Consignment shopping opens up so many fashionista possibilities. Sure, you can wear the leopard halter to a cocktail party. Or, reimagine it as the most spectacular beach cover up in the world.

That is dressing to thrill: your budget and your soul.

Thing is, to do this whole consignment thing well, and find the really good stuff, you really have to be a regular. As in shopper. So what are you doing? Come on over to Peonies and see what we have in store for you this week. Very small sampling of goodies below.

~ Pam and Laurel

{ Beautiful blooms don’t last }

~ Pam and Laurel

PS Did you see Peonies’ new homepage? Love to hear what you think.

Oooh, you’re going to love Peonies.

We love chatting with customers and friends, even when we’re not together in the shop. Join Peonies on Facebook and when you do, special offers and fun stuff will start coming your way.

Feel free to upload photos, write a comment on the wall, post a link you think you think everyone should know about.  It is a great way to shout it all out so we can help you share it. Which we love doing. Hope to see you there!

Oh, and if you have any doubt about the power of Facebook, you might be curious to know that it is more powerful in directing web traffic than google. Google! Don’t miss out on what’s going on.

~ Pam and Laurel

Bring on the comments. Yes! No? Why. Thanks soooo much.

~ Pam and Laurel

P.S. Tell us where you are from.

Ann is a lighthouse of optimism and hope: she believes in Connecticut, she believes in its people, and she’s on a mission to connect and spread the word.  She’s doing this, in part, by discovering what’s really going on in Connecticut and thus helping get the word out about all of the “wonderous things by people who are driven by sheer determination to just figure it out and go on.” She is excited about all of the positive things that are happening, in spite of the (ugh) economy.

Ann is recording what she sees and learns on her new blog, Annie Mame, about all things brilliant and wonderful in the state of Connecticut. (The name of her blog comes from one of her favorite movies, “Auntie Mame” which starred the late Rosiland Russell, a native of Waterbury.) One of our favorite posts from Ann is a piece called Art at Murray Pond, a great place we might not have known about otherwise. We are sooooooo going there, and a shout out to Ann for the head’s up.

It was a great visit. Ann seemed really interested in us, in the store, and in the future vitality of Peonies (as she is interested in the health of all small businesses in CT). She wanted to know why we designed the shop the way we did. What was our biggest surprise? How long had we known one another (33 years! yikes!) Did we have a good numbers person?

Huh? A good numbers person? Nope, Ann wasn’t being nosy;  she just wants to take her learnings and help others succeed. She says we’re in the ”Great Era of Entrepreneurship”, hence her meetings and writings about the many people she’s discovering who are reinventing who they are and what they do right here in CT. That’s one of the reasons she visited the shop.

We happily discovered we all have a lot in common: anything that sparkles! Vintage! Shopping at Target! And beyond the bling to what we really care about: we are strong supporters of Child & Family. The arts (Ann’s a trustee for the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theater in old Saybrook. And we’re all nuts about connecting with fun, interesting people (Ann, we suspect, is a one-woman party!) Her enthusiasm for life, and for people, is infectious.

We loved Ann the minute she walked into Peonies (and not just because she walked out of Peonies with some great merch, we thank her truly for her purchases). What did Ann buy? Well, that’s her secret to share (you’ll never coax personal details from us, not about anyone.)

But now that we know this loving mom, we suspect she probably won’t mind if we tell you she took home a drop-dead gorgeous vintage dress with a sheer top and killer beadwork for one of her twin daughters. And she popped for a pair of crystal earrings that are, well,  to die for.

Ann Nyberg’s heart, it seems, is even bigger than her ready smile.

~ Pam and Laurel

We have spring on our minds at Peonies. Do you? Time to clean out your closets; the earlier in the season you consign, the better the chance of selling. No appointment necessary, and please, no more than 10 items per drop off (we always make exceptions, so call and check if you have questions). All items should be next to new (unless they’re vintage), cleaned, pressed and floor-ready. Bring in all items on hangers except shoes and handbags. Any questions, call the shop at 860.581.4518. Look forward to seeing you.

~ Pam and Laurel

Peonies is a designer consignment boutique for women near the Connecticut shoreline — three miles from Essex and ten minutes from Old Saybrook.

First things first: a huge thank you to all the Peonistas who responded to our survey. You didn’t hold back and we loved it.  We are learning so much from you. We’ll share a little bit about what you told us each week. You also gave us lots of ideas.

Katrina Marciniec (Hi Katrina!) suggested Peonies do a monthly fishbowl with the winner getting a $20 gift card. Thanks for the suggestion, Katrina.  Guess what? A $20 gift certificate awaits you at the counter. Come shop! (By the way, the survey was completely confidential. We asked you to leave your name if you wanted to. Some of you did, like Katrina, while others preferred to remain anonymous. We totally respect that! We hoped for sincere feedback and we are getting that.)

Consigning new items last night made us sooooo very excited for spring.  So many new items on the floor and it makes us just giddy: we are thinking warm, we are thinking pink, we are thinking sailing, beaching, hiking, playing, and sanding (Laurel’s verb for walking barefoot on the beach). You will start to feel that way, too, when you come into the shop. There’s no beach, but it’s getting brighter and lighter as new warm-weather items arrive daily. Ooooh, we can’t for you to see: Issey Miyake, vintage Lagerfeld, Gucci, DKNY…Habitual. And the markdowns are getting sweeter every week. Speaking of which, have a good one.

