Apple Of My Eye Consignments Opens in Highlands

Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's the popular mantra for those who strive to soften their impact on Mother Earth, and Kathleen Kankel says it can also soften the impact on parents' wallets when it comes to dressing their kids.

The owner of the newly opened consignment store at 377 Franklin St., Kankel said that in addition to saving parents money when buying kids clothes, they can also make something back on their original investment on, say, a shirt that their child quickly outgrew.

And that shirt usually has plenty of mileage left.

"Those first three or four years, really they’re wearing those things for a couple of months, three months, and it’s done," she said. "So unless they’re really wearing the heck out of it, just killing the knees or they’re really sloppy kids, those things definitely have more life in them. And I know a lot of the mothers that have been coming in here are very supportive of second-hand, third-hand, whatever it may be. A lot of moms already exchange clothing, particularly in that first year."

Kankel already knows plenty about resale market, having worked for seven years at Wakefield consignment store for friend and store owner Rachael Bankey.

Initially nervous about entering a market where she had no experience, within months she found herself handling management responsibilities including booking appointments, meeting with consigners and, dealing with higher-end items brought into the store, pricing those items and sometimes negotiating specialty terms for them.

New Law Hits Supply, Increases Demand

Then in 2009, a new federal law that sought to prevent stores from selling children's products containing lead and other harmful chemicals went into effect, taking a toll on the consignment market. Resale store owners now had to provide doucmentation that showed their children's items were not produced with or contained any harmful chemicals.

"It wiped everybody out, it wiped all the resale, because how could you really document that this shirt, those pair of jeans or this pair of shoes had no lead in them?" Kankel said.

Raspberry Beret's phone didn't stop ringing for the past two years after the law passed, Kankel said, as parents searched for stores that were still taking children's clothing on consignment. She thought the time was right to strike in a hot market and, being a Malden resident, she also "I really like Melrose" and the community's reputation for openness towards resale, reducing, reusing and recycling.

"So that’s what made me come in to do it myself. Nervous has heck," she said, laughing, "but people have been so supportive. Calls, emails, letters: you name it. The public—without having done any paid advertising at this point—has really spread the word, despite the fact that I’m not even open yet. It’s been great. I’m very excited, still nervous, but still very excited."

Store's Shelves Are Stocked

Although Apple Of My Eye only received final approval for a second hand dealer license from the Board of Aldermen on Monday, the store had already been accepting consignments and shelves and racks have been full for weeks.

"It's because people are so excited about having inexpensive but good quality clothing for their kids, because they’re only gong to be wearing it for a little while," Kankel said.

The store has been accepting everything from newborn clothing up to kids 10-12, from any variety of brands, as long as it's free of stains and not beat up, but Kankel has a vision in mind for the labels she'd like to see lining her walls.

"Ideally what I would like it to become is more of the better children’s brands, so that those are more attainable for people on a resale market versus buying it brand new," she said. "Hopefully in the coming months, it will narrow itself more into the better, I don’t want to say upscale or upper-end, but more boutique-y. Really, it’s gotta be cute. Nobody wants to put their baby in an ugly thing, so it’s got to be cute and in good condition."

Apple Of My Eye has a 60-day consignment term and consigners will make 40 percent of the sale price on whatever items of theirs the store sells. There's a short pick-up window initially at the store for consigners to pick up items that don't sell, too, although Kankel hopes to avoid too much of that by drawing on her experience from Raspberry Berry.

"I try to narrow it down to the things that people want to buy in a resale market," she said. "I’m not here just to fill the shelves with anything I can get my hands on. I am selective, I do look the clothing over, because no one wants to buy dirty, stained or unwearable clothing. Really in consignment, I’m picking out what I think has the best chance of resale so that I can make both you and the store money. That’s what it comes down to."