Opening shop has been ‘a hoot’ for residents

ThisWeek CW 11/08/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2012/11/06/civetta-consignment-opening-shop-has-been-a-hoot-for-residents.html

Opening a new consignment store has been hard work, but has also been “a hoot” for the four women behind Civetta Consignment.

The “chic, inspiring, vintage, eclectic, trendy, timeless and artistic” treasures that make up the merchandise at Civetta are meant to provide a unique touch for the customer’s home, according to partner Judy Kellogg.

“Donna Robare is an interior designer who runs Robare Living. She was helping me to finally change my house from the 20 years of white walls I’d had forever to a cabernet and charcoal color,” Kellogg said. “You can’t just change walls like that and not change everything else, so we were going to consignment shops all over Columbus looking for things and talking, which is when we realized we both wanted to open a store like this.”

The stock includes everything from jewelry to furniture to artwork and, of course, changes regularly depending on what is sold and what is brought in on consignment.

In addition to consignment sales, the business offers color consulting, home staging and interior design services.

Kellogg, the owner of Kellogg Cabinets, was able to provide the space for Civetta in an unused building she called a barn behind the cabinetry shop.

That barn helped determine the name of the business, she said.

“Robare loves Italy and owls, which are very trendy right now, so we settled on the name Civetta, which means ‘barn owl’ in Italian,” Kellogg said.

The pair began working on the space in March, eventually bringing Julie White and Dana Fularz into the business as well.

White is the former owner of the White Horse Mercantile Shop in Pickerington, which specialized in antiques and decor. Fularz holds a degree in interior design and previously owned Kensington Interiors, also in Pickerington.

“We all sat down and realized we each had something to bring to this, and we all had items to begin stocking the store with, so if we’d each work a day, we could do this,” Kellogg said.

“It’s so interesting just how it evolved, and how the girls all have something else to offer to customers through consulting.”

Civetta offers consignors a 50-50 split on the sale of items and accepts gently used furniture and accessories in excellent condition. An online consignment form is available for furniture to be reviewed prior to transporting it to the store.

“We’re always looking for people to bring in upscale, good-condition furniture, and we’re also looking for handmade, artisan pieces,” Kellogg said.

An official grand opening will be held Nov. 10 with a 20-percent off sale, door prizes, food and drinks. Normal business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

“There’s just nothing like this store in the area, but we’ve been open for five weeks and had a sale every day we’ve been open, so that’s a good sign,” Kellogg said.

Civetta is located at 7711 Diley Road, directly behind Kellogg Cabinets and across from Meijer. Online information is available at civettaconsignment.com.