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One-of-a-Kind Boutique Offers Vintage, Consignment and New Women's Fashion
Northside Cellar offers hand-selected women's fashion across styles and eras in a large, expansive space in the Northside District.
By Liv Ream
Need some retail therapy to get you through the holiday season? Look to downtown's Northside District for a shop with a collection of vintage, consignment, and new women's fashion that spans decades, sizes, and budgets: Northside Cellar.
Located at 106 N Main Street, Northside Cellar is truly a one-of-a-kind boutique. With inclusive sizing and pricing to match, you’re bound to find the haul of your dreams this holiday season.
Co-owner, Wendy Geonis, admits she had other ideas B.N.C (Before Northside Cellar).
“I started off just wanting to have a little shop, not having to work too much, and it just kind of grew like the blob,” she said.
The blob in question, became a beautifully curated consignment shop, offering prospective consignors a 70% commission on original pieces and a 40% commission on gently-used pieces.
The motivation behind the business can be credited to Geonis' experience in the resale business.
“I’ve always taken my own clothes to consignment shops and [my entire adult life] I’d always dreamed of having my own shop,” she said.
Eventually, a passing thought for most, started materializing for her.
“I got tired of taking my stuff to other shops, I think it was my age- a lightbulb went on and said it’s now or never," Geonis said.
Originally sourcing merchandise from her own closet, Geonis eventually found herself with more demand and in need of supply.
“It turned into buying new clothes, and that's pretty much an addiction,” she said.
But the source of her fix isn’t solely second-hand. Northside incorporates a mix of new and used clothing with racks full of colorful, vintage, modern, expensive and affordable pieces.
In her own words, “I have things for a dollar, and I have things for seven hundred dollars [...] for every price range, for every age.” Geonis has made Northside Cellar into holiday shopping destination for people who love fashion.
Currently in stock this holiday season, is a consignment Wendy finds particularly special.
“I’ve had one dress for some time that just hasn’t found the right home, it’s this vintage [black] dress that screams, ‘Audrey Hepburn, it’s unbelievable.”
As for her newly available favorite, “I carry a new [higher end] brand called Magnolia Pearl, and I’m obsessed with that brand.”
After perusing the hangers of Northside Cellar for myself, a pleasant range in sizes was apparent throughout the store.
Geonis credits this to her personal business goals.
“I don’t want people to come here and think [one size] is all we have,” further clarifying, “I don’t like to disappoint people, I want people to come in and be able to find something [...] It’s not about selling, it’s about the joy people find in the shopping experience- it’s retail therapy.”
Northside Cellar is open Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m to 5 p.m. and closed Sunday - Monday.
For more info about Northside Cellar, visit:
https://www.downtownakron.com/go/northside-cellar
(left) Northside Cellar is packed with fashion accessories, apparel, and more. The vibe is almost as therapeutic as the shopping. Photos by Liv Ream.
To reach content author Liv Ream, email her here.
Downtown Akron Partnership Announces Downtown Dollars E-Gift Card Program > read more here.
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