The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Skye Dunlap Chair Woman: Theresa Higgs opened Frumas, San Jose's first consignment furniture store, on the Avenue earlier this month. New consignment furniture store is first of its kind in SJ Glenite Theresa Higgs opened Frumas on the Avenue this month By Michelle Ku Willow Glen is home to many furniture stores, but Frumas became the first of its kind when it opened on the Avenue on Oct. 3. Specializing in high-end furniture, artwork and antiques, Frumas, at 1000-A Lincoln Ave., is the first consignment furniture store in San Jose. While the concept of consignment clothing has been around for many years, consignment furniture is just beginning to gain popularity. The idea for a store of this nature is so new that the San Jose phone book doesn't have a listing for it "[Consignment] clothing was the closest thing they had," Frumas owner Theresa Higgs says. "I think that, in the future, this concept will really take off." Excluding San Francisco, the Bay Area is home to just 12 consignment furniture stores, Higgs said. She did not do any research on consignment furniture stores in San Francisco. The closest store in the immediate San Jose area is in Saratoga. Higgs herself was unfamiliar with consignment furniture stores until this July, when she visited one in Los Altos. Interested in the concept, Higgs in August began researching the possibility of opening a consignment furniture store. Within a month and a half, she created Frumas. "What really started me was when I got a commitment from the builder. Up until then, I was just cold-calling to see if anybody was interested. After I got the commitment, I needed to have a store for the furniture. It just turned the tide for me," she says. Higgs was drawn to the idea of a consignment furniture store from her years of experience selling furniture. She also liked the idea of not purchasing the inventory outright. "When it's on consignment, you don't need the capital to purchase the inventory. Minimal capital is involved," Higgs says. Together, Higgs and her consignors set the prices for the furniture. Higgs received 40 percent of the money and the consignor 60 percent. Currently, Higgs' major consignor is a builder in Iowa. She has a few individual consignors in the area but is looking for more antique consignors. Depending on their condition and quality, pieces can run anywhere from 45 to 75 percent below retail. "[A consignment furniture store] is a great idea, and you save money. Everybody likes a bargain," Higgs says. Besides low prices, the benefits of a consignment store are the eclectic mix of furniture and the often one-of-a-kind pieces that can be found. In her first few weeks in business, Higgs says she's had customers come in three or four times to check what's in stock. "The furniture moves that fast," she explains. A Willow Glen resident for the last eight years, Higgs chose to open the store here because of the community. "Customers in Willow Glen are wonderful. They come back and bring family and other people," she said. On one particular afternoon, Higgs' customers were helping one another decorate their homes. Frumas does not offer a delivery service, but Higgs will refer customers to a delivery service if they ask. For more information about Frumas, call 287-9350. Store hours are Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., Sun., noon-4 p.m. Closed Mon. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.