Painted Tree Boutiques has abruptly shut down all 60 of its stores, ending operations nationwide and leaving vendors scrambling.

The retailer operated a marketplace model in which independent sellers rented booth space to offer gifts, clothing, and home decor, often in repurposed large-format retail sites.

Founded in 2015, Painted Tree positioned itself as a physical platform for small businesses, describing the concept as “an Etsy marketplace and Pinterest catalog come to life”.

The Arkansas-based retailer confirmed in a message to vendors on April 14 that it would “cease all business operations” immediately.

Vendors were given until April 24 to collect their inventory, with access limited to daytime hours and subject to landlord approval. Many had invested in store fit-outs and inventory, and have raised concerns about recovering payments for recent sales and deposits.

One of those shops, Threefold Grace of Little Rock, posted about the store closings on Instagram.

“I’m honestly still trying to process this,” Threefold Grace said.

“This morning, we were notified that Painted Tree Boutiques is filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and has shut down all operations effective immediately. That location made up about 90 per cent of my business, so this is a major and unexpected shift. To say this is hard is an understatement.”

Painted Tree has cited rising costs, shifting market conditions, and changes in consumer behavior as factors behind the closure.

In a statement on Instagram, the store acknowledged the end of its operations and thanked its community.

“We know many of you have invested significant time, energy, and resources into building your spaces at Painted Tree, and this is not the outcome any of us hoped for,” said the company.