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Estate Sale Mania from page 9
B'nai Israel Synagogue
Artful Solutions relies on retailing sensibilities, like these bundled towels, to
inspire purchases.
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All Israel is responsible for one another
20
August 23 • 2012
their hundred dollars at an estate sale
than anywhere else
Fourth, she says, are the history and
architecture buffs.
"These people, and there are a huge
number of them, want to see how a
house has been furnished or get a look
at a collection whether it's coins or
flags or model cars."
Rosenberg's favorite finds? A Judith
Lieber briefcase for which someone
offered her double what she was had
just paid. There are the two pristine
mink coats purchased for a fraction
of what they would have cost new and
a sculpture collection to which she is
still adding. Her most notorious find?
A feathered and frothy peignoir set,
owned by a former call girl who had
married and was unloading her work
wardrobe.
Stories To Tell
The human element of the estate
sale world that is such a strong draw
for Marlene Rosenberg is also what
motivates Artful Solutions' Annette
Reich and Susan Hass. Reich, a for-
mer business owner with a degree in
social work, is drawn into the human
element of every sale she and Hass
organize.
"Every sale has a story" she says.
"We are going through an era where
abundance is no longer in vogue.
People are looking at their homes
and saying, 'I have so much stuff. Let
someone else enjoy it."'
Hass picks up the thread with a
story about a mother who purchased
a bedroom set for her 14-year-old
daughter.
"The father had recently died, and
they had had to turn the daughter's first
floor bedroom into the father's hospital
room. Now that he had passed, the
mom wanted to find a way to make it
the girl's room again and not the room
her father had died in.
"The mom purchased a beautiful
white wicker bedroom set, and her
daughter's face just lit up when she saw
it," Hass says. "It felt good to know that
this pricey set, which they could have
never otherwise afforded, was going to
be enjoyed so very much."
Reich and Hass envision their model
less as holding estate sales than creat-
ing a "pop-up store." Hass has 25 years
of experience in retail and special
events design and takes charge of stag-
ing each sale.
"We want our customers to come
in and take pleasure in shopping," she
says. "We train our staff to greet each
person entering the home, just as if
they were walking into Nordstrom."
During an Artful Solutions three-day
sale, their team of employees is con-
stantly culling and rearranging mer-
chandise so that nothing looks picked
over.
"You can have a bunch of towels:'
Hass says, explaining their philosophy,
"or you put together a wash cloth,
hand towel and bath towel, tie it with
a pretty ribbon and now it's a beautiful
package that someone would want to
purchase:'
Newcomer to the arena, Gloria
Wolok of West Bloomfield who runs G
& J Estate Sales, is gratified at the fol-
lowing she and partner Judy Shapiro of
Farmington Hills have developed over
the past two years.
"The key to a successful sale she
says, "is to keep it as unemotional as
possible. Clients are not there the day
of the sale. It's hard to see their family
memories being bargained for. There
is a lot of hand holding as they let
these things go. We make sure that if
they have any thought they might want
it in the future, they should keep it."
So what are you waiting for? Check
out estatesales.net. Treasures await. ❑