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Consignment shop owner enjoying un-retirement
Bethany Fuller photo
FrontCover Consignments owner Kathy Raymer is shown Friday in her store, which opened Oct. 1 on West Front Street.
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Published: October 10, 2009
Beatrice Dalton looked completely surprised when she stepped into FrontCover Consignments on Friday.
"Is this the consignment shop?" she asked owner Kathy Raymer. "What are you doing here? Is this yours?"
Raymer smiled at Dalton, who had been a customer at her old store, Petunia's, before Raymer retired.
"She had some nice stuff," Dalton said, as she looked through the jewelry and shoes. "What I got from her I really enjoyed. I love her stuff."
Raymer came out of retirement after realizing how much she missed her customers and the interaction they had.
She isn't ready to retire just yet, and she thinks the location within the Shops UpFront makes for a nice walkthrough business on West Front Street.
The small store, which opened Oct. 1, is like a giant walk-in closet, complete with designer brands hanging on racks and decorative room dividers.
"My heart goes out to the working woman, and it always has," Raymer said.
Women want to look good, but it gets expensive going to some of the higher end stores, she said.
Raymer takes in only designer labels. She has a list she usually gives out to interested consignors. She compared the quality of her items to that of Talbots or Chico's.
In 1981, Raymer was trying to find a job in Tennessee that wouldn't require her to put her children into daycare. One day, she came across a designer consignment shop that was going out of business.
She said the store sold labels such as Dior and Chanel. The retiring owner wanted Raymer to have the store so badly that she financed the purchase for Raymer. Raymer paid her back within three months.
"I loved it from then on," she said.
The consignment business has changed a lot, Raymer said. For one thing, the Internet has made it easier for business owners work with consignors from all over the country, she said.
She isn't quite there yet, but she said designer threads are coming into her store from across the Southeast.
The sizes have changed too, she said. When Raymer ran Petunia's, the average sizes that came in were around a four or a six. Now, they are 12 and 14.
Statesville resident Jane Simon has known Raymer for eight years as a consignor and a customer. Sometimes, she considers buying back the clothes she gave to Raymer to sell just because they look great on the rack."
"The way she displays things, it's like a high-end boutique," she said. "She has a knack for that. She is always so gracious and it's always a pleasure doing business with her."
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