Rhea Lana's children's consignment event comes to Brandon

BRANDON — A unique sale hits Brandon for the first time this weekend as Rhea Lana's, a children's consignment event, sets up shop temporarily at 2470 W Brandon Blvd. in the former Justice store at Regency Square Shopping Center beginning Sunday.

Locals will get a taste of what savvy consumers have enjoyed since Rhea Lana Riner, a wife and mother of three, hosted her first consignment sale in her Conway, Ark., living room in 1997 before expanding the idea across 22 states.

Shoppers can expect more than 5,000 items for babies through teenagers. Jennifer Dowling, who owns the local franchise along with business partner Kimberly DelRosario, said she thinks about 90 percent of the ride-on toys, strollers and swings will sell, as well as at least half of the clothes.

"We have good, quality items and friendly volunteer service," Dowling said. "We make sure all items are working if they have batteries and they are bar-coded and scanned."

The free event runs through Thursday and all forms of payment are accepted.

Sign up to consign before noon Friday (Sept. 13) or get more information at brandon.rhealana.com. Consignors can earn 70 to 80 percent at the Brandon event for preparing their items themselves and referring people. The next area Rhea Lana's event is scheduled for late October in St. Petersburg, where a VIP consigning option will be available by having Rhea Lana's prepare the items for you.

Consignors can enter and price their items online, track sales in real time with a mobile application and pick up checks and unsold items on the final day.

Rhea Lana's of Brandon will be the third event for Dowling and DelRosario, who have already organized a pair in St. Petersburg. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

Liz-n-Things expands to Bell Shoals location

Elizabeth Cureton lost her job as a property manager a year and a half ago and decided to do something that she enjoyed, so she opened a tiny consignment store in Brandon that catered to women on a budget.

She methodically organized her tiny 780 square feet of space with wedding dresses, designer handbags, shoes, jewelry and accessories and prayed it would work. That was in March.

By June she had outgrown the space.

"It beats sitting around and being depressed," she said. "I was blessed to have so many consignors. I never would have thought about outgrowing it so quickly."

As a result, Cureton moved her boutique called Liz-n-Things to 3515 Bell Shoals Road in Valrico. She now has nearly 1,200 square feet of formal wear and handbags with tags like Gucci, Vera Bradley and Dooney & Bourke dotting her store.

"It's been a challenge, but a very rewarding challenge," said Cureton, a native New Yorker who moved to the Tampa Bay area in 2004. "I want to cater to the working-class woman."

Liz-n-Things is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Hillsborough County employees receive 15 percent off. For more information, visit liznthings.com.

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If you know of something that should be Everybody's Business, email Eric Vician at ericvician@yahoo.com.