The recession has taken its toll on nearly everyone, and small businesses are no exception. After two years of offering locally handmade gifts, mesh. boutique is calling it quits.
Located just off the square in downtown Murfreesboro, mesh. provided a storefront for local artists to sell their paintings, jewelry, gifts and clothing. Owners Jenny Kitchen and Heather Harring also sold their own line of handmade soaps and hand-stamped jewelry—both of which they plan to continue selling, either online or in other shops.
“We feel very lucky and fortunate that we got to live out one of our dreams, but now it’s time to focus on moving forward with our products,” Kitchen explained. “And hopefully one day we will be able to bring mesh. back. This isn’t closing down forever, just for right now.”
mesh. featured nearly 50 different artists, mostly from Middle Tennessee, but it didn’t start out that way.
“In the beginning we knew we were going to be a local retailer that featured local things, but we grew into a shop of locally made gifts,” Kitchen said, adding that the boutique’s inventory of locally made gifts increased tremendously in two years.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to help find homes for some of our artists who’ve been with us and supported us from the beginning.”
The shop will certainly be missed—by guests and neighboring businesses, alike.
Judy Goldie, who sits on the board of the Only Downtown Business Alliance and owns Trendy Pieces, Bella’s Boutique and Phase II, said she understands the struggles of owning a small business and hopes to see the shop reappear at some point.
“It was just a trick location for what they were offering,” Goldie said about mesh. “Even though they were within walking distance of the square, that little spot on Lytle Street was just small and off the beaten path.”
She added, “I think that maybe one day they can try a different location because their concept of featuring local artists and the type of merchandise they offered was just great. Their merchandising was beautiful, their window display was always awesome, their price point was good—they had so many right things.”
Goldie explained how tough it can be for a small business owner to choose between an affordable space and a location with better exposure but higher rent.
mesh. officially closes at the end of January and will be selling off a majority of its display cases, along with the merchandise, and can be found at 113 W. Lytle St. or on Facebook.
