Monday, November 21, 2005

Adventures in Consignment

Over a year ago - I believe I was still pregnant with the last baby (15 months old now) at the time - we invested in some fabric and supplies so I could finally sew some things to sell. Thank you to all who kept quiet at the (very crazy) thought that I could sew anything with a newborn and two boys uynder the age of four, while my husband was deployed to a war zone. But I knew all along it would come in God's time, maybe you all knew it too.

Thanks also to my sister for going halfsies with me on the current project. Taking a lot of fabric (some scrap, some remnants, some favorites we couldn't say no to while browsing the bolts) we were both saving for a rainy day, more like a rainy season considering the massive amount which had accumulated between the two of us, sister's idea was to make heating pads filled with deer corn (which, when heated in the microwave oven, holds its heat for a while). Two afternoons of working together produced about twenty 'snuggly heating pads'. We tied up as many as we had ribbon for, added a card with directions, and they made the trip to Camp Lejeune with husband last night. There is a craft consignment store there run by the Officer's Wives Club. They take a $30 registration fee per year and 20% of your sales. For that, they give you space in their store right in the heart of mainside Camp Lejeune, an itemized statement every month and a check on the tenth of the month for the previous month's sales. They use their profits to run the store and to fund a scholarship for wives and children of servicemembers.

I also sent some other handbags which I had made over the last year or so, six in all. Since the consignment store is 100 miles away, I don't know what else is in the store for me to compete with. So I am using the holidays as a convenient distraction, I can just keep cooking and packing for our Thanksgiving trip to MILs, and not think about the bags and whether they are selling or not. Sister and I will get together again this weekend and sew up some more.

I will post when I hear from husband, who has agreed to keep an eye on the stock and let me know when we need to send more.

1 comment:

Mary Ellen said...

I would buy one of the bags. How much?