Sara Campbell, a South End mainstay for decades, will shutter its 44
Plympton St. headquarters July 31. Fans of Campbell’s classic shifts and peasant blouses shouldn’t worry too much, though: The brand will retain 20 shops throughout New England and Florida, and Campbell will open a larger Boston headquarters at 67 Kemble St. in Newmarket Square in September.
Still, the move is bittersweet, says Sara Campbell, who has run the company with business partner Peter Wheeler for more than three decades.
“I’ve been in the South End for 31 years,’’ she says. “I’m so sad about this move but very excited about the next leg. We’re moving so we can grow our business.”
Campbell earned a following as a manufacturer for stores like Talbots and with her own designs, which focus on “being ageless. Whether you’re 30 and wear a 1950s-inspired dress or 80 and wear one — it’s about what you feel good in,” she says.
Campbell cites rising rents as a key reason for the move.
Throughout her decades in the neighborhood, she’s seen the area shift from hardscrabble — “I was held up at gunpoint at four months pregnant,” she recalls — to prime real estate.
She hopes the Newmarket Square area, home to Bully Boy Distillers, will evolve similarly.
“This could be the next South End, especially if we get some food over there,” she says. She’s also scouting for new retail spaces on Beacon Hill and in the South End.
In the meantime, she’ll host a moving sale at her old digs beginning July 20 and running through July 23, with clothing, fabrics, furniture, and more.
“It’s like a big yard sale,” she says.
After that, she plans to retain her tight-knit ties to the community. Besides fashion, Campbell made a name for herself in the South End with charitable works, regularly hosting cocktail parties, trunk shows, and fund-raisers for various organizations. Over the years, the shop became known for its philanthropy as much as for its fashions.
Campbell donates at least 10 percent of proceeds every year to local institutions like Dress for Success Boston and Rosie’s Place.
“We give to organizations that support women and children, where every dollar counts. At any moment in time, I could be that woman in Rosie’s Place. I don’t have a trust fund. Who’s going to take care of me if I don’t take care of them?” she asks.