Monday, January 10, 2011

What a great day for a treasure hunt!

Stuck Inside? We are too. In order to keep our staff safe, all Finders Keepers Stores will be closed today, January 10th. Are you stuck at home? If so, it's a great day to clean out your closet! Get rid of clutter and make money off of things you no longer love. Already organized your wardrobe? Rearrange a room to refresh the energy and see if there's a piece or two you no longer have use for.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

NAPO... GO... what??

In a world of ever-increasing acronyms, these may not be so familiar: GO or NAPO. Allow me to translate! GO is the abbreviation for Get Organized, and January is officially "Get Organized" month. This is where NAPO comes in: the National Association of Professional Organizers. Whether you need someone to light a fire under your organization goals or want to tackle it yourself, it's likely you can make some money off of things you're ready to part with. Check out this video that a NAPO member and Bonnie Kallenberg, owner of Finders Keepers Consignment Stores made to tell you about consignment:



Monday, January 3, 2011

Finders Keepers Saturday Workshops are Back!

It can plague any home - and it probably followed you into 2011: stuff. Knick-knacks, clothing, clutter, papers, receipts. We stash away an old jumbled pile - out of sight, out of mind - only to have to face it again in the future. Stop making more work for yourself and G.O. this January, which is Get Organized month. Finders Keepers Saturday Workshops are back to help you jumpstart your goals, and we're bringing you four of Atlanta's savviest organizational professionals who will teach you how to make the process easier and more effective.

January 8th: Creative Order
Suellen Germani, certified Life Coach and Organizer, will help you clear the road to your goals by helping you identify and eliminate your "Life Clutter," which often claims the time, space, and energy that could instead be used to pursue your passions. Her workshop will outline four key elements to developing an organized lifestyle, which includes exploring the important emotional aspect surrounding our "stuff." Learn more on her website: http://www.creativeorder.com/

January 15th: Chaos to Comfort
Susan Fox is a true warrior of stuff and can help you declare battle on the piles of I'll-get-to-it-when-I-can-or-when-I-figure-out-where-to-stick-it clutter taking over your house. Learn how to reclaim every inch of your home and make the space you have work harder for you. Susan's service, Chaos 2 Comfort, has been written up in the Wall Street Journal for her organizational know-how. Learn more on her website: http://www.chaos2comfort.net/

January 22nd: Creating your own Sanctuary
Carey Lynn Quinn practices what she preaches: our mental states mirror our external environments. Maintaining tranquility and order within is easier when your surroundings work towards that sanctuary instead of creating more stress. With a desire to share the secrets of serenity, she began OrganizeAtlanta in 2005. Carey Lynn will (neatly) spill the beans on a few critical steps to turn your own home into a place to truly recharge, regroup, and relax.

January 29th: The Magic Suitcase
Professional organizer and author Jonda Beattie knows that there's nothing small about downsizing. Whether you're facing this major life decision now or considering it for the future, this workshop will help outline how to make this transition a successful time in your life by exploring how to get started, pitfalls to avoid, and rewards that can be achieved at the end of that long - and often intimidating - road. Learn more on her website: http://www.timespaceorg.com/

Workshops will begin at 9:30am each Saturday in January and are hosted by our Furnishings location: 2753 E. College Ave., Decatur GA 30030. Call with questions: 404-377-1944.

p.s.
Finders Keepers Consignment Inc. is a proud member of NAPO - the National Association of Professional Organizers!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Did You Know?

We know - your inbox is full of spam and the idea of giving a perfect stranger your email address may not seem so super. So here's our promise to you: First, we will never give anyone else your information. Period. Second, we'll only send you emails if we've got cool news to share with you, such as: awesome inventory, sales/events that we're hosting, exclusive coupons, or need-to-know info like if we close for a holiday. And if you ever find that you don't want to get our emails anymore, all you have to do is click "unsubscribe" on any email we send you and you're instantly removed from the database.

Want to sign up? Just email us at subscribe@fkconsign.com from the email address that you'd like to add.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Finders Keepers named City's Best by Aol.com!

