Staff Writer

It had always been a dream for two retired educators to operate a little shop and the two spent many hours while on their morning walks discussing the idea.

On April 22, 2009, Lesa Moore’s and Sue Smith’s dream came true as the opened a consignment shop in Clinton. They named the shop Tickled Pink and is located at 206 Sampson St., behind Dr. Joe Bell’s dental office. In fact, the shop is part of the old Bell home that was divided into apartments after the family moved to another house years ago with Dr. Bell’s office remaining. The consignment shop has grown from two consignors (Moore and Smith), to 226 with new consignors added almost daily.

“We have known each other for years and both taught school and retired,” said Smith. “As neighbors we would go for our daily walks together and talk about everything but it seemed to always come back to wanting to do something. So we decided to open this consignment shop.” She then shared that the first problem they had was finding an affordable space for the store.

“I thought we would never find a place here in town,” commented Moore. “We did not realize how expensive rental properties were in Clinton. Then we got a break. My brother (Dr. Joe Bell) told us he had an apartment that was opening up and it might work for us. We jumped at the idea.”

After going through all the hoops necessary to get the site rezoned for their business to two enterprising ladies set out to open their shop. Now the next dilemma. What do they call it?

Smith said, “One of the hardest things we had to do was come up with a name. We would work a while and think a while and one would make a suggestion and we would write it down. Family and friends would give us names too. So finally we decided to put all the possible choices in a hat and the one we drew out would be the name of our business.”

The two ladies shared that they had 30 names in the hat and the one they drew was Tickled Pink.

“We felt like it was a great name and it seems to be when our customers come and find something they really like and say ‘I am just tickled pink to have found this,’” adds Smith. “We are tickled pink to be doing something we both love.”

Tickled Pink’s location is absolutely perfect for a consignment shop, said the owners, who added they want customers to feel like they are at home. That is how it feels.

Because the building was originally a home then an apartment it has a living room, bedroom, bathroom and a full operational kitchen. The uniqueness of the location, and the business’ courteous owners, adds to the charm of the business. The built-in bookcases that hold a large number of books and other decorative items match the rugs on the floor, the antique rocker in one corner and the big wing back chair in another.

The atmosphere is welcoming and one where you just might want to sit down for a cup of coffee and some good friendly conversation.

“That exactly what we wanted and what we do,” expressed Smith. “We did have a sofa in here and when we were not busy, sometimes I would stretch out and enjoy it. We have friends that come by and bring goodies and we sit around and have a lovely time chatting.”

Everything is for sale and it is never known what the shop might have next, the ladies said. There are even items for sale in the bathroom. One fun experience for the customers, especially in the kitchen, is to see how the items are displayed. Many items are in the drawers of the cabinets or in the cabinets as if it is in someone’s kitchen.

“People just love to come in and pull out the drawers to see what is in them. They love to open the cabinets to find treasures. I think they feel a little like they are snooping around like you want to do sometimes when you go to someone else’s house to see what are in the drawers,” joked Moore.

Space is limited but the owners seem to have a knack for finding a place for everything. They take gently used items and sell them at a price they set and split the proceeds 50-50. Tickled Pink will accept in-season women’s and children’s clothing which is to be freshly laundered and pressed and must be on hangers. However, they will only accept 25 clothing items at a time the first full week of each month. Women’s accessories, furniture, decorative household items, jewelry and more will be accepted. They do not accept toys or men’s clothing.

“There are just too many safety concerns related to toys today to handle them, such as recalls and lead paint,” said Smith. “And we discovered that men do not go to consignment shops to buy clothes.”

After Jan. 1, Tickled Pink will only accept children’s dressy clothes and they no longer accept jeans, T-shirts and other types of casual clothing for children. They also have custom made jewelry, fan pulls and various handmade wooden items available made by local artisans.

Smith shared, “We have been so blessed since we have opened. We have friends dropping buy to shop and to sit and talk. Many old friends and we are adding new friends each day. We are just tickled pink to be here.”

When a consignor signs up with Tickled Pink, they are given the option after the consignment period ends to either retrieve their items or they can donate them to a local charity that the business will handle.

“We just want to say ‘thank you’ to our family and friends who have been so supportive in helping us to get Tickled Pink up and running. We also want to say thanks to all our customers and to everyone who has consigned to sell items with us. We hope they are as tickled pink as we are,” stated Moore.

Moore adds that what is one man’s trash is another man’s treasurer and those in the area should plan on taking some time to go through all the ‘treasurer’ that can be found at Tickled Pink because there are so many things to discover and possibly purchase.

Those interested in joining as a consignor can pick up a consignment agreement at the shop. Tickled Pink’s hours of operation are Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail sigeneral@myclintonnc.com.