A Gathering Place, Inside PAINTED TREE 308 South Bryant Avenue, Edmond, OK (2026)

Seller and Interior Designer of Handmade Farmhouse and Shabby Cottage Chic Decor.

05/22/2026

What a month (plus) it has been! As my Mr. AGP Man and I have worked to navigate our way through some challenging post Painted Tree Boutiques (PT) trauma, we have firmly planted our feet back on solid ground and are looking forward to better days.

I hope all of you who were affected by the closure last month of all PT Boutiques across the USA have found your way back to a place of peace and strength. If not today, then I sincerely hope that day will find you before too long. For those of you searching for another market, I hope you'll find one that will fulfill all your dreams and desires. For those of you who are still seeking a new home for your businesses, I pray you will find a place very soon.

I took some time over the past six weeks or so to reflect upon what is ultimately best for me and the future of our AGP business. I have A LOT of merchandise sitting everywhere (three boutiques worth) and although we've sold off a ton of display stuff and duplicate products, there is far too much to try and sell off one-item-at-a-time. That said, we've opted to lease a space in a very SMALL Oklahoma City marketplace, and when the time is right I will share with you where it is as we move forward.

There were many things to consider as we thought things out and planned for the coming days. Several of our local vendor malls (Oklahoma City and beyond) already carry our Bellflower Girl LLC Bellflower Girl Greeting Card Line and so my first thought was that I needed to honor those wholesale buyers and not crowd in on their spaces. Secondly, since I doubt I will ever be a part of a corporately run/large market again, my heart really wanted something small. Something that wouldn't take over our personal lives and run us into the ground. After four years we were tired of the drive to Texas from OKC, and honestly, the thought of moving back into something huge again left me feeling completely overwhelmed.

In the course of building our AGP business I've learned something incredibly profound. At least for ME it was profound. It is this:

More square footage, more stores, more WONDERFUL, no matter how beautiful it all may look, doesn't always equate to MORE overall profit.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVED my time at PT. I did. And except for the last 'truly awful year', I will remember my time with them very fondly. I will especially miss the loveliness of my Highland Village (TX) Boutique and all the precious customers I was blessed to interact with. I've made lifelong friends and I will miss them all very much.

To be sure, we are carrying on with the wholesale end of our business, our Bellflower Girl Card Line. Our Cards are now sold across the USA and we couldn't be more excited about where this journey has taken us. We sell our Cards both retail and wholesale on our website, and also wholesale only on FAIRE. You can find us here: https://BellflowerGirlLLC.Faire.com

I'll be back before long with an update on just what we are doing and where we are going. Thank you for all the kind notes and emails and for the beautiful messages (and cards!) of support from our friends. They have helped carry us through some challenging days.

Love to you all~ Rebecca & her Mr. AGP Man, Steven

04/30/2026

Dear Friends...

(EDITED... all these flowers have sold. Thank you, guys!)

Well...it's been a hot minute! (UGH!)

As many of you know (if you don't, please read a couple posts below), our A Gathering Place business was caught up in the Painted Tree Boutiques Bankruptcy that was announced 16 days ago (I suppose I'm still counting!). Along with thousands of other vendors, we had 10 days to remove ALL of our retail merchandise from our stores, dismantle pergolas, chandeliers, security cameras, track lighting and all display pieces, including furniture.

To tell you we were overwhelmed, upset, angry, irritated, etc., would be an understatement. My Mr. AGP Man and I have owned our A GATHERING PLACE business for years and years, dating back to our first retail space in 1987. We've watched it grow and change over the years and four years ago we joined Painted Tree and expanded at one point into five stores.

We could not have imagined how it would all play out and end up.

We've taken the past two weeks and two days to weigh out our options, gather our thoughts and then begin to put one foot in front of another in order to move forward. I personally wasn't sure what 'moving forward' would look like at first... Being forced to rent a storage shed (a big one) and then also have TONS of merchandised-filled-bins all over my house has caused me great anxiety. To be honest it took me a week to even begin to think straight.

