Downtown Fredericton’s Consignment Shop Promotes Local Art and Music Too
When Laurel Green found out downtown Fredericton was losing its consignment shop, Heather Ogilvie’s ReNeu Boutique, Green knew the gap needed to be filled.
So she bought up ReNeu’s end stock and fixtures and has had many consignment clients transfer over to her new Queen Street shop, Bellwether. She says while she’s continuing what was being done at ReNeu when it comes to consignment and hosting all-ages shows, she’s also adding her own twist to the shop by giving local artists a place to sell their wares.
We stopped by Bellwether to chat with Green between her interactions with customers and downtown locals about how the shop has been doing since opened mid-April.
How did Bellwether get started?
I used to be a consigner at ReNeu boutique and shop there quite a bit and was consigning some artwork and then I heard that Heather was closing and I was heartbroken. But then I learned she was actually looking to sell her end stock and her fixtures and everything. That kind of got me thinking about where I was at and what I might want to do and I was kind of looking for a new challenge and something different so I was able to purchase ReNeu’s end stock and fixtures … I just felt like ReNeu played a huge part in the downtown community here and offered a great service through consignment and through its alternative music venue and wanted to keep that going.
What were you doing before this?
I was working as a program coordinator and an art educator with my friend Jen Krueger. She offers an after-school art program for elementary school kids across the province. So I was helping with the administrative end of things, curriculum development and then teaching five days a week in the spring and fall. I’ve worked in the arts for quite a long time.
What’s the concept behind what you’re doing here?
What Heather was doing at ReNeu was working really well and was a pretty vital part of the community. It was pretty apparent the void [it left] in the market. It took me two and a half, three months to get the doors open here after Heather closed. So keeping in the same vein of consignment service, there’s a need for that in the downtown area with a lot of students and young professionals who are looking to recoup some of the cost they’ve spent on clothing, and have an accessible and affordable option for used clothing and vintage clothing. I felt it was really important to continue that and also act as an alternative all-ages venue.
I lived in Woodstock quite a few years ago and when I was there, I was part of the River Valley Arts Alliance and co-founded the Dooryard Arts Festival there so I’m a really big advocate for the art and music community. I used to host house shows out of my big old Victorian apartment. I’d been missing having that sort of venue to continue doing that so I was really excited to have the shop to do that too.
I’m trying to incorporate more local artwork into the shop and really support emerging local visual artists and give them a place to showcase their work and help with some exposure and get them some sales. That’s my passion and what I love to do. I use the shop to showcase and sell some of my own artwork as well. I do all the knotwork pieces and the macrame…
What hopes do you have for the shop?
I’m really hoping we can continue to reach out to community members and make them aware of the consignment service that’s happening here and grow that. In the three months we’ve been open, we’ve opened over 120 consignment accounts. A lot of those were former ReNeu clients, but there’s a lot of new clients as well and I think the new location has been really great.
I’m already seeing how I could capitalize on more square footage. Down the road, I’d love to be able to look at more space. It’s getting to the point where I have to turn down some stuff. I have no storage so I have to be really selective with that, which is great because then you offer a really high-quality selection of clothing. But I’d love to be able to expand down the road in that way and continue with the music and the artwork.