After two years in operation, the retail collective Lookie Lookie in Hamilton is ending operations.

The store became the second Washington Mall outlet in a week to announce its closure, after Harbourmaster, around the corner.

Since 2024, Kimwana Eve has represented more than 100 local entrepreneurs who design everything from Bermudian-themed T-shirts to teas, personal-care items, purses and notebooks.

Rather than buying the goods from vendors and then selling them, Ms Eve took a commission, using the store as a platform for local makers.

“The collective approach was a great concept that was well received by the community,” Ms Eve said. “The challenge was, it was not sustainable.”

She could never quite keep enough vendors to make a sustained profit.

“If I needed ten vendors, I would have eight,” she said. “I would get one more vendor, but two more would leave.”

Ms Eve was constantly trying to stabilise vendor numbers while running the rest of the business.

“I had help, but it was mostly me doing every aspect of things,” she said. “I am also married with three children. I was missing things while I dealt with work. It was just too much for one person.”

Lookie Lookie started as a pop-up in 2023. People liked it so much they begged her to continue. Now she is considering going back to her roots.

“I might hold a pop-up again once or twice a year, for a finite amount of time,” she said.

If she could do the business all over, she would look for investors first, to ease the financial reliance on the vendors.

Ms Eve also said the location of the store was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

“There was a lot of foot traffic,” she said. “I saw people coming in from all parts of the community. Sometimes people would come in and say they just wanted to walk around and look and give themselves a break from work.”

The trouble was they often walked in and then out again, without buying anything.

On the downside, the rent for such a busy section of the mall was high for her.

“I do not know what is next for me,” she said. “Many people have come in and said no, you cannot just be done,” she said. “I just want to get a job so I can stabilise my life.”

On a recent Facebook post about the closure, Ms Eve said it was not an easy decision to make.

“It was not a decision that was made from emotion,” she said. “It was a decision made from reflection and difficult conversations.”

The post reached more than 3,000 people, many of them expressing sadness that Lookie Lookie would soon be closed.

The store will be open until January 31.

In the meantime, Ms Eve is selling off merchandise.

“Some of the vendors have chosen to discount their wares,” she said. “The furnishings are also up for sale.”