EASTHAMPTON – The owners of the curated thrift shop Sonnet & Sparrow recently opened a “sister store” called The Flying Squirrel.

The mother/daughter team of Cynthia West and McKenzie West opened Sonnet & Sparrow at 84 ½ Cottage St. in May 2019, and now have expanded to further their growth and size while maintaining “brand consistency.” The Flying Squirrel sits next to Sonnet & Sparrow on 82 ½ Cottage St.

The Flying Squirrel, which officially opened to the public on April 9, offers vintage and lightly used furniture, lighting, homeware, rugs, and artwork, according to Cynthia. The owners also have a partnership with Brick House Gardens, which is a business that offers domestic and rare and exotic plants.

“The goal is to offer a wider variety of goods, including larger pieces of furniture,” said Cynthia, who added that everything they sell is “gathered and found,” which means all of the products they sell are second hand.

In both Sonnet & Sparrow and The Flying Squirrel, the owners offer alternatives to traditional retail shopping by providing products that are “gently used” to help reduce our carbon footprint.

“Buying secondhand now is not only acceptable now, but encouraged,” said Cynthia. “It is one tangible way to change the way you live in the world. Buying secondhand literally changes economics.”

For The Flying Squirrel specifically, Cynthia said that the preparation for opening another store involved finding the right mix of goods for their woodland theme, while mixing their love of nature with functional goods.

“We’ve had an incredible outpouring of support, and often have several people waiting to get into the store when we open,” said Cynthia, with regard to the customer response to their new stores. “Most of our customers are now friends.”

The Flying Squirrel and Sonnet & Sparrow operate on the same hours, which are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. All of the items in both stores are either thrifted or artisan-made, according to Cynthia. “You won’t find anything new in the store, but you’ll find items with tremendous life still in them.”