Painted Tree Booth - The Good, The Bad, and The Overpriced

 Hey there princess!

In September of 2020, deep in the trenches of the pandemic, I signed up to be a vendor at a Painted Tree location in Sugar Land, TX. For those new to the scene, Painted Tree is a company that rents out large retail spaces (this one was in an old Buy Buy Baby for context) and installs booths for local craftspeople and retailers to sell their goods. Below is a photo of me viewing the space before the booths went in!

I wanted to share my experiences with you, if you are interested in doing something similar, so that you know what to expect. I wish more information had been available online before I had joined so that I could have been more prepared. One benefit of the location I was going into was that it was brand new. My booth was totally clean, and I was able to decorate and put my products in without the headache of working around customers who were shopping. The photos you will see below are all of my own booth. 

To begin, my booth, which was located near the front of the store and closer to the registers, was priced at $288/month. Painted Tree also takes a 10% commission on all of your sales, so you will need to take both of these things into account when pricing your items. All items need to be entered into their system and price stickers will need to be printed out in-store, and stuck while you are there (or you could always take the stickers back home to stick, but I lived about a 40 minute drive from the Sugar Land location).

When I first signed up to be a retailer, I was told that move-in would happen in October, but due to delays with construction we were actually able to move into the space on November 7th with the store opening to customers on November 15th. This meant that I wanted to have a hefty supply of both holiday decor and gifts. I stocked my booth with the things that I normally sell on Etsy like my pencils and artwork, and then I purchased other items wholesale online. 

Above is a photo of my booth on the day it was open to customers. At this time, most of the other booths in the shop had been fully moved into and Painted Tree promised that the money from our rent and their commission would go towards not only the upkeep of the space, but also the wages of the sales associates and extensive online marketing. This seemed like a great situation for me, since my online presence is incredibly small. Having someone with an established business model and a marketing budget could bring me a whole new group of customers who would have otherwise never heard of me!

Now, I believe in investing in my business. I had been saving for this opportunity for months and was putting everything that I was making in sales on Etsy back into stock for this booth. I spent hours creating the decor myself, sourcing beautiful items, and crafting a space that I was incredibly proud of. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a single thing. 

The other booths in Painted Tree, I noticed, carried a wide variety of items. Next to me was a booth full of handmade quilts, and on the other side was a booth of wreaths. Some booths were packed with items purchased from Alibaba and others had handmade furniture. Some booths had some incredibly cool stuff, others not so much. That is the downside of going in when a store is first being built - you have no idea who else is going in next to you and if their products will mesh with yours.

Now for the transparency part. Between opening day and December 31, 2020 I pulled in $2,133. However, when you subtract 10% for commission, $288 for December rent and $144 for the half month of November rent I ended up taking home about $1,488. Still - I was thrilled! I came out on top for the holiday season, and I was ready to start January strong. Little did I know, it would be really difficult to keep that stride. 

I made sure to keep my stock varied, and put product in for every holiday. I had colorful displays for Valentines, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween - you name it! I also had tons of fun selecting different products for my shop and setting things up. I went and arranged things about once a week so that I could make sure that the booth was being maintained to my standard and to keep adding new product. 

This booth was really a labor of love during a really difficult time. We were still coming out of the pandemic and there was so much uncertainty in the world and in my own personal life. I loved being able to come to Painted Tree and make something fun and beautiful. It was a form of stress-relief and also a source of pride whenever I looked on my vendor website and saw that an item had sold. 

However, as time passed I noticed that there were fewer and fewer customers shopping in the store and my sales were dwindling. When I went in to set up new products, I would often be one of only one or two people in the store. The extensive marketing that they had promised wasn't reaching the customer base that would have been shopping from this kind of market. Soon, the people around me started moving out of their booths. Sometimes they would be replaced by a fun new vendor, and sometimes the booth would sit empty for months. 

I tried new things, adding clothing, party supplies, books anything that I thought was beautiful and fun and in line with my business. I tried to become involved on Instagram and share photos of my little booth. Still, the customers weren't coming. 

When I was first sold on the idea of renting a booth at Painted Tree, I was shown video testimonials of other women who had booths at their locations across the nation. These women talked about how they were able to stay home with their small children because of their Painted Tree income by selling things that they either handmade our sourced themselves. They were able to focus on their homes and families because Painted Tree took care of the rest of the work of managing a store. It was all incredibly compelling. 

