The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Skye Dunlap Thai Seasoning: Dorothy Tongtuntai fell in love with Asian furnishings after marrying a Thai man--but she goes for the European classic look, too. New consignment store will feature furniture, trappings Village Consignment takes its name, and its flavor, from Thailand By Michelle Ku Located slightly off the beaten path of the busiest stretch of Lincoln Avenue, a new store has taken root with the idea of bringing a touch of Asia to the Glen. Village Consignment, 2053 Lincoln Ave. at the corner of Malone, opened for business on Dec. 8. Standing in the second consignment furniture store to open in Willow Glen in the past three months, owner Dorothy Tongtuntai sees a distinct difference between her store and Frumas, which opened in October, and will move in around the corner from Village Consignment in January. [See related story, page 13.] "I want this to be a touch of Asia with a contemporary touch," Tongtuntai says. Village Consignment opened in the location that Family Pharmacy held for 48 years, which owner Donald Lew was forced to close in June. With a mixture of Asian accessories with Ethan Allen and western chairs, tables and desks, Village Consignment will create a synergy between the two cultures without specializing in Asian furniture, Tongtuntai says. "It's the way I decorate," she adds. "My personal preference is the contemporary furnishings with the Asian accessories." Even though Tongtuntai doesn't want to place an especially heavy emphasis on Asian furnishings, the store has quite a few Asian pieces. One of Tongtuntai's consignees lived in Thailand for a number of years and consigned many items at the store. Also, the only furniture dealer Tongtuntai has a contract with specializes in Asian teak items. But the most important influence Tongtuntai feels is familial. Although she has always had an interest in Asian furniture and accessories, she says her love of the culture was not really developed until she married her husband, a native of Thailand. When customers step into the store, a wall-sized landscape mural of a Thai village along a riverbank dominates the view. The houses are built up on stilts, and a Buddhist temple stands in the background of the painting. The mural of the Thai village gave Village Consignment its name, Tongtuntai says. "A lot of it had to do with the area we chose to be in," she says. "We didn't want to name it Willow Glen Consignment, but it is a village area, and it is so nice and pleasant here." As the store grows, Tongtuntai wants to add a wider variety of children's furniture and some antiques. She says she is still determining what hours the store will be open, based on foot traffic. But the shop will be closed on Mondays, like many shops in Willow Glen. Even though Frumas, another furniture consignment store in Willow Glen, plans to move to the southern end of the Avenue, Tongtuntai isn't daunted by the idea of competition. "I think it will work well," she says. "It's like antique stores. A couple of them in the same area can hopefully attract more customers." [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, December 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.