6B The Virginia Gazette Nov.

17, 2010

the virginia gazette • williamsburg, virginia november 17, 2010

Featured Success Stories

Aladdin Furniture Consignment & Rug
7131 Merrimac Trail • Williamsburg
757.206.1665
www.aladdinconsignment.com
Bavarian Garden • Alizé Bistro
601 Prince George Street • Williamsburg
757.258.8882
www.BavarianGarden.com • www.AlizeBistro.com
Concrete Jack
Costs about one third of replacing concrete
Call us today at 757.566.1534
www.ConcreteJack.com
Creative Cabinet Works
Come See Our New Showroom
7191-A Richmond Road • 757.903.5801
www.CreativeCabinetWorksVa.com
Designs by Varujan, Master Jeweler
1321 Jamestown Rd., Ste. 201
Williamsburg Office Park
757.259.2262 • www.designsbyvarujan.com
William A. Doig Health Club and Spa
at Williamsburg Landing
757.565.6545
www.williamsburglanding.com
General Nutrition Center
4680 Monticello Avenue
Monticello Marketplace
757.565.5100
Heritage Commons
236 Commons Way • Williamsburg
888.623.6131 • TTY 800.828.1120
www.heritagecommonssl.com
The House Key
7628 George Washington Memorial Hwy.
Yorktown, Virginia 23692
757.968.5266
Piney Pointe Landing
New Kent Riverfront Development
John Britt 804.514.5235 Bob Klein 804.241.8102
www.pineypointelanding.com
Pyramid Roofing
Certified Green Screened Company
Wmbg 757.258.3595 • Peninsula 757.247.9600
www.pyramidroofing.com
Jeanne I Ruff, OD, LLC Optometrist
1107 Richmond Road • Williamsburg
757.229.4222
www.ruffeyes.com
Schumann Professional Dentistry Center
Dr. Nancy Schumann
5309 Discovery Park Boulevard
757.564.0900 • www.DentistWilliamsburg.com
Matchmaker
Aladdin Consignment: Bringing Lovers of
Fine Furniture and Accessories Together
By K.H. Queen
arlier this fall, a Richmond fam-
E ily brought a whole dining room
of Henkel Harris furniture to
Aladdin Consignment in
Williamsburg. Although there are
plenty of furniture consignment stores
in Richmond, this family knew that
even after hiring movers, they’d still
come out ahead. “It still paid them to
bring their furniture here,” Aladdin
owner Mary Ann Gist says. “There
were shocked.”
The consigners weren’t the only
ones to come out ahead. The buyers
daughter-in-law Lori Detwiler, or Richmond, Tappahannock, Mathews
also felt fortunate. “The Henkel Harris
another member of the talented and elsewhere check in on Saturdays,
table and chairs went out the same
Aladdin team will look at them in your often lining up at the door for the 10
day,” Gist says. “A woman came in
vehicle and determine if they’re a a.m. opening. Customers have
just as we got it set up, took a picture
good fit for Aladdin and its clientele. bought furniture at Aladdin and
and went home and showed her hus-
Aladdin also can arrange for pickup moved it to homes in North Carolina,
band. He said, ‘You better get back
and delivery. Florida, Massachusetts, and Iowa.
there and buy it. That stuff goes fast.’
She got lucky.” Call Gist a furniture matchmaker. If you really want an item at
She has a two-week waiting list to get Aladdin, don’t hesitate. One man
You’ll hear stories like this often at
items in the store. She also has a recently told Gist he liked a sofa, and
Aladdin Consignment. Aladdin, beside
whole wish book of items that buyers then walked away to look at other
WaWa on Merrimac Trail, is your des-
are looking for. Often when someone furniture and accessories. Within min-
tination to find high-end, gently used
calls her with an item they want to utes, a woman walked in the store
furniture and accessories at reason-
consign, she already has a buyer in and began admiring the same sofa.
able prices.
mind from her wish book. “I even call Gist quickly went back to the man and
asked him his intentions. He was
ready to buy, so she marked the sofa
‘sold,’ and the interested lady missed
out by mere minutes.
Gist enjoys redecorating the shop
after items sell. She also helps her
buyers with decorating tips. Stop by
during the holidays, look at the deco-
rations including a fabulous Christmas
tree, and take time to enjoy Christmas
cookies.
You’ll quickly see why Aladdin has
become a favorite stop for buyers and
sellers alike. “In 3.5 years, I’ve built my
clientele of buyers and sellers into the
thousands,” Gist says. “The quality of
furniture I get is high-end and that
quality reputation and our reasonable
prices attract both buyers and sellers.”
Come in once and you’ll see why.

The Shops at Carolina Furniture

at Williamsburg
5425 Richmond Rd. • Williamsburg VA 23188
757.565.3000 • www.carolina-furniture.com
Spa Botanica
Embassy Suites Spa & Convention Center
1700 Coliseum Drive, Hampton, VA 23666
757.213.8511 • www.spabotanicahampton.com
Thomas Nelson Community College
Historic Triangle Campus 757.253.4300
Hampton Campus 757.825.2700
www.tncc.edu
The Velvet Shoestring
311 2nd Street • Williamsburg
757.220.9494
thevelvetshoestring.biz
Vertigo Dizzy Clinic, LLC
337 McLaws Circle • Williamsburg
757.476.6628
www.vertigotesting.com
At Aladdin, you may be able to
furnish an entire home with coordi-
nating pieces that someone else lov-
ingly assembled over the years. “We
had a big houseful of natural cherry
custom made furniture from
Kingsmill—four corner cabinets,
tables, chairs, dressers, a bed and a lot
of artwork,” Gist says. “We sold
almost everything.”
Consigners like Aladdin because
they get 60 percent of the sales price,
a better split that many similar stores
offer. They also appreciate that their
items usually move quickly. Gist has
an expert eye for what will sell so if
she takes your sofa, china cabinet or
other pieces, she’s confident there’s a
buyer somewhere. Aladdin’s mark-
down after 30 days is just 10 percent,

The Whaling Company

494 McLaws Circle • Williamsburg
75.229.0275
www.thewhalingcompany.com
WindsorMeade of Williamsburg
3900 Windsor Hall Drive • Williamsburg
757.941.3615 • toll free 866.403.5503
www.windsormeade.org
The Williamsburg Players
200 Hubbard Lane • Williamsburg
757.229.0431
www.williamsburgplayers.org
compared to 15-20 percent at some
shops. Accessories such as lamps, mir-
rors and art are never marked down.
But most items never make it to mark-
down.
“Eighty-five percent of my inven-
tory moves out in less than 30 days,”
Gist says.
If you’re a seller, Gist will make an
appointment to go to your home and
look at large pieces you’re interested
in consigning. If you have accessories,
you can bring them in and Gist, her
people on the wish list and tell them
what date ‘their’ item is going to
in focus...
come in the door,” Gist says.
Sometimes the store gets so busy
Aladdin
that regulars checking on when cer- Consignment
tain items are arriving end up pitching 7131 Merrimac Trail
in to give the team a hand. “Everyone Williamsburg, Va. 23185
wants to be in the know,” Gist says. 757.206.1665
Aladdin regulars stop by as often www.aladdinconsignment.com
as three times a week—the store is
Hours
open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday MON–FRI • 10AM–5PM
through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. SAT • 10AM–4PM
on Saturday. Others customers from Closed Sunday

Spotlight on Success is a paid advertorial feature. If you are interested in having your business represented on this page, please contact your Virginia Gazette sales representative: 757.220.1736.