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In a vintage 19th-century bank barn just north of the Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township, a business is taking flight.
Its two young owners, not yet even thirty- something, have created a sort of personal-style, artisan-oriented chamber of commerce. It’s a place where you can gather up innovative design elements to kick start your home’s décor while, in the same venue, finding clothing, cleansers, cosmetics and condiments to make you a brighter you.
It’s a refreshing place to visit and shop. Its name, The Mint Leaf, is a harbinger of the invigorating and inspirational contents that fill the main level of the traditional Pennsylvania German barn just off Leiszcs Bridge Road and Stinson Drive.
The Mint Leaf is a very personal endeavor for entrepreneurs Amanda Henn and April George. Both are just 29 years old, but they have been friends since they were two.
Growing Business, Growing Families
The duo’s close circle has expanded to include their husbands, who quite literally have helped build their barn-based business. And there’s a next generation on hand to observe: the Henns are parents to a 3-year-old daughter and the Georges’ son is eight.
Amanda and April, busy moms who were holding down jobs in education and healthcare, respectively, founded the business in December 2014. They operated out of their homes, developing a market and social media following, primarily on Facebook.
“We just kind of fell into it,” says Amanda. “We were looking for something to do together.”
Both were surprised by the response their offerings were receiving.
“It just kind of happened,” she says.
“It exploded,” adds April.
The duo’s initial marketing strategy was disarmingly simple and cost effective: Friends were encouraged to share the page and posts with their FB networks. Traditional media advertising and its attendant costs fell by the wayside.
“We did contests and giveaways all the time in the beginning to gain followers and grow the business,” says Amanda. “To this day, our business is really word of mouth and social media.”
Their Facebook page fan base had grown to more than 9,300 followers by early January.
Planting Roots…and Mint
The Mint Leaf moniker harkens to two things – a desire for a different sort of name and a nod to the owners’ fondness for mint. Visitors in the more temperate months of the year will encounter an old bathtub near the front door filled with mint. So popular is this that customers are encouraged to clip some and also contribute their own varieties to plant.
The old bathtub also hints at the women’s original retail intent.
“We love transforming furniture and bringing it back to life,” says Amanda.
“We started with the thought of ‘AnTiqued,’” says April. But that changed when they wanted to expand into décor and other related items.
When considering a brick-and-mortar location, Amanda was intent on finding something nearby the little village of Leinbachs where she was raised.
A first choice was a circa late 1800s building used as a bed and breakfast along Route 183 near Bern Church.
“We fell for this; it was beautiful, and we were sad when it went to someone else,” says Amanda.
While she and husband Nick continued to scout for another site, they came upon the property on Stinson Drive. Nick found the owner via Facebook and learned a contract had just been signed with a realtor. An offer was made and they purchased the property, which includes a farmhouse, barn and sufficient parking for those working for the transportation, law and health care offices in the farmhouse.
Though there is considerable farmland nearby, the immediate area is fairly commercial, with small manufacturers, offices, warehouses and retail establishments. Traffic buzzes by on Route 222 (formerly the Road to Nowhere) just to the north, and beyond that is the airport, Penn State Health/St. Joseph Medical Center, and other businesses whose employees contribute to a lunchtime or after-hours customer base.
Through the Barn Door…
The two couples purchased the property in March 2018 with the farmhouse tenants remaining. The prior owner had rented out the barn for storage, with plywood walls separating rental sections. The couple, Nick’s dad, April and her husband David got to work renovating the first-floor space for The Mint Leaf’s new home.
“We had to tear down and then build walls, insulate, install air conditioning and heating elements, and incorporate plumbing,” says Amanda.
The barn’s original floors were a challenge with gaps, holes and missing boards.
“It was like putting together a puzzle to replace them,” says Amanda.
The old plywood is gone, but new, smaller walls made of recycled wood create both independent space for vendors as well as additional areas to display goods. The walls do not reach into the rafter areas, keeping the 3,000-square-foot space open and inviting.
Amanda and April, while showcasing the work of small business artisans, also continue to sell their own creations. Most popular are the soy candles they make at home.
“We have a candle night and the families get together,” says Amanda. “We do the melts in my kitchen.” Most popular of the scents is Garden Mint, followed by Mint Mojito. They also produce a series of seasonal scents.
