Less than a year ago, Stephanie Paden opened her Painted Heifer storefront in Mexico at 211 W. Monroe St. There, she sold just about anything from engraved cutting boards to hand burned hats. She even held painting parties and other events in her space.

“It’s kind of an eclectic mix of creative things that we have made or things that I’ve sourced that I feel fit well with the look and feel of the business,” Stephanie explains.

She opened the store with the help of her husband Eric and after only nine months in business, has made the difficult decision to say goodbye to her store. Their last day will be Saturday, Jan. 25.

Stephanie grew up in Pacific, MO and moved to Mexico for her husband. She has a degree in nursing from Chamberlain University and has always been in tune with her creative side.

“I’ve always been inspired to create things that were beautiful, whether it be in the form of a painting or even baking,” says Stephanie.

One of Stephanie’s first businesses was a small bakery she started online 30 years ago. She decorated cakes, cookies and even made the occasional wedding cake.

“I’ve always kind of had that entrepreneurial mindset,” she explains.

From the time she was in her early 20’s, Stephanie has had a number of small “side hustles” like the bakery, as well as selling for Tupperware and Pampered Chef.

In the early 2000s, Stephanie came up with The Painted Heifer brand and began selling at small craft fairs and local markets. Back then, the business focused on custom wood signs and hand painted decorations.

“My online business just started with Facebook,” explains Stephanie, who created the page for her brand about three years ago.

But Stephanie wanted to expand, so in 2024 she rented the current Painted Heifer storefront from Dan Barker, who owned “Imagine That Designs.

She had a small Glowforge laser cutter which she used to cut out her designs when her business was completely online and her home was her workshop, but it would have been way too small to stock her storefront.

Luckily, Barker had a larger laser with more sophisticated software called “LightBurn” already set up in the space.

“I never had to use LightBurn, but when we bought the business, we bought the laser and the LightBurn software,” says Stephanie. “He taught me how to use LightBurn and I just kind of took that and ran with it.”

Stephanie and Eric continued to hone their laser cutting skills. Eric helped primarily with workshop tasks like wood cutting and burning, while Stephanie was in charge of design and painting.

The hours spent in the workshop could have been a full-time job in itself, however both Stephanie and Eric have full-time jobs outside the Painted Heifer which they love.

“I’m a nurse and I work for a medical device manufacturer and I do workflow improvements and training,” Stephanie explains.

Stephanie has been a nurse for 14 years, and before that she was a paramedic.

“Healthcare has always been my real driving force,” says Stephanie.

Eric is the automotive instructor at the Hart Career Center, as well as the founder of Bean Creek Beef.

So on top of their full-time careers and the Painted Heifer, the Padens have two farms to tend to.

“I joke that it’s part of my ADD; I have to be doing multiple things all the time,” says Stephanie. “I’m sure I won’t stop until I just don’t have it in me anymore to do it.”

And thankfully, her husband is the same way. However, no matter how much they loved the storefront, it simply became too much to handle.

“A lot of people think that we are closing because we weren’t doing that well, but it really is the complete opposite,” Stephanie assures. “We were doing so well that we just did not have enough time.”

The Padens found themselves working 18-hour days, seven days a week, leaving little time for themselves.

“It really is bittersweet but we definitely do feel some relief,” she adds.

Despite the closure of the storefront, The Painted Heifer isn’t going away completely. The business will go back to selling custom wood signs and decorations exclusively online. Stephanie has invested in a new laser cutter which is currently in her husband’s workshop while she makes plans for a new “she shack” to be built on their property for her to work out of.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” says Stephanie. “We’re just going home.”

The Painted Heifer will be open through Jan. 25 on Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. offering “everything must go” sales on all products.