Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Smith.
Hi Sarah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I lived in Chicago a while back and there was a store with a similar concept in my neighborhood that I loved to visit. When I moved to Denver 12 years ago I always had in my mind that I wanted to own a store just like the one I loved however, life and my career in healthcare took me down a different path. My family and I have been healthy during the pandemic and I feel very fortunate for that however, what I did come to realize is that life is short and I wanted to pursue my dream of owning my own store. I had an amazing commercial real estate agent who took me to see lots of different places. When I walked into the location in RiNo it just felt right and I knew immediately that this was where I wanted to open Three Arrows Gallery. I found vendors by visiting pop-up markets, emailing people I found online, and through word of mouth. As I chatted with each person on the phone I asked about them and how they got started. Each story I heard was so inspiring and pushed me more to want to make this the amazing boutique I had envisioned years ago. I found a designer to help me plan and set up the store and I would tell her the stories I was hearing from each vendor. She could tell how much in awe I was about this and suggested we incorporate each vendor’s story into their space. In addition to each vendor having their framed story, my story hangs in a frame behind the cash-wrap. Here is that story:
“Too often, we travel throughout busy days making a living, yet somewhere along the way, we can lose sight of our original journey to create a life that fills our soul. Throughout many years of working in healthcare management, my roles have focused on supporting, developing and growing others, but I realized I was missing out on growing, developing and growing myself and my passions!
Recently rediscovering my dreams has empowered me to bring you Three Arrows Gallery. My priority at TAG is to nurture an environment where I support and showcase our local community, which is filled with an abundance of women-owned businesses. I’m proud to partner with so many amazing women who are using their creativity and talents to fulfill their dreams as well!
My motivation each day are my three wonderful children, who are my heart, my heroes and the inspiration behind our name and logo. My “Three Arrows” always keep me moving forward and continually challenge me to be a better person – every single day!”
Three Arrows Gallery officially opened our doors on May 6th and we currently have 48 women-owned vendors in the store.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After I signed the lease in December 2021, I had some time before I could take possession of the space as there was a temporary business there until the end of March 2022. Since I had a few months and to try keep costs down, I decided I wanted to do as much of the prep work on my own and not bother any of my friends who have opened businesses previously as I know they also have busy lives and I “assumed” I should be able to manage this by myself. Well, I quickly learned that opening a business while working another full-time job and caring for three active kids was too much for one person to manage and that something was going to have to give! A couple of vendors reached out and stated they wanted to help however they could. I eventually decided to put my ego of wanting to do this by myself aside and met with both of them separately. They shared their insights from previous experiences and I was able to ask tons of questions. As I met more vendors the offers of help kept coming in. The support I have received from the amazing community of women I’m working with has been so overwhelming!
As someone who has worked a home-based Monday – Friday job for quite a long time, it’s been an adjustment being gone more and having weekend work responsibilities. My kids have become used to me being at every sports game and special event and I’ve recently missed a number of things to be at the store. While this has been a challenge for all of us to work through, I’ve told them and try to remind myself of why I decided to open Three Arrows Gallery. This has been a dream of mine for a long time and I want them to live a life that makes them happy and know that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Three Arrows Gallery is a boutique vendor market that offers retail space for local, women-owned, small businesses. Our mission it to offer the opportunity to increase the visibility of these amazing women without the overhead and commitment associated with a dedicated retail space. Vendors stock their space and TAG handles everything else! We offer a variety of sizes of space for lease and two different agreements to meet the needs of each vendor.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I don’t make or sell anything! My kids will refer to me as a “Pinterest Fail” type of person as I have lots of ideas for creating things but they tend not to work out very well! While my ability to create may be lacking, I was drawn to opening this type of business through a deep appreciation for the creativity and skill of artisans, designers and curators and love to shop local for unique products and gifts.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.threearrowsgallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threearrowsgallery_rino/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threearrowsgalleryRiNo
