Page 20 - BusinessWest March 2, 2026

HOME IMPROVEMENT >>
Getting Down to Business
Home & Garden Show Lets Contractors
Put Their Best Foot Forward
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
of those cereal box records that were
Kelly Kapinos says it started with one
prevalent in the ’60s and ’70s.
Her husband, Jay, was looking at
a trade magazine in a doctor’s office
after an on-the-job injury, she explained, when
he came across an item for chimney sweeping.
“It talked about how you could be your own
boss, help people stay safe, meet a lot of people,
and not have to work in a cubicle,” she recalled,
adding that he sent away for the record, which
started with “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Mary
Poppins.
“It talked about the advantages of being a
chimney sweep, like being outside in the nice
weather. It didn’t talk about how cold it gets, or
how hot it can be on roofs, or how dangerous
it can be,” Kapinos recalled with a laugh, add-
ing that, after some deeper due diligence on
this business, they bought in and hung out their
shingle. Sort of.
They kept their full-time jobs and started
cleaning chimneys on weekends before it
became a full-time pursuit called Ace Chim-
ney Sweeps. And 40 years later, Kelly and her
three sons, Matt, Jamie, and Joe, are still at it
(Jay went on to get his class A license and now
moves heavy construction equipment), as one
of the very few locally owned chimney sweep
companies still doing business in the 413 and
just beyond.
And this is one of the points they stress to
visitors to their booth at the Original Western
Mass Home & Garden Show, which will stage
its 71st edition at the Big E on March 26-29.
The company has become a regular at the
show over the past several years, said Kapinos,
adding that it uses those four days to help fill
an already-crammed schedule for the coming
seasons, but also just to get the word out and
build some brand recognition.
These are the main motivations for vendors
at the show, many of which have been appear-
ing for decades, said Andy Crane, president
of the Home Builders & Remodelers Assoc. of
Western Mass., which produces the show.
The showcase provides a great opportunity
for businesses to do some brand building and,
quite often, put some business on the books,
said Crane, adding that, with the economy slow-
ing in some respects, many vendors are more
focused on looking for work than they have
been in recent years, when they were booked
solid heading into the show.
“A lot of businesses are really busy, but there
The leadership team at Ace Chimney Sweeps, Kelly Kapinos and her sons, from left, Kelly, Matty, and
Joey.
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MARCH 2, 2026
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