grows, not just financially but in audience too. It really gives it the next boost.”
Both Nguyen and Burriss said they are eagerly looking forward to the rebranding and everything that comes with it.
“I am really excited for the grand opening,” Burriss said. “We’ve worked so hard and so many different people here [Shops at Agora] have put in so much love and work to share it with others.”
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