Back in business: Bizarre Bazaar celebrates new home

SANDPOINT — They were waiting at the door before Bizarre Bazaar officially opened the doors of its new home Saturday.

Within a few minutes, the parking lot was full, and shoppers filled all 3,000 square feet of Community Assistance League's upscale resale store. (Roughly another 3,000 feet is taken up by the store's preparation and storage areas.)

The new store, located at 114 S. Boyer Ave., Sandpoint, is more open, with better lighting and an open, airy feeling with departments designed for easy shopping. From crafts and clothing to housewares, Bizarre Bazaar's new location offers a better shopping experience, CAL members said.

"What we wanted was a wow factor," co-manager Carol Visger said. "… To make a long story short, the idea was for people to walk in and go, 'Wow,' because it's different. We wanted a little more industrial vibe to it and more of a 'today' feel."

With the space being on one floor and different lighting, CAL members said Bizarre Bazaar now has an open, soothing vibe with a bright, sunny feel. On sunny days, light pours into the space; on not-so-sunny days, the warmth of the room creates a welcoming space, members said.

A soft opening several weeks ago had shoppers lined from the door into the parking lot with everyone excited that their favorite store was again open, even if it was just for the day.

"I love this place," shopper Marcia Hutson said Saturday. "It's just amazing. The new store feels more updated and modern."

And that, CAL members said, is exactly the vibe they wanted to give shoppers. The better the experience, the better the store does, the more they can give back to the community with all proceeds going toward scholarships and grants. 

CAL members estimate they have given away more than $2 million since the group's formation in 1979.

In planning the space, co-manager Cherie Warber, who has a background as an interior designer and space planner, was among those tasked with transforming the new store. Warber talked to the various department heads and watched them work, using that information to create an ergonomic flow that is both organic and efficient.

"We're getting our steps in walking around currently, but once (a planned doorway to the sales floor from the back), it'll make it much easier. Our group is a social group and we don't like to isolate our workers. This way, they become part of what's happening on the floor and that was also one of my paramount thoughts when I saw the building: that everyone is going to be isolated. We're too social for that."

After signing a long-term lease for the Boyer Avenue store, CAL members didn't immediately move in. Instead, they kept the store at their now-former location on Church Street while they got to work on designing the space to give it the upscale shopping experience. After announcing their move in early June, CAL members took the intervening months to clean, organize, and paint the space to give it the upscale vibe they wanted and to organize the backrooms — where all the sorting, cleaning and repairs take place.

A cleaning area is bigger and well-organized; storage areas filled with clothes, cleaned, pressed and carefully placed on hangers waiting to be placed on the sales floor.

The store's new home has more contiguous work and storage, allowing CAL members to sort, organize and repair items. In the Church Street location, storage areas were scattered throughout the space, with many of the items in tubs. With the storage area running along the back and side of the store, the Boyer Avenue site gives CAL the ability to hang items up, tag them for sale, and have the items ready to be placed on the sales floor at a moment's notice.

As donations arrive, they're sorted through to determine if it's something CAL can set at the store with items not meeting that standard being given to other nonprofits for sale or donation to those in need. Items are cleaned, ironed and steamed; repairs are made if needed; and research is done to ensure a fair price.

It's not uncommon, Warber said, to see members taking photos of items on their phones to research the item online. The practice also helps them to be more consistent in pricing and adequately represent the value of the donation, she added.

The South Boyer store is a far cry from Bizarre Bazaar's first iteration as a once-a-year pop-up event at Sandpoint Community Hall. Held the second Saturday of October, the sale was a popular event and raised several thousand dollars or more. There were so many donations just from members that CAL couldn't sell it all in a day.

It was after the 2005 sale that several members, Joyce Spiller and Barbara Buchanan among them, went to then-president Tracy Gibson with the idea to open a store. The following year, CAL opened Bizarre Bazaar in its first home on Vermeer Drive in Ponderay, followed by a move to Sandpoint in 2010.

"It was a huge decision," Spiller said of the decision to open Bizarre Bazaar as a store. "And the whole group made the decision."

But, after a lot of thought and research, CAL decided to take the leap. The first days were lean, with members estimating they had to make $35.94 a day to pay expenses.

"We didn't come short very often, but when we got a $100 day, we were so thrilled because it relieved the pressure and meant a little profit. It was so exciting. Now it's ten times that or more," Spiller said.

    Greater Sandpoint Chamber Ambassadors and Community Assistance League members celebrate the grand opening of Bizarre Bazaar's new location on S. Boyer Ave. Pictured, from left, are Chamber Ambassador Steve Sanchez, CAL Bizarre Bazaar co-managers Carol Visger and Cherie Warber, CAL president Joy Price, CAL members Donna Hutter, Ann Nichols, Beth Drain and Marcella Nelson and Greater Sandpoint chamber board member Danielle Resso.
  

    Marcia Hutson gets check out by CAL member Ann Nichols as the longtime community group celebrated the grand opening of Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday.
  

    A Community Assistance League member puts finishing touches on the inside of Bizarre Bazaar as the longtime community group celebrated the grand opening of the store's new Boyer Avenue location.
  

    Community Assistance League celebrated the grand opening of Bizarre Bazaar's new location at 114 S. Boyer Ave., Sandpoint.