Consignment Event Brings Community Together, Through Entrepreneurs

When Julianna Loya and Brianna Van Lierop, both the wives of firemen, became friends nearly 10 years ago, their careers were in full throttle.

Both women decided to take a pause to raise their children – Loya, a former teacher at Palm Springs Unified, has two girls under the age of 5 and Van Lierop, a former pharmaceutical sales rep, has twin 4 year olds.

With only one income, they found themselves looking for deals on kids clothes and toys, as well as maternity outfits at consignment stores in Riverside.

“We were taking all this stuff to Riverside to consignment events … We began to wonder why is there not anything out here in the desert like that?,” Loya said. “There’s nothing like it out here.”

They put the idea on hold, deciding to revisit the thought of bringing a consignment event to the desert in a few years.

It wasn't until last year, after their kids were in school, that the friends decided to partner together and start up a three-day sale in the Coachella Valley called the Monkey in the Middle Consignment Event.

“We were like our lives are back to normal, our kids are in school and we are starting to go crazy,” Van Lierop said, adding that they took three months to research how to put on the consignment event.

The first event was held last fall, and drew up to 1,000 families from Indio to Palm Springs.

The women have another event set for March 8-11 at 44250 Town Center Way, near the and , in Palm Desert.

Unexpected success

The beginnings may have been overwhelming, mainly because there was no event like this before in the desert.

"Yes, there are consignment stores, but we’re very different in that we are an event. We don’t have the overhead," Loya said.

Loya said an unexpected part of the journey has been the positive feedback in the community.

"There are individuals who we would never have met with otherwise," Loya said, adding that many people have been promoting the event and their website has been attracting a lot of interest.

Another part is the draw of the sustainable nature of consignment, according to Van Lierop.

“It’s a swap of items for families across the valley. It’s eliminating the waste of material ... When we are done with items, it’s turned around to families who couldn’t afford the items or give them to the charities,” Van Lierop said.

Community involvement

Monkey in the Middle is not part of a franchise, but the women use a website called MySaleManager.Net, which tracks the merchandise.

Anyone can register to sell their kids' clothing, toys, shoes or other items on the website. If the item is purchase, the seller keeps 65 percent of the profit, which is much more than other consignments.

Sellers can price items online, print out the tags and indicate if they are willing to mark down the price on the last day of the sale.

If the item does not sell, the seller can opt to donate it to one of two charities -- the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission or Jordan Outreach Ministries -- or keep it in the system until the next sale.

Not all the merchandise is second hand. Some of it is from boutiques across the Inland Empire, including stores on El Paseo and in La Quinta.

The event is run on volunteers, who get special access to the sale items in the days leading up to the event and on the special half off sale.

“Our volunteers are invaluable to us,” Loya said.

Loya is spending time reaching out to parents at the Coachella Valley's schools, where she has made some headway.

“We’re not making money yet. We’re probably never going to make a ton of money on this. If it was about money, we’d go back to our professions," she said. "If it was all about money, I would go back to teaching. We really believe in this.”

IF YOU GO:

Open to the Public:
Friday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 10 from 12 to 5 p.m.
Sunday, March 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (50 percent off many items)

Volunteer Banana Bash - Thursday, March 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Baby Monkey Presale- Friday, March 9 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Grandparents Sale- Saturday, March 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Volunteer 1/2 off Presale- Saturday, March 10 from 5 to 7 p.m.