CHEYENNE – Tumbleweed Consignment opened last month at 1900 Thomes Ave., offering new and used home furnishing and décor for sale and consignment.
Kimberly Brunner, who owns the store with her husband, John, began searching for a location for a store last fall.
“I just absolutely loved this building,” Brunner said. “I loved the more industrial look, and it was just a really good floor plan for what we were doing.”
She honed her consignment experience in Denver, where she has worked as operations manager for a large moving, storage and consignment business for the past four years.
John Brunner works in the oil fields for C&J Energy Services and spent years commuting from the Denver area before they moved to Carpenter at the end of December to cut down on the amount of time spent apart.
“When she decided to open this store, I was really excited for her,” said Sue Stevens, a friend of the Brunners who lives in Pine Bluffs. “I think it will do well.”
She said the store isn’t like a flea market or a donation store, but offers unique and affordable items that are high quality.
“She’s really great about looking at a piece and deciding, ‘Yeah, it fits the clientele,’ or, ‘No, it doesn’t.’ I just think she has a good eye for quality,” Stevens said of Brunner.
Stevens sells jewelry that she makes from silverware at the store. Her business, Lake Time Design, also makes custom pieces for people, often out of heirloom silverware that people don’t want to throw out or leave sitting in a drawer.
Tumbleweed Consignment includes 2,000 square feet of space on the main floor and another 2,000 square feet that currently isn’t being used on a lower floor. Brunner said she is considering expanding the store to the lower floor at some point, possibly adding clothing.
About half of the items in the store are new, and the other half are consignment items, which must be fully functional, clean and free of damage. These items are sold under a 90-day contract, with the consignor receiving 50 percent of the selling price.
Tumbleweed Consignment sets the prices. After one month, items that haven’t sold are marked down by 25 percent. After two months, they are marked down by an additional 25 percent. Anything that doesn’t sell or isn’t picked up by the consignor is donated to charity.
Many of the items come from military families that are being relocated or those who have items to sell but shy away from online marketplaces like Craigslist.
Brunner watches trends on Pinterest and visits model homes to get ideas for her store. Country farm home styles are popular right now, and items with gray, white and teal color schemes sell quickly, she said. At the end of January, Brunner attended the Las Vegas Market, which showcases the latest designs in furniture, home décor and gifts.
“It was a neat experience,” Brunner said. “It just kind of opens your eyes to everything that’s out there.”
January and February often are slow months for the consignment business, but Brunner said she has seen a steady pace of business so far, and is spreading the word through traditional advertising, Facebook ads and word of mouth.
Resale is a growing industry, according to Adele Meyer, executive director, of NARTS: The Association of Resale Professionals, which has 1,000 members throughout the United States. Volume is difficult to pin down because there isn’t a clear category for classifying resale stores, she said.
The local economy has been improving after a downturn in 2016, according to Wenlin Liu, chief economist for the State of Wyoming Economic Analysis Division. Retail trade sales tax collections totaled $36.7 million in fiscal year 2018, up from $32.5 million in 2017. Sales tax collections for home furnishings stores in Lara-mie County increased to $724,684 in fiscal year 2018 from $666,701 in 2017.
“This industry always flourishes during a recession,” Meyer said, adding that it tends to remain strong even after the economy recovers. “That always increases the industry. But once it’s increased, you’ve got a bigger customer base, and they share with other people. Word of mouth is very big in this industry.”
The Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” also has boosted the volume of items and sales at consignment stores, Meyer said. An increased focus on sustainability and recycling also benefits the industry.
“The bottom line always comes down to saving money,” Meyer said. “People love to save money.”