It Ain't Children's Songs Any Longer!

I am learning so much about this new business; clothing and designers is just a little part of my start up.  I’ve made a business plan, I’ve figured out how many items I need to sell a day to break even, learned about CAM charges vs. NNN charges, square footage and signage; I can go on and on.  I take it all in stride. Steve is my coach and he is very good at what he does.  Now he tells me I have to get involved with Social Media: yikes!  

I have to tell you, I’ve avoided learning all the intricacies of the computer world.  As a Kindergarten teacher, I was always last to receive the latest technology because the older kids needed it more.  Why does a 5 year old need to be taught with a doc camera (the Elmo) and a SMART board?  Does a Kindergartner really need to do a power point?  Where are the blocks, puppets and crayons going?  So, philosophically I allowed myself to stay in the dark!

But if I want to get ahead I must join the others in the social computer world!   I have been very happy with my email and solitaire!  But now it’s Facebook and Linked In, will you be my friend?  It’s twitter and tweet (wasn’t that in a Mary Poppins song?)

Once a week my family comes over and we have a lovely dinner.   We update each other, we tell stories to our grandson; it’s been a delight over the years.  But now with my new business I’ve created a monster.   We talk domain and URL.  Do I have the right GB and RAM (which has nothing to do with Little Bo Peep) for my software?  My eyes glaze over; it was fun not knowing what I didn’t know.  Now I wake up with computer songs going through my head.  Remember, I know about 3,000 children’s songs.  They don’t go away, the words just change!  

So, with the help from my daughter and husband you will see me reaching out to join the other millions in the Social Media World (slowly).  Bye for now.

It's All In A Name!

February 15, 2012

The Name!!!  It can’t be so hard to come up with a name for the shop, right?  Well, it’s been a little more challenging than I thought.  When Steve and I opened our bakery the name came to me in a dream (really!).  So, I’ve been waiting for my “clothing dream” to bring me the right name. 

No such luck.  We named our bakery The Pastry Peddler.  Can I use that?  The Clothing Peddler sounded a little too country.   Well, how about using my name, like Rebecca’s Rethreads …sounds like tires.  I know Rebecca’s Closet… one friend said that it reminded her of Angela’s Ashes, can’t have that!  Here are a few others that are used around the country; Fashion Attic, Second Look, Redesign Consign, Double Exposure, Something Else.  And, from one of my more humorous friends Re-Do Doozies!
 
After weeks of thinking about the name, it comes to me.  Almost like a dream!  Wheat Ridge is on the move and is revitalizing 38th Avenue.   So why not, the 38th Avenue  Consignment Boutique, (since my shop is located on 38th Avenue).  That’s a lot to say over the phone, so I shortened it to The Avenue Consignment Boutique.   That’s official, so no other suggestions!

Building Inventory

Building Inventory

So…when last we met I had committed to buying a resale shop that was going out of business.  Steve and I spent some time in the shop over Christmas and thought it was a good investment.  After working out the price (which was too high) we arranged our pick-up date.   On Friday, we drove up to our cabin in Grand Lake (so our drive wouldn’t be as long on Saturday). 

We got up at 5 am to head out.  We were about a mile down the road and found that the tire on our truck was flat.  It was 5:30 am, 7 below zero and dark outside.  Oh no, coyotes and lions and bears!   Oh my.  No problem we would just get out and put on the spare.  Well, it was flat!!  Nothing was open until 8 am in Grand County.  So we decided to leave the truck and take the car.  We’d rent a truck when we got there.  

After that little fiasco all went well.  We arrived, loaded a large truck with racks, mirrors, hangers and more hangers, and about 70 boxes and bags of clothes.  Our journey home was uneventful other than having to take a detour back to the truck to get the tire fixed.  All that was left was to sort the clothes!

Courtney, my good friend Sharon and I began the unending task of going through all of the clothes and deciding what would sell.  We found some really nice items. However, 35 large sized garbage bags went to charity or to other consignment stores. 

We did have a few laughs.   Courtney’s favorite was the coconut top and I fell in love with the leather pants.  They are in style, aren’t they?  Sharon spent her time thinking of Halloween costumes (you see, she is also a Kindergarten teacher!)

 I am now realizing how daunting it is to look at other people’s clothes and decide if they are sellable.  It has hit home how discerning I will need to be to make this project a reality.  In six months let’s see if I can name 50 designer labels in under a minute!  I can name about 5 right now!  Bye for now.