New business opens in old neighborhood

FARGO — Heather Aal made her first sale within three minutes of opening Aal Yours Consignments & Refinishing on Saturday, April 11, at 615 9th Ave. S.

Aal had posted photos of a Broyhill couch on the business's Facebook page a few days prior to opening, and a customer called to purchase it as soon as she opened. The sale helped validate her decision to open in the midst of a pandemic.

Aal is among a growing number of people forced to pivot after her job was eliminated.

"I was working for the Essentia Health Foundation, which took a really big hit. So, I spent nine or 10 months looking for something that fit, but it just wasn't there," she said.

She kept herself busy refinishing furniture in her garage. One day a client suggested she do it full time.

"Yes, it's a global pandemic. Let's start a business," she joked.

Because it sounded risky, Aal did her due diligence. She reached out for advice from SCORE mentors at the Small Business Administration. She also pitched her business idea to The Executives' Club of Fargo-Moorhead, a group of 150 Fargo-area business owners, presidents, CEOs and executives.

Founder Kurt McSparron was impressed.

"I was very excited to see Aal Yours Consignments & Refinishing open their doors recently, after months of soul-searching, strategizing and business planning," McSparron said in a statement to The Forum. "Heather loves what she is doing, and it shows in every uniquely decorated corner of the shop... and on her face! The Executives' Club is behind Heather 100% and we're honored to have been here to watch (and help) her make her dream a reality."

It's not a thrift store

All Yours Consignment & Refinishing is located in the former Stained Glass Workshop in the historic Hawthorne neighborhood.

"I'm in a historic neighborhood restoring historic pieces," she said. "It fits really well."

The front of the building is home to the showroom. The back is a studio where Aal refinishes furniture.

"That's where my passion is. That's what I'm good at," Aal said.

But she's also learning she enjoys the research necessary to deal in antiques.

For example, she found that the first item she secured for consignment, a 1920s mahogany secretary desk, was a piece commissioned by Henry Ford.

"The story goes that Henry Ford went to the Smithsonian for the opening of his exhibit. While there, he saw Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's writing desk and said, 'I want that.' The Smithsonian said, 'That's not how this works.' So, he went back to Michigan and had the Colonial Manufacturing Co. make 10 of them," Aal said.

It was the first of many unique items she has collected.

"To have a piece like that ever is amazing, and it followed up with some unbelievable studio art glass, some pottery pieces," she said.

Her goal is to offer pieces customers won't find elsewhere.

"What I'd like people to know is it's not a thrift shop. You're not going to find baskets for 50 cents. It's unique. It's unusual," she said.

Many of her pieces have come from estate sales.

"What should I do with my parents' stuff?" is a question she hears often.

"I encourage people all the time to sell your stuff before you die because your kids don't want it," she said.

Not all of her pieces are antiques. Aal has also partnered with a number of area artisans. She is currently selling pieces from an area photographer, a candlemaker and a seamstress who makes pillow cases, aprons, towels and similar merchandise.

All items have a 90-day shelf life. After 30 days, the price drops 25%. After 60, it's 50% off. If it hasn't sold in 90 days, the owner can pick their piece up or Aal will donate it. She keeps 50% of all sales.

Aal also posts items on eBay that she does not believe will sell in the store, such as a 1970s Talking Stacey doll still in the box. Her commission is the same as items sold in the store.

Ronnie J. Willis is a staff reporter for The Navigator.