Out with the Old, Out with it All?

On January 1st, I had started a post entitled..."Out with Old, In with the New-to-You!" excited at the prospect of a New Year in Resale Children's clothing. Then, last night, I received an email from a good friend simply stating... "Is this for real?? What are you going to do?" She had sent me a link to a blog that basically states that due to a new law, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the possibility is very real that consignment and resale shops, like GROVE STREET kids could be forced to shut their doors.

This law, while well-intentioned, is fatally flawed. This law requires that all products (including clothing) sold for children ages 12 and under, be tested for lead and other toxic chemicals. Anything that hasn't been tested will be considered hazardous (even if they don't contain the chemicals) and cannot be sold. Not on eBay, not in a garage sale, not at GROVE STREET kids.

In addition, this law requires expensive testing and certification for every handmade item for children. Small crafters, handmade items (even made out of certified organic materials) will have to be tested in order to be sold legally. The phthalates testing is only required on products manufactured after the act goes into effect on February 10, 2009, but the lead testing is required on all children's products already made, and therefore would force us to throw out our entire inventory, because as resale store owners, it's certainly not worth the cost of testing each garment or product we sell.

That's not all. This law will require testing on EVERYTHING that comes into contact with your child that is 12 years or under. This includes clothing, of course, shoes, bedding, backpacks, sippy cups, car seats. I don't think I need to go on with the list, for you to understand the impact of such a poorly written piece of legislature.

So what can be done? We need to get the word out to our Legislators. There are two links you can go to to petition this law.
The first is Change.org where you can vote to petition this law. The second is the American Apparel and Footwear Association where you can write directly to your Representative, Congressperson or Senator.

On a final note, I have no plans to shut my doors on February 10th. I think something must change regarding this legislation if for no other reason than it goes against every platform President-Elect Obama stands on. So, until I'm told differently, at GROVE STREET kids, it's out with the old, and in with the new-to-you!

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!

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mother's birthday. Some years are harder than others since she's been gone. We would celebrate our birthdays together since they are only 3 days apart. This year, today has been difficult. But the other day, on my birthday, one of my frequent customers, Judy, came into the store. She's so frequent that we have developed a friendship and sometimes she acts as my therapist. We talked about how my mother was my age when I was born (and today, she would be twice as old as I am, so see if you can figure out the equation!) and said "I'm sure your mom would be proud of you," with regards to my starting this business. It made that day a little bit easier.

I am proud of our store. In case you hadn't heard, we were recently voted "Best Children's Store" on SFgate.com. A pretty nice birthday present. For both of us.