Each month in Mindful Business Matters, Mindful writers explore the local sustainable and wellness business landscape, highlighting companies' unique work and connections to the city.

Green Home Experts - A Community Store

As much as I like my Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, there’s nothing I like more than stepping into a store where the owner and staff know me, and I them. In this vast urban mish-mash, it makes me feel part of a community, helps urban life feel more personal.

When I first walked into Green Home Experts two years ago at their Grand Opening, that community investment was just beginning. When I walked in again this June, it felt like more than two years had passed. I watched as people greeted the owner, Maria Onesto Moran, by name—in person and on the phone. These past two years, Maria says, have been “One hell of an adventure.”

 

 

Maria started Green Home Experts because she found herself going to multiple stores to find what she needed for her home. She wanted to open a store with everything under one roof for her customers, to lessen their running around, and to make the experience more personal. People want a healthier home, and Maria sees her customers, especially young families, wanting to use safe and natural products.

Maria researches the products she sells in her store. She wants her customers to ask questions on the products and trust her answers. She wants to be their trusted expert. Whether it’s buying paint or looking for natural products for your pet, “If the staff has the expertise, those connections can’t be made online or on the phone…People don’t trust you if they don’t see you.”

“Everybody is like family,” Maria believes. When their garage burnt down last month and Maria didn’t come into the store as usual, word spread and her customers brought her food, gave her money for cabs, and made a hard situation easier. She even attends birthday parties for her customer’s kids. “[Being a part of community is] the best part of my job. If that’s not the best part of my job, then it’s helping people search and find solutions [for their green home needs].”

In addition to her wonderful customers, Maria is thankful for the opportunity to connect with her fellow green entrepreneurs: “Chicago has a really good network of green businesses and organizations. I think it’s really cool to see how people started to work together, mostly organically…It’s a vibrant community.” Maria saw this at work in April when she helped coordinate the Earth Fest in Oak Park. This day-long celebration included a fair with over thirty-five vendors, local businesses offering specials (such as a compost sale at her store), and a big party in the evening. Green Home Experts is not just a business; they help connect the community.

While they are busting at the seams, they hope to keep growing both in their green merchandise and in their capacity to reach new people. As the economy improves, she hopes people will see them as the source for residential remodeling supplies, from flooring to paint to counter tops.

Where else can you get counter tops and diapers right next to each other?

Ways to shop at Green Home Experts:

• You decide to finally replace the kitchen counter top that’s been driving you crazy since you moved in five years ago.

•  You need a baby shower gift for your friend who’s trying to do everything as minimal impact as she can.

• Lunchboxes for your kids because when they’re so hungry that they gnaw on the box, at least it will be lead-free.

• Your dog is stinky and needs a wash.

• Your mother-in-law comes next week, and you need to clean the house from roof to basement.

• Mom likes to get dirty in the garden and Dad likes to cook, so a composter seems the perfect fit for kitchen scraps and create good soil.

• There’s a play area for the kids and stuff to keep them busy. You can browse in peace, pretending that for just a moment, everybody gets along.

Visit Green Home Experts at

823 S. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park

708.660.1443

www.ghexperts.com