By Constance Scrafield Columnist
Contributed photo Nancy Angrove Urekar, owner of Chic á BOOM consignment shop in Caledon hopes to attract customers from around the GTA. “Consignment should be a way of life!”
This is the philosophy of Nancy Angrove Urekar, owner of Chic á BOOM in the small strip mall in Caledon Village, and she is setting the bar as high as any consignment shop you could imagine.
There is something almost perfect about the layout of the shop, where tidy racks of clothes are placed amongst antique furniture and other charming household items, not to forget the white grand piano stationed more or less in the middle of the shop.
Everything is for sale on a consignment basis; prices are fair and each item has a time limit on how long it is kept on display, so things keep changing.
From one to four months are the time limits for the large collection of items in the shop and Ms. Urekar actually employs a parttime person to call clients to let them know that their clothing or items have not sold in the prescribed time slot. At the end of this time, they may take their things back, donate them to charity, or to the charity sale Ms. Urekar plans to hold twice a year.
She has already hosted the first charity sale in the parking lot of the mall, with all proceeds going to a local charity. However, Ms. Urekar’s business opened less than a year ago, on April 1, 2011. planning her next parking lot charity sale for April 21, she is looking to borrow a tent big enough to shelter everything from the vagaries of the weather. she says her intention is to donate all the funds from the charity sales to a different charity each time.
The building in which she has chosen to set her consignment business, originally a supermarket, had been empty for four years when she took it over. with a somewhat restricted budget, she spray-painted the ceiling, bought all the fixtures second hand (of course), painted all the walls and did it all with the help of “one young fellow” and a young woman.
In spite of the difficulties the other businesses in this spot had suffered, Ms Urekar is sure that hers is the “right thing for that location.”
Her reasoning makes sense. “Consignment should be a way of life,” she averred. “China has changed the value of things. Antiques aren’t worth what they used to be, but I think things of value will return to their values over time. right now, people are so concerned with buying at the cheapest price but they’re only getting what they pay for.
“People throw good things out, but it’s much better – for everything – to recycle them.”
Ms. Urekar has spent money promoting her store, and has even directed and filmed a commercial which is due to go on CITY-TV early in February.
She knows the value of word-of-mouth but ack- nowledges, “I can’t wait for word of mouth to take effect – I have to get customers in sooner than that.”
Customers are already coming to the amazing shop as a destination. in the same mall is a well-patronized bistro, but its owners are not interested in serving lunch, only dinner. So Ms Urekar sends patrons who are looking to make a day of their trip to the High Point Café, a short trip north on Highway 10.
She has high praise for the food there. “they make everything; first thing in the morning, the cook makes her own bread. The soup, all the food, is homemade – it’s great.”
In making the commercial, Ms Urekar said, she is working on becoming a destination for the Greater Toronto Area. “I’m going for it!”
As another attraction to draw visitors to her establishment, she is staging events each month. On February 4, she is hosting an antique evaluation day, allowing area residents to bring their treasures to be assessed by experts she has invited to participate.
On March 3, she has Lindsay Peddle, owner of Buy, Borrow and Style Interiors in Shelburne, to come to advise visitors on reprocessing furniture and decor.
Basically, Ms. Urekar has dived into this adventure on her own, financing and directing it herself. It is another of those leaps of faith that inspire respect and admiration. in every way, she is following the path of the 21st Century, recycling good quality merchandise and doing the best she can for others.
Chic á BOOM is on the east side of Highway 10 in Caledon Village, immediately south of the junction with Charleston Sideroad, at 18371 Hurontario Street. Check her out at chica boominc.com.