By Amy Moore
NEDERLAND — Kathy Corley is thankful for her customers, but one special customer has helped her expand her business into another sector. Owner of Action in ‘ur Auction, Corley will soon hold grand opening ceremonies on the second half of her business, a fabric store.
Focused on the sell-it-yourself Web site, eBay, Corley’s business approach is to sell online what her customers bring in, taking only a percentage of the selling price. Everything from Barbies to clothes to computer parts, Action in ‘ur Auction was doing well in their business, but Corley wanted more.
“We knew we wanted to sell things in the storefront, but we always have a lot of ideas floating around,” Corley said.
So when a customer came in with more fabric than Corley and her partner Terry Lee could imagine, they realized that they had just been given an excellent business opportunity.
Lee explained that a man came into the store, located at 2517 Nederland Avenue, and told the ladies that his wife, who had just passed away, left behind two warehouses full of fabric. Realizing this was their chance to have store front merchandise, Corley and Lee decided to branch out and created The Fabric Nook and More.
“We couldn’t list his fabric (online) fast enough,” Lee said. “We’ve got everything from patriotic to Disney print.
“This just fell together for us, just fell in our laps. We’re going to be working on selling his stuff for a while, though.”
Carrying mostly cotton and cotton blend fabric, Lee said she hopes to branch out even more if she can find a good vendor for silk because, she said, “silk is hot right now.”
Noting that several local fabric stores will be closing, Lee said she hopes their store will help those who cannot travel to Beaumont to buy fabric.
“I feel bad for the grannies out there who quilt,” she said. “What if they don’t have a computer to order things online or a way to get to Beaumont? What about local school students in home economics classes? Well, they can come right here now.”
Corley said she got into the eBay business at home with her husband. Realizing they could earn a living selling items online, the couple opened to the public from their home in Groves and recently relocated to Nederland Avenue.
Going to garage and estate sales to find unique and antique items, Corley and Lee quickly learned that the online market is always changing.
“If something doesn’t sell one day, it might sell out the next. Just because your item isn’t going for much, just shelve it and wait, it’ll come around,” Lee said.
The Fabric Nook and More will hold their grand opening on Friday, April 6, in the same building as Action in ‘ur Auction at 2517 Nederland Ave.
