One of Malibu’s community assets may soon be another memory of Malibu’s past.
On June 16, the Artifac Tree Thrift Shop’s manager Martha Templeton received a 60-day notice from the Mariposa Land Company for the secondhand store to vacate the property on Cross Creek Road owned by the Adamson family.
Anything left behind on the property after Aug. 16 will stay with the land.
For more than 40 years, residents have donated furniture, clothing and electronics for customers to purchase at deeply discounted prices. Items ranging from designer wedding dresses to coffee tables, surfboards, gently worn shoes and vintage vinyl record albums have been restocked on shelves as donations have continuously streamed in since 1973.
But, what’s more impressive than the narrow rows packed with pristine dinnerware and thousands of books, is the community support established within the store.
“Our beloved Artifac Tree has been given 60-day notice to vacate,” Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal said during Monday night’s City Council meeting. “If you’re interested in saving this, I would go into Martha and see what you can do. It’s a really important place and it’s been here for many, many years.”
Templeton, who won a Malibu Times Dolphin Award in 2012, has created more than just a haven for locals to shop for deals on clothing and home furnishings. She’s also established a workforce of mentally handicapped, homeless and student employees who may otherwise have a difficult time finding work. “It keeps me busy instead of staying at home being tedious,” three-year employee Howard Yusim said.
In between greeting customers by name and asking about soccer practice and summer plans, Yusim continued, “It helps me out money-wise. Martha’s a great boss … sorry, I get emotional. I hate to lose this place because she helps out the homeless so much.”
As part of a program supporting community integration and work support through the Esperance Center for the Disabled, Yusim and other employees from Esperance have various responsibilities at the store, helping wherever they can.
“I like to help out the customers,” Yusim said. “One time, I helped out Emilio Estevez unload his vehicle … and he gave me a hug. It’s a beautiful area to work compared to other places.”
Templeton found her niche helping people through the Artifac Tree after becoming a volunteer in 2003 and then the store’s manager in 2008.
Through the years, Templeton has cultivated a powerful force of community support and action, helping numerous organizations with charitable contributions, fundraisers and donations.
Between donating items from the store to school projects, events and plays, Templeton and the Artifac Tree have helped victims of natural disasters with clothing and food donations. She’s played the role of housing coordinator to customers offering low-income housing or those looking to stay safe off of the streets.
“We need to step it up as a society, as humans,” an Artifac Tree employee noted. “Every day in life, you only have so many chances to be there, not only for ourselves but for a community. It happens here. Martha’s the core.”
“Some of the ways that this amazing organization helps the community are as follows,” the Malibu Rotary Club wrote in a newsletter, “providing gas or bus money for low-income people to get to work or go to a job interview, providing assistance with paying for medications for individuals who cannot function without their medications, providing jobs, job training, job history, and emotional support for individuals in rehab and also grocery money for struggling individuals and families,” among a long list of other assistance the Artifac Tree has arranged for the community.
While Templeton’s name is often associated as the water that brings the Artifac Tree to life, she insists the entire community is involved. “If the community doesn’t donate, the tree can’t function. The community needs us because there are people in need,” Templeton explained. “No matter who runs this … they just have to know that’s the job. The job is you have to have compassion and some kind of understanding.”
The future of the Artifac Tree, the timing of the eviction notice and what will happen with the property is still unknown, but for now, business operates as usual while Templeton works to find a new location for the Tree to grow.
“I just have to be patient,” Yurim said. “Who knows … it’s in God’s hands. I want them to save this place. Martha helps me out so much and she’s a wonderful person. It’s like a family for me. They’re like a family.”
Representatives from the Mariposa Land Company did not respond to numerous calls for comment by The Malibu Times deadline.
