Williamstown Consignment Store Offers Second Life for Boutique Items
Local Consignment & Boutique in Williamstown opened with full racks of quality goods.
Owner Hannah Reinhard said her upscale store on 131 Water St. is much more than your typical consignment shop because she wants to sell a little bit of everything.
"This is more than just a thrift store and there is something here for everybody," Reinhard said. "When we go out with our husbands, we don't want to wear the same thing we wore last time and this is a good place to stop if you need to find something quick or want to refresh your wardrobe."
Reinhard, who also owns the Water Street Grill next door with her husband, runs the shop with her friend Cristina Stuebner. She said their own closets inspired them to open up a consignment shop.
"That's what the problem was. I had a whole bunch of things in my closet that still had tags on them but we're past that 30-day mark or for whatever reason I couldn't return them," she said.
Stuebner said this seems to be an issue with a lot of women — they have some really good quality clothing that's often brand new.
"When Hannah brought this up to me I was literally getting ready to send some of my stuff away," she said. "A lot of women will buy things they may not even wear them but they can't take them back — a lot of this is all new."
The consignment shop allows them to make back some of the money spent on those unworn clothes as Local splits the sales 50-50.
Local also accepts gently used, clean clothing for resale. No wrinkles, pet hair or odors, please. Shoes should be new or in "excellent condition." One tip they give is to consider if you would buy the item in its current condition. Check with the store's policy on brands and seasonal items before you clean out your closet.
Reinhard said she owns the building and once Toonerville Trolley Records vacated the shop, they decided to make their consignment idea a reality. She said they spent the end of 2018 sprucing up the interior and getting it ready for the new year. The store opened the beginning of February.
"We have blouses, shirts, accessories, bags, jewelry, shoes but we also have a lot of things made by local artisans," Reinhard said. "Cards, mugs, everything."
Both women said they hope to be able to help support local crafters, artists, and artisans so they don't have to pedal their wares too far from home.
"We just want to give everybody a chance to have their things here," Stuebner said. "We want this to be a fun one-stop shop."
Reinhard said she would like to expand and carry men's clothing in the future.
"Having just women's stuff was a bit of an overload at first but I would like to eventually sell men's clothing, too," she said. "We are working really fast right now and I would expect if you were to ask me in three months, we would be selling men's clothing."
The store officially opened Friday, Feb. 1, and the two were happy with the early crowd filing into the store both shopping and dropping things off.
The store is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 to 6, Saturday from 10 to 4 and Sunday from 10 to 2. Dropoffs are accepted during business hours.
Tags: new business, consignment, water street,
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