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What's Brewing

Shelter to dress up sales

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published March 3, 2006

A lime green INC shirt for $4.99. A pair of suede shoes from Dolce & Gabbana for $35.99. A Neiman Marcus evening dress for $29.99.

The names and prices will tempt you. The underlying mission will close the deal.

Leaders at the Spring of Tampa Bay domestic violence shelter this week opened a boutique at Swann Avenue and Henderson Boulevard. They wanted a central location where people could drop off donations and shop for bargains.

A busy intersection in generally well-dressed South Tampa seemed the perfect spot.

"We're thinking that there's a lot of affluent people in South Tampa who drive by there a lot," said Linda Hess, the Spring's community relations manager.

The Spring started developing the store more than a year ago as a means to boost donations and awareness of its services. They had the Simply Spring Thrift Store and donation center at 209 N Willow Ave. but needed an outlet for more high-end merchandise.

More sales would mean more services for victims of domestic violence.

Volunteers spent hours turning the former dive shop into the Spring Vintage Boutique. Local artist Wendy Grey painted murals in the dressing rooms, over the cash register and in the children's play room. The Spring's logo and phone number appear prominently on the building's exterior.

The building's co-owner, John Ayers, looks forward to the Spring occupying the space for a long time. His wife, Anne-Marie, has strong ties to the Spring, having once served on its board of directors.

Sales and donations play a large role in the Spring's continued success. The Willow store, where items start at 99 cents apiece, grosses about $200,000 a year, or about 5 percent of the agency's annual budget, Hess said.

Offering higher-priced designer clothing, including some donated new by local stores, should up the ante even more. (Just picture former Spring board member Erika Wallace, one of Tampa's best-dressed, dropping off a gown or two.)

The new store came partly out of necessity. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many nonprofits struggled to compete for contributions. Then hurricanes hit. Then the tsunami. Then the earthquake. Needs exceeded the donation base, and groups had to get creative.

Statistics strengthen the Spring's pitch. Hillsborough County had the second-highest incidence of domestic violence in the state (9,801 reports) during fiscal year 2004-05. It led in juvenile domestic violence offenses and was second in forcible rapes. Eleven people died at the hands of their abusers.

Without the Spring, many victims would have nowhere else to go.

Monday night's grand opening party got the store off to a solid start.

About 50 shoppers trolled the racks and shelves for bargain clothing, shoes, accessories and cosmetics, mostly for women but some for men. They marveled at the BCBG snake print new leather shoes for $49.90 (regularly priced $115) and bright pink Cache shirt for $4.99.

"She's a label horse so she'll like it," said Robin Notestein, grabbing a $4.99 Michael Stars shirt for her 24-year-old daughter.

One couple spent $400.

As president of the Spring's auxiliary, which will help staff the store, Notestein said the boutique will benefit the community twofold: It will raise money for people in need and make bargain hunters cheer.

She never experienced domestic violence herself but has seen many lives changed, thanks to the Spring and its services. That's a deal that surpasses any pair of designer shoes.

THE LAST DROP: The Spring Vintage Boutique is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Tip: Tuesdays might be the best day selection-wise. Volunteers from the Spring's auxiliary will do the major restocking on Mondays.

- Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 13:56:08]