Finders Keepers Consignment Stores were just named the 2010 Winners of Aol.com's City's Best Search! We had some amazing competition and were honored to be named alongside them as a nominee - and we're thrilled that we won! Check out the City's Best website to learn what else people voted Atlanta's best:

http://www.citysbest.com/atlanta/winners/

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Live Mannequin Event

Standing still is hard work! I thought it was be a piece of cake - a breather, even - to stand perfectly still and not talk to a single person for 30 minutes at a time. But it's not easy at all! Especially when a customer didn't realize that the girl I was "mannequinning" with was, in fact, a real live person and tried to take her jacket off. Once she realized that she was derobing a person she jumped back like the mannequin was not only alive but also electric - and to my coworkers credit, she never even batted an eye! Here are a few pictures from the event:

















Wednesday, December 1, 2010

You've got stuff. You want to help charities. Now what?

Charities and fund raising efforts depend on people like you and are eternally grateful for your contribution. And you can give even more support by taking the time to sort through your items before you send them somewhere for donation/consignment. Collection sites spend a lot of time, effort, and resources disposing of items that aren’t usable. Look at each piece. Is it still truly useful? Is it current enough for someone to wear/use today? Is it (really) in good shape? Throwing out belongings might feel wasteful, but it actually saves the charity/organization time and money for you to screen your own items with a careful eye before you donate them.

Consignment stores have become a great way for charities to earn money from the resale of better merchandise. Keep this in mind: consignment stores are for profit companies, so the prices tend to be higher than thrift stores (because they don’t receive government funding of any kind to offset expenses) so customers expect good quality and only minimal (if any) signs of wear. Shopping consignment has become trendy, and these trendsetting shoppers expect stores to keep up. Look at each piece and honestly answer: would I buy this again today? If the answer is yes, then it’s likely someone else would buy it again too. If the answer is no, then decide whether a donation center could truly use it or if it should simply get tossed out. Don’t feel guilty! You’re actually doing charities a favor.

Finders Keepers Consignment Stores have set up accounts to raise money for multiple charities. These accounts earn more than regular consignor accounts, and receive 50% of the purchase price of every item. In 2010, Finders Keepers raised more than $10,000 for Haitian Relief Efforts alone. If you have things you’d like to sell in the name of a charity, bring your items in neatly (note: clothing wadded in a trash bag wrinkles within seconds and people won’t buy wrinkly stuff) and fill out our “pink slip” with the name of the organization that you’d like to donate the proceeds from your items to, or let a store representative know what charity you’d like to support and he or she will help you from there. That’s it! We will then screen the items for sell-ability. Anything deemed unsellable will be donated to the charities that we support, but we do not give tax write-offs and do not receive funding as a collection center, so a pre-screen by you in your own home will help all the way around.

Our three stores each have accounts set up for many different charities, and each have different consignment needs. Finders Keepers Fashions sells men’s, women’s, plus-sized, and maternity clothing as well as accessories: shoes, handbags, scarves, jewelry, etc. This store has a customer-demand for current and good-quality work-wear, suits, and wardrobe staples as well as fun and trendy pieces. Check your clothing for moth holes, tears, discoloration (particularly around the neck or under the arms,) spots, and stains. Shoes must be in new or nearly-new condition with no visible wear inside, and very minimal wear (if any) outside. The same rules apply at Finders Keepers Boutique, but this store has a high demand for funky and trendy merchandise, and doesn’t do so well with the basics or conservative wear like suits or sets. This location starts with labels like J. Crew and Banana Republic, and continues through couture fashion designers like Chanel and Prada. This store only carries clothing sizes 0-14, and also only sells clothing for women. Neither store accepts knock-offs or counterfeits of any kind, so please don’t bring them. Finders Keepers Furnishings sells furniture and home décor, and does best with contemporary pieces from retailers like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. They’re looking for newer import styles, neutral colors, and clean lines. Knick-knacks, do-dads, porcelain figurines, etc. do not sell in this store. A good rule of thumb: if it didn’t sell at the yard sale, it won’t sell here.

Learn more about our consignment policies and the charities we support on our website: http://www.fkconsign.com/