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The girls at Grapevine Staffing have done it again. In The Bag opens its doors today next to Grapevine Staffing, 100 E. Taylor St.
Unable to rent empty space in the building, the staff of Grapevine Staffing had a brainstorming session and came up with the idea of a retail shop featuring knock-off and name-brand designer purses.
“I don’t even know how the handbag thing evolved,” said Susan Dunphy, owner of Grapevine Staffing. “The girls have been around me long enough as an entrepreneur, they know how to brainstorm. We came up with handbags.”
Trying new ideas is something not out of the ordinary for the Grapevine staff.
“When you work for an entrepreneur, they have to think outside the box,” said Grapevine Staffing Direct Hire Recruiter/Account Manager Heather Scarberry.
Concept
Inspired bags are knock offs of designer bags, said Dunphy.
“We also have some designer purses that are authentic,” said Dunphy. “We have authentic Guess, Liz Clairborne and Prada.”
Preowned
The preowned purses are authentic. There is a strict checklist used to determine the value of purses bought for the store, said Dunphy.
The store will purchase preowned bags according to the rating they receive on the checklist between $20 and $80. Dunphy emphasized only popular name-brand purses that are in demand will be considered.
“We’re not going to have real strong retail hours,” said Dunphy. “We’ll be open 8:30 to 5, Monday through Friday and weekends and evenings by appointment. Kind of an elite little thing, so if people want to come in and have a purse party or something like that we can do that.”
New
“It’s something new, no one else in Creston has done it before,” said Kathy Achenbach, Grapevine Staffing temp staffing manager.
The store will be managed by the staff at Grapevine Staffing, with help from Dunphy’s 14 year-old daughter Amy.
Each new order received from suppliers will have different bags, said Dunphy.
“We won’t be ordering the same items each time,” she said. “There will be new bags every couple of weeks.”
The store will carry only bags, with the exception of possibly adding designer sunglasses to the inventory.
Meche purses
A Meche purse, is a bag with a magnetic surface. It allows for different covers to be used on the outer shell. It’s becoming very popular in the area, said Dunphy.
“We’ll carry the purses and all the new skins,” said Achenbach . “We’ll have the skins in stock. Most places have to order them.”
Just for fun
Shopping for a designer bag or knock off will be easier for the purse enthusiast.
“Purses are a spur of the moment purchase for most women,” said Dunphy. “Sometimes they buy it, bring it home and wear it for a week and decide it isn’t right for them.”