"LUCKY DUCKIES" LANDS IN SUFFERN
By Kevin T. Czerwinski
Circumstance, opportunity and life experience combined to form the perfect storm, all of which led Kim Trevisan to a storefront on Lafayette Avenue.
When the 39-year-old Pomona resident opened Lucky Duckies, an upscale children's consignment shop, on Suffern's main drag in the fall, it wasn't on a lark. She had been giving the idea some thought for quite a while and one spring day as she was exiting the bank across the street, she noticed the empty storefront and the "For Rent" sign - opportunity.
Trevisan had been working in construction management but was laid off in December of 2008, so the circumstances certainly led her down the right path, putting her in the bank that spring day. Finally, she has four children, tons of clothes they've outgrown and the experience of trying to outfit all of them on a budget, no easy task considering today's economy.
"It can become expensive to buy clothes," said Trevisan, who grew up in Manasquan, New Jersey. "I went to consignment shops like this when I was younger. I like to read but I don't know about books so I couldn't open a bookstore. And I know a lot about kid's clothes, or at least I think I do.
"This was a long time coming, too. I've been talking about opening a store since my [youngest] daughter was born. I moved out of my box and out of my comfort zone with this. For me it was a lot less overhead because I didn't need as much money to start up. All I did was paint and put up some shelves. There aren't a lot of consignment shops around here, either."
Lucky Duckies sells top quality children's clothing along with accessories, toys and gift items. The merchandise is nearly new, gently used, name-brand items that cost a fraction of what it would cost if it were purchased at the retail price. Lucky Duckies also carried a select inventory of new children specialty items.
Trevisan already has 25 consignees, having gathered clothing from friends and family.
"I had a lot of stiff because I had four kids," she said. "I started asking some friends and some people gave me larger amounts and it spread from there. I advertised, too, so it's sort of spreading.
"This is a good bad economy store. If you need to make money, you can sell your stuff. I've never done anything like this before but so far it's been good."
Trevisan's husband, Steve, is a freelance video editor and has flexibility with his schedule. As a result, so does she. The store is open from Tuesday-Friday in the mornings. It's also open Wednesday and Friday afternoons and all day Saturday but Trevisan can often be found in the store long after any established closing time.
For more information on how to sell your clothing or to learn about the type of merchandise that Trevisan sells, contact her at luckyduckies@optonline.net. Give her a call at [845] 354-0503 or simply stop by.