We are Jolie Lauderdale and Melanie Harrison…

…sisters-in-law from Florence, Alabama, who began brainstorming one day about a part-time business together. We were both new mothers at the time, with children under the age of three. An aunt from Nashville had sent us an article from the Tennessean with a note attached which read, “You should do this!” The article described a children’s consignment sale. We had never been to one, but the idea appealed to us. Soon plans were put into motion.

Our first sale was in a 4000 square-foot building in Florence with 60 consignors participating. It was just the two of us and a small handful of volunteering family and friends. Each following sale grew, and we were constantly looking for a bigger building with additional parking. We have since settled into two buildings at the North Alabama Fairgrounds in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with 20,000 square feet and parking for thousands. This location is centrally located for our many consignors and shoppers who come from Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

From the beginning, we wanted our sale to stand out from all others. We strive for quality by personally inspecting each item that is consigned and then spend several days organizing and culling items that don’t measure up. As Dittos For Kiddos has grown, so has our staff and volunteers. We attribute our success to all of the long, hard hours they put in.

For our consignors to be successful, we knew we had to have customers. We developed a marketing process that brings in shoppers from all over the south. We send emails to thousands of people weekly for six weeks prior to the sale. We place ads in over 16 newspapers, do bulk mailings and have sponsored Facebook ads around the Shoals Area. We are constantly posting on Facebook and Instagram. However, our best method of advertising is word of mouth. If you like our sale, tell someone about it!

Thanks for reading our story. We look forward to seeing you at our next sale!

Jolie and Melanie