~ Pam and Laurel

Oooh, you’re going to love Peonies.

{ 2.27.10 } The survey is now closed. We received 150+ responses. Thank you so much.

Peonies is an upscale, designer consignment boutique for women near the CT shoreline — three miles from Essex and ten minutes from Old Saybrook.

~ Pam and Laurel

P.S. The Lifesaver® photos are our shameless attempt at subliminal advertising. You are supposed to see the Lifesaver, then think “PEONIES! OMG I haven’t been there in a while” and then hop into your car and zoom right over to see us. Is it working? : )

Oooh, you’re going to love Peonies.

Well, for starters, Peonies has dozens of great new-to-you pieces {we would talk about them but  forgive us, please, we are busy unwrapping and smooshing milk chocolate bites into our sugar-craving faces}. Let’s just say this: the new stuff at Peonies this week is pretty suhweeeeeeeeeet.

Yep, almost as sweet as the free kisses you’ll get when you come and see us. Bring your friends, we’ll give them chocolate kisses, too. All of them!

Happy Valentine’s Day! ~ Pam and Laurel

~ Pam and Laurel

Oooh, you’re going to love Peonies.

P.S.  We love when you leave comments or ask questions. Anything you want to know? Anything you’d like to see us inventory more of? Less of? Scroll down and comment below.

Oooh, you’re going to love Peonies.

Did you happen to catch Women in Business with Nell Merlino and Rhiannon Ally on Better this week? Rhiannon asked Nell how business owners can thrive. It’s a great interview, offering entrepreneurs solid thinking:

#1: Do you have something people really want to buy, not just what others think will do well?

#2: What problem are you solving for customers, and how do you envision your product being sold?

#3: Ask for help!

#4: Make friends with your financial information; understand how you are making $ and how you are losing it.

#5: Go after it! Failure is not final. Learn from your mistakes and move forward.

Part of the segment was filmed at Peonies consignment shop, and owners Pam Williams and Laurel Peters were interviewed. You can watch the video here.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 7:15 am

Dear Maggie,

(Ooops, did we get you out of the shower when we called you last night? Sorry, we had so much to tell you!). We just didn’t want you to be shocked when you opened up the store this morning. Well…..whatchathink?!!!! Looks pretty different, huh?

We’re pretty happy with the new shoe shelving we found at Ikea on Sunday. Thank goodness we got all four sets assembled; now no more shoes strewn about the shop. It should also be waaaay easier for customers to find shoes and try them on (there’s a little stool next to the shoe area, and peds, natch!)

We reorganized and moved almost everything (oh, we left your cosmetics on the counter in the bathroom, and if you need extra toilet paper, well, it’s either in the closet in the bathroom, the top shelf in the back room or maybe borrow some from one of the neighbors?) There’s also a lot of new merchandise on the floor. We didn’t photograph it, truly there no time!

After all the moving, we marked down over 300+ items to the most insane prices. The sale items are on racks with prices clearly marked, just look for the big pink signs. (You may not be able to find the TP but you will not be able to miss those signs.)

In case you’re looking for it, the three-way mirror is temporarily disbanded; we’ll put it back next week. If anyone wants to see how they look, they will need to twirl around in the privacy of their own dressing room. LOL. Hey, what do you think about the leather chair in the front? We like it without all the stuff on it!  Let’s keep it clear (it looks like a great place to sit and read a book but we hope you will be so busy today you won’t have time).

On Saturday, three women asked again if we could stay open at least one night a week. So sorry about the late message that night (did we get you out of the shower then too?) Now we can stay open until 7pm on Thursdays. Customers will love that; and we will definitely start that this week. Yay. We owe you one! Tell everyone (uh, tell them that we’re open, not that we owe you one! Ha.)

Thanks Maggie. Keep up the great work; great that someone noticed and thought enough to write to us about you.

~ Pam and Laurel

_________________________

P.S. to Maggie

>The story on Women in Business aired on Better TV yesterday featuring yours, trulies. So much fun to have lifestyle correspondent Rhiannon Ally at the shop once again. The link to the video.

> Can’t remember if we refilled the heart-shaped dish on the counter? Yep, we were eating mints all night long, forgot dinner. The big bag of Lifesaver® refills is under the counter. Nice to let everyone leave the shop with at least one sweet memory of Peonies! (We know, we’re goobers.)

>OMG, we almost forgot!!! Did you know you can get breakfast at Ikea? For $5, we got TWO FULL BREAKFASTS at the Ikea Restaurant with eggs, sausage, french toast and home fries. And coffee!!! (Oh, most definitely go for the syrup on the French Toast.) Yum. Speaking of $5, we have one whole rack in the shop — anything on it, $5.

>Pls. remind consignors to cash their checks (we can’t reconcile our books until they do!) and if anyone wants a print out of their donations for tax purposes, we can email it to them. Or they can stop in and we’ll print an update for them.

Thank you!