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Previously Owned Proves Highly Desirable
Gallery has something for everyone
Gina Teel
CALGARY HERALD - MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2008
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When it comes to home furnishings, it's unusual to find bargain hunters, high-end furniture fashionistas, recreational shoppers and the budget-conscious all happily converged under one roof, unless they happen to be at The Consignment Gallery. The 18,600 square foot store is a treasure trove of previously-owned quality pieces from local homes and showhomes, along with some new items consigned by importers from around the world, to furnish or accessorize every room of the home. On offer is a real eclectic mix, from neutral coloured sectionals to ornate solid rosewood dining room suites from China, and antique china cabinets to ultra modern accent tables for the living room or den. |
There's accessories galore, from a massive set of concrete lions befitting of a grand entryway to original oil paintings and marble busts. Lamps, hand-woven silk carpets, teak stands from Thailand, modern oversized hassocks, clocks throw rugs and framed prints and pictures help round out the offering. It all comes together in complementary furniture groupings that look as if they were meant to be together in spite of being brought in by different consignors. With new items arriving hourly, shoppers will find something new each time they visit-- which tends to be often, said Marvie Giordano, owner of The Consignment Gallery. (article continues below photo) |
Marvie Giordano is the owner of the Consignment Gallery, an upscale consignment furniture store in Calgary's southeast.
Photo - Grant Black, Calgary Herald
Discovering 'treasure' on consignment
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"It's finding that treasure, the unusual piece. You still find your basics, but we're not your regular furniture store and every time you come in it's different," she said. There are customers who have furnished their entire home, one piece at a time, through The Consignment Gallery, Giordano said. Some pieces will go as soon as they hit the floor. Others don't make it that far, having been snagged to satisfy the demands of the store's bustling customer wish-list. The Consignment Gallery has branched into jewelry, which perhaps not surprisingly, has done very well. They also take in some household goods, such as fine China, as evidenced by the pristine Royal Doulton Winchester dinner service for eight up for sale. Odds and sods abound as well, including an ornate metal fireplace screen with a clock face, and a fine, highly decorated Asian secretary-like desk. The point, Giordano said, is to have something for everyone. "You'll find things here that you'll never, ever come across" anywhere else, she said. Consigned items are generally kept for three months, though an exception is made for exceptional high-quality, higher priced items, which can sometimes take longer to sell. "Very little is still here in three months," Giordano said. The Consignment Gallery accepts only quality items in good condition; dated or poor quality items don't make it past the screeners. For a $20 per visit fee, Giordano will send viewers out to a residence to pre-screen items with consignment potential. |
Most of her consignees are couples who are downsizing, those who like to change their furniture like fashion, and importers. Giordano got the idea for The Consignment Gallery while visiting her sister in California. The single mother of two had been looking around for a business that she could run on her own, to provide a living for her family. It quickly dawned on her that there wasn't anything remotely similar to the consigned furniture concept in Canada. The Consignment Gallery
The native of Vernon, B.C. set her sights on establishing such a business in Calgary because of its entrepreneurial spirit and contacts she had here in furniture stores. Other factors worked in Calgary's favour, too. Consignment clothing stores were popular in Calgary at the time, but there were no consignment furniture stores. Moreover, it was the type of start-up business that didn't need a lot of cash up front. But the real clincher had to do with Calgary's famous boom and bust oil cycle: having lived through the previous oil crash in Calgary, Giordano thought consignment was a safe bet in the event of another recession. |
"I felt that people are still going to want to sell their furniture when times are a little bit tougher, and people are still going to want to buy things at a better price," she said. In 1998, with $20,000 borrowed from her mother, Giordano came to Calgary and set up shop. She started with a 3,600 square foot space, stocking it with her own furniture and accessories from the six bedroom house in Vernon she'd left behind. She got through the early days by trading furniture for advertising, driving the delivery van herself, and advertising locally with flyers she made herself and had her kids deliver. Despite a slow start, Giordano expanded and doubled her space within a year. She poured everything back into the store for the first two years, with the exception of necessities. Five years later, business was brisk enough to require a more spacious site, which Giordano found in her current location. Today, annual revenue has blossomed to more than $2 million. With 20 full time and part time staff, many longterm, handling the floor, Giordano is now focussing on revamping the showroom floor. Her latest project involves breaking up the space into sections to suit various lifestyles and tastes. For instance, there will be a section for people with condos or apartment size furniture needs, and a modern urban section. There will also be a 'singles only' section, where individual pieces and odds and sods will be stacked rather than displayed. "It will be the treasure hunt back here," Giordano said. GTEEL@THEHERALD.CANWEST.COM |