WEST DES MOINES, Iowa– It has been three weeks since Painted Tree Boutiques in Clive shut its doors, displacing nearly 300 vendors. The move came after its parent company filed for bankruptcy, closing stores across the nation. Now, a local business is opening its doors for those vendors to have a place to sell their goods.
Harlow + James is a plus-size women’s clothing boutique in Valley Junction. It was one of the vendors at Painted Tree before it closed. Unlike many of the other vendors, they have a permanent brick-and-mortar location. So, they’re opening their doors for former vendors to come in and sell their product without charging them anything.
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Kelly Clouse started the business with her business partner, Brenda, in 2021 after struggling to find local plus-size clothing stores that hadn’t shut down during COVID. Now, they own Harlow + James, a connected thrift store called XO, and a connected space that is sitting empty right now.
A week or two after Painted Tree closed, they thought of the idea of opening the empty space up to former vendors until they were ready to move in and brand the space for their business…