So, why wasn't it working for me? Was it the location? Was it my merchandise? Was it because I didn't come in with a preexisting online following? Maybe it was a combination of all of these things. 

 For 2021 my gross for the year was $4717 and after commission and rent were deducted I was left with $1310 as my take-home FOR THE YEAR. Thats a little over $100 per month and less than I made during the month and a half holid
ay period the year before. 

I looked at my priorities, and I decided to pull out and close up shop at the beginning of 2022. I came out in the red after more than a year of hard work and driving across the city every week. 

Now, all of this information is based on my own personal experiences at this specific Painted Tree location over a period of time that is now more than a year ago. Things can and do change, and of course I know that other people can have different experiences!

If you were ever a vendor at a Painted Tree and want to share your experience, I would love to hear it! If you are thinking of going into a Painted Tree location and have questions, I would be happy to try to answer them. 

At the end of the day, I am really grateful for the opportunity that this gave me to try selling in-person. If you are interested shopping with me, I currently sell my products on Etsy (click here) and in wholesale form via Faire (click here). 

Sparkle on!

New Orleans for New Year's

Hey there princess!

To celebrate the end of one crazy year, my husband and I took a trip to New Orleans in the week between Christmas and New Years. Neither of us have ever been to New Orleans before (I am a native Texan and have never been to Louisiana before!). This trip was so needed and so much fun for the two of us after a year of being shut up in the house staring at the computer screen.

Before leaving for our trip, I polled my family to ask for the best places to stay, shop, and eat at in NOLA and boy did they come through! 

We stayed at the Hyatt Centric French Quarter, which ended up being really close to a lot of the things that we were wanting to do. A lot of places were closed due to COVID, but there were fewer crowds on the street, and we were able to enjoy walking around the city without the typical hustle and bustle. If you live in our neck of the woods and are looking for a short get-away - I would highly recommend going now! 

I had so much fun walking up and down the beautiful streets full of history. The brisk air was perfect, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Now that I am home again, I want to buy some books about the history of New Orleans. The French Quarter is full of an incredible mix of both modern and classical architecture. 

There are towering Magnolia trees and sleepy Spanish moss lining the narrow walkways framing the houses that look like they have stood there for centuries. The breeze coming off of the Mississippi River was cool and refreshing in the warm afternoon sun as we made our way around Jackson Square. All around are beautiful sights, delicious smells, and the sounds of lively jazz music.

Some of my favorite places were food-related (can you blame me?). 

Both mornings of our stay, we ate breakfast at the fabulous Cafe du Monde where we each got hot and delicious beignets positively drowning in powdered sugar. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it! All of the dining is outdoors, and the seating looks out at Jackson Square on one side and the Mississippi on the other side. 

We were also lucky enough to get to hear some incredible jazz musicians playing while we ate our breakfast and enjoyed the morning. New Orleans is the birthplace of Louis Armstrong, and the birthplace of jazz. Sitting back and listening to these incredible artists play "What A Wonderful World" while eating a delicious breakfast was the exact medicine I needed to recover from 2020.

Another incredible stop on our trip was Bourbon House, where we were able to enjoy a quiet dinner (I had shrimp and grits, and it was delish!). I would totally recommend stopping here if you haven't been here before. It was so quiet, especially for a Sunday night. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and was located directly across the street from our hotel on Bourbon Street. 

The absolute highlight of our trip, however, was a dinner at Court of the Two Sisters. This stop required a reservation, and it was honestly so much fun to get dressed up for dinner! I can't remember the last time we went out to eat and had to look somewhat presentable (maybe our honeymoon?). 

This place was packed with history and charm, not to mention some of the best food I have ever had! Our salads were mixed in front of us, and we were so impressed with the food and the atmosphere. 

The building, as it currently stands, was erected in 1832 by Zenon Cavalier (what a name!) a financier of note in the early day s of Louisiana history. Prior to this, the location was the residence of Sieur Etienne DePerier, Governor of the French colonial period (1725 - 1733). The restaurant is called Court of the Two Sisters because the space was previously a fancy variety shop owned by two sisters who were members of an aristocratic family of Old New Orleans. 

Basically, I can't wait for our next trip to New Orleans! There is so much more that I would like to do and see now that I know what to expect. Do you have any recommendations for me? Have you ever been to New Orleans? I've about halfway decided to sign up for a Krewe and ride in the Mardi Gras parade. Maybe a bit too much....