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With limited space and an ever-changing inventory, Denise Gorney says keeping her consignment shop looking good "is kind of like accessorizing a moving freight train. It can be exciting."
The bustle is also indication that Consign and Design Interiors is working out as Gorney hoped.
"I have awesome consigners," she said.
Gorney opened her shop last spring in a corner of Andover Paint Center, where she had done design and color consulting. She moved to a 700-square-foot space at 403A W. Central in Andover last month and says there's a "high probability I'll be expanding" again before long.
Gorney, who also worked for years as an accessory buyer for a furniture store, figured a consignment shop might do well in a tough economy, allowing sellers to make money off unwanted items and buyers to find great deals.
She splits sales 50-50 with consigners, with an agreement that items will be marked down 25 percent after 45 days.
"Typically, things are not here that long," she said.
As for buyers, they will find items in pristine condition for less than half of what they would pay new. Deals being offered Wednesday included a square Norwalk ottoman for $179, an Ethan Allen accent table for $138 and a mirror set from Southern Living for $68.
There are also plenty of decorative plates and other items for $10 or less.
Gorney jokes that her inventory consists of "all those things you have to dust" — lamps, vases, mirrors, clocks, artwork and more. Larger furniture that the items are displayed on are for sale as well.
Gorney describes herself as "politely picky" when it comes to what objects she will accept for consignment.
"It needs to be of current trends, current colors," she said.
For instance, she said, "Black is a new neutral. That's being used a lot."
Darker, distressed picture frames, metal wall art and accent tables are other hot items.
She doesn't do antiques.
"That's not the niche," she said. "It's current decor."
Some of her best customers, she said, are real estate agents and house stagers who pick up items to spruce up homes that are on the market.
Gorney welcomes potential consigners to e-mail her photographs of items they would like to sell, although she won't make a final decision without seeing the object in person.
Gorney said she's not the type to apply the hard sell to anybody, but she will warn them that the inventory tends to turn over quickly. She remembers two women who were looking at a pair of candlesticks.
"One gal went home to measure," Gorney said. "The other said, 'I'm taking them now.' "
