Julie's New Found Loved

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 9^th 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 4^th 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