A Customer's 5 Week Adventure with Finders Keepers Consignment

A customer wrote me a letter about her 5 week "adventure" with Finders Keepers Furnishings and Boutique. I'll let her tell it from here:

My husband Richard and I had lived in Decatur for more than 20 years. We loved our home on Pinecrest and had many happy memories of our time there. However, as with many people our age, we began to think of downsizing and simplifying our lifestyle. Therefore, it was not a surprise when one evening at dinner we began a discussion regarding moving back to our condo near Emory University. The decision to sell our home and move was made that evening! However, the five weeks that followed our decision were filled with many unexpected surprises and events.

Week One
A move to the condo would be a major downsizing on my part. My first task was to determine which articles of clothing and accessories I would move from my home's attic storage space and three closets. At the condo I would have one small walk-in closet. The downsize seemed overwhelming--for help I went to Finders Keepers Boutique...

Finders Keepers Boutique to the Rescue!!

The boutique staff offers a wonderful service for a small fee. A staff member comes to your home and she helps you evaluate your wardrobe piece by piece. I made an appointment and me, Julia and I, worked through one apparel season at a time. We divided my clothing, handbags, shoes, etc., into several different collections -- clothing for me to keep, items for their boutique, clothing for the main store in Avondale Estates, and items to be donated to charity.

Once Julia had removed the clothing and had left my house I felt a great sense of joy. I recognized the advantage of working with a clothing specialist and felt confident regarding the apparel that remained for my use. A great sense of accomplishment swept over me. I realized one of the major downsizing chores was completed. I really would be moving.

This was the week Rick had the first of two successful surgeries at Emory University Hospital. Finders Keepers Furnishings held a series of Saturday morning Workshops in March and April. One of the Saturday seminars led by a local realtor was entitled "Staging your House to Sell." I knew there must be some tricks of the trade to ready a house for the real estate market. I decided to attend the seminar -- I had a house to sell. What better way to get started than attending a free program, presented by a certified staging realtor? Also, parking at the Furnishings store is always easy. The event would be hassle free for me.

The store's staff offered cheerful greetings and breakfast snacks to get the seminar off to a great start that morning. Our speaker was wonderful -- knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and willing to remain and answer questions at the conclusion of her presentation. Armed with my seminar handouts I asked if she would be available to drop by my house for a quick walk through and to make specific suggestions for staging my house. If there were some items I needed to update our house, I knew I could depend on the inventory of Finders Keepers Furnishings. The seminar had taught me that many of my personal pictures, etc. needed to go into hiding when the house was being shown.

Week Two

The seminar speaker really impressed my husband when she came over for the staging walk through. We asked her for sales representation and decided to list the house with her. Our realtor brought the other members of her sales team to see our house. One of the realtors commented he was going to sell our house that weekend.

Week Three
Several realtors stopped by to look at the house, and for the first time a realtor showed our house to a potential buyer. The next day that couple made a second visit to our house. The following day they submitted their contract for the purchase of our home. Negotiations followed, and terms were agreed upon. A closing date was set for the end of the month. (This allowed about 20 days for me to complete the downsizing process and move out of my house!) An "Under Contract" sign went up in our front yard. So much stuff, so little time...

Finders Keepers Furnishings to the Rescue!!

The staff of the Finders Keepers Furnishings store offers their customers a selection service. For a small fee they will come to your home and help you select items to keep when downsizing, selling your home, or remodeling. They will also make item selections to go into their store for consignment sales. Their furniture store was a great place fo rme to sell linens, rugs, and furniture that I couldn't use in my condo. They also helped me select items for donation to a local charity.  

My realtor helped my find someone to conduct garage sales at the house. Downsizing was now in full swing. Friends helped me start packing. Movers were selected and a move date was scheduled.

Week Four

We moved into the condo. Rick had the second of two surgeries at Emory University Hospital. Unpacking continued in the condo was done as time and energy allowed. Rick continued to recover from surgery and helped unpack when he could.

