Quick snip honors New to You business

After being in business for two weeks, owner and operator of New To You, Steve Blume. celebrated his business’ opening by holding a Business After Hours open house and a ribbon cutting ceremony which included Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.

“It’s like naming a baby,” said Blume of trying to figure out a name for his consignment shop.

He said that he had looked through consignment book after consignment book, just as one would a baby name book. After looking at hundreds of name ideas he settled on New To You.

Blume said that his shop is looking for gently used items and his items currently in-stock include furniture, smaller home furnishings such as end tables and coffee tables, items such as lamps and tons of artwork.

“Almost all of the artwork is original art in here right now. We have local, regional and national artists,” said the storeowner. “But we really hope to get a lot more of the local artists because I know there are a lot of really good artists in the area and there are not too many opportunities to display and sell their work.”

Blume said that when things get sold at his consignment shop that he hopes to fill in the empty space with local art.

But when Blume first starting drawing up plans for his store, he said that art was the last item on his mind to sell.

“The art is not what I had envisioned. I had envisioned that there would be a lot of furniture and just a little bit of art, but then we were lucky to get this large collection,” he said.

The storeowner said however that he loves the art that now fills the walls and tables of his shop.

“In just the weeks that I’ve been here I’ve been fascinated with all of the work here and learning about the artists and their stories. For example we have a father-son combination down here,” said Blume,pointing to a series of paintings.

“I’ve always been fascinated with art, and what they always say is those that can do art do it and those that can’t sell it,” chuckled Blume.

He said that he hopes to do three to four more art openings like last night’s Business After Hours every year so that the public can come and learn about all of the new art being showcased.

“Most of the art right now happens to be in the Native American or southwestern genre but it does not need to be; it was just a happy coincidence,” said Blume.

Blume said that he is looking for a wide variety of home furnishings to fill his shop.

“I have some people who are going to bring in some bedroom sets,” he said. “Everything from kid and toddler beds to regular bedroom sets and dining room sets are wanted. There has been a real call for that, and kitchen sets are also welcome.”

“We aren’t doing a lot of upholstered work just because that’s very difficult since it really needs to be in excellent condition.”

Blume said that he has a long list of things that people are looking for right now and a lot of those are basic home furnishings.

“Things change so quickly and just even last week it cleared out a lot in here,” said Blume. “When somebody needs something like a dresser, which we don’t have right now, I take that information and when it comes in I give them a call and give them options.”

The store hours of New To You are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays. The new store is located at 1038 Illinois St. in Sidney.

“I’m really excited to be here,” said Blume.