Con·sign·ment: the act of sending goods to an agent for sale

There is a brand new store in the making for the Saratoga County area that will be offering local residences and visitors alike top quality furniture and wares produced by local artisans at reasonable prices. Whether you are looking for a beautiful piece to add to your home décor or would like a memento of Saratoga to take home with you after an enjoyable vacation’s stay, the Saratoga Consignment Studio, located in Ballston Spa, is expecting to be a big bang with the upcoming store opening.

Speaking with Bonnie Grolley, creator and owner of the Saratoga Consignment Studio, she commented that the new shop is, “not a typical thrift store.” Bonnie is set on providing the area with a type of store that boasts high quality, gently used furnishings with great prices. And you will want to come back to the store. Its current, savvy and eye-pleasing ambience will surprise and impress you. 

With the finish to renovations expected within the first week of September, the Saratoga Consignment Shop is located at the historic chocolate factory building in Ballston Spa. Not only does the store itself have a local history, but Ms. Grolley grew up in Saratoga as well. The store is a 4,000 square foot space, allowing for a unique display and design to go along with the presentation and showcasing of furnishings and goods. Knowing the area, Bonnie was aware that location and space for such an endeavor would not be an easy thing to find. Meeting challenges with resource space can make or break a business in the Capital area. But upon finding the old chocolate factory available, she reflects knowing instantly that this space was perfect for the accomplishment of her goals. 

When asked how her idea of a consignment shop came to be, Ms. Grolley stated that the idea came to her and her husband while on vacation about a year ago. While visiting some local flavor on a vacation, Bonnie and her husband spent time visiting furniture shops, thrift stores, and consignment shops. What they saw could definitely be characterized as local flavor as they saw that a lot of stores seemed to be collections of junk, although not all was junk, but the way the stores were arranged and the types of outdated, weathered items had potential, but more so in the imagination and intuition of Ms. Grolley than the shops. 

Upon returning from vacation, Ms. Grolley did her research. She began checking local listings for consignment shops and thrift stores, and what she found was there weren’t any known to this area except for a single shop in Lake George. And after a year of research and networking within the area, Ms. Grolley has brought her dream, the Saratoga Consignment Studio, to the people.

What’s more is the Saratoga Consignment Studio will not be just a store; it is to be a resource for home life, decoration and interior design. Ms. Grolley is looking to promote local artisans as well. She has already spoken with folks from Schuylerville about producing soy candles. She is looking to present wood works, both practical furniture and decorative sculpture, as well as products ranging from amateur photography to pottery. “I am always looking to help someone local,” said Bonnie.

The Saratoga Consignment Studio will not only be a market resource, but Ms. Grolley is intending to hold clinics on what she has titled, “Design on a Dime.”By partnering with experts, she will hold classes and instructional courses on anything from proper painting hanging to window dressings. 

All in all, the Saratoga Consignment Studio is bringing much more than just another shop. An aspect that is appealing to me, particularly being in the environmental field, is the eco-friendly nature of a consignment shop that passes on valuable and recycled home furnishings. As a teacher and mentor of mine once said, “There is no away.” He was talking of the waste and garbage, of course. And the idea that the Saratoga Consignment Studio is aiming to commission re-crafted artisan goods is phenomenal. This is perhaps one of the truest forms of eco-friendly entrepreneurship I have ever encountered in Saratoga. All others can learn from these guys.

What other choices do we have? To name a few of the bigger, more generic home furnishing stores like Wal-Mart and Target only shows that there aren’t many stores of this nature in our area. Large bulk supplier stores offer quick fixes to furnishing needs, but the quality and uniqueness is lacking completely. 

Other electronic junk-posts, such as Craig’s list (which does not only feature junk; that is simply a general title) do not provide the kind of high-quality showmanship and presentation of items as provided by the Saratoga Consignment Studio. Often times, items on internet junk-posts need to be reposted, or the sellers forget to repost the items. The Saratoga Consignment Studio offers an environment that will accent the visual pleasure and worth of the item. 

The consignment process is simple. An interested party with goods to sell sends digital photos of the wares to the Saratoga Consignment Studio as part of a preapproval process. Once a conversation has begun between the parties, an agreement in the form of a contract is started. 

The benefits to using a consignment shop as a market for your pieces is wide-ranging and well worth the agreement, explains Bonnie. The consignment store acts to eliminate upfront costs.

Risks are minimized such as strangers in your home. The exposure and advertising is done in large part by the consignment shop, and relative to advertising costs out of the artist’s pocket, collaborators get more marketing and more profit than a do-it-yourself operation. 

So check out the opening of the Saratoga Consignment Studio, open yourself to the idea, and give them a chance. Purchase your eco-friendly home furnishings, and if a pristine image is what you seek, you won’t see it in the furnishings you purchase. Then again, if you seek out pieces that are lively and show the character of age and history, the Saratoga Consignment Studio will have what you seek.

The Saratoga Consignment Studio is located at 20 Prospect Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020