Week Five

We closed on the sale of the house. Rick's health continued to improve with each passing day. Rick set up his office and was officially "back in business." I named our condo "The Hutch." Our space is small but cozy. Everything I moved has a place in our new home, but there are some furniture items I need to purchase for the condo. New porch furniture and a new headboard, to name a couple of items.

Beyond Week Five

S-o-o-o where is my car taking me several times a week? Why Finders Keepers Furnishings, of course! I am finding great accent piece to spice up "The Hutch" and give my older items a fresh feel in their new spaces. One of these days I am going to walk into Finders Keepers and there will be the perfect headboard and porch furniture for our condo.

Footnote of the downsized wardrobe at the hutch. There hasn't been a single time I have stepped into my closet that I could not find the perfect outfit! Truth to tell, I am inventing new "outfits" - what fun! I have purchased one great jacket from the Boutique since I moved. Did it fill a hole in my wardrobe? NO, but it was just so cute I couldn't walk away and leave it in the store.

Special thanks to the staffs in all three Finders Keepers stores. You have all been major players in my move. You were there with proffessional services, good humor, and a "we can do this, let's get it done," attitude. You were all the UNDAUNTABLES!"

Will I forget your kindness during these past weeks? NO

Am I a customer for life? YES!

Ode to the Little Things

There are lots of clever quotes noting the importance of the small things. And never is it more true than when I spot some brilliant, unexpected, colorful spot of lovely like a dainty flower or a vibrant glass accent. I think it's the intricacy - the tiny scale on which the details are crafted by man or nature - that make those beautiful small things so special. They have a huge impact on a large space: a single flower in a giant field; a little blue glass bottle in a large pane window. So I went on a hunt for the small things in Finders Keepers Furnishings, and I was not disappointed! The only problem: I wasn't suppose to buy anything today...

I'm evidently still really into corner cabinets... there are several in the store right now that are quite tempting!

Funky artwork is always a great conversation piece. I don't usually go for the word-stuff, but the metallic look totally caught my eye.

The striped vase is adorable! Even peeking out from behind the pictures and dried grass it still makes itself known.

I couldn't give a nod to the little things without showcasing the great jewelry collection that we have.

When I work at Boutique I tell customers about the jewelry selection at our Furniture store and often times they tell me that they've never noticed jewelry there. It's one of my favorite parts!

Watering cans, baskets, and candles are some of my favorite accents of the moment. And the detailing on the desk top is really cute too.

This is exactly what I've been looking for! I want to turn the bedroom in our new house into a spa-like zen place = candles + rocks + plants

Fantastic New Arrivals

The turn-over for merchandise in the store is pretty extraordinary. I usually only come in about once a week, and it's always like walking into a totally new store. Needless to say, Betsy sees a lot of decor come and go, so it has to be quite a piece to make her say wow or, in her words "something that blows my skirt up." These three new arrivals had Betsy pulling a Marilyn Monroe...

This mirrored table could be used in a variety of decor-themes; shabby-chic, glam, and modern, just to name a few. And it looks so lovely between the two leather chairs!

This green sofa has great clean lines and will fit right into most color pallets. From rustic browns and oranges to artsy plums and pinks, this piece was made to please!

This adorable chair could be used as a statement piece in a sea of solids, or to anchor different colored pieces together. What Betsy really loves: the couch and the chair together...

Shabby Chic - how to distress furniture

My husband and I are in the arduous process of moving into our first home, and we're on a pretty tight budget. A lot of the furniture we have right now is a little.... Ikea. It serves a purpose, but it's nothing to write home about. Standard and functional - but not a whole lot of personality. You get the idea. It all started with a cute little coffee table that I bought about two years ago, about a month before I brought home a new puppy. Well, the new puppy, Sam, wanted to know what the coffee table was made of - so he ate the corner. With a sigh, I turned the coffee table around so at least the gnawed-off corner would be against the wall.

