Arlington Artwear Boutique To Close

ARLINGTON, MA — The owners of East Arlington's Artwear announced that artsy women's boutique clothing and accessory store was closing up shop soon after some 15 years in business on Mass Ave.

"Retailers have been hit hard this year. I can't predict what 2018 will bring and so I have decided that I cannot keep the store open any longer," wrote Gerry Menz in a Facebook post.

Times have been tough for Artwear. This is the same shop that was saved in 2016 by an outpouring of donations during an unexpected rough spot two years ago when construction in the area impacted the number of customers that walked by - and therefore went into the shop.

An Artwear employee took to GoFundMe and it ended up raising more than $18,000, enough to pay back rent and keep things going for another two years.

Fast forward to 2018 and there does not appear to be a GoFundMe to the rescue this time.

Just last week Menz had posted about a Valentine's Day sale. Menz did not say when Artwear would close up shop for good, but she indicated he was looking at her own next steps.

"I am planning my next venture which will probably be some form of designing and creating fun, unique clothing for women," she wrote.

Menz announced the decision February 13 and noted she planned to start starting to sell off all merchandise, fixtures, and displays on Feb. 14.

More to come.

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Photo via GoFundMe