UNION, Maine — After suffering the unexpected loss of their brother Levi Caverly, sister Helen Caverly and sister-in-law Sophie Caverly found a way to bring themselves and their family closer while also being of service to others by opening The Butterfly Barn Boutique and Thrift Store.
While visiting a New Jersey beach with his family in May of 2022, Levi Caverly died in a sand collapse accident. He was only 18 years old. Helen, who was with her brother, made it out of the collapse alive.
Todd Caverly said he and his wife Angela Caverly raised all three of their children in what is now The Butterfly Barn. The space was just an old chicken barn when they bought it more than 20 years ago.
Todd says there are many memories of Levi that he cherishes, and he said those memories still live in the barn today.
"When he was little, he would finally drag himself out of bed at probably like eight in the morning, or something like that, and he would see me when he would come out of the bedroom, and he would come running across the floor and launch into my arms," Todd said. "Fortunately, after he got older, he stopped doing that because he would knock me right over backwards."
Todd and the Caverlys hold onto their memories of Levi. His death took them all by surprise, but shortly after, his wife and his daughters Helen and Sophie got to work.
They followed Helen and Sophie's intuition, who wanted to turn the home Levi grew up in into memories with purpose.
"What you see here is their vision," Todd said.
When customers walk into The Butterfly Barn, they see pine-finished walls that hold pictures and wall trinkets, shelves packed with curvy vases, and clothing racks that screech as they shuffle through items marked under five dollars, keeping prices low.
But there are a few things that customers don't know, like the fact that the men's clothing section was originally supposed to be Levi's apartment. Customers also wouldn't know that the marble counter they see at checkout was meant to be used as a desktop for his streaming room.
In the midst of grief after Levi's passing in May, Helen, Sophie and the family started to transform the family home into the thrift store in October. They completed the project within two months.
"We all really threw ourselves into it, and so, that helped with the initial shock of the loss," Sophie said.
Sophie said they spent every night in the barn creating a space they say Levi would be proud of.
"He would be really proud that we're doing this as a family, and I think he would be really grateful for how close we've all gotten after this," Sophie said. "A lot of it through the Butterfly Barn."
With so much that reminds them of Levi in the space, Sophie and Helen prioritized making sure the prices in store were low. The sisters for years bonded over thrift shopping together. They realized that thrifting gets expensive, and they wanted their business to be different.
The store functions mostly on donations. Todd said giving back to the community has continued to be their goal.
"Their goal to give back to the community, to bless others, to just be a spot where thrifting is fun where you can go and get what you need without spending a fortune," he said. "When you look at the layout, the design, those things are all them."