On a cold, gusty Halloween day, I spoke with Kiannah Kelly, 29, of Love, Evelyn, which has a storefront on Main Street in Coudersport by the traffic light. Inside the store, it smells like a delicious mixture of things like witch hazel and lemons, along with floral notes, like something slightly spicy and earthy. The store is pleasantly dimly lit, which gives it a homey, comforting feeling.

“It started when I lived in Las Vegas for three years, in the downtown area,” said Kelly. It was years ago, but they would have popup businesses and refill stations with nontoxic items and sustainable items…that was the first time I saw it, and I thought it was so neat,” she said. 

If you’re wondering what “it” is, a zero waste refillery is a retail business where customers bring their own clean, reusable containers to buy household and personal care products in bulk, without the need for single-use packaging. The primary goal is to significantly reduce plastic waste and promote sustainable shopping habits.

After Vegas, Kelly moved to Pittsburgh and worked in Aspinwall. In Oakmont, she found a refillery there, too. Then, she and her husband decided to move “back home” to God’s Country, Potter County.

In talking with her friends and family, she liked the idea of opening her own refillery, which she says has made her “super happy.” 

“I’ll always be honest with people–for instance, paper towels–we have paper towels in the house. We have animals…People will come in and say, ‘Oh, I haven’t tried your laundry detergent because I’m still using up mine.’ 

But–that’s the point–not wasting whatever you have and then making the switch…You don’t have to switch your entire life. A few products at a time goes a long way,” said Kelly. 

Kelly has a professional history of working in salons and spas that are organic and nontoxic, but, in her very down-to-earth way, she said that she is “still learning.” 

In her quest to build her business, Kelly reached out to other refilleries, but, to her surprise, no one contacted her back. She did find some information in a Facebook group, and says that her husband and family are very supportive. 

There was a little hiccup at the beginning, when, “I almost backed out, right at the last minute, I was just so nervous! We had just moved back, and there were so many changes, and I thought to myself, ‘Do I put this pressure on my family right now?’ But then I thought, “If I’m gonna do it, I have to do it now.”

And so she did.

The store is about sharing and not wasting products and being kind to the Earth and the people around you by not poisoning their water with chemicals and sprays that will give you diseases and such. 

But most of all, Love, Evelyn is a place where you can get your detergents filled and your lotions and, but it just might also be a place where one might get some nourishment for your soul.