BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Area Hospice (BAH) recently announced that its second store, Experienced Goods Home Furnishings, located at 51 Elliot St., will close its doors on March 1.
Experienced Goods Thrift Store, located at 77 Flat St. in the Transportation Center, remains open, and will continue to accept and sell quality donations to benefit the hospice.
The two stores provide two-thirds of BAH's annual funding. A factor in the consolidating the two stores was the cost of cleaning up flood damage at the Flat Street store after Tropical Storm Irene sent the Whetstone Brook over its banks last August.
Executive Director Susan Parris estimates that the storm damage cost BAH more than $63,000 and destroyed about 50 percent of the store's inventory.
She said that BAH has recovered from that disaster, and that a bigger factor for closing the Elliot Street store is a drastic drop in donations of furniture.
“The main reason we opened the Elliot Street store three years ago was to showcase the higher-end items that were donated to us,” Parris said. “But as the economy has gotten worse, we've seen less and less furniture come in. People seem to be buying less new furniture, and holding on to what they already have.”
Parris said that while the BAH board and staff are grateful to the many donors and customers who supported the home furnishings store, the current economic climate requires the nonprofit to consolidate operations to the Flat Street store.
“Elliot Street was a great store, and a great idea, but the economics aren't working for us,” she said. “We can't wait around for the market to change.”
Parris said that BAH is exploring the possibility of an annual auction to preserve a focus on their most valuable and unique donations.
“An auction would provide an opportunity for customers to support Hospice and bid on the most exceptional items we've collected over the course of the year,” she said.
BAH is also considering a reprise of the “Wild Night on the Catwalk: Compassion for Fashion” runway show last November. The fundraiser featured local designers who repurposed clothing from Experienced Goods into one-of-a-kind creations.
“That was a spectacular night, and it succeeded beyond our wildest dreams,” Parris said. “We'd love to do it again.”
Parris said the community is invited to visit at the Elliot Street store during Gallery Walk on Friday, Feb. 3, 5:30 to 7 p.m., “to acknowledge the hard work of our staff and volunteers and say goodbye to the store.”