So here we are, two years later, and I have to decide what to do with the table. Is it worth moving (especially in a heat index above 100 degrees) sans a corner? So I asked a few furniture professionals and googled the heck out of refurbishing wood furniture to get some good ideas. Distressing it seemed like the simplest and most fun way to give it a second chance. And it was so successful that I have since decided on a shabby-chic theme for the foyer and kitchen in the new house. It's so easy! The process is a great creative outlet and sanding wood is an amazing stress reliever. And what I really love is when people come over to check out the new house and ooh and ah over the corner shelf I refinished in the foyer, and then ask me where I bought such a cool piece.

The good news: I really had no idea what I was doing when I started. I still don't really know, but that's the best part about the shabby-chic look; it's almost impossible to screw up. And if the finished product isn't what I had in mind, I can sand it off and start over. So here's my step-by-simple-step way to distress wood pieces.

1. Pick your colors. This is my most favorite part! Most of the sites I checked out advised using a darker color underneath if you opted to use two colors other than bare wood for the base. I've used shades of green, black and silver, red and light wood, and brown with tan. I would definitely recommend testing what you like on less expensive pieces: aka, don't experiment with a family heirloom or a major investment piece.

2. Sand away! Depending upon whether or not the piece you're using already has paint or a finish on it, use a fine or medium grain sand paper. This also helps exfoliate, so to speak, and can create little grooves that will add to the character of the piece. Wipe off all surfaces with a dry towel.

3. If you're only going to use one color paint (with bare wood showing through) rub a wax candle on the corners and in places that would be most likely to show wear. If you are going to use two colors, paint the sections of the piece that you would like to with your base color. This will be the color that shows through (like layers of paint over time.) Let this coat completely dry. Multiple coats are totally up to you. I'm usually too impatient, except for with red shades. After the paint is dry, rub wax over corners, edges, and places that would likely show wear over time. The wax will make sanding the top layer of paint of much easier and gives you a little more control in terms of where the paint will sand away.

4. Painting - Round 2! Paint the desired portions of the piece with the top-coat color. Allow to dry, and don't rush it!

5. Sand again! I like to use a medium grain sand paper for this part, but that because I like the really-shabby-chic look. But I think the amount of distressing is subject to the color choices as well. I refinished a kitched shelf in a candy-apple red and used a lot of sanding to tone it down. Experimenting is the only way you'll find what you like to do, so again I would stress making some test runs on thrift-store finds or bare pieces of wood.

6. Technically, you don't have to do this step, and you could've called it a day after step 5. But I like to protect my hard (or not so hard) work, so I recommend finishing it off with a water-based poly coat.

How easy was that?

Here are links to a few great articles that I found:
http://budgetdecorating.about.com/od/youruniquedecor/ht/Distress-Wood.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Distress-Furniture---Step-by-Step-Guide&id=1298090
http://www.hgtv.com/ is another great resource for at-home how-to's

In keeping with the shabby-chic theme, a new piece just arrived at our store that I'm completely in love with! This distressed corner-shelf has an eggshell top coat and distressed bronze trim. It's currently priced for $136. The book-ends are really cute too!

Bargain Hunters Rejoice

I popped into the furniture store on the hunt for an overstuffed chair, and, as can often happen, was immediately put to work. Luckily, we were doing two of my favorite things: marking down prices, and moving stuff around. I feel so accomplished when I help stage a setting or move something really (really) heavy... and then I get to skip the gym! But I digress...

Linda and Bonnie were hard at work moving tons of furniture and decor into the Bargain Room. Now the Bargain Room, my fellow budget-warriors, is the stuff that decorating dreams are made of. Prices are slashed to a fraction of the original price! And don't forget to look *everywhere* - up, down, under, above, and sideways. Especially now! They're packing so much into the little-room-that-could that some serious stacking is required. Come help us make some room!

Vivid

So I was playing with the settings on my camera and I came across a setting called "vivid." The furniture store can be a little hard to take pictures in sometimes because of the many different sources of light - sunlight streaming in through the glass garage door, a menagerie of track lighting that sets interlocking circles aglow, and flourescent lighting downstairs (not my favorite kind of lighting, but it's economical and environmentally friendly.) And even still, for reasons I have yet to figure out, the flash wants to lend a helping hand in every picture. So I'm always a little disappointed in the pictures I've taken in the past because once captured, the images don't show the true energy of the rich colors that I find in the store.

