04/22/2026
We are now in the Creative Collabs! What a cool week to be a vendor; they are putting on a free show to help support the local Painted Tree Vendors! They loss so much recently the sudden closure and bankruptcy of the store. The best way to help any of the small businesses is come and shop and bring friends! Spring is usually a hard time of year and things like this make you wonder if it would be better to just shut down. Show some love:).
It's been a couple days now since the Painted Tree closure announcement and we've finally had some time to reflect on it.
To see so many of our closest friends lose their place of business in a blink of an eye with zero warning has not only left us heartbroken for them but also has brought a sense of anger and frustration against the corporate greed of this entire business model.
The idea of bringing small business entrepreneurs together to collaborate and help each other succeed by promoting one another has always been Creative Collabs motto, from event planning to even opening our very own collective storefront 3 years ago.
Lincoln is actually full of this business model everywhere you turn. From small local businesses hosting pop-up markets, or opening their doors to welcome in other entrepreneur's products and services, or even doing collaborative giveaways on social media, we are all in it together for the right reasons. So to see this corporate giant come in and try to capitalize on this exact idea of small business owners collaborating, to then only let them down in a huge way should have been deflating to our small business community. It should have crushed everyone's spirits. It should have made all of us want to quit or give up.
But what we've seen the last 48 hours is the exact opposite! Businesses, small and large opening up their doors to host pop-up trunk markets for vendors, existing storefronts making room to bring in vendors, and not just in Lincoln but Beatrice, Friend, Waverly, all just trying to help one another!
This is what we do in the face of adversity and disappointment. We show up for each other and we rally around the heart of our community, which is each and every one of you who have poured your heart and souls into creating something special and building your very own business. We will get through this together ❤️
If you were a Painted Tree vendor- we are hosting a FREE Local Love Vendor Market for you to participate in! Please DM to sign up. Also drop your business name in the comments so we can all follow and support you! 🫶
