Meet the Owner: The Velvet Shoestring

, a furniture consignment shop, is one of Wayne’s newest businesses.

But it’s the second of such stores for owner Jacalyn Hazeltine, an interior decorator. The original is still open in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Hazeltine has recruited her daughter Avery McMahon, freshly graduated this month from Longwood University in Virginia, to manage the Wayne location.

It may be a far cry from the sociology and outdoor education that she studied, but McMahon said that she worked in her mother’s store for years.

She said she knows the inventory side, but is being trained on the backend business part of it.

Hazeltine started the retail business when she was doing a very large redesign project and found that there was no way to get rid of expensive furniture apart from donating it.

So here’s how it works: You can bring in an item or items to sell and the store will price the items and take 50 percent of the sale price.

The store will hold an item for 90 days — reducing the cost by 15 percent each 30 days. After the 3 months is up, the owner can take the item back or make it a tax-deductible donation towards charity.

For buyers, you can take a piece home on approval, but once purchased, there are no returns.

“We know what we’re selling and understand the value — or lack of value — of used furniture, Hazeltine said.

“I think being straightforward with our customers is why we are as successful as we are.”