Who's Behind the Counter: Barbara Burdette at The Elephant's Trunk

A cluttered lawn full of children’s toys and clothes might catch your attention when driving down Reisterstown Road. This lawn belongs to The Elephant’s Trunk, a children’s consignment shop, which has been a dream of the owner, Barbara Burdette, for 20 years.

Having owned The Elephant’s Trunk for two years now, Burdette takes pleasure in her opportunity to give back to the community, especially children.

Burdette, a single mother of two, sat down with Patch to talk about the importance of good customer service, the rules on children playing with the toys and more.

Patch: What do you enjoy most about your job?

Burdette: This was a dream of mine for 20 years and I’m living the dream.

Where do you get the stuff that you have?

It’s all consignment, so people who are finished with their things for their children, [and if they’re] still in good shape, they bring them to us and we sell them.

What type of clients do you usually have?

As far as consigners, it’s obviously parents. As far as customers, it’s anywhere from aunts, uncles, grandparents, daycare providers, teachers, kids. Kids love the store. They want to go to The Elephant’s Trunk.

I noticed that you let them play with the toys.

To a degree. There’s the rule: parents, always keep an eye on your child. This is really not a playroom; it’s a shop. These aren’t our toys so we don’t want them broken. Things can get lost, so they’re not to open any bags, not to open any boxes. If it’s a freestanding toy and it’s within their reach, then yes, they can use that toy while they’re here, and a lot of times that’s what sells the toy. A parent waits and sees what the child gravitates to and they buy that toy, so we try to be lenient to a degree, but we also try to educate the ones that aren’t so careful in what their children do. We try to help them go back and work with the child and like, ‘Clean up!’ and remind them this is a store.

Where did you get the idea for the stuff out on the lawn?

I can’t afford advertising, so it’s just a lot of hard work and sweat, but it pays off. So many people, who even live around here—that’s what brings them in. They’ll see one thing they like and then they come in and they’re like ‘Oh my word!’ They didn’t know we were a whole store, and a lot of people didn’t know we had clothing. When I got my new sign a year ago, I made sure we wrote clothes on there just to try to bring more people in to see that we’re an entire store in here.

What separates The Elephant’s Trunk from other consignment shops?

I really believe in customer service. I hope when they come that they have a great experience here, that they don’t have to wait too long, the whole ‘always be greeted by an upbeat person.’ I’m usually the only one here, but, in the summer, my children do help. Quality toys—we check for recalls, so they can come knowing I’m all about safety. If they have questions, I love helping people, whether it’s putting together an outfit that matches for something they’re going to or ‘what toy do you recommend?’ I’m a big kid at heart so I just love getting in and helping them shop. So it’s just like customer service—I want them to be waited on hand and foot as much as I am capable of.

Do you feel it’s important to give back to the community?

I do. Again, to the capacity that I can. I’m a single mom. I work. This is my job; this is my life, outside of family. Sometimes that limits you in what you’re able to do for the community, but your heart’s there.