AZ business helping sellers affected by Painted Tree Boutique closure

PHOENIX – A small boutique closes its doors, leaving many small sellers in big trouble, but another boutique is stepping in to help.

The backstory:

In April, it was reported that Painted Tree Boutiques, which is a chain consisting of more than 60 stores across the U.S. that leased space to small vendors, closed abruptly. Its last day of business was April 13.

In the email to vendors and employees, Painted Tree blamed rising costs, shifting market conditions and the changing retail landscape.

“This decision has not come lightly, and it represents the end of a chapter that has meant everything to us,” a portion of the message said.

Local perspective:

“I do everything from little things like little key chains to rubber duckies and turtles,” said Janet Manegold, owner of Cuddly Cacti Creations.

Manegold was stunned when the shop she sold her handmade products in abruptly shut its doors.

“I had to scramble to Painted Tree to get all my items,” Manegold said.

She had just paid extra to have her items up front before an email saying the doors were closing.

“It was frustrating that you know I had just done all that work to get everything moved up and the payments and now I don’t know, our guess is that nobody is going to see that back. All the vendors that were in there,” said Manegold.

Dig deeper:

Lucky for Manegold, she had also secured a spot in The Collective Market, which has two locations dedicated to featuring local artists.

“I started out as a small business. And I felt like there was such a deficit as far as where you can go and sell your stuff besides just having, doing markets on the weekends,” said owner Raina Dodge.

Now, they’re taking in even more businesses in the wake of Painted Tree’s closure.

“We have had a massive influx of small businesses reaching out. My mantra, what I’m telling our team, my managers, and myself, we’re going to be bringing in as many small businesses as possible,” Dodge said.

After making sure it’s a good fit, two businesses moved in with three more expected to set up shop at The Collective this week.

“I’m very happy here, it’s been working out very well for me. And I really like this store and the focus on the more handmade, the more unique, so it’s been a very good fit for me and what I do,” said Manegold.

The Collective has vendors who sell everything from clothing, to home decor, to delicious treats.

“We have so many unique items in here that you’re not going to find anywhere else. And we have all small businesses who make them. We are all local to Arizona, 90% of items in the store are actually made, curated by people that live here and then we have the quality that stands behind those items,” Dodge said.