Thursday, November 13, 2008

Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover


"These Clothes Are Used?" "This is a resale store?" or "You're consignment?" and my personal favorite, "I've been driving by for months, thinking you were an expensive Children's Boutique..." are statements that I hear on a regular basis from our first-time customers. "The windows always look so nice, I thought the clothing would be expensive."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining! I'm very happy to hear from our customers that they are impressed by how our windows are displayed, and that they are pleasantly surprised to find out we are Resale. Someone once referred to us as a "second-hand boutique" and I have to admit I like the ring to that.

Frankly, it never occurred to me that dressing the windows the way that we do would make people think that we were not a resale store. My background is such that I have several (more than I care to admit) years experience in visual merchandising and design, and so presentation is very important to me. I grew up remodeling houses that my parents bought and sold (long before "flipping" became the thing to do), so interiors became significant to me at an early age. In addition, I worked at IKEA as an Interior Designer for 5+ years, and before that did the window displays for a now defunct clothing company in New York City.

In the midst of all that, I graduated from Parsons School of Design with a degree in Fashion Design. I thought at some point I would be the next Donna Karan or Badgley Mischka (well one of them, at least... did you see them on Ugly Betty last week? Fabulous designers, horrible actors...). I worked in the industry for a while, but it's not well suited to women who want families too. But I digress. The point is... with GROVE STREET kids, I was able to combine my interests and my experience. When GSK first opened, I thought it would be an avenue to create my own children's line... and though I haven't ruled it out, I find that that our customers prefer "recycled" clothing. It just makes good sense... for of the economy, for the environment, for the community.

At any rate, I wanted to make the store a pleasant place to shop for customers while still offering good value. I like themes. Maybe because they require organization. And they make a good presentation, of course. If you take a good look at the slideshow to the left, you can get a good idea of what our themes have been, and maybe why people feel as they do about our store. Currently, the theme in our windows is "Fall." Before that, it was "Halloween." Up next? Christmas, of course. I have a hard time putting together displays for one holiday before another has past though. So if you are looking for a lovely Christmas dress for your little one, don't let the windows dissuade you (again). We have plenty inside. And it doesn't cost anything to come in and take a look!

2 comments:

  1. I drive by all the time, and I purposely look for your displays, they are so cheery and always give a me a little lift. Thanks for making the neighborhood a better place! :)

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  2. Thanks for taking the time to post such a lovely comment!

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