Now, this may not seem related at first, but give me a second to bring it all back around. My husband and I are moving into a fantastic home (our first!) in a couple of weeks. We lucked out all the way around: it was a foreclosure, and it's in perfect condition. It was only built a few years ago, and the previous sets of owners didn't even put a coat of paint on the walls. So the clean khakis and creams of the walls and carpets are primed and ready for whatever we want to do. Well, what I don't want to do: paint. The good news: since the colors of the carpet and walls are so wonderfully neutral, we can use statement pieces to develop a vibrant, vivid, and non-commital color pallet. And furniture is so much easier to move/change/refurbish than floors or walls. I went to the furniture store on a hunt for the perfect coffee table. And while I didn't find what I was looking for this trip, I found some fantastically inspiring, vividly-colored pieces would speak volumes in anyone's home. Inspired? Call to inquire! 404-377-1944

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Garden Graffiti with Jan Riley

Meet Jan: For nearly 30 years she has created murals, decorative painting and faux finishes for homes and businesses in Atlanta with her business called WallScapes by Jan Riley. You can see lots of examples of her faux painting and murals here http://www.janriley.com/.

We *love* Jan here at Finders Keepers Furnishings. She's decorated almost every side of our store, adding life, character, and wow to the outside of our building. Check out some of the pictures on our original blog post: Welcome to Finders Keepers Furnishings. Here's one just to pique your curiosity:

The biggest and most dramatic change you can do to a room in your home is to change the color scheme. Don’t be afraid to paint with bright and bold colors, especially if your room is unfurnished. The color will be enough until you find what you need to fill it!
Although it is a fun project it can also be really frustrating. Colors are personal. Every one has a special relationship to different colors and different hues. If you have trouble choosing your colors, we can help. We have a program called Color-Coaching where we come to your home and help you learn how to choose paint colors for your space.

What colors do you like? How do certain colors make you feel?
Think about what you wear. You probably know how to dress for work and mix and match colors, so I know that we will be able to find out what colors will work in your home. You are going to live with the colors so we make sure that you love the colors, hues and shades you choose.

On the April Agenda - Contact info for April's Experts

1st Saturday: Garden Grafitti ~ Murals and whimsical art with Jan Riley
 * contact Jan: 404-294-5549 or email at: wallscapes@janriley.com

2nd Saturday: Curb Appeal ~ Get it sold/spruce it up with Vickie Bracewell
 * contact Vickie: vickiebracewell@bellsouth.net

3rd Saturday: Container Gardening ~ Creative spaces with Michelle Hammer
 * contact Michelle: http://www.creativespacesdesign.net/ (email form on website)

4th Saturday: Chaos to Comfort ~ Get organized with Susan Fox & Theresa Taylor
 * contact Susan and Theresa: 404-313-1778 or email at: info@chaos2comfort.net

Spring into Creative Lighting with Lee Cuthbert

I'm not a doctor and I don't know the technical terminology, but I do know that sunshine activates our happiness glands.

~Jessi Lane Adams

Light has a tremendous effect in a home. The way you use light can set mood and tone. Manipulating and crafting the artificial and natural light in the rooms of your house can have an instant effect on a living space. The good news: Lee Cuthbert can show you how to turn any decorative object in your home into a unique source of light!

About Lee: From 2003 to 2008 Lee Cuthbert owned and operated Decatur's Victory Vintage Home, a mid-century furniture and gift store. Refurbishing vintage lamps became a fun, spin-off business; and as demand for her product and expertise grew, she turned her full attention to this new venue!

Light (or the lack there of) has a tremendous impact on your home. The good news: creative lighting is easy and fun!

