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| Gisell Armstrong, from Dubendurf Switzerland and Sara Weber from Honeoye on the right. Julie Harris on the left at the counter of her store in Wellsville. Photo provided. |
WELLSVILLE: It’s always different, always interesting and
always welcoming no matter the location or the name. The newest name is Julie’s
New, Found, Loved. The Julie behind it is Julie Harris and a whole community of
customers is glad to have found her.
25
years ago, Harris was teaching at a preschool in Houghton and studying her
opportunities for a business in the area. When her youngest child entered
school she took her accumulated “dream fund” of $500 and made a down payment on
a barn in Caneadea.
At the
time the barn still had the scent of cows and horses but, with her husband, a
contractor, part of it became her first show room with consignment used
clothing and household items. As time and budget allowed, other areas of the
barn were renovated so that there was a dedicated children’s room, an area with
linens, a stretch of space for kitchenware and an aisle for holidays. For 17
years Julie walked on an ever growing area of concrete floors as the Red Barn
Mall responded to requests from customers adding a line of new mattresses and living
plants to her consignment items.
Julie
worked mostly alone with some help from one of the children (generally someone
who had to pay for something like car insurance) while her husband managed the
weekend deliveries of
mattresses. In the
barn, everything was huge: the space,
the inventory, the paperwork for consignees and the job of keeping it all tidy.
Julie
developed a system for numbering items. The first number tells what the thing
is such as number 1 is pants while 2 signifies shirts. The next set of digits
identifies which of the 1400 consignees brought the item. Every tag (a sticker
for some things and a tie on for others) has the price of the item and a
description such as the brand name.
While
at the Red Barn Mall, in 1999, Julie was approached by Houghton students who,
for class credit, wrote a computer program to keep track of inventory. The first
thing they helped her do was find a used computer and teach her how to turn it
on.
She
expected that it would take time to be computer competent, let alone
proficient, but the students were gracious and patient and after a sputtering
start, she realized that the program could cut 12 hours of paper work down to
an hour and a half at the keyboard. That deserved a celebration and the joy she
found in that discovery is still evident when she talks about it.
From
the start, the consignment goods were a valued product in Caneadea. Clients could
expect 50% of the sale price for their new or used items. Each accepted client
could bring 25 items per season, by appointment. For all these years the
business has generated sales tax for the county and cash for her clients.
After
17 years of tromping on that concrete floor, Julie’s legs were tired and she
sold the business moving to real-estate and making her first home sale to a
former consignment client. Unfortunately, her move was at the time of an
economic downturn so after a short while, she chose to leave real estate and make
pottery at the Wellsville Creative Arts Center. Then she found this building
for sale.
She
looked at it and considered starting another store. Maybe a consignment store.
She looked at it a second time. Did she want to buy a building and start
another business? After she looked at the building the 9th time, her
family gave her a shove and she purchased it to start Julie’s Consignment
Cottage and that is where many of us have found her in times of clothing need
for the last 10 years.
This
year, the cottage is refurbished, reorganized and rebranded as Julie’s: New,
Found, Loved. New is for the brand new things
such as dresses (the most in demand item), a line of wares from GANZ , and
locally made soaps and jewelry. She also has some vintage look games, toys and
art materials. She said that grandmas love that stuff.
The
Found category involves items she sees when she is out and about. Right now
there are multiple wire baskets and paper stars. The Loved part is for clothing,
house wares and furniture on consignment.
She
says that consignment items have been loved but are worthy of being loved
again. One of the things that caught my eye was a collection of beer steins
rather like Schultz and Dooley but women with flowers in their hats. Somebody
will love those.
The
rebranded store will be on the road as a pop up shop in an Avion Aluminum
Camper. With assistance from her family,
the camper is being modified so that it will keep the vintage vibe and the
camper sense but will work as a mobile store. The scheduled debut is on August
4th at the Curtis Museum’s Classic Motorcycle Show in Hammondsport.
It is roomy enough to accommodate 4 shoppers inside with space for others under
the awning outside.
Julie
says that she has the best customers in the world. They are educated consumers
and know the quality that some brands represent. They have money but recognize
the value of the gently used item. They have busy lives and appreciate the
variety found in her store where she has all sizes and styles of clothing, shoes and
jewelry.
Julie’s
is open on Tuesdays through Saturdays and often has a special sale sign outside.
She communicates through Facebook (Julies New Found Loved) and will help people
find a certain item in a given size if she can. Julie’s is located at 15 W
Pearl Street, Wellsville. 585-593-1959