But...such is life. I will NOT allow the reckless, pathetic, unprofessional and secretive behavior we were forced to watch from the sidelines take us down. They can all pound sand.

04/24/2026

Dear Friends...

Yep. Up late. Just sitting here trying my best to process everything that has transpired over the past week or so with Painted Tree Boutiques... Isn't it just INSANE????

How are you doin'? Do you have a game plan or are you just gettin' by? Were you able to get ALL your stuff out of the stores you were in by today's deadline? I've seen where some vendors just abandoned some of their merchandise...

I came across this little quote and I thought it was pretty fitting given all that we've been through of late. Honestly, since September I felt like I was being bullied by the man behind the curtain. Know what I mean? So this kind of sums up how I'm feeling tonight.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do just yet. I've had three amazing offers to join other vendor malls...and a couple that weren't so great! :) I'm taking my time to think, plan, ponder and then THINK THINK THINK some more. I won't make a final decision until I KNOW I am at peace with my choice.

Just want you to know I'm thinking of you all and wishing for you good things...only good things!

04/20/2026

Dear Friends...

If you haven't already heard the news (I'm sure many of you have), the boutique co-op I was a part of for several years claimed bankruptcy 7 last Tuesday. I've been a part of Painted Tree Boutiques (PT) for a long time and I along with hundreds of other small business owners, was blind sighted (of sorts!) by the news. To tell you I am overwhelmed would be an understatement.

All of the vendors across 62 Painted Tree Boutique stores across the USA have been displaced. Most vendors are scrambling to find another location in which to sell their wares. Millions of dollars have been invested (and so much lost) by my fellow vendors and friends and so you can image how devastating this news is to all of us. We were given 10 days to remove ALL our merchandise, build-outs, display pieces, furniture, etc. It's been truly a gut-punch and we are understandably tired, stressed and concerned.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective. This is NOT a full-on tragedy for me personally. I know firsthand what real loss looks like and this is not it. I can only speak for myself, but I know in my heart that even though this hurt us financially and even emotionally, we are still healthy and strong and eventually our business will land back on her feet and we find a place for the thousands of dollars worth of merchandise currently housed off-site. I'm reminded of an old song my late mother used to sing about God's grace...it says "He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater..." and so I'm holding that belief close to my heart tonight. My faith and belief are still strong and this will NOT take us down. My most sincere thoughts and prayers are with all the other vendors who have been truly financially devastated by this action. Some of my friends were in ALL the PT stores... Ten days is not very long to try and pack up and clear everything out...

For those of you who have purchased from us online or locally, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! For our Bellflower Girl LLC card buyers they are still sold locally across Oklahoma in several locations. They are also sold throughout the USA and we couldn't be more excited about that. (Who knew!???) You can still purchase our cards on our website www.BellflowerGirl.com and if you are a wholesale buyer with a shoppe or boutique, you can find us on FAIRE here: https://BellflowerGirlLLC.Faire.com I would LOVE to have you visit us and consider offering our line to your customers.

I do not know where I will land, but I do have a couple of options in the works. I promise to keep you posted when I know more. I will not speak disparagingly about PT. For many years they were very good to me, it was only after it was sold last September that things took a noticeable (and unfortunate) turn. Broken hearts and busted-up pocketbooks are everywhere...

Thank you so very much to our friends and family and even customers who showed up to help me and my Mr. AGPMan pack up and load. We are understandably very, very tired and your notes, texts and emails have meant so much to us. We finished packing up and loading our Edmond store right at 6PM this evening and we are just so happy this part of this journey is behind us.

I will share more soon.

04/09/2026

I thought you'd all like to see some of latest cottage core greeting card designs over on our Bellflower Girl LLC page. We are always creating fresh and new offerings... Still love combining the new with the old. It all makes my heart sing!

Address

Inside PAINTED TREE 308 South Bryant Avenue
Edmond, OK
73034

Telephone

+14056230197

Website

http://www.RebeccaVintage.com/

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