* Make lamps our of heirloom statues, vases, pottery, old sterling teapots, or sports trophies. They're a conversation starter, and you look oh-so-smart when you tell your guests how you did it!
* Hanging lamps can be given a touch of personality with large drum shades.
* Old lamps can be rewired to add new life to the charm of an antique fixture.
* For do-it-yourself projects, parts are available from Lee and Beth at Kudzu Antiques

Spring into Staging with Vickie Bracewell

Meet Vickie:

Vickie Bracewell is a Realtor with the Kirk and Marshall Group of RE/MAX Metro Atlanta. She has been on the #1 Sales Team in DekalbCounty for the past 3 years. She has earned the Accredited Staging Professional designation and really enjoys helping her clients stage their homes to sell. A true believer in staging, Vickie can provide you with tips on making your house the prettiest girl at the dance when it hits the market.

Vickie Bracewell got down to the nitty gritty on how to give your home the best chance to stand out in this buyer's market. If you missed the lecture, you missed a gold mine of advice and how-to's, so we took some notes for you!

Key Words of Wisdom on Staging to Sell:
* Paint is one of the least expensive investments you can make, and it often has the highest rate of return. Neutral colors are the best bet.
* Less is more: clutter eats equity and energy.

* Remove all appliances, groceries, dishes, etc. from kitchen counter tops to maximize space.
* Buyers only know what they see, not what it could be.
* You can't sell it if you can smell it!
* Hang visuals/pictures at the average woman's eye level

Get it Sold: Vickie lays-down the how-to's

It's not too late to get Vickie's advice! Give us a call if you want her contact information and she will be happy to help you get your home sold! 404-377-1944

Spring into Decorating with Connie Raines

Meet Connie:

Connie Raines has over twenty years experience working in both residential and commercial design.


She has worked with some of Atlanta's top design firms including Hendrick, Epperson Design and Emory University design studio.

As a business woman operating her own firm since 1992 along with being a wife and a mother of three, she has an understanding of designing for real life with a desire to create spaces that address client's unique needs and budgets with the end results achieving a beautiful living space.
 
In her workshop, Connie focused on re-purposing what you already have to update your home for a fresh look. An old picture frame can become a trendy bulletin board. A pop of color or a bold texture can turn a ho-hum set of walls into an inviting, interesting living space.

Find out more about this week's expert, Connie Raines, on her website for her business: CF Raines Interior Design at http://www.cfraines.com/
 
Connie Raines with Betsy Johns (Finders Keepers Furnishings' fearless leader)

Connie Raines during her workshop

Spring into Action - A review of our March Workshops

Finders Keepers Furnishings hosts free workshop series! We're taking a break in June (Georgia's summer climate clearly likes to rise and shine... and rise some more) so we'll recap this spring's past workshops for your inspirational pleasure.

Ahh spring cleaning! Maybe you dread it... like going to the dentist. Or maybe you can't wait to start... like a kid on Christmas morning. Either way, it's that time of the year, ready or not. This year, we're here to help you get the jump-start on your project list! So spring into action with us this March as we host 4 special guests over the next 4 Saturdays who will help you achieve your home-makeover goals!


Your March Action Plan
1st Saturday: Spring into Decorating with Connie Raines: Timeless Designs
2nd Saturday: Spring into Staging with Vickie Bracewell: Real Estate Staging
3rd Saturday: Spring into Lighting with Lee Cuthbert: Rewiring and Creative Lighting
4th Saturday: Spring into Organizing with Carrie Fowler: Interior Design, Downsizing, and Organizing

Hey all you gurus... want to host a workshop? Email or call us to pitch us your specialty!

Don't take our word for it... Rana Cash discovers consignment

Atlanta Consignment Stores hosted its first-ever Atlanta Bus Tour, and bargain-writer Rana L. Cash for the AJC wasn't about to let the potential money-saving opportunity go to waste! Check out her write up below:

A picture of the Bus-Tourees!

