New owners of Fine Fettle continue holistic focus

VISIT Store hours for Fine Fettle are Monday 9 a.m. to noon; Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The owners suggest customers stay tuned for the possibility of extended summer hours. 61597af4-0637-43e7-a6cd-dbe79e829815

If someone is in “fine fettle” then they are in a “state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit or form” states the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Good health is exactly the message Fine Fettle’s new owners, Trish Brown and Cassie Schnoor, want to convey to their customers. Brown said she thinks her version of the store’s name, which derives from an Old English term, is more direct: “I see you in good health and good spirits.”

“Our bodies are made to heal ourselves,” she said. “In here, we try to be accepting, make no judgments and support those who are on their own health journey.”

Brown and Schnoor purchased the Bridge Square all-natural, holistic shop from Julia McLean a few weeks ago. The mother-daughter team wants customers to know they are committed to the store’s purpose of featuring products that are non-toxic, eco-friendly and holistic.

Now, their inventory reflects the season with products like non-toxic bug spray and insect repellent. Soon, the owners will add sunscreen. Summer hats fill one front window, while wind chimes and travel bags occupy the other. Puzzles line the top shelf, under which are shelves filled with singing bowls, tarot cards and salt lamps.

In the middle of the store is a fully stocked table of rocks and crystals. Across from the table is an area for personal care items such as non-toxic toothpastes and bio digestible razors and bamboo toothbrushes. Another shelf contains herbal beauty soaps and natural deodorants made without aluminum.

Any changes to the beloved Bridge Square store will come in the form of slight tweaks around the edges, said the pair. In the coming months, the owners said to watch for a few new product lines from more locally and regionally sourced vendors, especially jewelry and crafts from more Northfield artists.

Beth Wolters, a soul connection doula and thermographist who works at Fine Fettle, said in an email Monday that the transition has been easy. “I have known and worked with Cassie for over four years,” said Wolters. “I look forward to the next chapter of Fine Fettle.”

“It’s kind of cool that we have come full circle,” said Brown, Cassie’s mother and a close friend of McLean. The transition happened effortlessly, she explained about the passage of ownership. “It really just fell into our laps.

Brown has been on a personal health journey ever since she suffered a traumatic brain injury eight years ago. At home, Brown said she’s been gradually altering her family’s foods, household products and medicines to products containing less toxic chemicals.

Schnoor, the middle of Brown’s three daughters, has worked as the manager of Fine Fettle for five years. She will be in charge of the store’s day-to-day operations, while also looking after her two children, a five year old and a five month old.

Besides being grandmother, Brown will manage the store’s budget and marketing. Daughter Hannah will be incharge of designing the front windows.

Cassie, who is the middle daughter, said she is currently getting certified to be a nutritional therapist. The back corner of the store is filled with multiple vitamins, digestive health supplements and immune boosting herbs, as well as herbal teas and pre-natal products. Dietary supplements like fruit and greens juices and Ion gut support with mineral supplements seem to sell well with all ages of customers, she said.

Cassie said she’ll be trying to fill the big shoes left by McLean, a certified Naturopath, who operated the shop since 2017. In a recent email, McLean said she will miss being at the store.

“I want to thank the community for all your support and kindness,” said McLean.

Naturopathic medicine is a system that embraces many therapies, including herbs, massage, acupuncture, exercise, and nutritional counseling.

“We’ve watched the store mold to people, and people mold to the store,” said Brown. “We’re in the process of seeing and learning.”