Pink Shutter and Rebel Heart Flood Recovery

On July 11th Vermont’s Winooski River, which runs through Montpelier, crested at 21 feet, exceeding by two feet its highest level during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Our vibrant downtown full of local businesses experienced catastrophic flooding. As floodwaters began to ebb on Tuesday, we reckoned with the devastation

of a record-breaking storm, and shock mixed with a growing sense of dread at the long recovery ahead.

Rebel Heart has been a fixture of the Montpelier Downtown for 5 years now and features home goods like candles, home linens, women's clothing, basics, new & vintage, denim everything, books, jewelry, and so many other treasures. In 2020 Rebel Heart Purchased Pink Shutter Flowers, a Montpelier fixture for over 50 years, and started offering us some of the most gorgeous houseplants and floral design services in all of Vermont. In case you don't know her already, Rebel Heart is owned by our loving and vibrant Jenny Sebold who has lived in Vermont for over 22 years. Her kids attended Montpelier Schools and she has seen this community through many hard times as well as many joyous times. This store is a crucial piece of our local economy as the majority of their inventory came from LOCAL artists and businesses. The effects of this struggle will be felt by many Vermonters.

This disaster means nearly everything in the shop needs to be replaced, and they are hoping to raise $60,000 to re-open. This includes relocating all inventory and gutting the shop - all sheetrock needs to come down and be replaced and likely the flooring. Without electricity, Jenny and crew faced a delay in cleanup operations which caused further damage to all tables, desks, and other furnishings. Additionally, their floral fridge needs to be replaced, a crucial piece of equipment for running the floral business.

For the time being, Pink Shutter will be operating out of Jenny's home but the storefront will be closed down. The losses will be high as this is the peak of our city’s summer tourist season when visitors normally flock to our mountains, lakes, and picturesque downtown.

Thank you for being part of this incredible community, and looking for ways to help Pink Shutter/Rebel Heart and their magnificent shop recover from this terrible flood. We will update you as things unfold.