New Consignment Store –The Cackling Hens –Opens on 8th Street in Marlinton
It began with a conversation between good friends – and bloomed on Friday, December 2nd with the opening of Marlinton’s newest business, “The Cackling Hens.” Leslie McLaughlin and Brenda Miller, the owners and founders of the resale and consignment store, tell the listeners of Allegheny Mountain Radio about their conversation last October.
“Brenda and I have worked together in the past” said Leslie. “We ended up working together here recently and one day we were just sitting and talking. I’ve been a nurse for almost 24 years, and I was just ready for a change. She (Brenda) voiced the same thing; she was just ready for a change too. I said ‘what about a retail consignment shop? This is something I’ve always wanted to do. I think it would be fun.’ And she says ‘I think that would be a great idea.’ She said to me ‘could I also have a residential cleaning service?’ Well, we discussed it and a decision was made within minutes.”
“Yea, within minutes” added Brenda, “and within probably two weeks we were rolling, getting everything together.”
“It was just something that flowed and we didn’t even have to think about” said Leslie. “It’s been easy.”
“Like it was meant to be” said Brenda.
“That same day I gave my notice” said Leslie. “I said ‘here’s my 30 day notice.’”
Leslie explains how they initially stocked the store before they later received consignment items from the public.
“To start with we both sort of cleaned our houses out..out households out” said Leslie “Just things we’ve collected over the years, items that were gently used. We just started there and Brenda’s Mom had a few things, and my mom had a few things and so we just kind of pulled everything together and we got the doors open. We just started taking consignments of gently used items, and we take a little bit of everything: clothing; household goods; furniture; antiques; (and) collectables”
They talked about some of the items they have in the store, including an antique Hoosier type cabinet; a selection of motorcycling accessories such as leather jackets; a turkey fountain –whatever that is; a gun cabinet; hand crafted wooden chests made by a local artisan; jewelry and clothing. They emphasized that unlike most stores, every item is unique in that there is only one of almost every item in their store and each item is for people of different tastes.
The Cackling Hens is located at 102 8th Street in Marlinton, just a couple of stores down on the right after entering the town over the bridge from U.S. 219. It is directly across the street from the Park. Their hours right now are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday, closed on Sundays and Mondays, although Brenda and Leslie say those hours could be adjusted in the future.
So far they have had a brisk business and hope things will pick up even more with their upcoming Grand Opening as Leslie explains.
“Grand Opening is Saturday (December 17, 2016), we’re starting at ten to five thirty” said Leslie. “Just before Christmas, we got a lot of things that would work great for Christmas gifts. We’ll have a drawing at the end of the day for the door prize.
Leslie tells us why retail consignment shops have such appeal.
“This is a shop that has something for everybody” said Leslie. “It’s sort of like treasure hunting, you never know what you’re going to find. You might go to seek something out, but you might not find that item, but on the other hand you might find something even better.”
So, if you want to go on a treasure hunt while doing your Christmas shopping this year, you might want to consider The Cackling Hens, especially during their Grand Opening, which is this Saturday, December 17th.
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