GARDINER — Clare Marron went around her shop, making the final touches before the doors opened at 10 a.m.
It’s one of her last days at Monkitree, a store on Gardiner’s Main Street that she has run for over 15 years. It also happens to be Small Business Saturday.
“We are expecting a lot of people,” Marron said.
Marron sold Monkitree — named after a saucer magnolia tree that grew in her childhood home’s yard — a week ago to long-time Gardiner resident Katherine Kollman, who has periodically helped run the store since it opened in 2010.
Marron and her husband bought the Monkitree building at 263 Water Street in 2009 and currently live upstairs. They plan to move to Canada in January — first to Alberta, then, in the spring, to Nova Scotia — where the couple bought a new building.
As with Monkitree, they plan to live on the top floor and eventually open a shop on the bottom floor, allowing for Marron’s husband to practice his metalsmithing and jewelry making.
Kollman, the new owner of Monkitree, has lived in the community for 24 years with her husband and two children. “People have asked me if I’m going to move upstairs too,” she joked.
A staple on Gardiner’s Main Street, Monkitree sells everything from ceramics to art to handmade jewelry. Most items are from Maine. Kollman, who has sold some of her own art at the store, runs Out of My Head Designs, where she makes fabric art. During the pandemic she made cloth masks.
The store has undergone big changes over the years, largely thanks to the Gardiner Main Street neighborhood revitalization program. While business was slower than usual this summer, according to Marron, she expects December to be quite busy.
Curtis Picard, president of the Maine Retail Association, said that, nationally, it’s predicted that holiday shopping will increase around 4% year over year. The holiday season for the association runs from October to January.
“While I agree there is some uncertainty in the economy, it has remained resilient thus far. We are hoping Maine follows the national prediction,” Picard said.
Kollman does not have big changes in mind, but as an artist herself, she’s excited to have the opportunity to create more art as well as use her network of artists to help curate the store.
It’s been her dream to open a store.
“I’m just thankful for Clare for trusting me,” Kollman said.
“And I’m grateful the artists chose me to showcase their work,” Marron said.
