I heard about this place out in Portland that had a few different businesses in one building and one of them was going to have hand-made home decor on consignment. Sounds like that's right up one of the many alleys in my world. LOL
So, after leaving the Byron Center Farmer's Market with our bread and cheese in hand, it was off for a 45 minute trek to Portland. Once again, the trip was filled with conversation - EBAY - etcetcetc, PETS - yakyakyak, FRENCH FRIES AND A FROSTY FOR LUNCH!! hahahaha!!I BARELY noticed the exit and tried not to holler too loudly EXIT 76 !! TURN HERE!! Actually, come to think of it, I was cool as a cuke on the outside, I was just screaming on the inside. heehee. We hadn't really paid much attention to time, we were just driving and talking and driving and talking.
We kept on talking when we got out of the truck and meandered down the sidewalk and found Rafaelle's Marketplace!
OK, before we go any farther - credit where credit is due - I forgot my camera in the truck! AH! These pictures are courtesy of the CO-owner, Julie, who generously and expediently sent these to me. Thanks Julie!Right before we put a hand on the doorknob, my friend saw a sign and said the dreaded word - - - CLOSED!!!! My first thought was - ohhhhhh, nooooooo, they HAVE to be open on Saturday! They just HAVE to!!! So, I looked around for the hours posted while in my head I was chanting - pleasepleasepleaseplease. We found it and whew! They opened at 10! We were just a few minutes early, that's all!
So, we decided a walk around the block would be a good idea. We found a grrreeaaaat Quilting shop while we were walking at the back of the buildings and I did my best not to drool directly ON the fabrics! What a totally cool place!
Sure enough, by the time we got back around to Rafaelle's Marketplace, the door was unlocked! We were greeted by the owner who has a great smile and demeanor and as we looked around, he turned on the boom box and - JAZZ!! Ok, he's now my bestest friend forever. heehee.
Just standing in the door is a lovely aesthetically pleasing experience:
Hey........does that guy have a cookie.................? That's the owner in the middle. He's too far away to tell if he has a cookie.
There are areas of storefronts - I wouldn't call them 'booths' - they're much nicer. With the great backdrop of hand painted walls and floors, all of the shops looked great. This is the shop where I'm thinking some of my things could go - it's still a work in progress:
Then there's a section in the back.......talk about drooling!!! sheesh!!! Faaaaabulous artwork. You just have to see it to really get the effect!
OK, I FOUND THE COOKIES!!!!!!
This booth is called "The Bag Lady". heehee. Clev. ver.
We spent some pleasant time chatting with the owner and finding out more about how he ended up with a business incubator and I am sure this will be a success for him and his wife. I think I'll have to notify him ahead of time of when I'm coming next so he cand Julie can make sure there are cookies waiting..................heehee
If you want to check out their site, here's the addy:
http://raffaelesmarketplace.com/
So, now it's thinkin' time. Thinkin' Thinkin' Thinkin........
3 comments:
Thanks for part two! I have some questions!
- Were you able to get any information as to how things will work if/when you put some items in his place?
- Do you pay a monthly rate?
- What percentage of the selling price does he keep?
- How busy did the place look?
- How full was the overall store? Well stocked with a variety of items? Or just barely stocked?
Shall I stop now?
Let's seeeee......
-I didn't really get a feel for the day to day workings but the thing that's different between this and some place else is he gives help, like a mentor would and trains the people who have shops to some day be successful enough to have their own stand alone storefront.
-The monthly rate for a shop is $1 per square foot.
-Toward the end, he did mention that if he were to take things on consignment, individually, if a person didn't want to have a shop there, he would do0 a 30% consignment thing.
-As to busy, we got there right at 10:00 so we were the only ones there and there were 2 other couples that came in before we left. I as looking forward to meeting other shop owners but none of them were there - that was a bit puzzling. I don't think our half an hour there was a very good indicator of a 'normal' Saturday.
-The individual shops that were open were very well stocked, very well displayed and it was evident that alot of thought was being put into the overall effect of the shops. I have a feeling the owner had something to do with that, with the whole 'mentor' idea.
thanks for those answers!
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