My newest discovery: Furniture consignment stores!
7:00 am May 20, 2010, by Rana Cash

A short zigzag between couches and china cabinets, bedroom suites and dining tables, and shoppers quickly recognize the deals here at Southern Comforts.
The furniture consignment store is almost hidden behind a drug store, but once found, there is a treasure to behold. And it’s not at all unusual in metro Atlanta.
“If you’ve never been to a furniture consignment store,” said Beth Richardson, owner of The Board of Trade, “you’ll see the quality and you’ll be shocked.”

Dozens of shoppers were introduced recently when they traveled by busloads on a seven-hour tour of stores. Some concentrated on clothing outlets; others on furniture stores. Each shopper paid $35 to take part in the AtlantaConsignmentStores.com event and spent 45 minutes at each location.

It was the first major event for the group of retailers who’ve joined forces to drive home the distinctions between consignment and thrift. Melissa Baxter, owner of Back by Popular Demand and Forever Young, partnered with her former employer, Bonnie Kallenberg, owner of three stores — Finders Keepers Boutique, Fashions and Furniture — to start the organization.

“Consignment, thrift, donation and pawn shops all get kind of lumped together,” Baxter said. “None of us [consignment store owners] had $10,000 to take out, but together we could make a brand. On average, only 10 percent of people know what consignment stores are.”

In general, here’s how they work: Name-brand adult and childrens’ clothing, bridal ware, high-end furniture and items in near-perfect condition are taken to the consignment store of your choice. The store decides which items it will take, sometimes turning down 50 or 60 percent of the offers. Stores require items be ready for sell. The store sets a price and the consignor gets a percentage of the selling price, which reduces by percentage each month. If it’s not sold, it can be picked up or donated.

And when it comes to furniture stores, bargains abound. They are newer to the shopping world than clothing consignments, but have experienced rapid growth, particularly since the economy turned downward. It’s not hard to see why.

“It’s a good model when you have money, and when you don’t,” Richardson said.
A Hickory Chair brand sideboard, $6,000 wholesale, is $1,995. This $1,700 leather sofa is $3,500 new.

“People with money are more apt to come to consignment stores than people who do not have money,” said Southern Comforts owner, Mark Eid. “They don’t have money because they are big spenders; they have money because they are good shoppers.”

The furniture may have a more classic than contemporary, but it depends on the store. While Board of Trade and Southern Comforts are more formal, Finders Keepers avoids antiques and looks for more unusual pieces. Stores complement the inventory with newer pieces they purchase.

“People who shop this way realize that you can’t always walk in and say, ‘I have to find a green armchair,’” Kallenberg said. “You have to be open-minded.”

Eid says his stores, including one opened two years ago in Alpharetta are “not a dumping ground.” It’s much more and the bus tour passengers saw that first-hand.

“It’s the tip of the iceberg with resale,” Kallenberg said. “Back in the early 80’s, there was a stigma attached to it; it was only poor people who shopped consignments. Now cool people buy used clothes and furniture.”
Follow me on Twitter @atlbargains and on Facebook at AJC Atlanta Bargain Hunter

Learn more about the Atlanta Consignment Stores organization at: http://www.atlantaconsignmentstores.com/.
p.s. Plans are in the works for a *huge* consignment bus tour this September... stay tuned!

Welcome to Finders Keepers Furnishings

Six years ago, Bonnie Kallenberg, owner of Finders Keepers Consignment Inc., found a burned-out auto repair garage in need of some serious TLC and had one heck of a vision: expanding the furniture aspect of her then-only store into its own building... that building. Since then, Finders Keepers Furnishings has become a force to be reckoned with on Atlanta's consignment scene. Featured on CNN, CBS, and written up multiple times in many publications, the award-winning store has certainly made a big impression.

New items arrive every single day. The store's team, headed by Betsy Johns, carefully scrutinizes every piece before it ever hits the floor. Their main concern: making you say "wow" the second you step under the orange awnings and walk through the door... and trust me, they do it every time. Come on by... get inspired.

The new garden area - inspired by Jan Riley's Artwork

A trick of the eye - Jan Riley painted another orange awning on the side of the building.