What’s Old is Cool…and so are Vendors’ Names
The area just inside the entrance and behind the cash register had done double duty as the women’s workshop through the holidays, but a new working and display place for their pieces was announced two weeks into 2019. As April worked on a vintage piece, she recalled that among the first items they sold was a coffee table repurposed as a bench.
Among their favorite items to repurpose or rehab are dressers and cedar chests. In fact, one of the latter was salvaged from a curbside by a friend, and the duo stored it for a year before a vendor came to its rescue.
“We love the old vintage furniture that needs a lot of love,” Amanda says. “When it’s not in good shape, we envision it changed.”
The duo created their own retail criteria and have carefully selected the more than 50 vendors whose wares, from food to beverages, cosmetics to “green” household cleansing items, signs to furniture, pottery to crates, apparel and shoes, children’s items to even fresh flowers, fill the barn.
“April and I are pretty picky,” says Amanda. “What you see is how we decorate our homes. I guess you could qualify it as modern style.”
Right now, it’s tough to bring in any new vendor.
“We’re full,” Amanda says. “That kind of happened fast.”
A walk through the barn and the hundreds upon hundreds of items displayed in stall-like settings is a pure delight. Even the whimsical names of many of the vendors — almost all from the Berks, Schuylkill, and Lancaster County areas — can put smiles on a visitor’s face. Among them are Pretty TuTu Cute Bowtique, Forever Cairn, Studio 895, Joyful Roots, The Rustic Coop, Five & Divine, Marked in Grain, Down Greenville Road, Events by Kelly’s Florist, Barn Picks & Stuff, On Lilac Lane, Pretty Pickins’, Sol Kitchen Studios, Timber Made Design Co., 23 Paper Lane, Jennie Wren Designs, DIYNL by Alyssa Christman, The Repurposed Page and Sewing Circles.
A variety of rustic, hand-painted signs offer suggestions from “Stay awhile” to “Be humble and kind” to “Get naked” and “As long as we have wine, the holidays will be fine.”
A selection of housewares from vintage wooden orchard crates to pots and pans to pottery and dishes beckon temptingly to amateur and professional cooks alike.
Need something to store those items – or maybe a place to sit and relax? Well, there’s vintage, repurposed furniture aplenty, from dressers to benches to chairs.
Accessories to individualize one’s home include natural cotton stalks with bolls intact, wall hangings including original paintings and sketches, some sculpture, and fresh flowers and silk floral items.
There is a children’s boutique area including apparel for newborns to tweens. Tutus for hopeful ballerinas are also available. And nearby is a place with unique goodies to pamper the furry members of the family.
For those feeling the need for personal beautification, there is a boutique area for women with interesting clothing items from dresses to jackets to boots, shoes and jewelry. Among the most popular jewelry items this past holiday season were handmade leather earrings by olive + whiskey. Earrings, necklaces and bracelets by Wild Fern Cottage also garnered a lot of attention.
Feeling the need to get squeaky clean and smell great afterward? A line of soaps, scrubs and lotions with scents like citrus and coriander, lemongrass and orange creamsicle crafted by the Stinkleberry Soap Company of Hamburg offers great choices.
And, after that relaxing bath or stimulating shower, you might just be hankering for a great cup of tea. The Akron House Tea Company of Temple offers varieties both bracing and soothing – Earl Grey, Lemon Lavender, Pomegranate, Blueberry, Strawberry Mint and Ginger Peach. And a special mug designed and handcrafted by Melissa Harris of Sol Kitchen Studios might be just the vessel to hold the brew.
Worried about tipping over some of that tea? Eco-Friendly Cleaning, Inc., of Reading stocks surface cleaners, hand soaps, and room and linen sprays. The most popular scents? Mint mojito and minty lemon.
The duo has plans for the ground level of the barn, possibly including a small coffee shop or eatery, but that reality is down the road a bit.
“I’m a dreamer and April goes with the flow,” says Amanda. “If it was up to me, the downstairs would be done.”
With both husbands working and with the commitment of running the store, additional renovation and construction work is usually relegated to weekends, which are already very busy for the two young families.
Many vendors are also in the women’s age group and starting out. Children often accompany their talented entrepreneurial parents, who drop off items for display and sale in their designated areas. The sound of the children’s laughter and the padding of little feet on the old barn floor adds to the general joie de vivre of The Mint Leaf, bringing smiles to the owners and shoppers alike.
“I think the coolest part of this is that we support our own dream and everyone else’s,” says Amanda.
The Mint Leaf
1008 Stinson Drive, Leesport
610.615.5134
