apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love this store, especially around the holidays. It had the most unique and beautiful ornaments, and I collected more of them each year. It will be missed!!

Once Paul Hawken left, the outfit tried to become a "lifestyle" store. Fail.

I just got a package from them today. But I'm waiting for another. I wonder if I'll get it.

Does that mean they won't have their line at Target anymore? I liked some of it.

On the subject of Adirondack chairs, World Market had theirs for $69 over the weekend. I'm not sure if that sale is still going on, though.

I went in recently to peruse honest-to-goodness garden tools and was surprised to find a poor selection and an indifferent staff. I, for one, will not miss it!

sadly, the brand seemed to be in trouble (imho) when they licensed the name to the target merchandise...

I also liked their stores, but felt that the endeavor was trying to be the Ralph Lauren of gardening, and it wasn't going to make it too far into this recession. People don't have that extra bit of money to make their gardening nicely preppy.

I agree about the ornaments and the store at holidays.

I loved the gardening catalogues, but Canadian customers weren't welcome, so "tant pis".

Lily,

They're "shutting their doors", or just "shuttering".

That said, not surprising re closing. Crazy-expensive tchochke gift shop for pretend gardeners.

Doesn't surprise me - they were overpriced, and were set up more to cater to big city dwellers who "garden" on their penthouse roof deck.

I thought their stuff was pretty, but refused to buy anything from them once I found out they were owned by Scotts Miracle Gro--a pretty terrible company, in my opinion.

Will this be a real going-out-of-business sale or a Circuit City-esque liquidation sale in which the inventory is sold to a liquidator who jacks up the prices to the full MSRP, then "discounts" them, often to prices much higher than the regular prices the items were sold for only days before?

I agree-- there was no way this store was going to make it through a recession. High prices for stuff "The Joneses" won't even see doesn't make sense in any economy, much less the current one.

I've had a great experience with Smith & Hawken, going all the way back to their first teeny tiny store, and it was one of my favorite garden outings with my late mother. I'm very sad that they're closing, I don't quite understand all the snarky comments (a few, yes, especially about recent years), and their closing feels like a real loss to the local community and me personally.

Like too many retailers, they became too big and went into high priced venues. These stores have got to remember their core values and stick with them. that's what made them successful in the first place. I don't understand why this seems to be so hard to understand at these places. Who the heck is running the store, literally?

I'm bummed. I really wanted one of their vertical planters. I've never been to one of their stores, just used the website, which I randomly found closed this morning :(

To Taritac:
I bet this will be more along the lines of the Circuit City liquidation sale. It's been a long time since I've seen a going out of business sale that was truly a sale. Companies seem to think they can bank when they post the going out of business signs.

Ironically I just unsubscribed from their email list yesterday because I was getting pelleted with emails. Most of the emails announced some kind of sale they were having but every time I looked into the sale it turned out to have such a miniscule discount that it was never worth my time.

I'm sad to S&H go because I felt like the company showed an eye for design (Martha Stewart style) that many of their competitors don't have. But I also agree with the posts above. They were incredibly overpriced and their staff was anything but enthusiastic.

THIS IS DEPRESSING Not only a lost bit of civility we have all enjoyed for many years, but a sad and scary sign of the times

I am glad I already own a Smith Hawken teak table and chairs, they were pricey but will last forever. As for the rest of the stuff in the store, it was overpriced and the customer service was substandard. The word on the street is that the next lifesytle stores to hit the dust will be design within reach and yes....even Pottery Barn is in big trouble.

I have Smith and Hawkin tables and chairs that I bought 19 years ago that attest to the quality of their furniture and will probably be passed along to one of my daughters. Every year I power wash them and they look like new. I still love the Smith and Hawkin brass plate on each piece.

I liked browsing the store a lot and wanted one of their glazed bird feeders (so cute), but it was too $$$. I'll go to Lowe's now for all my balcony gardening needs.

I'm sad to see S&H close. Most of their stuff was too expensive for me, but I did buy the occasional gift there. I have to say that I had never had a bad experience with their staff. They were always pleasant and helpful.

It is sad that S&H closed but you can still find there products out there. One site that i found was Outdora.com they have quite a lot of S&H products along with tons of products that are similar. I just bought some patio chairs from them i highly recommend them as an alternative to S&H.

I'm sad. Sure, they were overpriced, but their displays were lovely and their holiday stuff out of this world. Plus they've already shuttered the one in the city, so I won't be able to get any deals if they do exist.