Business Spotlight: Twice Around The Park

The Second Time Around Is Twice As Nice

By Rochelle Karina
In a pretty little cottage on Ritchie Highway stands Twice Around The Park, a small consignment shop that opened in early 2010. Customers will find a selection of high-quality, gently-used merchandise – a “win/win” option for shopping that’s good for buyer and seller.

Owner Betsy Hein recently shared her thoughts on the business and the community.
Q: When did the business first open?
A: Twice Around The Park opened in January 2010. We just celebrated our one year anniversary.
Q: What prompted you to go into this field?
A: I was looking for something different to do and when I noticed this building was vacant, I thought it would be a perfect location for a consignment shop. I started doing some research on consignment shops and decided to give it a try.
Q: Why this location? What prompted the choice?
A: The building is in a great location right on Ritchie Highway. It had been an antique consignment shop for many years and I loved the idea of a stand-alone building.
Q: What will people find at your store that they will not find elsewhere?
A: Twice Around The Park features furniture, home decor, women’s and junior’s clothing and accessories (shoes, purses, jewelry). When I opened the store was full of furniture and home decor that came from a furniture staging business that closed at the same time I opened. Everything in the store was current. It was like walking into Pottery Barn or Pier I. The clothing items are brand names: J Crew, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Chicos, Lilly Pulitzer, Anthropology, etc. I have some fabulous jewelry: Silpada, Chicos and a couple of local jewelry designers selling their products here. Purses: Coach, B Makowski, Burberry, Dooney and Bourke, Vera Bradley. You don't feel like you are walking into a consignment store when you enter the door. We refer to ourselves as a consignment boutique.
Q: Tell us about community involvement, either your own or your business.’
A: I am involved with the Severna Park Chamber of Commerce. I am currently on the membership committee and I am a past leader of the Wednesday morning SUN (Support Unlimited Network) group. I belong to the Bay Area Consignment Association and I am a member of the Severna Park High School Business Advisory Board. I was on the College and Career Counseling Center committee and co-chaired the Mock Interview Committee. We have also sponsored an intern from SPHS. Personally, I volunteer at SPHS answering the switchboard once a week and am the SPHS Athletic Booster Rep for the field hockey team. I have also been the secretary for my neighborhood’s HOA for the past two years.
Q: What charitable events or donations has the business been involved in?
A: We’ve only been open a year and we have already participated in Oak Hill Elementary School’s Earth Day event and we allowed SPARK Field Hockey Club to hold a yard sale fund raiser in our parking lot.
Q: Looking forward, what do you see in the future?
A: I think consignment shopping has become a really popular way to shop. The economy has certainly been a driving force behind that, but I think it will continue to be popular even after the economy improves. The quality of items brought into my store is amazing.
Q: What makes the local community special and how has that impacted your business?
A: Severna Park is a wonderful place to live and to have a business. It is a very self-contained community with just about anything you need within reach, yet it still has a small town feel to it. The really fun thing about this business is how many friends I have made among customers. Because the merchandise is always changing in a consignment store, many customers stop by on a weekly basis. Referrals are also a big part of my business, especially on the furniture and home decor side.