LAKE FOREST PARK — The owners of Two Trading Tigers may be fierce when it comes to stocking their store with quality items, but when it comes to providing customer service they are quite playful.
Owned by Marlee McKibbin and Cherie Lee, the store opened on Sept. 15. It is the latest addition to the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre, located on the outside of the mall. The owners picked the name when they discovered that they were both born in the Chinese Year of the Tiger. The shop also has an Asian flair.
“Customers love it, they love the colors, the merchandising,” McKibbin said. “And the mix that we have at this point.”
The store sells a mixture of items, ranging from women’s clothing, both new and consigned, to furniture, cards and antiques such as old silver and china. Jewelry from local designer Terrill Powell also is sold.
Both McKibbin and Lee have backgrounds in retail. McKibbin owned a store at University Village for 19 years, called Marlee, which closed in 2003.
“I thought I was old enough to retire,” McKibbin said. “But then I got bored.”
Lee worked for McKibbin for seven years at the University Village shop, where the two women became well acquainted.
“Cherie had worked in gift shops and between her knowledge of gifts and mine of apparel, we thought it would be a good match,” McKibbin said.
When deciding what type of store to open, both women agreed they wanted to open a store that would not necessitate a lot of funding.
“We wanted to start a store with as little capital as possible,” McKibbin said. “That was why we decided to do consignment.”
The two women, who live in different areas, tried looking for a location that would be convenient for both, but did not find anything plausible in between Edmonds and Queen Anne. They eventually decided on Lake Forest Park Towne Centre.
“We felt this would be a good location because there aren’t any other consignment stores at this location,” McKibbin said.
The store took months to plan after the women began brainstorming in November. A three-year lease was signed in May.
The store is different than most consignment stores, Lee said, as it is well-lit and bright as opposed to dark and dreary. Due to the wide-variety of items they sell, customers are often surprised to find out they are a consignment store.
“It looks like a regular retail store,” Lee said.
Furniture, which also is consigned, is obtained from some Asian stores in downtown Seattle. They also have purchased furniture from customers to sell, as well as from estate sales.
The clothing is both new and consigned, although the new clothing is actually on consignment from stores. The new consigned clothing has never been worn, but is sold at discounted prices.
Although they were told some stores struggled at the Towne Centre location, the owners are confident the store will be a success. They said the mall needs more new stores.
“They needed a breath of fresh air,” Lee said. “And that is what we are.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
