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Monday, Dec. 9, 2013

FINDING THE RIGHT MATCH

Business simplifies monogrammed resales

march-monagram

Going green and upcycling items is a growing and environmentally conscious trend, but you may not have thought of these options when it comes to your personalized items. Katy Chambers has developed a new local business to help one recycle personal, loved items: Match My Monogram.

The theme of the business, mainly run through its website bearing the business name, might best be summed up by one of the tips listed on the site: Don’t make waste, make someone with the same name happy.

Shreveport native Chambers has always had a fascination for names and has taken advantage of “borrowing” great names within her family to name her two children. Chambers herself is named after her Aunt Katy.

But Chambers found herself in a quandary with her love of names. “I realized I was buying more expensive clothes for my kids and getting them monogrammed.” And once those items were personalized, and the child outgrew them, it made them hard to hand down, she added.

That is where the idea began for Chambers to start Match My Monogram.

Here is how it works: If you have a personalized item you want to upcycle, you fill out a consignment form from the website matchmymonogram.com, package your items and ship them to Chambers. Once you send your freshly laundered items, Chambers checks them all to make sure they are in mint condition, and then she presses them to get them ready to post on her website.

But locals, you have the added bonus of having a local drop off location at the Mint Julep Paperie in the Uptown Center on Line Avenue.

“We are happy to promote any new young business owners,” said Claire Rice, Mint Julep Paperie’s owner. “It’s a win-win. We help them by being a dropoff location, and it encourages people to shop with us while they are here.”

If you are shopping for personalized items, you simply go to the website and search for items that match your monogram or the monogram of someone you love. You can search by name, single initial or three-letter initial.

But with 72,000 combinations of initials, it might seem impossible to find your initials on someone else’s clothing.

“Surprisingly, we have sold more three-letter initials than anything else,” Chambers said. “We are making matches!” The success of the website is obvious as new items are being uploaded every day. The business’s Facebook page already has more then 9,000 likes as Chambers posts new items on the social media site to increase interest and traffic. With all of this success, it might be hard to believe that the business just began in July of this year.

“It’s not only that you are selling something someone can reuse,” she said. “It feels good when you find a match.”

Michaela Stanberry, for one, has seen many of her items become matches for someone else. “It is such a waste for it to sit in your closet,” she said. “To sell it on Match My Monogram is helping someone else and helping me.”

Stanberry said the site is a great idea and enjoys that it is full-service. “Everything is seamless throughout the process,” she added.

But Match My Monogram is not only good for individuals. It is helping businesses as well.

As co-owner of The Moppet Shoppe, Stanberry also has utilized the consignment service for monogrammed samples used throughout the store.

“We were happy to help a local business and resale personalized items we were unable to sell otherwise,” Stanberry said.

And if a business sends a dress monogrammed “Sarah” to a customer who needed the name spelled “Sara,” the business now has an outlet to resale that item to someone who can use it, all through Match My Monogram.

Chambers said everything on her site is at least 50 percent off the retail price – a huge discount. It gives people custom consignment items at a great price, she added.

So far Match My Monogram also has partnered with national retailers Marley Lilly, Rouge & Co. and Initial Outfitters. And Chambers said they are adding more businesses to their partnerships every day.

Customers can even sign up for email updates to get a weekly list of new monograms added at www.matchmymonogram.com.

ON STANDS NOW!

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