My first thought upon passing the Not Dot Shop for the first time was “What does that mean?” I had just arrived at Geneseo for my first college tour and was walking around Geneseo’s Main Street with my family.
The name of the store is an acronym that stands for “No One Thing Does One Thing.” All products sold are reused, recycled and/or repurposed, DIY projects and other interesting odds and ends. The products range from jewelry, home decor, antiques, games, books, pottery, knitted items and many other items, as Not Dot Shop’s inventory covers a multitude of different interests.
At first, Not Dot Shop’s building housed a florist shop. Building owner Marcia Podhorecki aspired to open a store that sold recycled items, however, so she reached out to some of her friends for help.
When the store opened in October 2010, it had five owners in total. Currently, however, there are a whopping total of 18 owners that share the cost of staying open by square footage. Each of the owners work part time at the Not Dot Shop.
Every owner takes responsibility for their own part of the store; they do inventory and price their products as they see fit. There are no paid employees either, as each of the 18 owners run the store similar to a co-op. The Not Dot Shop utilizes the people they have to make their organization run as smoothly as possible.
The owners don’t all live in Geneseo, though; they come from neighboring towns all over the county to help and do their fair share of the work.
The store displays a multitude of different styles and tastes, as each owner moves their own products so that there is something for everyone. Part owner Charleen Crump-Nesbitt described the shop as “eclectic” to address the difference not only in products, but also in the types of customers that come into the store.
“Everyone who comes in is different,” Crump-Nesbitt said. “We have students, we have locals, we have couples out for an afternoon drive and we have parents coming up for the weekend.”
A particularly attractive aspect of the store that brings this eclectic array of customers coming back is the low prices.
“That was part of our original mandate: that we wanted to make things affordable,” Crump-Nesbitt said.
The shop even won an award for “Best Bargain Store” by WHEC Channel 10 Rochester back in December 2016.
So if you need a gift for Valentine’s Day, your parents or a co-worker, the Not Dot Shop offers a unique place with affordable items. The store’s character certainly fits the ambiance in our small town of Geneseo.