2009 Donations

I know many of you always want to know where all the donated items go at the end of the sale. A wonderful friend, Laura Ly, takes all the donated items back to her home and seperates them out based on needs that we are told about. We also allow Laura to have a few yard sales with the items with the money going to medical treatments for her daughter who has cerebral palsy. We at Encores North have been blessed to see how far Madalyn has come with these experimental treatments that their insurance will not cover.

To give you an idea of just how much the consignors donated at the Fall 2009 sale, it took Laura and her husband plus many friends and family HOURS to pack up the items and the items literally filled 2 UHaul trucks. I receive many emails of families/groups in need and I literally forwarded those emails on to Laura who has the biggest heart. We were able to donate several suitcases full of clothing to children in orphanages in Ethiopia, clothing to a family who lost their home to a fire, a box of items went to Haiti, another family with a newborn in Springfield who lost their apartment to a fire, and one of the nurses from the NICU at Vanderbilt came and was able to get loads of preemie and newborn items for the families who don't have anything at the hospital. Here is her list of where items went:

1. The summer clothes went to the Baptist church in Portland. They are taking a mission trip to Honduras in January.

2. The shoes went to Soles for Souls.

3. All of the donated clothes not on hangers from you and friends and family along with toys and misc. items went to Chris Warren (Angela's pastor) He took it to the Cope Center in Springfield and HALO that give clothes to those in need.

4. All of the fall and winter baby clothes, maternity clothes, and baby stuff went to Open Door Pregnancy Center in Springfield.

5. Some clothes went to a family in Portland whose house burned down.

6. Sweats, sweaters, and jackets went to Barren Heights retreat for families with disabilities.

7. 2 boxes of clothes went to Vena Stuart Elementary in Gallatin. I was told this school is the most in need in Sumner County.

8. 2 boxes of pants went to H.B. Williams elementary for children who have accidents.

9. 2 boxes of navy and tan pants and polo shirts went to metro schools for children who have accidents.

10. 2 boxes of clothes went to a family of 5 in need. Two are foster children and mom is 25 weeks pregnant and on bedrest.

11. 1 box of clothes went to a family in need with a child with Spina Bifida.

12. All of the clothes left hanging in my garage went to Micki at Be Blessed. They are working to give clothes to children in need in Robertson Co.

13. I gave any new toys, electronics, movies, socks, and purses to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

So when you are hanging and tagging for the Spring 2010 sale, please consider putting a D for donate under your consignor number. Not only will we waive your $10 consignor fee, but your items are greatly impacting many lives in Sumner, Robertson, and Davidson Counties. Also, if you know of a group or family in need, please don't hesitate to email us.

Spring Sale 2010

Yes, it's only October 26th, but I officially started working on the Spring 2010 sale today. I actually started working on my personal consignment stuff a few weeks ago as I swapped my kids' closets out. I figured it was easier to go ahead and start hanging sets vs. putting them in bins and having to iron them when it's time to tag.

I OFFICIALLY started working today because I picked up my first batch of spring/summer boutique inventory. I have found with the down turn in the economy, I get phone calls from stores going out of business or stores that have overstock more and more frequently. I was pleasantly surprised at the inventory I picked up today because I have never purchased from this store before so I wasn't sure what I would be getting. Loads of adorable swimsuits and Easter attire, with some awesome stuff for girls size 10-16 which in my opinion is VERY hard to find. I LOVE spring/summer clothing so I am already getting excited about the next sale.

Have any of you started pulling out your spring consignment items?

Matching Sets

There is nothing worse than getting home from a consignment sale and realizing that an outfit you bought really isn't a set. Example: a size 24M shirt and sweater matched with a 4T skirt. Yes, I know it's the same line from Gymboree, but the sizes don't match so it's not a set. Yes, I know your child might have junk in the trunk, but my kid doesn't so don't put a 4T bottom with a 24M top.

