WOMEN IN BUSINESS SERIES

More than a thrift shop

Maria Bivins finds success in reselling

By Jack Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink

If you’re reading this sentence, we’ll bet you have some connection to Maria Bivins. Born and raised in town, Bivins runs Life Repurposed at 62 Main Street in Livingston Manor, where she maintains and refurbishes an extensive inventory of furniture, home goods, clothing, and curiosities. But that only touches on the impact Bivins has had on this Catskills community.

A former Manor Ink mentor, Bivins graciously, but reluctantly, agreed to an interview – ”I don’t like talking about myself,” she confesses – for our ongoing Women In Business series. “Most of the businesses in the Town of Rockland are owned and operated by women, and if not women, couples,” she said. “And the directors at both libraries and the Catskill Art Center are all women, as are the majority of employees. I think women can work very well together as a collective, and pool their resources, whether that be ideas or finances, and really make things happen. I’m very proud of our community of women in retail and public service.”

Gaining business experience

Bivins’ parents are long-time residents and raised her in the Manor. She left for a spell to attend college and work in New York City, returning 22 years ago. “I’m a single mom who moved back home to raise a toddler because I didn’t want to raise a child in Astoria in a fourth-floor walk-up. I worked for a company that did medical billing, and a substance abuse clinic in New Jersey, where I specialized in adolescent psychiatry. So I commuted and telecommuted. I worked from home part-time, and had to go to the facilities part-time.”

As her son, Nate, grew older, the commuting became too much, and she took a local retail job for flexibility, quickly rising through the ranks from part-time cashier to key-carrying manager of several departments. “I learned the ropes of retail, but I found myself working more hours than I used to work commuting, which was not at all the goal while raising a young child,” said Bivins, so she took another job at the front desk of a family care group. But again, she quickly gained extensive, time-intensive responsibilities.

In search of more time, Bivins turned to an old hobby. “Ever since my son was a toddler, I would sell things online, on eBay. Used lots of children’s clothing and things. As any parent knows, they grow quickly, and everything was kind of brand new. I never planned on having another child to hand them down, and I didn’t want to throw things away.

“Eventually I thought, ‘What if I can sell things online full-time?’ So I buckled down and worked two full-time jobs. And by the end of the year, I said, ‘I can do this.’ I worked primarily from home for the next three years, and that’s when I started the business.”

Bivins soon expanded into a small retail space on Pearl Street. “It was meant to be a store for things that were not easily sellable online, like big antiques. I was getting a lot of specific requests, and because I had so much in storage, I could usually source things for people. That’s when I realized the town needed more than a small thrift store. So I ended up moving to 62 Main Street. After making some renovations, almost the entire downstairs of the building is the store. It’s now about five times as much space as when I first started on Pearl, and a much wider variety. I still have the 20-cent toy box, but now also the $6,000 Austrian armoire from 1840, and everything in between.”

Committed to community

COVID helped revive the old eBay store, but much of Bivins’ business is now personal. She says she takes particular joy in using her extensive network to help source items for patrons – not only weekend visitors and transplants looking for special gifts, but longtime residents looking for affordable home goods. She tries to equally serve the various demographics of the town – all of which she still does herself, from the initial sourcing to the schlepping.

Bivins has long been deeply involved in local volunteerism. Through the nonprofit Calliope-on-Main, she is a driving force behind both the Little Free Pantry and Trout Parade. She is also an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. Bivins is more shy about opening up and discussing her volunteer work, but she said, “We could always use more people, we would love to have anyone who is interested.”

What is the greatest challenge she still faces? “Hmm. I would have to say asking for help. There’s something about it. I think for me, and most people, you kind of have to swallow your pride and be like, ‘Okay, as much as I want to do this, I cannot do this by myself. So I’m asking for help.’ Once you get over yourself, you realize that everyone takes turns providing and receiving that help, and that’s one of the biggest things that connects us as a community.”

To learn more about Maria Bivins and Life Repurposed, visit liferepurposed.net.

Mentor Harrison Siegel contributed to this story.