Kaylee Bowers believes in thrift.
But she really likes designer handbags, too.
Talk about conflicting values.
But Bowers has found a way for her thriftiness to coexist with her good taste. She owns Adora Consignment, which recently moved into a space at the Everett Mall.
“I love consignment stores,” she said. “I’ve been a consignment store shopper forever — ever since I was a teenager. I just knew I wanted to own one.”
Now, she owns three. Adora’s original location is in Burlington, a store that opened a little more than three years ago. Another smaller store in south Everett will be combined with the Everett-Mall store this summer.
Bowers said the premise of her consignment shops is simple: She wants to have something for everyone. That’s babies and children, men and women, large and small.
“Zero to Five-X, small to XXL,” she said.
Expansion in an economic downturn isn’t typical, especially for a new entrepreneur with just a few years of experience under her belt.
But opportunity came knocking. Specifically, it was a representative of the Everett Mall who did the knocking. The mall is looking to lease space to small businesses and sought out Bowers at her Burlington store.
“I went and looked and said, ‘Hey, this is great,’” Bowers said.
That means longer hours for the Everett native. It means more hours in the car driving from one store to another.
But Bowers said after just a few months at the new location, she’s seeing signs of success.
“I have seen so many repeat customers already,” she said. “Being a small business owner, sometimes you have to put in a lot of hours yourself. All of my customers are family.”
One question she gets a lot: What did she name the store Adora?
Bowers tells her customers its named after someone else who’s put in long hours at the business — Dora, her Yorkshire terrier.
Read Amy Rolph’s small-business blog at www.heraldnet.com/TheStorefront. Contact her at 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com.
Visit Adora
Adora Consignment is at 12811 Eighth Ave. W. in Everett, or at www.adoraconsignment.com.
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