Now, if you are like me and your children always wear one size bigger in a top than the bottom, I have no problem with you making it a set but CLEARLY note that on the tag. If it says size 24M, I am buying based on the premise that all the pieces are that size. If you are putting a size 3 top with a size 4 bottom, just put TOP 3, PANTS 4 on the tag. Chances are it will still sell, but you need to be honest in your tagging.

I find that when I tag at the last minute, I might do this on accident so as winter rapidly approaches and you clean out spring/summer clothing for the next sale, pack them away in matching sets by size and if the size doesn't match, consider selling it seperate.

Remember that sets do sell best!!

Want to be the FIRST person to shop at Encores North Spring 2010 sale

Well, let me tell you how to do it. In case you didn't know, the ONLY people that shop before the workers are me, my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law, and my best friend Angie who works about 200 hours per sale with me. Otherwise, the first shoppers enter at 5pm on worker day. Those workers either work or barter to be able to shop at 5pm and we value their 3 shifts plus sort to be worth $200.

This Saturday, October 3, at Beech Elementary in Hendersonville there will be a live auction that is held during Country Day, our annual fall festival. At that live auction, ANYONE can bid on a certificate that will allow you to shop at 12pm on worker day which is a full FIVE HOURS of shopping with no worries of someone else getting items you want.

The auction will start at 10:30am and the certificate will only allow ONE ADULT to shop and will be sold for the highest bid. All money from the auction will go to Beech Elementary! There are also tons of other items to be auctioned including a PT CRUISER so come check it out. Tons of games for the kids, food, live and silent auction and other activities. Come out and see us and HAPPY BIDDING! I can't wait to see who wins!

1/2 Price Day TODAY at Encores and More North

Hard to believe the sale is almost over. Half price starts today at 10am and there is still an amazing selection of clothing to choose from. If you get a chance, stop by and shop!

Day 5 Drop Off : Encores and More North

Today was our final day of drop off and you had to have an appointment to drop off. It was a very smooth day and I don't think anyone had to wait for a rack. We still have a ton to do to get ready for consignor's presale on Friday night.

I won't go on like a broken record, but PLEASE don't miss this sale if you need anything related to kids. We joked today and said if we don't have it, you don't need it.

I think we ended up having about 760 people dropping off, but man oh man, those 760 cleaned out!!! I won't lie, I'm excited about sleeping in tomorrow and getting some rest before going up to bar code, clean, and organize starting at 12pm.

Yes, we still have worker shifts available and would love to get you signed up. You can go HERE and click on the workers tab to get a list of available shifts that are left. Shoot me an email and come shop with the workers. You won't regret it!

Brea's Top 5 for Wednesday:
1. Beetle Bug battery powered car $85
2. Custom made sippy cups with my kids' initials $7 each (available on front tables when you walk in)
3. Chicco stroller combo (looks brand new) $175
4. 2T Gymboree 3 piece set $11 (which I did snag for Mary Elizabeth)
5. Brand new Boppy pillow in package $5

To answer last night's questions, YES, we do have lots of BRAND NEW items. I'm not sure about brand new baby boy clothing, but I will check tomorrow and let you know tomorrow night. We have a TON of bikes so Star you should do great in that department. Leave a comment if you have something you have your eye on OR if you are wondering if we have something specific. I'll leave a blog post tomorrow night with an update.

Day 4 Drop Off : Encores and More North

We had well over 200 people drop off today putting us at over 700 consignors already and all appointments are FULL tomorrow so we will definitely end up around 800 consignors. Amazing that we continue to grow at this pace. I just hope everyone comes back to shop as the racks are nice and full (even boys!!!)

This will be short and sweet as I got about 2 hours of sleep last night and it's already 11pm and I have to be back at the store early in the morning.

Brea's Top 5 for Tuesday:

Land of Nod easel $30
Girl's size 7 Gymboree 2 piece outfit BRAND NEW $6
Pottery Barn red lantern light $22
Firetruck toddler bed $85
Huge wooden bookcase with toy chest $65

It's not too late to shop with the workers. We still have a few food shifts left, several worker shifts, and other bartering options available on the website. Leave me any comments to let me know what your excited about or if you are wondering if we have something specific (we probably do!)