Smart Retailer

Smart Retailer is the ultimate source for independent gift and home-decor retailers looking for industry insights and wholesale products. It features a wide range of today’s trending styles, such as country, traditional, vintage, and coastal. In addition, Smart Retailer offers previews of new products, trend analyses, display suggestions, and essential business tips to support retailers in growing successful enterprises.

National, Trade/B2B

English

Magazine

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#6659013

United States

#2022740

Business and Consumer Services/Marketing and Advertising

#6444

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Monthly visitors

Articles

SECOND NATURE AT READS CREEK

Jan 15, 2025 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

Stop for the Plants, Stay for the ExperienceBy Angie LandsverkJennifer and David Tubbin’s passion has always been about building something special and creating experiences that bring ideas to life. “Second Nature at Reads Creek was born out of that drive — to create a space where people not only enjoy the beauty of nature but also connect with it in meaningful ways,” she said. Their business includes a nursery, greenhouse, gift shop, and landscape design center.
NOT TOO SHABBY BOUTIQUE: Gift Baskets, Home Décor, Gourmet Food, and Much More

Nov 19, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkWhen Reshell Douglas opened Not Too Shabby Boutique, it was a collaboration with her mother. “We started out as a shabby-chic, Frenchie-foo-foo boutique,” Reshell said. “It was really adorable with unique vintage finds that my mother would collect on her trips in the RV.
Cindy’s Home and Garden

Jul 24, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkA Destination for Shopping, Food, and FunWhat began as a flower stand 35 years ago has grown into a business that includes gifts, garden items, gourmet food, a fashion boutique, and much more. Ken and the late Cindy Martin opened Cindy’s Flowers in 1989. “Cindy always had a love for flowers and gardening, so when they purchased the property, they decided to erect some hoop houses and started growing plants,” said their nephew, Jason Martin.
Bekah Kate’s: Products for the Kitchen, Home, Children, and More

Jul 16, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

Bekah Stelling has always loved to cook. She learned mostly from her grandmother and mother and said it was easy to fall in love with all the innovations in gadgets and cookware that happened in the early 2000s. “I was a buyer for a store in Madison for a few years and enjoyed it so much we decided to bring it to Baraboo,” she said. “The store was my dream, with the full support of my hubby, and I share ownership with him, though it is considered a woman-owned business, as I own a majority.
Bittersweet Blessings: A Country, Primitive Shop in a Small, Rural Town

May 22, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

A layoff from her job when she was 8 ½ months pregnant resulted in Michelle Hatch deciding to open a country shop in the lower level of a split home. “As you can imagine, it is very difficult to try and find a job at 8 ½ months pregnant, so I decided that I would take some time and stay home with my newly arriving little one,” she said. After a few months of being home with her baby, Michelle realized she needed something to keep her brain stimulated. That is how Bittersweet Blessings came to be.
The Rustic Rose: Providing Delightful Shopping and Affordable Decorating

May 7, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkRosalyn Housley fell in love with decorating and sales when she started working for Home Interiors and Gifts in 1981. “I helped thousands of people decorate their homes over my 25-year career,” she said. Her tenure with the direct sales company was followed by a move from Florida to North Carolina with her husband, Jim. Jim continued his building business there. They sold vacation cabins that were turnkey decorated, and that started Rosalyn on the path of wholesale buying.
The LastingLite Emporium

Feb 20, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkCindy Reusser has always loved and had a knack for creating. Her children were young when she started making crafts to sell in her home. Cindy did this so she could stay home with her children while her husband, Neal, worked. In 1999, Cindy and Neal, along with her father, Earl, invented the LastingLite Electric Candle. Her business began to grow, with Neal joining her in 2000. Their company is CR Designs. Neal and Cindy eventually felt a pull to open a retail space.
Springwater Greenhouse & Landscaping: Providing Inspiration for Outdoor and Indoor Spaces

Jan 17, 2024 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkPaula Gorrell and Sheri Hacker turned their mutual passion for plants, gardens, and landscaping into a business. “We decided we wanted to work for ourselves and bring the landscaping world to an area that didn’t currently have one established,” said the friends who met in college. In 1995, they opened Springwater Greenhouse & Landscaping on Paula’s family farm in Malta Bend, Missouri.
Dove Christian Supply

Nov 14, 2023 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

By Angie LandsverkA Place Where Faith is a Way of LifeA Place Where Faith is a Way of LifeForty-some years ago, Pete McCollough felt called to open a Christian bookstore despite the fact neither he nor his wife, Yvonne, had prior experience in retail or in owning a business. Today, their son, Chip, and daughter-in-law, Donna, are the second-generation owners of Dove Christian Supply. They assumed ownership in 2017, when Pete and Yvonne decided to retire.
Ludlow Thorston Gallery

Oct 18, 2023 | smart-retailer.com | Retailer Profiles

A Place Where Business Is Always PersonalAt a small gallery in New Jersey, Nell Thorston stays behind the counter and lets those who enter simply wander. “The counter faces the front door,” she said. “I always greet them as they come in.” If it is someone she does not recognize, Nell explains how Ludlow Thorston Gallery includes her late husband’s original watercolors and prints, as well as gift items. “I leave them alone. I just let them enjoy it,” she said of her customers.