In the center of downtown Chester , Vermont , Sharon Baker wanders the floors of her thriving boutique , Sharon ’ s on the Common , at a leisurely pace . As she pauses in front of a shelf full of vibrant , multicolored shawls , her face lights up with a sincere smile . She holds up one of her prized custom-made pieces to the camera , teeming with gratitude as she speaks about the journey that led her to where she is today . The story behind her business is every bit as colorful and intriguing as the highly-sought-after shawls , shrugs , scarves , and apparel pieces that line her store ’ s walls — and equally as unique as their extraordinary , one-of-a-kind patterns .
A Bold Decision
Baker was born in Bennington , Vermont , and raised further up north in Andover on a dairy farm . “ Growing up , we literally lived the life of the Waltons ,” says Baker . “ The only difference is that there were three kids in our family , not eight , so we had a lot more work to do on our dairy farm .” Following her graduation from Chester High School , she enrolled at MacMurray College in Jacksonville , Illinois , then transferred to Lyndon State College in Lyndon , Vermont . After leaving Lyndon State College without completing her undergraduate degree , Baker got married , had several children , divorced her former husband , and moved to Northeastern Massachusetts . While in Massachusetts , she worked as a Marketing Director for 15 years under Ernie Cherry , a successful entrepreneur who owned the British Colonial apartment complexes in Amesbury .
Eventually , Baker realized that she wanted to return home to Vermont . In 2009 , she began looking for potential spaces in Chester where she could open an independent business . After finding a rental space in the downstairs floor of the building that now houses Sharon ’ s on the Common , she opened her store in May 2010 .
The Power of Persistence
She returned to Vermont full time in April 2011 , and jumped headfirst into her new venture . Unfortunately , Baker ’ s courageous career change coincided with the tail end of a nationwide economic recession , which created an unfavorable environment for emergent retail businesses . “ In April of 2013 , I literally had 49 cents in the bank . I was staring at the screen on my laptop and thinking , ‘ What in the world am I going to do ?” At the apex of her crisis of faith , Baker called her son , Jason , who gave her a much-needed pep talk . “ I was very emotional . I thought that everything was going to collapse . Jason said to me , ‘ Mom , I ’ ve never known you to quit . You ’ re going to figure something out .’” When Baker ended the call with her son , a thought popped into her head that would change her life forever . “ I hung up the phone and began thinking about how much I loved the Indian shawls that I had down in the store . I remembered that I also had a sewing machine that someone had given me as a gift . I ’ m no trained seamstress , but I know how to sew a straight line . The original idea for the infinity shawl was born on that day .”
According to Baker , she created the infinity shawl as a potential solution for a common problem that many people faced when purchasing regular shawls . “ Most people — including me — don ’ t know how to wrap shawls in the proper way . If they don ’ t know how to do it , the shawls can end up in their soup at dinnertime or fall down on the floor . People might get frustrated , leave their shawl in a drawer , and forget that they own it , even though it ’ s a beautiful piece of fabric .”
After Baker spent some time playing around with her shawls and perfecting an initial prototype , the first infinity shawl went out on her shop ’ s floor on May 18 , 2013 . “ I ’ ll never forget that date , because a woman who was visiting Chester from out of town came through the door and said , ‘ This is going home with me !’” Baker was encouraged by the customer ’ s response and swiftly made another infinity shawl in a similar style . Four days after she put the second infinity shawl on display in her store , a local customer came in and expressed interest in it . “ She said , ‘ This is really pretty !’ She put it on and walked around the shop with it , and another customer walked in and said , ‘ Where did she get that ?’ I told her that I could make another if she wanted one , and she ended up buying two of them that day . I ’ ve been making new shawls and finding different fabrics ever since , and the business has continued to grow .”
Infinite Potential
Since that fateful day in May 2013 , word of the infinity shawls sold at Sharon ’ s on the Common continued to organically spread . As a result , Baker now produces hundreds of infinity shawls per year and has also branched out into making infinity scarves and shrugs . “ I ’ ve made over 2,500 custom pieces over the past decade ,” notes Baker . “ I take finished products , cut them up , and turn them into what I like to call ‘ super-finished products ,’ which are completely different from anything else out there .” Baker explains that most of her infinity scarves are “ patchwork pieces ,” which are made from fabric left over from the infinity shawls .
Baker says that she buys most of her shawls from a vendor named Shaheen Mira , who makes trips from the Kashmir region of India to America every year . “ I take the beautiful wool and cashmere , silk , and viscose shawls that he brings to me , cut them up , and turn them into other things . I ’ m his first stop when he comes to this country now , and I buy anywhere from 200-400 pieces per year from him .”
One of Baker ’ s favorite pieces from her collection of infinity scarves is the “ Vermonter ,” which is made by
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