Michigan - ALL CITIES
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some tidbits about consignment sales from the owner/organizer’s point of view. We’ll be explaining a few things that are commonly questioned, debunking a myth or two and sharing with readers why we love what we do. Recently, a sale owner shared her own mission statement for her sale. She graciously agreed to share with Consignment Mommies.
Robin Early is the owner of My Children’s Closet and My Sister’s Closet in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Started in 1998, My Children’s Closet is the largest seasonal consignment sale in Tuscaloosa. Robin wrote this mission statement after her husband encouraged her to put into words what motivates her to organize her sale each time, which she graciously shared with Consignment Mommies. To learn more about Robin, My Children’s Closet and My Sisters’ Closet, visit www.childrensclosetsale.com.
What does our consignment sale mean to me?
- It means 14+ hour days.
- It means sore body parts, especially feet and back.
- It means my house won’t be clean for 2 months, laundry won’t be done and meals will be takeout.
- It means being so scatterbrained that I show up to work with a different kind of shoe on each foot!
- It sometimes means dealing with people that just don’t understand.
What, for me, is our consignment sale all about?
- It’s about friendships. The friendships of a “sisterhood” type camaraderie born out of a common desire to find great things for our kids and ourselves at great prices.
- It’s about watching this “sisterhood” grow and spread from experienced mamas to brand new mommies to be.
- It’s about sharing time with our volunteers that have become friends through their desire to be part of this fellowship…or it could just be they want to shop early to get that one-of-a-kind treasure they’re sure will be there!
- It’s about the connections you make at the tagging tables or the cash register with the mom and dad of 5 kids thanking you for all your hard work to make it possible for them to get nice things for their kids without worrying about breaking the bank.
- It’s about the consignor that comes to pick up her check and upon seeing the “more than she expected” amount can’t hold back the tears of joy because she now has the funds to pay that unexpected expense that just popped up. –And yes, it makes me tear up too.
- It’s about seeing Terri Hibbert with Wings of Grace so excited to receive the donated items that she knows her clients will be so grateful for.
To sum it up, it’s about our community, our neighbors, our friends and it means everything to me.
Added bonus… Seeing the kids that have grown up with this sale learn to be more economically and financially responsible by becoming consignors themselves.
Stay tuned to Consignment Mommies for more in our series about being a sale owner/organizer!
About the Author
Elizabeth Renfroe has a passion for all things consignment sale-related. She enjoys coordinating the Children’s Market Sale at First United Methodist Church, Jacksonville, Alabama.